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^4 Monthly Magazine of
®lj£ £3>w fork ®tm^0
VOLUME VI.
April, 1917— September, 1917
With Index
2* j*-J<9
PUBLISHED BY
THE NEW YORK TIMES COMPANY
NEW YORK CITY, N. Y.
1917
D
Copyright, 1915
By The New York Times Company
Times Square, New York City
I Ij
TABLE OF CONTENTS AND INDEX
Volume VI.
[FIRST PART]
April — June, 1917
Pages 1-570
[Titles of articles appear in italics]
ABDUL Hak Hussein Bey, 437.
Aerial Fighting on the French Front, 287.
AERONAUTICS, Zeppelin attacks, 42; Brit-
ish airplanes at Arras, 2(57 ; Lord North-
cliffe on fighting on French front, 287 ;
exploits of French aviators narrated by
V. Forbin, 328 ; Zeppelin raids on England
first two years of war, by C. Stienon, 333;
list of Zeppelin raids on England, 337 ;
British airmen at Arras, 407 ; attack on
Freiburg in reprisal by British and French,
442 ; men in American Escadrille, 471.
AFRICA, Germany's treatment of colonies,
435.
See also CAMPAIGN in Africa.
ALASKA, price paid and gold produced, 257.
AISNE, Battle of, see CAMPAIGN in Europe,
Western.
ALBERT, (Dr.) Heinrich F., 219.
ALEXANDER (Crown Prince of Serbia), 141,
314.
ALEXIEFF, (Gen.) Michael V., 294.
ALGONQUIN (S. S.), account of sinking, 54.
ALICE (Princess of Battenberg), 153.
ALIEN Enemies, see ENEMY Aliens.
Alliance with Mexico and Japan Proposed
by Germany, 65.
Allied Successes in France, 246.
ALLIES' Commission, comment on members,
256 ; list of members ; account of visit to
United States ; important speeches of Bal-
four, Viviani, and Joffre, 389-405.
Amazing Effects of Shell Shock on Soldiers'
Nerves, 340.
America and the League of Honor, 464.
America Through English Eyes, 78.
" AMERICAN Day," in England and France,
454.
AMERICAN Escadrille 471.
AMERICAN Mission to Russia, personnel and
purpose, 487.
Americans Who Have Fought for France,
470.
ANCONA (S. S.), mentioned in exchange of
notes between U. S. and Austria-Hungary,
104.
ANDREWS (Secretary at Bucharest), 72.
ANNIE Larsen (schooner), 220.
" ANZACS," 503.
APPAM (S. S.), decision of Supreme Court,
39.
ARABIA, progress of new kingdom ; com-
munication to U. S.f 306; protest of Ulema
of Mecca, 307.
See also CAMPAIGN in Asia Minor.
ARBITRATION, Industrial, in Russia, 295.
ARCHER, William, " America Through Eng-
lish Eyes," 78.
ARCHIBALD, James J. F., 218.
ARGENTINA, supports U. S. against Ger-
many, 228; war attitude, 434.
ARLOTTA, Enrico, 405.
Vol. 6— Part One
ARMED Merchant Ships, discussed in Aus-
trian reply to Amer. note on submarine
blockade, 108 ; contention between Eng-
land and Holland over Princess Melita,
242; Lieut. Gill on status, 275.
See also SUBMARINE Warfare ; UNITED
STATES — Armed Neutrality.
ARMED Neutrality, defined, 56; in 17S0 and
1800, 57.
See also UNITED STATES— Armed Neu-
trality.
ASQUITH, Herbert Henry, discredited in re-
port on Dardanelles, 167 ; address on Pres.
Wilson's war message, 224 ; address in
Parliament on U. S. war action. 226; reply
to Dardanelles report. 303 ; on Home Rule,
451 ; speech in Commons on entry of TJ. S.
into war, 463.
ASTURIAS (hospital ship), 442.
At the Western Fighting Fronts, 119.
ATHOS (S. S.). 53.
ATROCITIES, plot to infect Rumanian
horses and cattle, 72; Teutonic outrages
in Poland, 127; Austrian troops in Serbia,
143; protest of new kingdom of Arabia to
U. S., 306; by Germans in Somme retreat,
538.
See also VANDALISM.
AUSTRALIA, troops in battle of Arras, 412:
at Gallipoli, 504.
AUSTRIA-Hungary, strength of navy, 103;
ultimatum to Serbia and outbreak of war,
140; attitude toward indemnity and an-
nexation, 427.
See also UNITED STATES— Austria-
Hungary, Relations with.
Austria-Hungary's Submarine Note, 104.
AUSTRO-Hungarians in America, number, 42.
AUSTRO-Prussian War, 117.
AZTEC (S. S.), 238.
B
BABES (Dr.), 75.
BABINSKI sign, 341.
BACON, George Voux, 218.
Background of Home Rule, 447.
BADEWITZ (Lieut.), account of bringing in
of Yarrowdale, 299.
BAGDAD, proclamation on relations with
England, by Gen. Maude, 308.
See also CAMPAIGN in Asia Minor.
BAKER, (Sec.) Newton Diehl, statement on
alien enemies, 205.
BALFOUR, Arthur James, letter of thanks
for services of Amb. Gerard, 64 ; career,
256; visit to U. S., speeches, statements,
&c, 389-405; as Secretary for Ireland, 451.
BALKAN Wars 1912-1913, Greece in, 155.
BANG, (Dr.) J. P., excerpts from book
" Hurrah and Hallelujah," 522.
BARUCH, Bernard M., saving for Govt, on
prices of metals, 234, 387.
Battle of Arras, 264, 405.
BATTLES, see CAMPAIGNS; NAVAL
Operations.
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
BAUMER. (Dr.) Gertrude, organization of
in women for war work, •"•">4 ; views
on war work of women, 886.
BAVARIA. Queen of, 356.
BEATTY, (Admiral Sir) David. 87, 439.
BEDFORD. A. C, 887.
BELGIAN Relief Commission, work of. 132;
withdrawal <>f American members, 237.
I also RELIEF work.
BELGIUM, withdrawal of American Minis-
ter; Amer. statement on German treat-
ment of Minister and relief workers,
887 : German occupation of France and
Belgium compared by J. F. Whi taker,
report by B. Whitlock on deporta-
tions, 543 : E. Havenith on illegal property
seizures, 545.
See also CAMPAIGN in Europe. Western ;
RELIEF Work.
BELLIGERENTS, table of population and
area, by countries, 201.
BERESFORD (Admiral Lord), 441.
BERLIN, life in wartime, 24.
BERLINER Lokal-Anzeiger. quoted on Ger-
man retreat in France, :Y22, 4LV;.
BERNHARD, Georg, on German-Mexican
alliance, <;•<.
BERNSTORFF, (Count) Johann von, mes-
senger with Zimmermann note captured,
BETHMANN Hollweg. (Dr.) Theobald von,
extract from speech in Reichstag fore-
shadowing reform. 37; address in Reichs-
tag on break with U. S., 61; on German
attitude toward league to enforce peace,
116; speech on U. S. declaration of war,
assailing British blockade. 205; message
from Kaiser on reforms, 302; reply to Dr.
Roesicke and P. Scheidemann on war
aims, in Reichstag, 42S.
BISMARCK. (Prince) Otto von, and Social-
Democrats, 51S.
" Blacks Attack! " 110.
Blame for the Dardanelles Failure, 167.
BLOCKADE, rules in relation to submarine
warfare, by Lieut. Gill, 275, 276.
BLOCKADE, British, comment in Austrian
note to U. S., 105; denunciation by Beth-
mann Hollweg in speech on U. S. declara-
tion of war. 205; Lord R. Cecil's reply
to Bethmann Hollweg, 206; defended by
Repr. Harrison in Congress, 212; views
of Lieut. Gill, 275.
BLOCKADE, German, see SUBMARINE
Warfare.
BOELCKE (Capt.), 320.
BOLIVIA, break with Germany, 228, 434.
BOMB plots, 210.
BOPP, Franz, 219.
BOTHA, (Gen.) Louis, achievements in
African campaign, 315.
BOY-ED, (Capt.) Karl, House report on plots,
2 IS.
BRAEMAR Castle (hospital ship), 443.
BRAGADINT, Alvise, 405.
BRAZIL, break with Germany ; seizure of
interned ships, 228; attitude toward war,
434.
BRENT (Bishop), extract from sermon on
entry of U. S. into war, 454.
BRESHKOVSKAYA. Catharine, release from
Siberia, 2:.s, l".m;.
BRIGGS. (Lieut. Gen.) C. J., 185.
BRINCKEN, (Baron) George Wilhelm von,
BRITANNIC (hospital ship), 41V
8 on Bagdad ami Jerusalem,
43.
BRITISH Commission, see ALLIES* Com-
mission.
Vol. G— Pi
British Foreign Policies and the Present War,
282.
British Operations at Saloniki, 163.
British Women in War Service, 351.
BROQUEVILLE, Charles de. cablegram to
Pres. Wilson on war message, 225.
BRYCE, (Viscount) James, on U. S. entry
into war, 227.
BULGARIA, population, 157 ; entry into war,
158.
BUNSEN, (Sir) Maurice de, statement on
German safe conducts for relief ships, 135.
BURIATS, 438.
BUROFF (Gen.). 297.
BUTLER, (Dr.) Nicholas Murray, presenta-
tion of diploma to A. J. Balfour, 402.
BYNG, (Gen.), 270.
CAINE, Hall, on celebration of U. S. entry
into war, 454.
Call to Arms, 3S1.
CAMPAIGN in Africa, progress, 40; dis-
cussed by Major Dayton, 315; Egypt and
Suez Canal, 501.
CAMPAIGN in Asia Minor, fall of Bagdad,
by J. B. W. Gardiner, 29 ; views of H. H.
von Mellenthin, 32; editorial comment on
Bagdad, 38; " British Advance on Bagdad
and Jerusalem," 43; success of Russians
in Persia and junction with British, 249;
proclamation of Gen. Maude to people of
Bagdad, 308; British in Mesopotamia, 500.
CAMPAIGN in Europe, Austro-Italian
border, official summary of progress in
1016, 309; new crossing of Isonzo forced.
423.
CAMPAIGN in Europe. Balkan States, stand
of Serbia at beginning of war, 86; in-
vasion of Serbia, 141 ; operations of Sar-
rail in Greece, 158; Bulgarian invasion of
Greece, 160; report of Gen. Milne on Brit-
ish operations at Saloniki, 163; first four
months of Serbian fighting, 314: progress
at Saloniki, 423.
CAMPAIGN in Europe, Eastern, success of
von Hindenburp in Masurian Lakes
region, 85 ; early campaigns in Poland and
Galicia, 86; Russian front in 1915, 505.
CAMPAIGN in Europe, Western, German re-
treat, by J. B. W. Gardiner, 27 ; by H. H.
von Mellenthin, 33; "Battles of the
Marne, the Aisne, and Tannenberg," by
Maj. Dayton, 81; first battle of Verdun;
French offensive in Alsace-Lorraine, 83;
attack by Senegal negroes described by
R. Eichacker, 110; impressions of F. H
Simonds, 119; "Allied Successes In
France," by J. B.W. Gardiner. 246; German
version of retreat, 250 •• " Battle of Arras,"
by P. Gibbs, 264; "Seven Davs' Fighting
at Arras." 207; "Canadians' Achieve-
ment on Vimy Ridge," 270; French of-
fensive near Rheims, 272; "Great Battle
of Ypres," by Major E. W. Dayton, 310-
Neuve Chapelle, 313; German vandalism
during retreat. 317; German defense of
policy of destruction, 322 ; " Evewitness in
Devastated France," by W. Williams, 823:
military results of German retreat, 828;
description of scene of battle on Somme
^y^rlt,sh officer, 338; second article by
P. Gibbs on battle of Arras. 405; " French
Offensive on the Aisne," 414; capture of
Vimy Ridge by Canadians, 417; evacua-
tion of Rheims, 419; strategic value of
f.erman retreat and review of fishtine
•hiring month, by J. B. W. Gardiner. 420-
German Version of the Month's Fight-
ing 423; at beginning of 1915, 506-
vandalism of Germans in retreat, 534-543
INDEX AND TABLE OF CONTENTS
CANADA, troops on Vimy Ridge, 270; in
battle of Arras, 408 ; report of War Office
on capture of Vimy Ridge, 417; influence
of Vatican claimed by Ulster Unionists to
be against participation in war, 453.
CAPELLE, (Admiral) Eduard von, on suc-
cess of submarine depredations, 441.
CARRANZA, (Gen.) Venustiano, note to neu-
trals suggesting embargo on foods and
munitions to belligerents, 69.
CASUALTIES, German, 42; in invasion of
Serbia, 142 ; German in Rheims offensive,
272 ; total at Ypres, 310 ; Austrian in Ser-
bia, 314 ; J. P. Naumann on German losses
during war, 437.
CAUSES of the War, article by J. Reinach
on German responsibility, 7G; Serbia and
Austria-Hungary discussed by W. M.
Petrovitch, 138.
CECIL, (Lord) Robert, reply to Bethmann
Hollweg on British blockade and sub-
marine warfare, 20; on German treat-
ment of African colonies, 435.
CECILIE (Crown Princess of Germany), war
work, 355.
CENTRAL America, see LATIN America.
CHAKRABARTY, (Dr.) Chandra Hanador,
218.
CHALIER, Andre, relief work, 129.
CHARLES, J. Ernest, on Val-de-Grace Mu-
seum, 512.
CHARPUT, (Lieut.) Jean, 331.
CHATKOFF, Lincoln, 471.
CHERNOFF (M.), on critical situation in
Russia, 479.
CHERON, Henry, summary of German
vandalism in Somme retreat, 534.
CHILD, O. C. A., poem "Jerusalem," 118.
CHILE, and Germany, 228, 434.
CHINA,, break with Germany, 37.
CHOATE, Joseph H., speech on visit of
British Mission to New York, death, 400;
at Mayor's Committee dinner to mission,
401.
CHRONOLOGY of the War, 34, 242, 431.
CHURCHILL, (Col.) Winston, testimony on
Dardanelles failure, 167 ; defense of expe-
dition, 303.
CITY of Memphis (S. S.), 58.
CIVIL War (U. S.), Southern attitude com-
pared with that of Ulster toward home
rule, by Cardinal Gibbons, 445.
CLARK. Champ, 207.
CLOSURE, adopted in Senate, 52.
COAL, situation in Germany, 113; shortage
in Paris, 126 ; British possession of fields
of Lens, 249.
COLOMBIA, treaty defeated in U. S. Senate,
40.
Colossal War Expenses of Great Britain,
Germany, and France, 112.
COLUMBIA University, degree conferred on
Marshal Joffre and R. Viviani, 399; di-
ploma presented to A. J. Balfour, 402.
COMITE National, 544.
Comparative Strength of Navies Today^ 95.
CONSCRIPTION, see UNITED STATES—
Army.
CONST ANTINE I., King of Greece, attitude
toward war, 148 ; statement to Assoc.
Press on position of Greece, 153.
CONSTANTINOPLE, attitude of new Rus-
sian Govt., 295.
COOPER, Henry Allen, opposition <o war
resolution, 212.
COPPER, supplied to Govt, at average
market price, 388.
CORBESCO, M., 72.
CORNELL, (Mrs.) Margaret, 219.
Vol. 6— Part One
COST of War, expenditures of England, Ger-
many, and France, 112 ; Allies' expenses
estimated by B. Law, 435.
COSTA Rica, indorsement of action of U. S..
229.
COUCY Castle, destruction, 319.
COUDEN, (Rev. Dr.) Henry, 207.
COUNCIL of National Defense, activities,
60; organization of boards for war, 234;
part in economic mobilization, 387.
COYULA, Miguel, 230.
CREWE (Marquis of), address in Parlia-
ment on entry of U. S. into war, 462.
CRILE, (Dr.) George W., with first Ameri-
can Red Cross Unit, 439.
Critical Situation in Russia, 47S.
CROMER, (Lord) Evelyn Baring, report on
Dardanelles operations, 167 ; replies of
Mr. Asquith and Col. Churchill, 303.
CROWLEY, Charles C, 219.
CUBA, bill calling for war; message of
Pres. Menocal ; war resolution message to
U. S. Congress, 230; first nation of Latin
Amer. to enter war, 434.
CUPENBERG, (Baron) von, 218.
Curious German War Medals, 346.
Current History Chronicled, 36, 256, 434.
CURZON (Lord), on Persian operations, in
Lords, 46; speech in Lords on resolution
on entry of U. S. into war, 460.
CZERNIN, (Count) Ottokar, 237, 427.
DAECHE, Paul, 219.
DANIELS, (Sec.) Josephus, speeding up of
naval construction, 58 ; on three-year
program, 59.
DANISH West Indies, transfer to U. S. ;
Rear Admiral Oliver appointed Governor,
257.
D ANTON (French cruiser), 238.
DARDANELLES Operations, editorial com-
ment on report of commission, 40 ; report
of Cromer Commission on failure, 167 ;
replies of Col. Churchill and Mr. Asquith,
303 ; account by Maj. Dayton, 501 ; final
reports of Admirals de Robeck and
Wemyss on withdrawal, 508.
Darkened Church in the War Zone, 131.
DAVIS, George B., definition of armed neu-
trality, 57.
DAVIS, Oscar King, on food situation in
Germany, 21.
DAYTON, (Maj.) Edwin W., " Military Oper-
ations of the War," 81, 310, 499.
DELBRUECK (Dr.), tribute to work of wo-
men, in Reichstag, 353.
Democratic Progress in Germany , 301.
DEPORTATIONS, from Roubaix, 520; report
of Brand Whitlock on deportations from
Belgium, 543.
DESCHANEL, Paul, address on entry of
U. S. into war, 466.
Deserter's Wife and Her Dilemma, 115.
DEVONPORT (Lord), on effect of U-boat
campaign, 441.
DE WET, Christian R., failure of rebellion,
315.
DILLON, John, greetings on entry of U. S.
into war, 227.
DITHRIDGE, Ethelwyn, poem, " The Women
of the War," 20.
DONEGAL (hospital ship), 442.
DUBOST, Antonin, on entry of U. S. into
war, 467.
DUGAN, William, 471.
ECKHARDT, von, (German Minister), 65.
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
ECONOMIC Mobilization of U. S.. 234. 387.
ilso COUNCIL of National Defense.
ECONOMY, Pres. Wilson's proclamation, 200.
EDISON, Thomas Alva, reply by P. Painleve
on part of science in war, 13.
Effects of Intensified Submarine Activity, 57.
EICHACKER. Rheinhold, " The Blacks At-
tack! " 110.
EIGHT-Hour Day, in Russia, 295.
ELIOT, (Dr.) Charles \\\, 444.
ELKUS, Abram I., 437.
Eloquent Welcome from Lords and Commons,
400.
ENEMY Aliens, Govt, policy, 205; proclama-
tion of Mayor Mitchel, restricted district* *
interned sailors, 235; conduct, 434.
See also GERMAN Plots.
ENGINEERS, see UNITED STATES— Army.
ENGLAND :—
Agriculture, Sunday labor and night plow-
ing, 260.
Army, impressions of F. H. Simonds, 120;
war pensions, 200.
See also AUSTRALIA; CANADA.
Cabinet, criticism of Asquith Govt, by
Cromer commission on Dardanelles
failure, 167.
Finances, war expenses, 112; war ex-
penses estimated by B. Law, 435.
Foreign Policies, historical sketch by T.
G. Frothingham, 282.
Imports, royal proclamation listing goods
prohibited, 114.
Munitions, conservation of cargo space for
imports. 114 ; quantities required by
army, 261.
Navy, General Staff, 439.
Parliament, resolutions and speeches on
U. S. entry into war, 226, 460.
Zeppelin Raids, see AERONAUTICS.
Entente's Greetings to America, 454.
ENVER Pasha, on Turkish retreat, 33; de-
feat, 500.
EUPHRAT, Ernest T., 218.
EVANS, (Capt.), Edward R. G. R., 497.
Eyewitness in Devastated France, 323.
Factors in the Russian Revolution, 473.
Famous Fight for Vimy Ridge, 417.
FARNS WORTH, Henry W., 471.
FARRE, Henry, account of aerial bombard-
ment, 332.
FAY, Robert, 219.
FINANCE, see names of countries.
FINLAND, rights • restored by new Russian
Govt., 295.
FINLEY, (Dr.) John Houston, orders Pres.
Wilson's war message read in schools, 393.
First American Gun Fired, 435.
FISHER (Lord), in Dardanelles contro-
versy, 167 ; on use of sea power, 170 ; Col.
Churchill on Dardanelles plans, 303.
FISHER. Andrew, note on Dardanelles fail-
ure, 169.
FLACHAIRE, Georges, 331.
FLAG, U. S., first appearance on European
battlefield, 271.
FLOOD, Henry Delaware, on submarine
blockade, 49.
FLOTOW, (Baroness) von, work in war gar-
dens, 356.
FOCH, (Gen.) Ferdinand, made Chief of
Staff, 437.
FOODSTUFFS, shortage and control in Eu-
rope, 21 ; Carranza proposal to neutrals
of embargo, 69; price-fixing in England
Vol. 6 — Part One
and limitation of imports, 114; Pres. Wil-
son's economy proclamation, 200; H. C.
Hoover placed in charge of food board,
234; distribution causes strikes in Ger-
many, 438; supply in France and Belgium
under German occupation, 526.
See also WHEAT.
F.ORBIN, Victor, " French Heroes of the
Air " 328.
FORGACH (Count), 139.
FORSTER. H. W.f statements In Parliament
on supplies for army, 261.
FOSS (U. S. Representative), on war reso-
lution in Congress, 212.
FRANCE, changes in Cabinet, 38; votes of
credit compared with those of Germany
before war, 76 ; strength of navy, 99 ; de-
scription of attack by Senegal negroes,
110 ; war expenses, 113 ; decisions on army
desertions, 115 ; changes in army com-
mand, 437 ; comment on entry of U. S.
into war, 466 ; P. L. Hervier on " Ameri-
cans Who Have Fought for France,"
470; rule under German occupation com-
pared with that in Belgium by J. P.
Whitaker, 525; Senate resolution on Ger-
man vandalism, 541.
See also ALLIES* Commission; CAM-
PAIGN in Europe, Western; VAN-
DALISM.
FRANCE Day, 393.
FRANCIS Ferdinand. Archduke, murder dis-
cussed by W. M. Petrovitch, 138.
FRANCIS, David R., address conveying
recognition of new Russian Govt, by U. S. ;
reply of Prof. Milukoff, 293.
FRANCKE, (Pastor) H., 523.
FRANCO-Prussian War, effect on Germany,
284.
FRAUENDANK, 355.
FREIBURG, British and French air attack
in reprisal, 443.
FRENCH, (Sir) John, 83, 310.
FRENCH Commission, see ALLIES' Com-
mission.
French Heroes of the Air, 328.
French Offensive on the Aisne, 414.
French Praise for America's Action, 466.
FRITZEN, (Capt.) Alfred A., 220.
FROTHINGHAM, Thomas G., " Compara-
tive Strength of Navies Today," 95;
" British Foreign Policies and the Present
War," 282.
FUAD el Khatib, 306.
GALLIPOLI, see DARDANELLES.
GALSWORTHY, John, poem, " The Wind
of Freedom," 239.
GARDENING, of women in Beilin, 356.
GARDINER, J. B. W., " Germans and Turks
in Retreat," 27; "Allied Successes in
France," 246; "Military Review of the
Month," 420.
GARY, Elbert H., 387.
GAUTIER (Capt.), 496.
GAUVAIN (m.), on entry of U. S. into war,
168.
GEIBEL, Emanuel, 522.
GEORGE V., King of England, congratula-
tions to Pres. Wilson on entry of U. S.
into war; reply, 225; message to Sir D
Haig on Vimy Ridge, 271.
GERARD, James W., views on German food
situation, 21 ; difficulties in leaving Berlin,
62; tribute by Balfour in Commons, for
services, 64 ; pressure to induce signing of
protocol, 253 ; tribute by Balfour, 390.
GERMAN-Amer. Relations, see UNITED
STATES— War with Germany.
INDEX AND TABLE OF CONTENTS
GERMAN Confederation, account of work
and failure, 116.
German Crimes in the Somme Retreat, 534.
GERMAN East Africa, see AFRICA.
GERMAN Labor Federation, address on
strikes, 438.
GERMAN-Mexican-Japanese Alliance, 65, 236.
German Opinion on America's Intervention,
■ 468.
German Peace League That Failed, 116.
GERMAN Plots, report of House Commit-
tee on Foreign Affairs enumerating- con-
spiracies in U. S., 217; in Guatemala, 434.
See also MEXICO.
German Raiders in the Atlantic, 298.
German Reprisals on Prisoners, 547.
German Submarine Blockade, 47.
German Vandalism During the Retreat in
France, 317.
German Version of the Month's Fighting, 250,
423.
GERMAN West Africa, see AFRICA.
German Women as War Workers, 353.
GERMANS in America, number, 42; recep-
tion of war message, 223.
See also ENEMY Aliens.
GERMANY :—
Alliance with Japan and Mexico, proposal
of Dr. Zimmermann, 65.
Army, see VANDALISM.
Bundesrat, representation, 258, 516.
Colonies, Lord Cecil on treatment accord-
ed in Africa, 435.
Electoral Reforms, progress, 301 ; mes-
sage of Kaiser to Bethmaun Hollweg,
302 ; necessity for, 519.
Finances, votes of credit compared with
those of France previous to war, 76;
war expenses, 112.
Government, republic suggested by G.
Ledebour, 430; analysis of Constitu-
tion by W. S. Smoot, 516.
Militarism, defended previous to war by
Lloyd George, 212; menace of Prus-
sianism discussed by Lloyd George,
456.
Newspapers, comment on U. S. entry into
war, 468.
Public Service League, 354.
Reichstag, system of election, 259, 516.
Social Conditions, views of C. H. Grasty,
22.
Strikes, caused by methods of distribu-
tion of food, 438.
War Office, reports on British offensive
in France, 423.
War Spirit, excerpts from German poets
and clergymen, by Dr. Bang, 522.
Germany's Defense of Destructive Policy,
322.
Germany's Form of Government , 516.
Germany's Peace Discussion, 426.
GIBBONS, Floyd P., account of Laconia dis-
aster, 54.
GIBBONS, (Cardinal) James, Ulster and
home rule compared with South in civil
war, 444.
GIBBS, Philip, "Battle of Arras," 264; 405;
on suffering of French civilians in Ger-
man retreat, 540.
GILCHRIST, (Major) Harry L., in command
of first Amer. Red Cross unit, 439.
GILL, (Lieut.) Charles C, " Naval Power in
the Present War," 87, 273, 490.
GLADSTONE, William Ewart, and Ireland,
449.
GLENARD, Roger, account of relief work,
129.
GLOUCESTER Castle (hospital ship), 443.
GOESCH (Pastor), 524.
GOETHALS, (Maj. Gen.) George W., heads
Shipping Board, 235.
GOMPERS, Samuel, co-operation with cap-
ital for war, 388; appeal to Workmen's
and Soldiers' Delegates at Petrograd, 484.
GOUCHKOFF, see GUCHKOFF.
GOUJY (M.), 115.
GOVERNORS' Conference, 388.
GRASTY, Charles H., on German food sit-
uation, 21.
GREECE, defense of neutral attitude and ac-
count of Venizelist movement by A. T.
Polyzoides, 148 ; treaty with Serbia, 149 ;
Entente troops in, 150; statement of King
Constantine in defense of policy, 153 ; his-
torical sketch, 155 ; repudiation of Serbian
treaty, 156.
See also CAMPAIGN in Europe, Balkan
States.
GREEK Catholic Church, 9.
GREGORY, Thomas Watt, decision on power
of President to arm ships, 56 ; on alien
enemies, 434.
GREY, (Sir) Edward, Balkan policy scored
by W. M. Petrovitch, 146.
GRISELLE, Eugene, on atrocities in Poland,
127.
GRUSENBERG (M.), appointed to Russian
Senate and Supreme Court, 296.
GUATEMALA, break with Germany, plots,
434.
GUCHKOFF, A. I., reform of military or-
ganization, 294 ; appointment to Cabinet
and resignation, 477 ; address on crisis, in
Duma, 482 ; letter to Premier, 483.
GUGGENHEIM, Daniel, 388.
GUGLIEMOTTI (Gen.), 405.
GUNS (ordnance) and naval power discussed
by Lieut. Gill, 491.
GUYNEMER, (Lieut.) George, 329.
GYLES, Donald. 496.
H
HAASE, Hugo, 230.
HADEN, Robert A., 53.
HAELEN (S. S.), 220.
HAGUE Conventions, rules for military occu-
pation of territory, 534.
HAIG, (Sir) Douglas, on the Aisne, 83; mes-
sage from King George on Vimy Ridge
operations, 271 ; at Ypres, 311 ; system of
trench raiding, 529.
HAMBURG-Amer. S. S. Line, violation of
U. S. neutrality by officers, 218.
HAMMERSTEIN (Military Attache), 73.
Hand of God in Prussianism, 522.
HARDEN, Maximilian, defense of entry into
war of U. S., 469.
HARMSWORTH, Cecil, on work of women,
358.
HARRISON, Fairfax, 234.
HARRISON, Frederic, on home rule, 445.
HARRISON, Philip Pitt, defense of British
blockade, in Congress, 212.
HAVENITH, Emmanuel, on illegal property
seizures, 545.
HEALDTON (S. S.), 238.
HEDJAZ, see ARABIA..
HELFFERICH, (Dr.) Karl, on effect of sub-
marines on shipping, 44i.
HELMETS, value in war, 472.
HENCKEL-Dommersmarck (Princess), war
work, 356.
HENSEL, Carl Paul Julius, 218.
Vol. 6— Part One
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
HERVE, Gustave, on entry of U. S. into war,
HERVIER, Taul Louis. " Americans Who
Have Fought for France," 47o.
HEYL, (Mrs.) Sophie, war work, 851
HINPENBURG. (Gen.) Paul von. in Masu-
rian Lakes region. 85: in France, 826; on
the Aisne. 414 ; message to Gen. Groener
on strikes.
HIPPER (Vice Admiral), in Jutland battle.
89.
Historian's Answer, 76.
Historic Joint Session of Congress, 207.
HISTORY, preservation of war documents in
France as aid to, 304.
HITCHCOCK. Gilbert Monell, on war resolu-
tion in Congress, 209.
HOFFMANN. Adolf, speech in Prussian Diet
on militarism, 301.
HOLLAND, submarine controversy with Ger-
many, 240; contention with Great Britain,
242.
Home Rule for Ireland, 443.
HONNORAT (M.), :'."•'».
HOOD (Rear Admiral), 87.
HOOVER, Herbert C. work for Belgian Re-
lief Commission. 132; head of U. S. Food
Board, 234; in Rotterdam, 237; tribute by
A. J. Balfour, ."'.H).
HORN, Werner, 219.
HORSES, plot to infect Rumanian horses and
cattle, 72.
HOSPITAL Ships, sunk by Germans, 442.
HOUSATONIC (S. S.), 47, 53.
.HOUSTON, (Dr.) W. R.. "Amazing Effects
of Shell Shock on Soldiers* Nerves," 340.
HOY, (Mrs.) Mary E., lost on Laconia with
daughter, 53; son's message to Pres. Wil-
son, 54.
HOYT, Colgate, 888.
HUERTA, Victoriana, connection with Ger-
man plots, 70.
Hunger Stalks Through Europe, 21.
HUSEIN ibn Ali. 306.
Jerusalem, poem, 118.
JEWS, new religious freedom in Russia, 257;
emancipation in Russia ; two advocates
appointed to Russian Senate and Supreme
Court, 296.
JOFFRE. (Gen.) Joseph, in battles of Maine
and Aisne, 81; career, 256; visit to U. S.
with French War Commission, speeches,
&c, 389-405.
JOHNSON. Robert Underwood, poem. " To
the First Gun," 802.
JUTLAND, Battle of, article by Lieut. Gill,
87 ; " German Story of the Sinking of the
Lutzow," 94.
K
KAEMPF, (Dr.) Johannes, address on U. S.
war with Germany, 4t;*.t.
Kaiser Today, 14.
KALTSCHMIDT, Albert, 219.
KAMIO (Gen.), 316.
KERENSKY, A. F., on decree of amnesty, 7;
on new Govt, of Russia, 292 ; as leader of
Group of Toil, 436; note to Workmen's
Council, 481 ; warning to delegates, 483 ;
status, 486.
KERR, Caroline V.. " German Women as
War Workers," 353.
KILMAINHAM Treaty, 450.
KITCHENER, (Earl) H. H., blamed for
Dardanelles failure, 40; policy criticised
n Cromer report on Dardanelles, 167 ; de-
fended by Mr. Asquith, 303.
KITCHIN, Claude, address in opposition to
war resolution, 213.
KLEIST. (Capt.) von, 219.
KLUCK, (Gen.) von, 81.
KNOX, Philander C, support of Colombian
treaty, 40.
KOENIG, Karl, 523.
KOENIG, Paul, 219.
KOKOSHKIN, F. F., in favor of Russian
republic, 475.
KUROPATKIN, (Gen.) Alexei, 297.
IGEL, Wolf von, 218.
IHNE, (Baroness) von, war work, 356.
ILLINOIS (tank ship), 58.
INDIA, German plot in U. S. against, 218.
INTERNATIONAL Law and submarine war-
fare discussed by Lieut. Gill, 274.
INTERNED Ships in U. S., Austrian, 237;
seizure of German vessels on declaration
of war, 214 ; escape of officers, 218.
IRELAND, attitude of Americans toward
home rule ; declaration at Sinn Fein con-
vention, 444 ; views of Harrison ; proposal
of Lloyd George for settlement of ques-
tion, 445; historical sketch, "Background
of Home Rule," 447-453.
ISNARDI, (Prof.) Ludovico, on wounds, 129.
ITALIAN Commission, see ALLIES' Com-
mission.
ITALY, strength of navy, 103.
Italy's Military Progress in 1910, 309.
JADAR, Battle of, 142.
JAGOW, Gottlieb von, on " execution " of
Serbia, 140.
JAPAN, Dr. Zimmermann's proposal for al-
liance with Germany and Mexico, 65;
strength of navy, 100.
JAVANOVITCH, Todor, message to Pashitch
on attitude of Austria toward Serbia, 139.
JELLICOE, (Admiral Sir) John, in battle of
Jutland, 87; Chief of Naval Staff, 439.
VoL 6— Part One
LA FOLLETTE, Robert Marion, opposition to
armed neutrality bill, 51 ; opposition to war
resolution, 210; reply to Senator Williams,
211.
LABOR, growth of organization in Russia,
295 ; meeting in Washington between labor
leaders and capitalists for co-operation
during war, 388; appeal of S. Gompers to
Russian Workmen's Council, 484.
See also STRIKES.
LABOR'S National Peace Council, 219.
LACAZE (Admiral), tribute to sailors, 455.
LACONIA (S. S.), account of sinking, 53.
LAFAYETTE Escadrille, 471.
LANE, Franklin K., on seriousness of U-boat
campaign, 441.
LANFRANC (hospital ship), 442.
LANSING, (Sec.) Robert, decision on Presi-
dent's power to arm ships, 55; report to
the Senate on plot for German-Mexican-
Japanese alliance, 66; text of rejection of
German protocol, 254 ; statement on arrival
of French Mission, 392.
LATIN America, action of various countries
following U. S. entry into war, 228, 434.
LAW, Andrew Bonar, comment on Gen.
Maude and fall of Bagdad, 44 ; address in
Parliament on entry of U. S. into war,
226; estimate of English and Allies' war
expenses, 435.
LAZEN, Robert de, on German plot to infect
Rumanian horses and cattle, 72.
LE TEMPS, editorial on Pres. Wilson's war
message, 467.
INDEX AND TABLE OF CONTENTS
LEAGUE to Enforce Peace, 116.
See also PEACE.
LEDEBOUR, George, suggestion of German
republic, in Reichstag, 301, 430.
LEDNITSKY, Alexander, 295.
LEHMANN (Dr.), plots in Guatemala, 434.
LEINERT (Deputy), 301.
LENINE, Nikolai, agitation against Provi-
sional Govt., 479.
" Liberators " of Poland, 127.
" Liberty Enlightening the World," 546.
" LIBERTY Loan," bill passed, 256; relation
to national income, 262 ; denominations of
bonds, 440.
LIBRE Belgique, 136.
LINCOLN, Abraham, quoted, 465.
LLOYD George, David, announcement on re-
strictions in imports to food and muni-
tions, 114 ; quoted in defense of German
militarism by Representative Cooper, 212 ;
address on Pres. Wilson's war message,
224 ; proposal to J. Redmond for settle-
ment of Irish question, 445; address at
American Club on America's entrance into
war, 456.
LODGE, Henry Cabot, on war resolution in
Congress, 209.
LONDON Telegraph, editorial on Pres. Wil-
son's war message, 464.
LORD'S Prayer, paraphrased by Vorwerk,
522.
LOS ANGELES Shipbuilding and Dry Dock
Co., 437.
LOUDON, (Dr.) J., text of protest to Ger-
many against destruction of Dutch ships,
240.
LOUISE (Grand Duchess of Baden), 356.
LUETZOW, details of sinking, 94.
LUZZATTI (Premier), address to Pres. Wil-
son on entry of U. S. into war, 225.
LVOFF, (Prince) Georges E., on revolution,
292 ; on note to Allies, 481.
LYMAN W. Law (S. S.), 47, 53.
LYONS, France, hospital for treatment of
injuries to nervous system, 340.
M
MacCONNELL, (Sergt.) James R., 472.
MACDONALD, George, " Curious German
War Medals," 346.
MACDONALD, James B., " The Story of
Saloniki," 155.
McGUINNESS, Joseph, election to Parliament
while serving prison sentence, 444.
McKENZIE, Thomas, 170.
McMILLAN, Emerson, 388.
" Mad Dog of Europe," 166.
MAFTEI, Andrei, 73.
MARBURG, Theodore, 388.
MARITIME LAW, see INTERNATIONAL
Law.
MARKUS, Michel, 73.
MARNE, Battle of, see CAMPAIGN in Eu-
rope, Western.
MARSHALL, (Vice Pres.) Thomas Riley, on
reception of French Commission in Sen-
ate, 395.
MARX, Karl, 359.
MAUDE (Gen.), at Kut-el-Amara, 43; proc-
lamation to people of Bagdad, 308.
MAYO, (Admiral), Henry T„ message from
Vice Admiral Beatty and reply, 439.
MEDALS, see NUMISMATICS.
MEHRING, (Dr.) Franz, elected to seat in
Prussian Diet, 301.
MELLENTHIN, H. H. von, " Politico-Mili-
tary Events of the Month," 30.
Vol. 6— Part One
MENOCAL, (Pres.) Mario Garcia, war mes-
sage, 230.
MESOPOTAMIA, see CAMPAIGN in Asia
Minor.
MEXICO, German influence, 41 ; Dr. Zim-
mermann's proposal for alliance with Ger-
many and Japan, 65 ; German intrigues
and Carranza's note to neutrals on the
war, 69 ; stand on war following entry of
U. S., 229; Dr. Zimmermann's defense of
proposal of alliance, 236.
MICHAEL (Grand Duke of Russia), text of
abdication, 9.
Microbes as War Weapons, 72.
MILITARISM, see Germany — Militarism.
Military Operations of the War, 81, 310, 499.
Military Results of Germany's Move, 320.
Military Review of the Month, 420.
MILITARY Training, failure of bill, 60.
MILLERAND, Alexandre, address on entry
of U. S. into war, 455.
MILLS, Philip O., denial of French mistreat-
ment of prisoners, 549.
MILNE, (Gen.) G. F., report on " British
Operations at Saloniki," 163.
MILUKOFF, Paul N., part in Russian revo-
lution, 1 ; career, 6 ; text of official notice
of revolution, 10 ; on America's entrance
into war, 226; reply to Ambassador Fran-
cis's statement in recognition of new Govt.,
293 ; address in Duma containing warning
of revolution, 297 ; made Foreign Secre-
tary, 475; note to Allies giving contents of
Russian manifesto, 478; in conflict fol-
lowing manifesto, 480 ; resignation, 486.
MISSOURIAN (S. S.), 238.
MITCHEL, John Purroy, organization of
Comm. on National Defense, 233 ; procla-
mation regarding alien enemies, 235.
Mobilizing America's Resources, 3S7.
MOEWE (cruiser), victims and exploits, 298.
MOHAMMEDANS, in revolt in Arabia, 306;
protest of Ulema of Mecca, 307.
MONGE (submarine), 498.
MONGOLIA (S. S.), fires first American gun,
on submarine, 435.
MONTE Protegido (ship), 228.
MONTGELAS (Count), presentation of
protocal to Amb. Gerard, 63.
Month's Submarine Depredations, 440.
MORESTIN (Prof.), 513.
MORILLOT (Lieut.), 498.
MOTT, John R., appointed on mission to
Russia, 487.
MOUROMTZEFF, S. A., 474.
MOUSSY (Gen.), 312.
MUNITIONS of War, Carranza proposal to
neutrals of embargo, 69.
See also ENGLAND.
MURPHY (Consul General at Sofia), Ger~
man indignities to, 221.
MUSEUMS, see WAR Museums.
N
NAPOLEON I., 116.
NATIONAL Guard, see UNITED STATES
— Army.
NAUMANN, Joseph Friedrich, statement on
German casualties, 437.
NAVAL Operations, editorial comment on
Dardanelles report,. 40; fourth article by
Lieut. Gill, battle of Jutland, 87; details
of sinking of Luetzow, 94 ; report of Cromer
Commission on Dardanelles failure, 167 ;
fifth article by Lieut. Gill on " The Sub-
marine," 273; exploits of German raiders
Moewe and Seeadler, 298 ; replies to Mr.
Asquith and Col. Churchill to Dardanelles
report, 303 ; American destroyers in sub-
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
marine zone. 439; estimate of merchant
tonnage sunk by Germans, by Capt. Per-
sius. 44L' ; battle off Dover. 490; reports of
Admirals de Robeck and Wemyss on with-
drawal from Dardanelles.
See also SUBMARINE Warfare.
<</ Power in the Present War, 87, 27.°..
NAVAL Science, comparative strength of
navies by T. G. Frothingham, 95; article
by Lieut. Gill on " Naval Lessons of the
War," 490.
NEGRO Troops, 110.
NERVOUS System, effect of shell shock dis-
cussed by Dr. Houstpn, 340.
NESBIT. Wilbur D., poem, " Your Flag and
My Flag." 255.
NEUTRALITY, discussed by H. H. von
Mellenthin, 30.
See also ARMED Neutrality: UNITED
STATES— Armed Neutrality.
NEW YORK (City), impression of Wm.
Archer, 79; celebration of " France Day,"
393; visit of French War Mission, ::n7 ;
visit of British Mission, 400.
NEW YORK Times, effect of message to Ber-
lin on status of German ships, 04.
NEWSPAPERS, " Secret Journalism in Bel-
gium." 186; "Secret U-boat Orders to
German Newspapers." 279; preservation in
France as aid to history, 305.
NICARAGUA, harbors offered to U. S., 434.
NICHOLAS II., Czar of Russia, text of abdi-
cation, 8 ; prisoner at Tsarskoe Selo, 298 ;
personal wealth in lands, 437.
NICHOLAS Nicholaievitch (Grand Duke),
NIPPOLD. (Prof.) O., 524.
NIVELLE, (Gen.) Robert Georges, 414, 437.
NORDBERG. (Capt.) A., account of sinking
of Algonquin, 54.
NORRIS, George William, opposition to war
resolution in Congress, 210.
NORTHCLIFFE (Lord), on aerial fighting
on western front, 287.
NOSKE, Gustav, 302.
NUMISMATICS, "Curious German War
Medals." by G. Macdonald, 346.
NUNGESSER (Aviator), 330.
O'CONNELL, Daniel, 449.
O'CONNOR, T. P., "The Mad Dog of
Europe," 166.
OIL, extraction from sunflowers, 35<;.
O'LEARY, (Corporal) Michael, 507.
OLIVER, (Rear Admiral) James H., Governor
of Danish West Indies, 257.
Ordeals of the Wounded, 129.
ORGAN Pipes, used for munitions, 23.
OROZCO, Pascual, death, 71.
OUTERBRIDGE, E. H., 403.
PACIFISTS, 204.
PA££k ^>lter H keynote of speech at
celebration of U. S. entry into war. 406
Painful Charges of Brutality to Prisoners
• >-. i . •
PAINLEVE, Paul, reply to T. A. Edison on
science in war. 13,
^GoTt^H (Gen)' order for new oath to
PANAMA, proclamation on war following U
S. entry, 229. *
I 'A I 'EN (Capt.) Franz von. intrigues in
Mexico, 71 ; in House report on activities,
PARAGUAY, attitude toward U. S. break
with Germany,
PARANA (S. S.), 228.
PARIS, suffering in, 126.
PARKER, Alton B., 444.
Parliament Weloomes America's Action, 226.
PARNELL, Charles Stewart, work for in-
dependence of Ireland, 44i>.
PASHITCH (Premier), efforts for action
against Bulgaria in early part of war, 146.
PASSPORTS, counterfeiting by German
agents, 218.
PEACE, article on attitude of countries
toward league, and account of failure of
German Confederation, by J. T. Wheel-
wright, 116; attitude of French, by F. H.
Simonds, 126; German efforts to involve
Socialists in negotiations, 258, 295; Social-
ist aims in Germany denounced by Dr.
Roesicke. 426; interpellation of P. Scheid-
emann in Reichstag on annexation and
peace, 427; speech of Bethmann Hollweg
in Reichstag in reply to Dr. Roesicke and
P. Scheidemann, 428; views of G. Lede-
bour, 430; Lloyd George on American in-
fluence, 459; crisis in Russia over mani-
festo pledging word against separate
peace, 478.
PECANHA, Milo, 434.
PECURARU, (Lieut.) A., 74.
PENSIONS, schedule of British war grants,
PERRIS, G. H., description of fighting on the
Aisne, 415.
PERSIA, see CAMPAIGN in Asia Minor.
PERSIA (S. S'.), 104, 109.
PERSIUS, (Capt.) L., estimates of merchant
craft destroyed by Germans, 442.
PERU, attitude toward U. S. declaration of
war, 229.
PETAIN, (Gen.) Henri P., 437.
PETER, King of Serbia, valor, 145.
PETROVITCH, Worslav M., "Serbia and
the War's Beginning," 138.
PFLEGER (Dr.), 441.
PHILIPESCO (Lieut. Col.), 74.
PHILIPPI, Fritz, 523.
PIKE (Consul at St. Gall), German indigni-
ties to, 221.
Pitiful Tales from Ruined Homes, 541.
PITTSBURGH, Penn.. literary and historic
associations connected with, discussed by
Wm. Archer, 79.
PLUNKETT (Count), reference to men im-
prisoned for Irish cause, and declaration
^CSSM*" Nat'°n' at Slnn Fein
POEMS :-
Child, O. C. A., " Jerusalem," 118.
Dlt20Idge' E" " The Women of the War,"
Galsworthy John, "The Wind of Free-
dom," 239.
Johnson, Robert Underwood, " To the
First Gun," 352.
NeFiag7255Ur D" " Y°Ur Fla|r and My
Vai?«?Se*™Fe?J?; Jl Liber*y Enlighten-
ing the World," 546.
Woodberry, George E., "A Song of Sun-
POS£,A w5-'! (PreS) Raymond- cablegram to
Ton's rlply°n223. ^ meSSagre : Pres' Wil"
POLAND atrocities In, 127; Independence
granted by Russia; surrender of seats of
deputies in Duma, 295; proclamation of
Russian provisional Govt, on independent
Vol. 6— Part One
INDEX AND TABLE OF CONTENTS
Politico-Military Events of the Month, 30.
POLYZOIDES, Adamantios Th., " The Suf-
ferings of Neutral Greece," 149.
PORTO Rico, granted citizenship, 42.
PORTUGAL, soldiers serving in France and
Africa, reasons for declaring war, 436.
PRAVOSLAVNY Church, 289.
PRINCE, Norman, 470.
PRINCESS Melita (S. S.), contention between
England and Holland over arming, 242.
PRISONERS of War, taken by Germans on
Aisne, 252 ; taken by British at Arras, 266 ;
on Vimy Ridge, 270; taken by British in
Rheims offensive, 272 ; taken in Austro-
Italian campaign, 309; by British in
Aisne offensive, 414; by French in Aisne
drive, 415 ; at Vimy Ridge, 418 ; captured
by Germans during May, 426 ; Germans
sunk on British hospital ships, 443 ; charges
of brutality of German women to Brit-
ish, 521 ; Gen. Stein on reprisals for treat-
ment of Germans in England and France,
547 ; French official reply, 548 ; statement
of German news agency ; denial of Gen.
von Stein's charges by P. O. Mills, 549;
numbers and employment in belligerent
countries, 550.
Progress of the War, 34, 242, 431.
PRUSSIANISM, menace discussed by Lloyd
George, 456; excerpts from book by Dr.
Bang, " Hurrah and Hallelujah," 522.
R
RAILROAD Commission to Russia, 487.
RAILROADS, U. S., board to direct war op-
erations, 234.
RANKIN, Jeannette, vote on war resolution,
212 ; greeted by R. Viviani and Admiral
Chocheprat, 396.
RASPUTIN, Gregory, career and death, 288.
RAWLINSON, (Gen. Sir) Henry Seymour,
311.
RED Cross, see RELIEF work.
REDMOND, John, letter of Lloyd George
proposing settlement of Irish question,
445.
REED, James A., 210.
REINACH, Joseph, " A Historian's Answer,"
76.
REINSECH, Paul, 37.
RELIEF Work, " Ordeals of the Wounded "
described by medical experts, 129 ; article
on work of Belgian Relief Commission,
132 ; exemption of relief ships from block-
ade, 134 ; safe conducts of ships canceled
by Germany, 135 ; medical service at Sa-
loniki commended by Gen. Milne, 166 ; re-
port in House on sinking of Belgian re-
lief ships, 220; transfer of Belgian Com-
mission to Rotterdam, 237 ; treatment of
soldiers for shell shock, described by Dr.
Houston, 340; activities of German wom-
en, 353 ; concert at Metropolitan Opera
for funds presented to Marshal Joffre,
399 ; first Red Cross unit after war declar-
ation to officiallv carry Amer. flag, 439 ;
hospital ships sunk by submarines, 442 ;
wounded treated in France instead of
transported, 443 ; article by J. E. Charles
on Val-de-Grace Museum, 512; cruelty of
German Red Cross women to British pris-
oners, 521 ; Comite National and Commis-
sion for Relief in Belgium, 543.
RELIGION, devotions in war zone, 131; new
freedom in Russia, 257.
RENNENKAMPF (Gen.), 85.
REPRISALS, see AERONAUTICS; PRIS-
ONERS of War.
REVOLUTIONARY War (U. S.), armed neu-
trality of foreign powers; Prussian atti-
tude in, 31.
Vol. 6 — Part One
REZANOFF, (Col.) A. S., 127.
RHEIMS, evacuation and damage to Cathe-
dral, 419.
RIBOT, Alexandre, on Pres. Wilson's war
message, 223.
RICE (Capt), 435.
RICHEPIN, Jean, recites " Kiss of the
Flags," 455.
RIDPATH, (Dr.) John Clark, quoted, 521.
RIES, Irving Guy, 218.
RINTELEN, (Capt.) Franz von, intrigues in
Mexico, 70; House report on activities,
219.
ROBECK, (Vice Admiral Sir) John M. de,
Dardanelles report, 508.
ROBINSON, (Lieut.) Leete, battle with Zep-
pelin, 335.
ROCH, Walter F., on Dardanelles failure.
170.
ROCKEFELLER, John D. Jr., 3SS.
ROCKINGHAM (S. S.), loss, 442.
ROCKWELL, Paul, on Americans in For-
eign Legion, 471.
ROCKY Mountain Club, money for clubhouse
turned over to relief work, 134.
ROCLE, Marius, 471.
RODE (Capt.), 219.
RODZIANKO, Michael V., and Russian rev-
olution, 5; on America's entrance into
war, 226 ; address in Duma on peace, 481.
ROEDER, Gustav C, 218.
ROEDERN, (Count) von, speech on submit-
ting war budget, 112.
ROESICKE (Dr.), on Socialist aims for
peace, in Reichstag, 426; reply by Beth-
mann Hollweg, 428.
ROMAN Catholic Church, devotions of sol-
diers at the front, 131 ; claimed by Ulstei
Unionists to be pro-German, 453.
ROON, (Count) von, 301.
ROOSEVELT, Franklin D.. organization of
reserve auxiliary fleet, 60.
ROOSEVELT, Theodore, on home rule in
Ireland, 444.
ROOT, Elihu, heads mission to Russia, 487.
ROSENWALD, Julius, 387.
ROUBAIX, German rule in, described by J.
P. Whitaker, 525.
ROUX (Dr.), 75.
RUMANIA, German plot to infect horses and
cattle ; introduction of explosives by Ger-
mans, 72 ; conditions under German occu-
pancy, 261.
RUMP, (Pastor) J., 524.
RUPEL, surrender of fort, 150.
RUROEDE, Carl, 218.
RUSSIA :—
American Commission, 487.
Army, breakdown of discipline, fraternity
with German soldiers, 420; order of
Gen. Palitzine for new oath, 489.
See also Revolution, below
Cabinet of Provisional Govt., members.
6; 258; reorganization, oath of office;
financial program, 294.
Constitutional Democratic Party, 475.
Crown Demesne, 436.
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Duma, sessions, 258 ; surrender of seats
by Tolish Deputies, _".'">: distinction be-
tween Socialist Paries in. 488; his-
torical sketch of attitude of sessions
toward reform, 47.'!.
Finances, new program of Tereshchenko,
Government, manifesto on war policies
and crisis following, 478.
See also Revolution, below
Nationalities, 438.
Navy, strength, 101.
Revolution 1017, account of overthrow of
Romanoffs and establishment of new
Govt., 1 ; views of H. H. von Mellen-
thin on stand of army, 33 ; reference in
Pres. Wilson's war message to Con-
gress, 196 : release of political prison-
ers; difficulties of new Govt., 258;
events of first month of freedom, 202;
address of P. Milukoff presaging out-
break, 207 ; history of development of
movement since 1005, by A. J. Sack,
473; conflict between Provisional Govt,
and Workmen's Council over war
policy note to Allies. 47N.
United States. Relatione with, see under
UNITED STATES.
Russia's First Month of Freedom, 202.
RUSTEM Bey. 437.
s
SACK. A. J.. "Factors in the Russian Revo-
lution," 473.
ST. PAUL'S Cathedral, London, services
upon entry of U. S. into war, 454.
SALVADOR, offer of harbors to U. S., 434.
SAMARGIEFF (Military Attache), 73.
BAMSONOV (Gen.), 85.
SAMUEL, Herbert L., 441.
SAX HER, Albert O., 218.
BARRAIL, (Gen.) Maurice P. E., 83, 158.
SCHAICK (Vice Consul General). 210.
SCHEELE, (Dr.) Walter, 210.
SCHEIDEMANN, Philipp, efforts to involve
in peace negotiations, 25S ; on Prussian-
ism, 301; interpellation in Reichstag on
annexation and peace, 427; reply by Beth-
mann Hollweg, 428.
SCHLESWTG-Holstein Question, article by J.
T. Wheelwright, 117.
SrilLUESSELBURG. declaration of inde-
pendent republic by garrison, 438.
SCHOLTZ, Walter, 210.
SCHWAB, Charles M., 387.
SCIENCE, part played in war, 13.
Scientific Discoveries Due to the War, 13.
SCOTT, Frank A., 234.
SCOTT, (Maj. Gen.) Hugh, member of Amer-
ican mission to Russia, 4s7.
SEA Power, Lord Fisher on use, 170.
Secret Journalism in Belgium, 13<;.
Secret U-Boat Orders to German News-
papers, 27! t.
SEEADLER (raider), exploits, 300.
SEEGER, Alan, death, 471.
SERBIA, diplomatic events leading up to
war, discussed by W. M. Petrovitch. 138;
shortage of munitions at outbreak of war,
141.
See also CAMPAIGN in Europe, Balkan
State*.
Vol. 0— l'art One
Serbia and the War's Beginning, 138.
Seven Days' Fighting at Arras, 267.
SEWARD (S. S.), 230.
SHARP, William Graves, summary of re-
port on German vandalism in France,
321 ; at celebration of entry of U. S. into
War, 455.
SHAW, (Dr.) Anna Howard, at head of Wo-
men's Committee for war work, 388.
SHELL Shock, effect on nervous system of
soldiers discussed by Dr. Houston, 340.
SHIPPING, plan to build wooden fleet un-
der direction of Gen. Goethals, 234 ; con-
tracts awarded by Shipping Board, fund
provided by Congress, 437.
See also ARMED Merchant Ships; UNIT-
ED STATES— Armed Neutrality ; SUB-
MARINE Warfare.
Ships Armed by Presidential Proclamation,
55.
SIBERIA, release of prisoners, 0, 258, 20G.
SIMONDS, Frank H., "At the Western
Fighting Fronts," 110.
SIMS, (Rear Admiral) William S., in com-
mand of Amer. destroyers in war zone,
430.
Sinking of the Laconia and Algonquin, 53.
SIVERS (Gen.), 207.
SKAGERRAK, see JUTLAND.
SMITH-Dorrien, (Gen. Sir) Horace, 311.
SMOOT, Walter S., " Germany's Form of
Government," 516.
SMUTS, (Gen.) Jan Christian, 41.
SOARES (Senor), 436.
SOCIALISTS, efforts of Germans to involve
in Russian peace negotiations, 25,S, 205 ;
agitation in Germany for reform, 301 ;
aims for peace denounced in Reichstag by
Dr. Roesicke, 426 ; interpellation in Reichs-
tag of P. Scheidemann on attitude to-
ward annexation, 427 ; reply by Bethmann
Hollweg to Dr. Roesicke and P. Scheide-
mann, 428; allusion to German republic
by G. Ledebour in speech for peace, 430;
distinction between parties in Duma, 43(>;
in Russian revolution, 473; tribute by
Milukoff; comparison cf socialism in U.
S. and Russia, 476; Russian appeal to
German and Austrian Socialists, 485; rise
of Social-Democratic Party in Germany,
517.
SOLLIER (Dr.), treatment for shell shock,
342.
Song of Sunrise, 305.
SOUTH America, see LATIN America.
SPAHN, (Dr.) Peter, 430.
SPIES, German agents sent to England from
the U. S., 218.
SPIRIDONOVA, Marie, released from Siberia,
'2\)l>.
STAHL, Gustav, 220.
STANKEVICH (M.), criticism of note of
Russian Govt, on war aims, 470.
STEAMSHIP, bomb plots, 210.
STEIN, (Gen.) von, on treatment of war
prisoners in France and England and on
German reprisals, 547.
STEVENS, John F., heads railway mission
to Russia, 487.
STIENON, Charles, " Zeppelin Raids and
Their Effect on England," 333.
INDEX AND TABLE OF CONTENTS
STOCKHOLM, Socialist plans for peace con-
gress, 295.
STONE, Edward Mandell, 471.
STONE, William Joel, 51.
STORSTAD (S. S.), 220.
Story of Saloniki, 155.
STRESEMANN, (Dr.) Gustav, on Amer.
declaration of war, 206.
STRIKES, German propaganda in U. S.,
219, 220; in Germany caused by food
shortage, 438.
SUBMARINE Warfare, German purpose dis-
cussed by H. H. von Mellenthin, 31 ; com-
ment on failure, 38; effect on U. S. trade,
42 ; address of Pres. Wilson asking for
power to arm ships, 47 ; sinking of Laconia
and Algonquin, 53 ; effects of intensified
activity, 57 ; text of Amer. note to Austria-
Hungary asking stand on German block-
ade, 104 ; text of reply, 105 ; note of British
Admiralty on torpedoing of S. S. West-
minster, 147; Bethmann Hollweg's justi-
fication in light of British blockade, 205 ;
Lord R. Cecil's reply, 200; report of house
committee on Foreign Affairs, enumer-
ating German acts which justified war
resolution, 214; relief ships sunk; ves-
sels sunk during March and April, 238 ;
controversy of Holland and Germany,
240; violations of Treaty of 1799 charged
by Sec. Lansing in rejecting protocol,
254 ; article by Lieut. Gill on submarine
as a naval weapon, 273; "Secret U-Boat
Orders to German Newspapers," 279;
discussed by A. J. Balfour at Chamber
of Commerce dinner, 404 ; Bethmann
Hollweg on success of, 429 ; first American
gun fired from S. S. Mongolia, 435; Amer-,
ican destroyers operating in zone, 439 ;
serious effect on merchant shipping, 440;
sinking of British hospital ships, 442.
See also UNITED STATES-Armed Neu-
trality; UNITED STATES— War with
Germany.
Submarine Torpedo, What It Is and How
It Works, 280.
SUBMARINES, value in war discussed by
Lieut. Gill, 495 ; account of sinking, 496.
Sufferings of Neutral Greece, 148.
SULEIMAN I., King of the Hedjaz, 30G.
SUNFLOWER, cultivation in Germany and
Russia for oil, 356.
SURGERY, article by J. E. Charles on Val-
de-Grace Museum, 512.
SWEENEY, Charles, 471.
SYKES, (Sir) Percy, Lord Curzon on activi-
ties in Persia, 46.
TALMAN (M.), 296.
TARNOWSKT von Tarnow (Count), status
on arrival in Washington, 104; recalled,
237.
TAUSCHER, (Capt.) Hans, 219.
TCHEIDSE (M.)f on note of Russian Govt,
on war aims, 479.
TERAUCHI, (Count) Seiki, statement on
proposed German-Mexioan-Japanese alli-
ance, 68.
TERESCHTENKO (M.), financial program,
294; made Foreign Secretary, career, 486.
Terrible Realities of War, 338.
THOMAS, (Rear Admiral) Evan, 37.
To the First Gun, 352.
Vol. 6— Pari One
TOLSTOY, (Count) Leo, effect of death on
revolutionary movement, 474.
TORPEDO, description of type used by sub-
marines, 280.
Torpedoing of the Westminster, 117.
TREATY of 1799, 63, 253.
TRENCH Raiding, impression of Sir D.
Haig system by German soldier, 529.
TROUBETZKOY, (Prince) Eugene, 476.
TSCHIRSCHKY, Herr von, 140.
TSING-TAO, surrender, 310.
TSUOMILLEN (Gen.), 297.
TUBANTIA (S. S.), 22S.
TURKEY, see ARABIA ; CAMPAIGN in Asia
Minor, UNITED STATES— Turkey.
TZERETELLI (Prince), career, 477.
u
Under German Rule in France and Belgium,
525.
UNITED STATES:—
Arabia, Relations with, protest of new
kingdom against atrocities, 306.
Armed Neutrality, text of Pres. Wilson's
message on arming merchant ships, 47 ;
debate in Congress, 49; address of
Pres. Wilson on Senate filibuster, 51 ;
Presidential proclamation on arming of
ships; legal basis, 55; "Crux of the
Situation," 56.
Army, defense measures, 60; mobilization
of National Guard for war, 233 ; prog-
ress of draft bill, 25(>; enlistments,
257 ; proclamation of Pres. Wilson on
conscription law, including text of law,
381; operation of draft law and for-
mation of military forces, 3X5; locations
of officers' training camps, 386 ; forma-
tion of regiments of engineers for
service in France, 440.
Austria-Hungary, Relations with, text of
Amer. note on submarine blockade and
reply, 104 ; . break in diplomatic rela-
tions ; official note, 237.
Congress, armed ship debate, 49; Senate
filibuster, 50; Senate manifesto; Pres.
Wilson's address on legislation un-
finished through filibuster, 51 ; extra
session called, 55 ; organization of (>5th
Congress and action on war with Ger-
many, 207-222 ; visit of R. Viviani,
Marshal Joffre, and Amb. Jusserand,
394; visit of British Mission, 399;
House sends cable on Irish question
to British Govt., 444.
Consular Officers, German indignities to,
221.
England, Relations with, plea for closer
ties, by Wm. Archer, 78.
See also ALLIES' Commission.
Finances, Pres. Wilson's suggestions for
meeting cost of war, 194 ; war loan bill
passed by Congress, 256 ; relation of
"Liberty" Loan" to national income,
262; loans to Allies; "Liberty Loan"
issue, 440.
Foreign Population, tables from Geo-
graphic Magazine, showing distribu-
tion by States and races, 262.
Foreign Trade, from outbreak of war, 39;
effect of submarines, 42.
Germany, Relations with, see War with
Germany, below.
Navy, measures taken by Pres. Wilson for
speeding up program ; appropriation
passed, 58 ; contracts placed and pro-
gram ; airships ordered, 59 ; volunteer
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
reserve auxiliary fleet, 60 ; strength
compared with that of other countries
bv T. G. Frothingham, 95; mobiliza-
tion for war, 231 ; flotilla of destroyers
under Rear Admiral Sims operating in
submarine zone, 439; organization and
strength discussed by Lieut. Gill, 490.
Russia. Relations with, probability of new
commercial treaty ; recognition of new
Govt., 293; purpose and members of
American Mission ; members of Rail-
road Commission to, 487.
Shipping Board, task of Gen. Goethals,
234.
Turkey, Relations with, break in diplo-
matic relations, 437.
War with Germany, address by Bethmann
Hollweg in Reichstag on break in dip-
lomatic relations, 61; difficulties of
Amb. Gerard leaving Berlin, 62; text
of Pres. Wilson's message calling for
declaration, 191 ; text of declaration of
war; Pres. Wilson's formal announce-
ment and proclamations, 198; narra-
tive of events before and after declara-
tion of war; sentiment of the coun-
try; pacifists, &c, 203; speeches of
Bethmann Hollweg and German party
leaders, 205; Lord R. Cecil's reply to
Bethmann Hollweg, 206; Congressional
action, 207-222 ; reception in Europe of
Pres. Wilson's message for war, 222 ;
resolutions and speeches in British
Parliament indorsing action, 226; text
of German protocol on rights of Ger-
mans in America, 253; text of Ameri-
can rejection, 254; ceremonies and ad-
dresres in England and France cel-
ebrating entry of U. S., 454; address
of Lloyd George at American Club,
456; speeches of Lords Curzon and
Crewe, and H. H. Asquith on resolu-
tions in Parliament on entry into war,
460; editorial in London Telegraph,
464; praise by P. Deschanel, 466; by
A. Dubost; editorial in Le Temps, 467;
sentiments of M. Gauvain and G.
Herve, 468; comments of press in Ger-
many, 468.
United States Declares War, 203.
VACUUM (oil tanker), loss, 442.
VAL-DE-GRACE Museum, 512.
VALDEZ. (Dr.) Ramon, proclamation on
war, 229.
VAN DYKE, Henry, poem •■ Liberty En-
lightening the World," 546.
VANCEBORO Bridge, 219.
VANDALISM, of Germans in France, 246,
251, 317-326, 534-543.
VARENNE, Alexandre, 305.
VENIZELOS, Eleutherios, account of leader-
ship of war party, by A. T. Polyzoides,
148; statement of King Constantine on,
153; Provisional Govt., 157.
VERNOIS, (Count) von Verdy du, 230.
VERYKEN, (Mme.) Marcelle, 115.
VIGILANCIA (S. S.), 58.
VINAVER, see WINAWER.
VIRGIN Islands, see DANISH West Indies.
VIRUBOVA (Mme.), 290.
Visit of Noted Diplomats, 389.
VIVIANI, Rene, career, 256; visit to U. S.
as head of French War Commission,
statements, speeches, &c, 389-405.
Vol. 6— Part- One
VORWERK (Pastor), 522.
VOYTINSKY (M.), 480.
w
WALKER. J. Bernard, 441.
War Message, 191.
WAR Museums, British plans for, 262 ; article
by J. E. Charles on Val-de-Grace, 512.
War Problems of Mothers, 349.
War Seen from Two Angles, 27.
War's Effects on Woman's Status, 358.
WARSHIPS', types discussed by Lieut. Gill,
491.
WARWICK (Countess of), " The War Prob-
lems of Mothers," 349.
WASHINGTON, George, visit of Anglo-
French War Commission to tomb ; ad-
dresses of Viviani, Balfour, and Joffre,
393 ; view of present situation discussed
in House by Vice Premier Viviani, 396.
WEDELL, Hans von, 218.
WELLAND Canal Plot, 219.
WEMYSS, (Vice Admiral Sir) Rosslyn E.,
Dardanelles report, 508.
WESTARP, (Count) von, 206.
WESTMINSTER (S. S.), 147.
WHEAT, acreage in France, 25; world short-
age, 260.
See also FOODSTUFFS.
WHEELER, (Dr.) David D., 470.
WHEELWRIGHT, John T, " German Peace
League That Failed," 110.
WHITAKER, J. P., " Under German Rule
in France and Belgium," 525.
WHITEHEAD, (Surgeon Gen.) H. R., 166.
WHITLOCK, Brand, withdrawal from Bel-
gium, 237 ; report on Belgian deportations,
543.
WHITMAN, (Gov.) Charles Seymour, official
designation of France Day, 393.
WILLARD, Daniel, 234.
WILLIAM II., Emperor of Germany, charac-
ter sketch, 14; supreme direction of mili-
arty and naval affairs ; power over legis-
lation, 259 ; message to Bethmann Hollweg
on reforms, 302 ; message to Crown Prince
on British offensive, 426; opposition to
reform and theory of Divine right ; speech
at Potsdam in 1891, 520.
WILLIAM (Crown Prince of Germany), 83,
426.
WILLIAMS, John Sharp, on war resolution
in Congress, reply to La Follette, 211.
WILLIAMS, Wythe, *' An Eyewitness in
Devastated France," 323.
WILSON, (Sir) Arthur, 168.
WILSON, (Pres.) Woodrow, extract from
inaugural address, 36; text of message to
Congress ,pn arming merchant ships, 47;
address to country on failure of Senate to
obtain vote on armed-ship measure, 51 ;
calls extra session of Congress ; proclama-
tion announcing arming of ships, 55; re-
port to the Senate on plot for German-
Mexican-Japanese alliance, 66; on league
to enforce peace, 116 ; message to Congress
calling for declaration of state of war
with Germany, 191 ; announcement of
state of war and proclamation to the
INDEX AND TABLE OF CONTENTS
people, 198; economies proclamation, 200;
reception in Europe of war message, con-
gratulations of heads of Govts. , 222 ; reply
to Pres. Poincare, 223 ; reply to King
George, 225 ; proclamation of conscription
law, 381 ; conference with A. J. Balfour,
391 ; war message read in N. Y. schools,
393 ; visit to gallery and floor of House,
399; Dr. Roesicke on attitude toward
Hohenzollerns, 426 ; tribute by A. Miller-
and, 455 ; Lord Crewe on reason for
patience with Germany, 462 ; view of H.
H. Asquith on patience, 463; editorial in
London Telegraph on message calling for
war, 464 ; editorial in Le Temps on action,
467 ; criticised by press in Germany ;
criticism by Dr. Kaempf , 469 ; demonstra-
tion in Warsaw over address to Senate,
489.
WINAWER (M.), appointed to Russian Sen-
ate and Supreme Court, 296.
Wind of Freedom, 239.
WINNIG, August, " War's Effects on Wom-
an's Status, 358.
WIRELESS Telegraphy, seizure of stations
by Govt., 232.
WOLFF, Theodor, on German-Mexican al-
liance, 67.
WOLPERT (Capt.), 219.
WOMAN Suffrage, promised to Russian
women by Prince Lvoff, 206.
WOMEN, battle between feminism and
militarism, discussed by Countess of War-
wick, 349 ; terms of employment in British
war service, 351; "German Women as
War Workers," 353; comment by editor
on numbers employed in belligerent coun-
tries; article by A. Winnig on "War's
Effects on Woman's Status," 358; charges
of brutality of Germans to British prison-
ers, 521.
Women of the War. 20.
WOOD, Henry, on evacuation of Rheims,
419.
WOODBERRT, George E., poem, " A Song
of Sunrise," 305.
WOUNDED, see RELIEF Work.
WOUNDS, value of helmets and need of other
protection against, 472.
Writing War History in France, 304.
WUNNENBERG, Charles. 218.
TARROWDALE (S. S.), detention of prison-
ers, 42 ; report of case in Congress, 221 ;
German official statement on capture ;
accounts by Lieut. Badewitz and others,
299.
YEROFEIFF (Gen.), 297.
YOSHIHITO (Emperor of Japan), greeting
to Pres. Wilson, 69.
Your Flag and My Flag, 255.
ZASSULITCH, Vera, 258.
ZEPPELIN, (Count) Ferdinand von, career
and death, 41.
ZEPPELIN Raids, see AERONAUTICS.
ZIMMERMANN, (Dr.) Alfred, proposal for
German-Mexican-Japanese alliance, 65 ;
report of plot, in Congress, 222 ; defense
of plot, 236 ; on sinking of Dutch ships,
241.
ZWIEDINEK, (Baron) Erich, 237.
Portraits
BALFOUR, Arthur J., 204, 394.
BARRY, (Maj. Gen.) Thomas H., 205.
BELL, (Maj. Gen.) J. Franklin, 205.
BRAZ, (Dr.) Wenceslau, 2S4.
BRIDGES, (Maj. Gen.) G. T. M., 204.
CECILIE, Crown Princess of Germany, 353.
COUNCIL of National Defense, 26S.
EDWARDS, (Brig. Gen.) Clarence R., 205.
FLETCHER, Henry P., 46.
FOCH, (Gen.) Ferdinand, 81.
FRENCH, (Marshal Sir) John, 311.
GUYNEMER, (Lieut.) George, 328.
HAMILTON, (Sir) Ian, 502.
HINDENBURG, (Gen.) Paul von, 85.
HOOVER, Herbert C, 78.
JOFFRE, (Marshal) Joseph, 204,
JUSSERAND, Jules, 395.
LA FOLLETTE, Robert M., 15.
LANSING, (Sec.) Robert, 394.
LIGGETT, (Maj. Gen.) Hunter, 205.
LOUISE, Grand Duchess of Baden, 355.
LVOFF, (Prince) Georges E., 332.*
Vol. 6— Part One
McADOO, William Gibbs, 474.
MAUDE, (Gen.) F. S., 79.
MENOCAL, Mario G., 284.
MILUKOFF, Paul, 333.
MULLER, (Dr.) Lauro, 284.
PAGE, Walter Hines, 395.
PERSHING, (Maj. Gen.) John J., 47.
PETAIN, (Gen.) Henri P., 426.
PETROVITCH, Woislav M., 138.
RASPUTIN, Gregory, 506.
RITTER, (Dr.) Paul, 30.
ROBECK, (Admiral Sir) John M. de, 501.
RODZIANKO, Michael V., 411.
ROOT, Elihu, 410.
SHARP, William G., 395.
SIMONDS, Frank H., 119.
SPRING-RICE, (Sir) Cecil, 395.
STONE, William J., 15..
TARNOWSKI von Tarnow, Count, 31.
VALDES, Ramon M., 284.
VIVIANI, Rene, 204,
WARWICK, Countess of, 349.
WILLIAM II., Emperor of Germany, 14.
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Illustrations
AIRSHIPS for Hunting U-Boats. 886.
AMERICAN Luncheon Club Banquet Cele-
brating Entrance Into War, 47."i.
AVIATION Camp at Saloniki. 14J.
BAPAUMB Ruins. 816.
BATTLESHIP Plans, 05-103.
CANADIAN Charge at Vimy Ridge, 4.~s.
COUCY-le-Chateau, Before Invasion. .".l'L' ;
After German Retreat, B8S.
CZAR'S Portrait Torn from Duma, 667.
DANISH West Indies, Purchase. 286; Taking
Possession. 2.'!7.
IKKXCH Naval Gun, 89.
FRENCH *' Tank M Used in Attack on St.
Quentin, 889.
GERMAN Retreat. Destruction of Tow is,
::n;-::i7.
GERMAN War Medals, 347-34*.
GERMAN Women in Gun Factory, 357
ITALIAN Mine Layer, 05.
JERUSALEM, 143.
'JUTLAND Battle (diagram), 88.
LACONIA (S. S.), Sinking. 14.
MINES for Protection of New York, 126.
NEW YORK Naval Militia on Way to Ser-
vice, 220.
NOYON Ruins, 317.
PERONNE Ruins, 316.
RASPUTIN and Admirers, 506.
RHEIMS, the Deserted City, 04.
ROYE, Destruction of Church, 427.
ST. LOUIS, Leaving Port Armed, 221.
SUBMARINE TORPEDO (diagrams), 280.
UNDERGROUND Quarters of a German Of-
ficer, 127.
UNITED STATES Government Loan to Al-
lies, 474.
WEST POINT Troops Reviewed by Marshal
Joffre, 459.
AISNE Front, 272.
ASIA Minor Campaign, 4.".
BALKAN Campaign, Macedonia, 15"
MONA8TIR Region, 161
Maps
SALONIKI, Inner Defenses, 159.
SERBIA, 144.
WESTERN Campaign, 28, 247, 423.
YPRES Battle, 313.
Cartoons
CARTOONS-100, 171-199, 361-380, 533, 551-570.
Vol. ft— Part One
~l/\ Vi.viS
m&aat^ ~
£b&}&*F<*J&
<g3g5Sfe..:.- -
caasW^Jd
RUSSIA IN REVOLUTION
Abdication of Czar and Rise of a Republic in
the Stronghold of Autocracy
RUSSIA experienced during the four
days of March 8-11, 1917, the
most dramatic and effective po-
litical upheaval in recorded his-
tory. The Romanoff dynasty, which had
ruled the nation for more than 300 years,
was completely overthrown, as in the
twinkling of an eye. The most absolute
autocracy in the civilized world crumbled
and fell almost without a struggle, and
was replaced by a modern democratic
Government without serious loss of life.
The new regime set up by the people is
pledged to extremely advanced ideas of
liberalism and democracy, including uni-
versal suffrage.
The news of the revolution came upon
the world outside of Russia with startling
suddenness on Friday, March 16. There
were intimations two days earlier that
some political crisis was at hand, but
they were so meagre and fragmentary
that they gave no clue to the stupendous
nature of the change in progress. It was
on March 16 that the Provisional Gov-
ernment issued its Appeal to the People,
and this act may be accepted* as the be-
ginning of the established career of the
new regime.
For weeks all the news from Russia
had indicated a state of unrest, dissatis-
faction and imminent crisis. There were
evidences of gross mismanagement in the
distribution of supplies, the transport
system was faulty, the munitions supply
irregular, the hospital service subject to
constant criticism. Finally food in the
cities became so short that prices rapidly
mounted to prohibitive figures, and the
poorer classes were on the verge of star-
vation. Previous to these conditions
there was a general feeling, which
gained strength every day, that a certain
clique or camarilla of the nobility and
ruling classes was traitorous and pro-
German, intriguing to have Russia de-
sert the Allies and effect a separate
peace. In November, 1916, Professor
Paul N. Milukoff, the present Minister
of Foreign Affairs, and one of the lead-
ers of the revolution, delivered a speech
in the Duma in which he denounced the
Prime Minister, Stiirmer, as a pro-Ger-
man and a traitor to Russia, and inti-
mating that the Premier had betrayed
his country for German gold. This
speech, though its publication was for-
bidden in Russia, leaked out and pro-
duced a profound sensation. The Tre-
poff-Protopopoff Ministry, which suc-
ceeded, was at first supposed to be lib-
eral, but it soon became even more re-
actionary than its predecessor, and hints
were freely circulated that it was cor-
rupted by Germany and intended to be-
tray the country. In fact, charges were
openly made in the Duma early in March
that the failure of the army adminis-
tration was intended to impede the
progress of the war, and that the short-
age of food in the great cities was a
deliberate plot of the Government to in-
flame the masses so that they would
demand a separate peace.
This was the critical situation of af-
fairs on March 8, when a group of
working men in Petrograd decided on a
general strike and began manifestations
of discontent against the shortage of
food.
For weeks there had been protests and
threats of a general strike, but it was the
opinion of the liberal leaders in the Duma
that, despite the wretched state of af-
fairs, an open revolution was impossible,
as the country realized that a revolution
would seriously interrupt the work of the
war and would be playing into the hands
of those who had this very end in view.
Open letters were printed in the Petro-
grad newspapers from popular Duma
leaders, and proclamations were posted
in the streets, urgently begging the pop-
ulation not to create demonstrations or
cause disorders which might lead to in-
terruption of the manufacture of muni-
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
tions or paralyze the industrial activity
of the city.
People at Last Convinced
Manifestations already arranged for
March 6, including a general strike and
the marching to the Duma of a deputa-
tion of workingmen, were in this way
averted. But the moment was only post-
poned. The people, who were convinced
that they were being exploited by a hos-
tile clique, received what they regarded
as the last proof of the inefficiency and
corruption of their own Government
when they were apprised that the already
insufficient supply of food had become
still more meagre and that for some days
it would be necessary to go without bread
altogether.
Patient and long suffering by nature,
this was too much for the population of
Petrograd, who knew that the interior of
Russia was stored with immense quan-
tities of grain and all kinds of provis-
ions, and, without other motive at first
than to voice a demand for bread, the
people paraded the streets, and this dem-
onstration was the spark that started the
conflagration.
The unrest at first expressed itself in
an unusually mild manner, without ex-
citement and with no indication of revo-
lutionary intent, but merely as an in-
sistent demand for a vigorous solution of
the food problem.
The Duma meanwhile was actively de-
bating the question, and the majority
received with ill-concealed irritation the
statements and explanations of the Min-
ister of Agriculture.
On the 10th General Chavaloff, com-
mander of the Petrograd district, issued
a proclamation forbidding all assemblies
in the streets and warning citizens that
the troops had been authorized to use
their arms or any means to preserve or-
der in the capital. On the 11th the Czar
put the match to the powder train by
issuing two ukases suspending the sit-
tings of the Russian Duma and Coun-
cil of the Empire. This was the final
stroke, and the revolution soon came
full grown into being.
Michael V. Rodzianko, President of the
Duma, a man of strong force and firm
conviction, realized that a serious blun-
der had been committed, and telegraphed
the Czar that the hour had struck. The
Duma unanimously decided that it would
not dissolve. The Imperial Council,
realizing the gravity of the situation,
added its appeal that the Emperor should
hearken to the demands of the people.
The Emperor, who was absent from
Petrograd, hastily started back to the
capital, but it was too late.
How the Flood Broke
The story of the upheaval as related
by accredited correspondents is as fol-
lows:
The most phenomenal feature of the
revolution was the swift and orderly
transition whereby the control of the
city passed from the regime of the old
Government into the hands of its op-
ponents.
The visible signs of revolution began
on Thursday, March 8. Strikes were de-
clared in several big munitions factories
as a protest against the shortage of
bread. Men and women gathered and
marched through the streets, most of
them in an orderly fashion. A few
bread shops were broken into in that
section of the city beyond the Neva, and
several minor clashes between strikers
and police occurred.
Squads of mounted troops appeared,
but during Thursday and Friday the ut-
most friendliness seemed to exist between
the troops and the people.
This early period of the uprising bore
the character of a mock revolution,
staged for an immense audience. Cos-
sacks, charging down the street, did so
in a half-hearted fashion, plainly with-
out malice or intent to harm the crowds,
which they playfully dispersed. The
troops exchanged good-natured raillery
with the working men and women, and as
they rode were cheered by the populace.
Long lines of soldiers stationed in dra-
matic attitudes across the Nevsky Pros-
pect, with their guns pointed at an imagi-
nary foe, appeared to be taking part in a
realistic tableau. Machine guns, firing
rounds of blank cartridges, seemed only
to add another realistic touch to a tre-
mendous theatric production which was
using the whole city as a stage.
RUSSIA IN REVOLUTION
On Saturday, however, apparently
without provocation, the troops were
ordered to fire on people marching in
Nevsky Prospect. The troops refused to
fire, and the police, replacing them, fired
rifles and machine guns.
Then came a clash between troops and
police, which continued in desultory fash-
ion throughout Saturday night and Sun-
day. The Nevsky Prospect was cleared
of traffic by the police and notices were
posted by the commander of the Petro-
grad military district warning the people
that any attempt to congregate would be
met by force.
Troops Join the Revolt
Until Sunday evening, however, there
was no intimation that the affair would
grow to the proportions of a revolution.
The first serious outbreak came at 1
o'clock, when the men of the Volynski
Regiment shot their officers and re-
volted when they received an order to
fire upon striking workingmen in one
of the factory districts.
Another regiment detailed against the
mutineers also joined the revolt. The
news spread rapidly to the other bar-
racks and four more regiments went
over. Some of the revolting troops
marched to the St. Peter and St. Paul
Fortress on the left bank of the Neva,
and after a brief skirmish with the gar-
rison took possession of it.
Dissension spread among the troops,
who did not understand why they should
be compelled to take violent measures
against fellow-citizens whose chief of-
fense was that they were hungry and
were asking the Government to supply
bread. Several regiments deserted. A
pitched battle began between the troops
who stood with the Government and
those who, refusing to obey orders, had
mutinied, and even slain their officers.
A long night fight took glace between
the mutinous regiments and the police
at the end of St. Catherine Canal, im-
mediately in front of the historic church
built over the spot where Alexander II.
was killed by a bomb. The police finally
fled to the rooftops all over the city and
were seen no more in the streets during
the entire term of the fighting.
Turning Point in Revolution
Monday morning,. March 12, the Gov-
ernment troops appeared to control all
the principal squares of the city. Then
came a period when it was impossible to
distinguish one side from the other.
There was no definite line between the
factions. The turning point appeared to
come about 3 o'clock in the afternoon.
For two hours the opposing regiments
passively confronted each other along
the wide Liteiny Prospect in almost com-
plete silence.
From time to time emissaries from the
revolutionary side rode to the opposing
ranks and exhorted them to join the side
of the people. For a while the result
seemed to hang in the balance. The
troops appeared irresolute, awaiting the
commands of their officers, who them-
selves were in doubt as to what they
should do.
Desultory firing continued along the
side streets between groups of Govern-
ment troops and revolutionists. But the
regiments upon whose decision the out-
come rested still confronted each other,
with machine guns and rifles in readi-
ness.
Suddenly a few volleys were exchanged;
there was another period of silent sus-
pense, and the Government regiments
finally marched over to join the revolu-
tionists. A few hours after the first
clash this section of Petrograd, in which
were located the Duma building, artillery
headquarters, and the chief military bar-
racks, passed into the hands of the revo-
lutionary forces, and the warfare swept
like a tornado to other parts of the city,
where the scene was duplicated.
At first it seemed a miracle that the
revolutionists, without prearranged plan,
without leadership or organization, could
in such a short time, with comparative
ease, achieve a complete victory over the
Government. But the explanation lay in
the reluctance of the troops to take sides
against the people and their prompt de-
sertion to the ranks of those who opposed
the Government.
The scenes in the streets were by this
time remarkable. The wide streets,
where the troops were stationed, were
completely deserted by civilians, except
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
for a few daring individuals, who, creep-
ing along walls and ducking into court-
yards, sped from one side to the other.
But the side streets were choked with
people.
Groups of students, easily distin-
guished by their blue caps and dark uni-
forms, fell into step with rough units of
rebel soldiers, and were joined by other
heterogeneous elements, united for the
time being by a cause greater than parti-
san differences.
Unkempt workingmen, with ragged
sheepskin coats covering the conventional
peasants' costume of dark blouse and top
boots, strode side by side with well-
groomed city clerks and shopkeepers.
An Impromptu Army
This strange army of people, mustered
on the street corners, shouldered their
newly acquired rifles and marched out
to join the ranks of the deserting regi-
ments.
The economic and industrial life of the
city came to a complete standstill.
Street car service was supended from
the beginning of the disorders and
stores were closed. The two leading
hotels which • housed officers were
wrecked. Others restricted their serv-
ice to regular patrons. In response to
an appeal by the revolutionist commit-
tees, citizens distributed food to the sol-
diers.
The scene at the Duma before the rev-
olution was in full flame was extraordi-
nary. The members stood about the broad
corridors talking calmly, the serious
priest members in long black gowns, with
flowing hair, and members from the
provinces in top boots and blouses min-
gling with well-groomed and frock-coated
representatives.
At the front gates the troops began to
assemble. They were without arms.
They were the revolting regiments. One
body in marching order entered the side
gate and halted before the entrance. A
Duma member spoke from the steps, ex-
plaining the attitude of that body and
assuring the regiments that the Duma
was with them.
Auto trucks packed with men, soldiers,
and civilians, with and without arms,
rolled up to the circular drive and stopped
before the door, while some occupant
delivered a lurid oration, and then went
on, cheered by the crowds.
Then came a small army of citizen sol-
diers, factory workers, clerks, students
armed with rifles taken from the cap-
tured arsenals, their pale faces and black
Winter clothing forming a strange pic-
ture against the snow piled high in the
Duma garden.
For an hour they stood in more or less
military formation before the building,
and at dusk marched away toward the
centre of the city, followed by the revolt-
ing soldiers. The crowd was extremely
orderly. A group of a dozen soldiers
pushed into the corridor of the building
and demanded to be allowed to address
the members. A mild-mannered young
civilian of the student type took them
in hand with little difficulty and led
them into the open. A delegation asked
for food. Immediately waiters from the
Duma restaurant were sent out with
trays of tea and food until the place was
cleaned out.
Last Stand of the Old Regime
At nightfall- on March 12 only one
small district of the city, containing the
War Office, the Admiralty Building, St.
Isaac's Cathedral, and the Military Hotel,
still resisted the onslaught of the revo-
lutionary forces, and the battle for the
possession of Petrograd came to a dra-
matic conclusion. In the Admiralty Build-
ing the Council of Ministers secretly
gathered for a conference, and the last
regiments loyal to the old Government
were drawn up as a guard.
While the Council sat in the last meet-
ing which they were destined to hold, the
building was surrounded and the besieg-
ers poured rifle and machine gun fire
upon the defenders.
For a few hours the fiercest battle of
the day continued; the streets were swept
by a steady fusillade and the crowds
scattered for the nearest shelter, some
of the people being compelled to spend
the night in courtyards or corridors of
office buildings or wherever they first
found refuge.
Toward morning there was a sudden
RUSSIA IN REVOLUTION
lull, broken by exultant shouts, which
deepened into a roar, and were succeeded
by the Russian revolutionary " Marseil-
laise." The regiments defending the Ad-
miralty had surrendered and gone over to
the side of the revolutionists.
The Ministers in the Admiralty Build-
ing were then arrested and the Russian
national colors were replaced by the red
flag of the revolutionists.
Rodzianko's Telegrams
During the day revolutionary publica-
tions appeared in the streets, with the
simple caption " News." These contained
a resume of developments, and they were
eagerly read by all classes. Rodzianko's
telegrams to the Emperor and others to
the commanders of the troops at the
front were reproduced. The first mes-
sage to the Emperor read:
The situation is grave. Anarchy reigns in
the capital. The Government is paralyzed.
The transport of provisions and fuel is com-
pletely disorganized. General dissatisfaction
is growing. Irregular rifle firing is occurring
in the streets. It is necessary to charge im-
mediately some person trusted by the people
to form a new Government. It is impossible
to linger, since delay means death. Praying
God that the responsibility in this hour will
not fall upon a crowned head.
Later President Rodzianko sent the
following to the Emperor:
The position is becoming more serious. It
is imperative that immediate measures be
taken, because tomorrow will be too late.
The last hour has come when the fate of the
fatherland and the dynasty are being de-
cided.
Similar telegrams were sent to all the
commanders at the front with an appeal
for their support before the Emperor of
the Duma's action. General Alexis Bru-
siloff, Commander in Chief of the armies
of the southwestern front, and General
Nicholas Ruzsky, Commander of the
northern armies, replied promptly. Gen-
eral Brusiloff sent this message:
" Have fulfilled duty before fatherland
and Emperor."
General Ruzsky's reply read:
" Commission accomplished."
The revolt seemed to overspread all
Russia simultaneously. Kronstadt, the
great fortress and, seaport at the head of
the Gulf of Finland, joined the revolu-
tionary movement without firing a gun.
Moscow joined in with enthusiasm, as did
Odessa. Within twenty-four hours news
came from all parts of Russia that city
after city, fortress after fortress, prov-
inces, towns, and villages were aflame
with enthusiasm, and that the revolution-
ists were in control, with the soldiers and
workingmen in fullest accord.
One of the most impressive scenes of
the revolution at Petrograd was the ar-
rival of the Preobrajensky Guards with
their Colonel and officers at the Tauris
Palace. The men, all of giant stature,
were drawn up in ranks four deep the
whole length of the enormous Catherine
Hall. The President of the Duma came
out to greet them. On the appearance
of M. Rodzianko the Colonel's voice rang
out, " Preobrajensky, attention! " and the
whole regiment stood at salute. M.
Rodzianko saluted them as follows:
" Soldiers of the true faith, let me as
an old soldier greet you according to our
custom. I wish you good health."
" We wish good health to your Ex-
cellency," came the thunderous response.
The President continued:
"I want to thank you for coming
here to help the members of the Im-
perial Duma to establish order and to
safeguard the honor and glory of our
country. Your comrades are fighting
in the trenches for the might and maj-
esty of Russia, arid I am proud that my
son has been serving since the beginning
of the war in your ranks. But in order
that you should be able to advance the
cause and interests which have been
undertaken by the Duma you must re-
main a disciplined force. You know as
well as I do that soldiers are helpless
without their officers. I ask you to re-
main faithful to your officers and to
have confidence in them, just as we have
confidence in them. Return quietly to
your barracks and come here at the first
call when you may be required."
" We are ready," answered the Preo-
brajensky Guards. " Show us the way."
" The old authority is incapable of
leading Russia the right way," was the
answer. " Our first task is to establish
a new authority in which we could all
believe and trust, and which would be
r.
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
able to save and magnify our mother
Russia."
The soldiers marched out, shouting,
"Hurrah!"
II Rodzianko greeted in the same
manner the officers and men of the
Grenadier Guards and the officers and
troopers of the Ninth Cavalry Regiment.
After the President's speech to the
troopers their Colonel, addressing them,
said:
" Men, I intend to carry out all or-
ders given to me by the President of
the Imperial Duma. I remain with you
on condition that you obey my orders.
Hurrah for the President of the Im-
perial Duma! "
The troopers cheered loudly.
The Provisional Government
The members of the new National
Cabinet are as follows:
Premier, President of the Council, and Min-
ister of the Interior — Prince Georges E.
Lvoff.
Foreign Minister — Professor Paul N. Milu-
koff.
Minister of Public Instruction — Professor
Manuilof f of Moscow University.
Minister of War and Navy, ad Interim — A.
J. Guchkoff, formerly President of the Duma.
Minister of Agriculture — M. Ichingareff,
Deputy from Petrograd.
Minister of Finance — M. Tereschtenko, Dep-
uty from Kiev.
Minister of Justice — Deputy Kerenski of
Saratoff.
Minister of Communications — N. V. Nekra-
soff. Vice President of the Duma.
Controller of State — M. Godneff, Deputy
from Kazan.
Minister of Trade and Commerce — A. I.
Konovaloff.
Procurator General of the Holy Synod — M.
Lvoff.
The new Premier is the most popular
man in Russia, head and chief of the
combined Urban and Rural Zemstvo Com-
mittees, organizer and feeder in chief of
the Russian armies in the field, the man
whom all students of Russian affairs
have expected to see made head of any
new Government established. He is a
Russian, a Slav in fact as well as in
name, and has the entire confidence of
the Russian people.
The new Foreign Minister, Professor
Milukoff, has been for years the courage-
ous leader of the Russian liberals. He
was banished from Russia for political
views expressed while a member of the
Faculty of the University of Moscow.
He came to Chicago and became Profes-
sor of Russian History at the University
of Chicago, a post which he relinquished
later to return to Russia.
• In 1898 Milukoff, then a Professor at
Moscow, was snatched from his class-
room one day, subjected to a summary
Russian trial, and exiled to Siberia. He
was guilty of liberal tendencies. He was
in exile for two years, the result of
which was his " History of Russian Cul-
ture," a justification of revolution on
historic grounds.
On his return to Russia he was rear-
rested and led across the frontier into
Bulgaria. A warrant of expatriation, is-
sued from Petrograd, excluded him from
the Czar's domain for two years. Milu-
koff's answer was an immediate return
to Petrograd, where he was again ar-
rested and held in jail for five months
without trial. When he was released he
again came to Chicago.
At the University of Chicago Professor
Milukoff was looked upon as one of the
most brilliant members of the Faculty.
He is an eminent scholar in several lines,
though he confined himself here to lec-
turing on Russian social conditions. In
addition to his lectures here he has lec-
tured at various times before the Lowell
Institute in Boston. In all he spent four
years in Chicago.
Milukoff's influence upon European
opinion outside of Russia has been great
On his third visit to America, in 1908, he
told interviewers that his speeches in the
Duma frequently were interrupted by
some one shouting, "American," or
" American citizen." In proof of his im-
perturbability, he added: " So now I al-
most invariably begin my speeches by
quoting something ' American.' "
Late in January a plot to assassinate
Professor Milukoff was exposed. The
assassination was planned by the organ-
ization known as the Black Hundred, the
reactionary body which has for years
been an instrument of political crimes in
Russia. The man chosen, however, con-
fessed the part he was to play before
the crime was committed.
RUSSIA IN REVOLUTION
Labor Leader as Minister
The Minister of Justice, Deputy Keren-
ski, is the leader of the workingmen and
a conspicuous Russian journalist. His
selection and acceptance of a post in the
new Government welded together the
labor leaders and Moderate Democrats
and prevented what at first threatened
to prove a serious split in the revolu-
tionary ranks. The first act of the new
Government, M. Kerenski stated, was the
immediate publication of a decree of full
amnesty. Continuing, the Minister said:
" Our comrades of the Second and
Fourth Dumas, who were banished illegal-
ly to the tundras of Siberia, will be re-
leased forthwith. In my jurisdiction are
all the Premiers and Ministers of the old
regime. They will answer before the law
for all crimes against the people."
" Show them no mercy," many voices
in the crowd exclaimed.
" Comrades," M. Kerenski replied,
" regenerated Russia will not have re-
course to the shameful methods utilized
by the old regime. Without trial none
will be condemned. All prisoners will
be tried in open court.
" Comrades, soldiers, citizens, all meas-
ures taken by the new Government will
be published. Soldiers, I ask you to co-
operate. Free Russia is now born, and
none will succeed in wresting liberty
from the hands of the people. Do not
listen to the promptings of the agents of
the old regime. Listen to your officers.
Long live free Russia! "
The speech was greeted by a storm of
cheering.
The labor leader, Chkueidse, address-
ing the officers and soldiers, paid a
glowing tribute to the soldiers and work-
ingmen who had participated in accom-
plishing the revolution. He recounted
the recent provocative efforts by the
secret police in publishing proclamations
regarding the murders of officers by
soldiers. He exhorted the soldiers to
regard their officers as citizens who had
helped raise the revolutionary flag and
as brothers in the great cause of Russian
liberty.
Subsequently officers, soldiers, and
workingmen carried M. Chkueidse on
their shoulders through a cheering
throng of soldiers and civilians.
Kerenski won a victory in a speech
that will be historic. Appearing in a
stormy labor assembly, mounting a
table, with flashing eyes and passionate
utterance, he announced that he had ac-
cepted the post of Minister of Justice.
The announcement turned the tide, and
amid cheering Kerenski continued:
" Comrades, in entering the Provis-
ional Government I remain a republican.
In my work I must lean for help on the
will of the people. I must have in the
people my powerful support. May I trust
you as I trust myself? [Tremendous
cheers and cries of "We believe you,
comrade! "] I cannot live without the
people, and if ever you begin to doubt
me, kill me! I declare to the Provisional
Government that I am a representative
of democracy, and that the Government
must especially take into account the
views I shall uphold as a representative
of the people, by whose efforts the old
Government was overthrown. Comrades,
time does not wait. I call you to organ-
ization and discipline. I ask you to sup-
port us, your representatives, who are
prepared to die for the people and have
given the people their whole life.*'
Appeal to the People
The first act of the new Government
was the issuance of the following appeal,
dated March 18, 1917:
Citizens : The Executive Committee of the
Duma, with the aid and support of the garri-
son of the capital and its inhabitants, has
succeeded in triumphing1 over the obnoxious
forces of the old regime in such a manner
that we are able to proceed to a more stable
organization of the executive power, with
men whose past political activity assures
them the country's confidence.
[The names of the members of the new
Government are then given and the appeal
continues :]
The new Cabinet will base its policy on the
following principles :
First— An immediate general amnesty for
all political and religious offenses, includ-
ing terrorist acts and military and agra-
rian offenses.
Second— Liberty of speech and of the
press ; freedom for alliances, unions, and
strikes, with the extension of these liber-
ties to military officials within the limits
admitted by military requirements.
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Third-Abolition of all social, religious,
and national restrictions.
h— To proceed forthwith to the
tlon and convocation of a consti-
i nal Assembly, based on universal suf-
hich will establish a governmental
regime.
tn— The substitution of the police by
■ national militia, with chiefs to be
sible to the Government.
—Communal elections to be based
on universal suffrage.
nth— The troops which participated
in the revolutionary movement will not be
but will remain in Petrograd.
h— While maintaining strict mili-
ipline for troops on active service,
b desirable to abrogate for soldiers all
ms in the enjoyment of social
rights accorded other citizens.
The Provisional Government desires to add
that it has no intention to profit by the cir-
tances of the war to delay the realiza-
tion of the measures of reform above men-
tioned.
Abdication of the Czar
Czar Nicholas's abdication was an-
nounced on March 16. The document was
signed at the town of Pskoff, where the
train on which he was traveling toward
Petrograd was halted early in the week.
From Pskoff, according to accounts now
available, the Emperor communicated
with members of the Executive Com-
mittee of the Duma, who informed him
that they were sending emissaries to
meet him there. Accordingly, a member
of the Duma committee and one of the
Ministers of the new Cabinet proceeded
to Pskoff and had an interview with the
Emperor in the presence of General
Nicholas V. Russky, a member of the
Council of the Empire and of the Su-
preme Military Council; Baron W. Fede-
ricks, Minister of the Court; Count Na-
rishkin, and others.
After relating to the Emperor the latest
developments in the revolution, the emis-
saries advised him not to send any troops
from the front to Petrograd, since all the
troops were going over to the revolution-
ists as fast as they arrived.
" What is desired that I should do? "
the Emperor inquired.
" Abdicate the throne," was the reply.
After devoting some time to delibera-
tion Emperor Nicholas said:
" It would be very hard to be sepa-
rated from my son. Therefore I will
abdicate in favor of my brother, in behalf
of myself and my son."
The document, which had been pre-
pared in advance, was handed to the
Emperor, and he signed it at once.
The text of the abdication is as fol-
lows : "
We, Nicholas II., by the Grace of God Em-
peror of all the Russias, Czar of Poland, and
Grand Duke of Finland, &c, make known to
all our faithful subjects :
In the day of the great struggle agafnst a
foreign foe, who has been striving for three
years to enslave our country, God has wished
to send to Russia a new and painful trial.
Interior troubles threaten to have a fatal
repercussion on the final outcome of the war.
The destinies of Russia and the honor of our
heroic army, the happiness of the people, and
all the future of our dear fatherland require
that the war be prosecuted at all cost to a
victorious end. The cruel enemy is making
his last effort, and the moment is near when
our valiant army, in concert with those of
our glorious allies, will definitely chastise
the foe.
In these decisive days in the life of Russia
we believe our people should have the closest
union and organization of all their forces for
the realization of speedy victory. For this
reason, in accord with the Duma of the em-
pire, we have considered it desirable to abdi-
cate the throne of Russia and lay aside our
supreme power.
Not wishing to be separated from our loved
son, we leave our heritage to our brother the
Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovitch, blessing
his advent to the throne of Russia. We hand
over the Government to our brother in full
union with the representatives of the nation
who are seated in the legislative chambers,
taking this step with an inviolable oath in the
name of our well-beloved country.
We call on all faithful sons of the father-
land to fulfill their sacred patriotic duty in
this painful moment of national trial and to
aid our brother and the representatives of the
nation in bringing Russia into the path of
prosperity and glory.
May God aid Russia.
Fortunes of the Romanoffs
On March 19 it was reported from
Petrograd that the former Czar, to
be known as Nicholas Romanoff, had
left with his staff for his personal
estate at Livadia, on the south coast
of the Crimea. It was at first be-
lieved that his twelve-year-old son
and heir, Grand Duke Alexis, who re-
nounced the throne when the father ab-
dicated, had been killed, but later news
was to the effect that the Czarina was
with her children and that all save
RUSSIA IN REVOLUTION
Grand Duchess Marie were very ill with
measles. In the case of the little Prince
the attack was complicated by the
breaking out of the old wound in his
foot, dating from the alleged attempt on
his life about four years ago. The Grand
Duke was attended by his mother and
the old sailor, Berevenke, who has been
his constant companion. Grand Duchess
Tatiana was in a serious condition, and
oxygen had been administered.
News of the disaffection of the troops
reached the Empress on Feb. 27. The
palace guard was mobilized for defense,
the riflemen remaining within the pal-
ace with machine guns, while outside
were armored motors. When the Tsars-
koe-Selo garrison revolted a collision
with the palace guards appeared inevit-
able. The Empress went to the com-
mander of the guard and said:
" My desire is that you do not fire."
This was taken as an order to surren-
der, which he did. Soon revolutionary
troops entered the palace, and officers
went to the apartment of the imperial
family. To these the Empress said:
" Let there be no violence. I am now
only a Sister of Charity at the bedside of
my afflicted children."
Grand Duke Michael Declines
The Czar in abdicating transferred the
supreme power to his younger brother,
Grand Duke Michael, but the latter de-
clined to accept the responsibility unless
he should be declared the choice of the
people by vote. The refusal was signed
at his private residence, whither he went
with a large part of the Duma commit-
tee, headed by Prince Lvoff, Professor
Milukoff, and President Rodzianko.
The Grand Duke addressed the com-
mittee and declared that the responsi-
bility devolving upon him found him un-
decided because of the existing differ-
ences of opinion. He added that since
the happiness of Russia was the only
consideration, he believed this would be
assured by his abdication, and therefore
surrendered his authority. The text of
his declaration, dated March 16, is as
follows:
This heavy responsibility has come to me at
the voluntary request of my brother, who has
transferred the imperial throne to me during
a period of warfare which is accompanied
with unprecedented popular disturbances.
Moved by the thought, which is in the minds
of the entire people, that the good of the
country is paramount, I have adopted the
firm resolution to accept the supreme power
only if this be the will of our great people,
who, by a plebiscite organized by their repre-
sentatives in a constituent assembly, shall es-
tablish a form of government and new funda-
mental laws for the Russian State.
Consequently, invoking the benediction of
our Lord, I urge all citizens of Russia to
submit to the Provisional Government, es-
tablished upon the initiative of the Duma and
invested with full plenary powers, until such
time, which will follow with as little delay
as possible, as the constituent assembly, on a
basis of universal, direct, equal, and secret
suffrage, shall, by its decision as to the new
form of government, express the will of the
people.
Siberian Exiles Freed
The first act of the Provisional Gov-
ernment was one of amnesty for all po-
litical offenders, including Terrorists.
The series of agreements opens up aston-
ishing possibilities. A main feature of
the program is that the form of govern-
ment, whether republican or otherwise,
is 'to be decided by a constituent assem-
bly, to be elected after the war.
The famous prison of St. Peter and
St. Paul at Petrograd, which has im-
mured countless political prisoners, was
thrown open, as ,was the Kremlin at
Moscow, and exiles in all parts of the
world were invited to return. The fleet
and the naval commanders accepted the
revolution with enthusiastic unanimity.
Grand Duke Cyril, commanding the sail-
ors of the guard, came in person with
his officers and announced that this his-
toric corps would place itself under the
orders of Rodzianko. News from the
army of 6,000,000 on the various Russian
fronts was entirely favorable.
One of the most important gains in the
revolution was its acceptance by the
Holy Synod. The final meeting of the
Synod since the revolution was held at
Petrograd March 18 under the Presi-
dency of the Metropolitan of Kiev. The
new Procurator General of the Holy
Synod, M. Lvoff, in opening the sitting,
said he rejoiced at the advent of free-
dom of the Orthodox Church. He or-
dered the removal of the imperial chair
from the conference room, symbolizing
10
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
termination of interference by the Em-
peror in the affairs of the Church. The
Metropolitan and other members of the
Synod said a new era for the Orthodox
Church had come.
Public subscriptions for released polit-
ical prisoners and for the families of
men killed in the street fighting were
opened. The Russo-Asiatic Bank has
rribed $250,000 for the released po-
litical prisoners.
Everywhere in Petrograd, Moscow, and
other large cities the imperial insignia
of the House of Romanoff were removed
from all public buildings.
Foreign Minister's Notice
Professor Milukoff received the diplo-
matic representatives of the Allies on
Sunday, March 18, and at the same time
gave official notice of the revolution to
the world in the following address, which
was transmitted by cable to all Russian
diplomats abroad:
" The news transmitted by the Pe-
trograd Telegraphic Agency (the semi-
official Russian news bureau) already
has acquainted you with the events of
the last few days and the fall of the old
political regime in Russia, which col-
lapsed lamentably in the face of popular
indignation provoked by its carelessness,
its abuses, and its criminal lack of fore-
sight. The unanimity of resentment
which the order of things now at an end
had aroused among all healthy elements
of the nation has considerably facilitated
the crisis. All these elements having
rallied with enthusiasm to the noble flag
of revolution, and the army having lent
them its speedy and effective support, the
national movement obtained decisive vic-
tory within eight days.
" This rapidity of realization happily
made it possible to reduce the number
of victims to a figure unprecedentedly
small in the annals of upheavals of such
extent and importance.
" By an act dated from Pskoff March
15, Emperor Nicholas renounced the
throne for himself and the hereditary
Grand Duke Alexis Nikolaievitch in fa-
vor of Grand Duke Michael Alexandro-
vitch. In reply to a notification which
was made to him of this act, Grand
Duke Michael Alexandrovitch, by an act
dated Petrograd, March 16, in his turn
renounced assumption of supreme power
until the time when a constituent as-
sembly, created on the basis of universal
suffrage, should have established a form
of government and new fundamental
laws of Russia. By this same- act Alex-
androvitch invited the citizens of Rus-
sia, pending a definite manifestation of
the national will, to submit to the au-
thority of the Provisional Government
constituted on the initiative of the State,
which holds full power. The composi-
tion of the Provisional Government and
its political program have been pub-
lished and transmitted to foreign coun-
tries.
Responsibility Fully Realized
"This Government, which assumes
power at the moment of the greatest ex-
ternal and internal crisis which Russia
has known in the course of her history,
is fully conscious of the immense re-
sponsibility it incurs. It will apply itself
first to repairing the overwhelming
errors bequeathed to it by the past, to
insuring order and tranquillity in the
country, and, finally, to preparing the
conditions necessary in order that, the
sovereign will of the nation may be
freely pronounced as to its future lot.
" In the domain of foreign policy the
Cabinet, in which I am charged with the
portfolio of the Ministry of Foreign Af-
fairs, will remain mindful of the interna-
tional engagements entered into by the
fallen regime, and will honor Russia's
word. We shall carefully cultivate re-
lations which unite us to other friendly
and allied nations, and we are confident
that these relations will become even
more intimate, more solid, under the new
regime established in Russia, which is
resolved to be guided by the democratic
principles of respect due to the small and
great nations, to the liberty of their de-
velopment, and to good understanding
among nations.
" But the Government cannot forget
for a single instant the grave external
circumstances in which it assumes power.
Russia did not will the war which has
RUSSIA IN REVOLUTION
11
been drenching the world with blood for
nearly three years. But, victim of pre-
meditated aggression prepared long ago,
she will continue, as in the past, to strug-
gle against the spirit of conquest of a
predatory race which has aimed at
establishing an intolerable hegemony
over its neighbors and subjecting Europe
of the twentieth century to the shame of
domination by Prussian militarism.
Faithful to the pact which unites her
indissolubly to her glorious allies, Rus-
sia is resolved, like them, to assure the
world at all costs an era of peace among
the nations, on the basis of stable na-
tional organization guaranteeing respect
for right and justice. She will fight by
their side against the common enemy
until the end, without cessation and
without faltering.
" The Government of which I form a
part will devote all its energy to prepara-
tion of victory and will apply itself to
the task of repairing as quickly as possi-
ble the errors of the past, which hitherto
have paralyzed the aspirations and the
self-sacrifice of the Russian people. I
am firmly convinced that the marvelous
enthusiasm which today animates the
whole nation will multiply its strength
in time and hasten the hour of the final
triumph of a regenerated Russia and
her valiant allies.
" I beg you to communicate to the
Minister of Foreign Affairs [of the coun-
try to which the diplomat addressed is
accredited] the contents of the present
telegram."
Tons of Food Discovered
In vindication of the justice of the
cause of the revolutionists after the
emeute, thousands of tons of grain and
other food were found hidden in remote
places in Petrograd, apparently proving
that the shortage was part of a treason-
able design of the then existing Govern-
ment.
On March 18 assurances had been re-
ceived from all the armies in the field
that the new Government was enthu-
siastically accepted. M. Kerenski had
rescinded the order of banishment
against Grand Duke Dmitri and Prince
Youssoupoff, the slayers of Gregory
Rasputin, the monk who exercised great
influence over the imperial family, and
the two men were returning to Petro-
grad. Members of the former Cabinet
had been placed under arrest and would
be cited for trial later. It is believed,
however, that there will be no prosecu-
tion of the nobility, and that amnesty
and moderation will be the watchwords
of the new Government.
As to the Czar and his family, it is
believed they will not be further mo-
lested; there seems to be no vindictive-
ness felt against him, as he was re-
garded as but a weak instrument in the
hands of unscrupulous plotters. The ex-
planation of the Camarilla's desire to
have Russia meet disaster in the war, so
as to force a separate peace, was the
fear among the nobility that success
with republican France and democratic
England over autocratic Russia and
Austria would spell the downfall of au-
tocracy and the triumph of the Russian
liberals.
Anti-German Sentiment
The strongest anti-German feeling ani-
mates the population. They are syste-
matically hunting down all highly placed
personages suspected of German proclivi-
ties or bearing German names or titles.
The aged Minister of the imperial house-
hold, Count Fredericks, whose home was
wrecked, was discovered in -hiding and
was taken as a prisoner to the Duma.
Soldiers and a crowd of people long
hunted for Countess Kleinmichael on sus-
picion of her being German. She was
discovered hiding in the Chinese Lega-
tion, whence the soldiers removed her
under arrest.
Baron Stackelberg fired on the sol-
diers from his window. He was dragged
out of his home, taken to the quay side,
and there summarily executed.
All the factories resumed operations on
March 19, paying full wages for time
lost during the revolution. Former mem-
bers of the police force at Petrograd,
numbering many thousands, were sent to
the front. The Metropolitans of Petro-
grad, Moscow, Pitrin, and Mulary were
sent into compulsory retirement. Pro-
12
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
vincial Governors were replaced by Presi-
dents of Zemstvos or Mayors of cities in
management of food supplies.
All censorship, except on military af-
fairs, was abolished, and the department
itself was discontinued. A committee
headed by Maxim Gorky was appointed
to safeguard palaces and artistic prop-
erty. Home rule will be given to Fin-
land. The former Governor, Zein, who
was an oppressor and reactionary, was
sent to prison, and it is understood that
Baron Roditscheff, who has been a stanch
advocate of free Finland, will be ap-
pointed Zein's successor.
Manifesto to the Nation
On March 20 the Russian Provisional
Government issued the following mani-
festo to the nation:
"Citizens: The great work has been
accomplished. By a powerful stroke the
Russian people have overthrown the old
regime. A new Russia is born. This
coup d'etat has set the keystone upon
long years of struggle.
" Under pressure of awakened national
forces, the act of Oct. 30, 1905, promised
Russia constitutional liberties, which
were never put into execution. The First
Duma, the mouthpiece of the national
wishes, was dissolved. The Second Duma
met the same fate, and the Government,
being powerless to crush the national
will, decided by the act of June 16, 1907,
to deprive the people of part of the
legislative rights promised them.
" During the ensuing ten years the
Government successively withdrew from
the people all the rights they had won.
The country was again thrown into the
abyss of absolute ruin and administrative
arbitrariness. All attempts to make the
voice of reason heard were vain, and
the great world struggle into which the
country was plunged found it face to
face with moral decadence and power not
united with the people — power indiffer-
ent to the country's destinies and steeped
in vices and infamy.
"The heroic efforts of the army,
crushed under the cruel weight of in-
ternal disorganization, the appeals of
the national representatives, who were
united in view of the national danger,
were powerless to lead the Emperor and
his Government into the path of union
with the people. Thus when Russia, by
the illegal and disastrous acts jDf her
Governors, was faced with the greatest
disasters, the people had to take the
power into their own hands.
" With unanimous revolutionary spirit,
the people, fully realizing the Serious-
ness of the moment and the firm will of
the Duma, established a Provisional
Government, which considers that it is
its sacred duty to realize the national
desires and lead the country into the
bright path of free civil organization.
The Government believes that the lofty
spirit of patriotism which the people
have shown in the struggle against the
old regime will also animate our gal-
lant soldiers on the battlefields.
" On its side the Government will do
its utmost to provide the army with
everything necessary to bring the war
to a victorious conclusion. The Govern-
ment will faithfully observe all alliances
uniting us to other powers and all agree-
ments made in the past.
" While taking measures indispensable
for the defense of the country against a
foreign enemy, the Government will
consider it its first duty to grant to the
people every facility to express its will
concerning the political administration,
and will convoke as soon as possible a
constituent assembly on the basis of
universal suffrage, at the same time as-
suring the gallant defenders of the
country their share in the Parliamentary
elections.
" The constituent assembly will issue
fundamental laws, guaranteeing the
country the immutable rights of equality
and liberty.
" Conscious of the burden of the politi-
cal oppression weighing on the country
and hindering the free creative forces of
the people during years of painful hard-
ships, the Provisional Government deems
it necessary, before the constituent as-
sembly, to announce to the country its
principles, assuring political liberty and
equality to all citizens, making free use
of the spiritual forces in creative work
RUSSIA IN REVOLUTION 13
for the benefit of the country. The Gov- whole people will support it in its efforts
ernment will also take care to elaborate to insure the happiness of Russia."
the principles assuring all citizens par- The news from all parts of the country
ticipation in communal elections, which on March 20 indicated that the revolution
will be carried out on a basis of univer- had been successfully accomplished ev-
sal suffrage. erywhere without serious bloodshed, and
" At the moment of national emanci- the people, the army, and the navy were
pation the whole country recalls with acclaiming the new order with enthu-
pious gratitude those who, in the strug- siasm. It was decided, in order to avoid
gle for their political and religious ideas, all complications, not to give any corn-
fell victims of the vengeance of the old manding position to a member of the
power, and the Provisional Government Romonoff house; hence the proposal was
will joyfully bring back from exile and abandoned to name Grand Duke Nicholas
prison all those who thus suffered for as Generalissimo and Grand Duke
the good of their country. Michael as Regent. The full sovereign
" In realizing these problems the Pro- powers rest with the Provisional Gov-
visional Government belives it is exe- ernment until the National Assembly
cuting the national will and that the convenes.
Scientific Discoveries Due to the War
Paul Painleve, a member of the French Institute and recent Minister of
Inventions, has cited the following facts by way of reply to Thomas A. Edison* s
remark that science is playing a rather small part in the war :
The processes of wireless communication and for the registering of sounds
at distances, that is, by the ordinary wireless currents and by ground induction,
have been marvelously perfected through the requirements of the war. All the
armies are rivaling each other in skillful methods for tapping the enemy's lines
of telephonic communication from a considerable distance; not tapping as it is
generally understood, but by the use of a marvelous instrument that enables the
sentinel in his advanced listening post out beyond the front line of trenches to
hear the enemy communications by telephone going over wires that are several
hundred yards away.
I would mention also a system that we perfected and put into use for locating
the enemy's batteries by sound. The principle was known before the war, but
it was regarded as impracticable. It has, since the war, been brought to the
highest state of perfection and efficiency and for months has been in use over
the entire front. It has proved so effective that our adversaries, who captured
a motor car with one of the outfits, have equipped themselves with similar ap-
pliances but lacking the delicacy and the precision of our instruments. It was
France that had the entire initiative of this brilliant application.
Inventions for following the enemy's sapping and mining operations by
sound that were, in all armies, very crude and insufficient before the war, have
made the most remarkable progress, and will reflect honor upon French science
later on.
Aviation in every respect has been remarkably perfected by the efforts of
science and technicians since the war began. Today a pilot goes up in all kinds
of weather without fear of being upset by sudden squalls, so- well have been
perfected the measures for the stability of flying machines. Great progress
also has been made in the improvement of motors, particularly in the reduction
of their weight in proportion to their effective power, so that they speed up to
150 miles an hour. Finally, in spite of the difficulties, wireless telegraphy has
been marvelously adapted to aviation.
The Kaiser Today
This intimate, first-hand study of the Kaiser, duly authenticated, is written by a promi-
nent American correspondent in Berlin. It is the first exclusive pen picture of the Kaiser
since the war began.
IN the half lights of dawn there
emerged from the shadows down
the road a column of poplar trees;
motionless and erect, it seemed they
were on sentry duty, too. The gray-
green of their uniforms almost invisible
against the fields, soldiers in twos
crossed and recrossed the road, ghostly
they in the quickening spectrum of
day, helmeted shadows
of the Kaiser's Guard.
Further down the road
a light gleamed. That
was the chateau; there
Wilhelm II., "by God's
grace, King of Prus-
sia and German Em-
peror," slept.
In a nearby field
horses whinnied and
neighed; men moved,
talking in harsh early
morning voices. Two
squadrons of the Dra-
goon Guards were en-
camped there — should
the Kaiser call. There,
too, one glimpsed a
thin, lean glimmer of
steel; and, as the sky
changed from gray to pink, there came
out of the vagueness, taking sinister
shape, guns of the horse artillery —
should the Kaiser call.
Guarding him as he slept, files of the
gray-green men paced through the cha-
teau park. An outer circle who tramped
along the spiked iron fence of the
grounds, another circle stalking through
the trees, another, another, until, after
circle upon circle of sentries, one came to
a double guard at the narrow, prim en-
trance to the chateau. Even there the
guards over the Kaiser did not end. Up-
stairs sentries stole through the high-
ceilinged halls. In the rooms just above,
just below, and on either side of the Kai-
ser chamber Secret Service men spent a
sleepless night, watching, listening, the
KAISER WILHELM II
eternal vigil over the imperial body. For
the German Emperor is never so guarded
as he is at the front. Twenty miles from
the firing line, this chateau. Guarded
against what?
All through the night there had come
down to the soldiers in the park the faint
purring and clattering of the guards
above, airplanes circling high above the
imperial head, two eyes
of the army peering
through the high
places, lest an enemy
flyer swoop near. And
on the gravel drive
below, carefully posted
motor trucks, plat-
forms on wheels,
mounting long-ranged
anti-aircraft guns,
others with monstrous
glazy eyes that twin-
kled now in the dawn
— the searchlights,
that had been ready
to sweep the night
with light, had the
enemy fliers come.
And in the chateau
room, under which
slept their Emperor, more of the gray-
green men watched the yellowing sky
and yawned and felt hungry. Since
midnight they had held the watch there,
their machine guns tilted skyward; all
about them the layers of sandbags to
swallow the explosion of an enemy bomb.
Nets, an arbor of wires over their heads,
every precaution to nullify the effect of
a bomb that might be cast down upon the
chateau where the Kaiser slept.
The sun came up again, ruthlessly
lighting the scarred face of France.
Weird seemed the land in the faint light
of day. Houses to the east, through
which the golden glow gleams, framed
on their gray stone walls by the cavern-
ous holes of the shells. There a church
with tumbled rafters, its cross shot
Ff^-rt^Rg^^
1
e
K
S
c
^i^fe&fe^
— <^SP^<
y
SM^SSfestf*^
THE KAISER TODAY
15
away; here what had been a field of
plenty, ugly now with the pockmarks of
the shells. For over this land whereon
the Kaiser slept his legions had rushed
of a day in August two years before, and
their imprint lay still upon the earth.
Six o'clock. A commotion at the door.
The guard stiffened into statues, trans-
fixed in the imperial salute. A man
dressed in gray-green like theirs, a gray
milii.ry cape, lined with red, hanging
from his square shoulders, the short
baton of a Field Marshal protruding
from his left hand, appeared in the door-
way. With a quick gesture his right
hand returned their salutes : " Good
morning, soldiers! " Another day for
the Kaiser has begun.
Under the trees purred the imperial
motor; behind it a second, gay with the
gold and black of the imperial standard.
The Dragoons cantered up from the field
near by, slashing the air into twinkling
shreds as their sabres swished to the
salute. " Good morning, soldiers ! " cried
Ihe Kaiser, the silver-knobbed baton
flashing a salute in return. " Good
morning, your Majesty! " roared five
hundred horsemen.
The Kaiser stepped into the car. His
t' "U Pomeranian grenadier footman
vug around the imperial legs.
Tfhe , . .goons divided, half riding out in
front of the car, half galloping behind.
" To General Billow's headquarters," or-
dered the Kaiser, and, to a trumpeting
of motor honrs, the imperial cavalcade
slipped through the park, and, leaving
the chateau behind, moved toward the
front.
So began one day for the Kaiser; so
has begun many a day for him during
this war. For the German Emperor is
more often at the front than he is at the
castle in Berlin.
The Kaiser Ta^es Risfe
For, whatever else may be said of the
Kaiser, he is a man, and, considering this
war a man's job, he is ever on the job.
No occasional trips to the front for Wil-
helm II. No remaining quite comfort-
able in a palace and every so often, at in-
tervals of months, going on a royal sort
of Cook's tour to visit his army. Rather
the Kaiser ever holds his hand on the
war pulse. One hears of him in France,
then in Russia, then in Serbia.
At one time during the early fighting
against Russia he barely retreated with
a division across the River Niemen in
time to escape capture by a Cossack pa-
trol— an event, this, little known in
Germany. Again, riding in an automo-
bile with von Hindenburg in front of the
fortress of Kovno, the Kaiser's car was
picked up by Russian artillery observers,
and there was a race for life against the
shells. Again with his staff, and against
their wishes, the Kaiser ventured upon a
hilltop opposite Soissons in France and
brought the crash of shrapnel down
about his ears.
Yes, the Kaiser has seen this war. He
has seen it at the front. He has seen
regiments surge into action for him and
die. Under his eyes — he deeming that
his presence would stir the men to great-
er efforts — the Germans charged again
and again to break the British lines at
Ypres. And the Kaiser saw the flower
of his army, the Prussian Guards, blast-
ed away. And later he saw the funeral
pyres of their dead lighting one of those
Ypres nights made greenish with the
rocket flares, one of those nights when
mad colors seethe up from No Man's
Land and the trenches slowly turn to
great long graves. The Kaiser has seen
these horrors by night, those unearthly
nights by the Ypres Canal that always
seem to come out of the pages of a Ma-
eterlinck play.
Yes, war has made its imprint on the
Kaiser's mind. One can see it today.
The rebellious lock of hair over the tem-
ple is more gray. A deep furrow be-
tween the brows where there was none
before, a shadowing in his gray-blue
eyes that used always to be clear. At
times on the imperial face the gambler's
expression is discernible, the Monte Carlo
face intensified inimitably. The Kaiser
seems then like a man who has thrown
everything on the wheel — people, coun-
try, dynasty — and the uncertainty, the
stress of waiting and waiting for a re-
sult is portrayed there. Correspondingly
the Kaiser's reactions of expression are
violent today. After the victory at War-
16
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
saw in 1915 he looked extravagantly joy-
ous. It was as if one had been trying to
tell one's self that everything was coming
out all right — although subconsciously
one often feared not — and that then
something happened, a victory! And for
a moment the tension of doubt was bro-
ken. These changes of emotion show on
the Kaiser today. But generally his face
is grave. As he whirls from one point to
another on the front, indeed, as he rushes
from one of his far-flung battle fronts to
another, the Kaiser's expression is al-
ways the same, gravity.
The war lord on parade, the Kaiser of
the manoeuvre fields of peace times, the
Kaiser who would order a cavalry
charge of huge proportions, and who, as
^JrtTTiorsemen thundered by, would turn
to his military guests with a look of su-
preme pride and confidence — that Kaiser
is no more. Instead one sees a harassed
expression that shows the mind behind
to be thinking: " Will the terms of peace
satisfy my people for the sacrifices they
have made? Will my people hold loyal
and true to the end? I believe we are in
God's hands, and he will not desert us."
His Religion Appallingly Sincere
For the religion of the Kaiser has been
his cornerstone or his poison in this war.
Calling upon the Almighty for aid in
everything he undertakes, the Kaiser has
come to approach the fanatically relig-
ious sovereigns of centuries gone by. In
religion and his belief that God is on his
side the Kaiser is appallingly sincere.
Better were it a pose; he would have
made peace long ago.
What of the Kaiser today? Always
dignified, the war has grown about him
a grave, almost reverential mood, light-
ened only by the smiles of victory. That
the war weighs heavily upon his heart
every American who has talked with him
affirms. That he feels deeply at the
sight of the dead and wounded is also
true. Conceptions of the human charac-
ter always differ. It has been written
that Joan of Arc was a saint; that she
was a madwoman; Moliere scoffed at
her. It has been written that Catherine
of Russia was a great Empress; that she
was a mere sexual pervert; that Edward
VII. of England was a peacemaker, that
he was a Janus-faced diplomat, who bred
war. Conceptions of the Kaiser have
been written, presenting him as an arch-
hypocrite, the greatest actor in the world,
and as a madman. The conception I
have is neither of these. He is danger-
ously sincere. He believes in himself and
in the destiny of the German people. He
believes strongly in Nietzschean " will
to power " — in his speeches to his sol-
diers during this war he has called it the
" will to victory."
Always religious, the war has made
him more so, until it approaches almost
mysticism. His constant calling upon
God is sincere. His belief that God is on
his side is sincere. Whenever he goes
to the front the imperial banner, orange,
black embroidered with a cross, and bear-
ing the legend " God with us," goes with
him. He has caused that motto of his to
be inscribed on the buckles of his sol-
diers. He has caused every soldier in the
army to receive a little pocket Bible. He
is accompanied by a Chaplain wherever
he goes — accompanied by a surgeon, too.
The Kaiser's Health Uncertain
For during this war the imperial
health has more than once been the
cause of great worry to the German Na-
tion. In December of 1914 a throat af-
fection, the curse of the Hohenzollerns,
which laid low his father and his grand-
father, confined the Kaiser to the Schloss
in Berlin. No one knew exactly what
was the matter with him; only those at
the top knew. An operation was per-
formed, the Kaiser lived. For a year the
malady left him alone, and he rushed
from battlefront to battlefront, then in
December of 1916 it overtook him again.
The aged Franz Josef, Emperor of Aus-
tria, died. The Kaiser's physicians per-
mitted him to attend a mass for his ally,
but refused to let him go to the funeral.
Now, the absence of the Kaiser from
Franz Josef's funeral was a most con-
spicuous thing, and it is certain that in
no circumstances would he have tolerated
it had not the danger to his health been
great.
Will the Kaiser survive the war? No
one can tell. Wilhelm I. was a tall, pow-
THE KAISER TODAY
17
erful man. One day he was taken down
to a resort on the Riviera. The curse of
the Hohenzollerns had caught him, and
there he died quickly. The Kaiser has
had a battle with himself from the day
he was born. His left arm crippled, his
figure drooping and sickly, as a boy
Prince he worked against fate until he
developed himself into a broad, muscular
man. But he was not able to strengthen
his throat, he was not able to ward off
that disease, be it cancer or what, which
took off his Hohenzollern ancestors.
Active at the Front
Physically strong the Kaiser is today.
At the front he does not pamper himself.
He has gone without meals. He has
scorned the course luncheons of chateau
headquarters for plates of stew at field
kitchens. He has been in the saddle for
hours at a time, always leaving the im-
perial motor when the zone of military
fire, with its alert enemy observers, drew
near. At Lille he stood in the rain for
hours and watched the Bavarians, who
were to drive on Arras, go marching by.
Day after day, during the height of the
Verdun offensive, he went to bed after
midnight, and was up at daybreak, con-
sulting with his Generals throughout the
night.
Visiting points on the front by day,
ever haranguing the soldiers with
speeches, it is not an uncommon thing
for the Kaiser to make twelve speeches a
day at the front. It has been said of him
that he believes his presence is worth
more in a battle than two army corps.
Let a column of infantry be overtaken
by the imperial motor. " Halt ! " cries
the Kaiser — to the distant drumming of
the guns he almost seems to beat time
with the little Field Marshal's baton
generally to be found clasped in the im-
perial hand. " Soldiers, you have given
the Fatherland many glorious victories,
you will continue to win victories until,
with God's help, peace comes." Such is
the pith of the typical Kaiser speech at
the front — acknowledgment, instilling of
will, reminder of God. It is his inevi-
table construction.
That the army loves him there can be
no doubt. The Kaiser's attitude is as if
Germany were the father; as if all the
soldiers were children; as if he were the
representative of the father, Germany,
looking after them. He does look after
his soldiers, too, as much as circum-
stances will allow — obviously impossible
for the Kaiser to know his millions of
soldiers personally. A visit to the groan-
ing hospital cot, a word of kindness, a
clasp of a day laborer's hand, a decora-
tion bestowed, an unexpected visit to a
company at meal time, a dish of stew
with them from out of the field kitchen;
an unheralded coming to the quarters
where his soldiers rest behind the firing
line, an imperial call-down for the officer
because the men are not comfortable
enough — such things the Kaiser is ever
doing, and the stories of them are spread
like wildfire throughout the army; and
the men come to feel that he is an Em-
peror who is fighting with them, not
lounging back in a palace, getting the re-
ports.
Now, obviously it is good business for
the Kaiser to create such sentiment
among the soldiers ; but to give that as a
reason for the Kaiser being at the front
is unfair and untrue; for the Kaiser is a
man, and while he approaches war in the
mood of utmost gravity and religiously
inspired, still he loves the thrill of it all.
In a room of the General Staff in Ber-
lin where the officers whose duty is rail-
road transportation keep track day and
night of the movements of all passenger
and military trains throughout the em-
pire, there come nights when every man
is unusually alert. Those are " Kaiser
nights." In the great headquarters of
Charleville, Brussels, and in Lille, three
Staffs whose sole work is railroads sit.
The Imperial Special
The Kaiser decides to leave the west-
ern battlefront for the east. His head-
quarters, during July, was a chateau be-
hind Sedan. From Sedan the word is
flashed to Lille that the Kaiser is com-
ing. Lille flashes it on to Brussels.
Brussels to the great railroad room in
Berlin. From that building of yellowish
brick on the Konigsplatz, railroad chiefs
at every point, from Aachen on the Bel-
gian frontier to Alexandrovo on the Po-
IS
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
lish frontier, are notified that the Kai-
ser's train is leaving Lille bound for
Warsaw, over Brussels, Berlin. There is
a separate staff for the administration of
the roads in Poland, to which headquar-
ters in Warsaw comes the same message
from Berlin, and it in turn notifies the^
yard chiefs in Poland, at Lodz and Skier-
niewice, of the coming of the imperial
train. All is ready. The yards know
just how many military and passenger
trains are scheduled to pass through
them in the next twenty-four hours. The
" Kaiser's schedule " is put in operation.
Tracks are cleared for the imperial spe-
cial.
Drawn by one of the powerful engines
of the Heckle works, it pulls into Sedan,
a drawing-room car for the Kaiser and
his personal aids, a combination dining
and study car, the imperial sleeper, and
three sleepers for the rest of the staff.
As the big locomotive waits, there sounds
above its panting the clatter of airplanes,
and overhead, in V formation, flying like
crows, a big Fokker at the apex, the Kai-
ser's aerial guard, to keep off any possi-
ble enemy flier until the German fron-
tier is reached, circles and circles on
high.
The night after the Kaiser has stepped
into his special train at Sedan, he is de-
training at Warsaw and driving at mid-
night down the Jeruselamer Allee into
the Nowy Swiat and down to the palace
of the old Polish Kings, where he will
spend the night. A few days getting the
Polish sentiment, possibly sounding out
the temper of the people, to see if shoul-
der to shoulder they will fight with the
Germans against Russia, and the Kaiser
moves on. From Warsaw he radiates
north to watch the hammering at
Riga; east, beyond Brest-Litovsk, where
Reincke holds the line of Barnovitch
against the Russian drive; or the impe-
rial train goes hammering southwest
over Ivangorod toward Kovel, where
Litchowsky and his Cossacks drill the
Austrian wall.
Wherever the situation seems to be
critical, there goes the Kaiser — to in-
spire his troops. Wherever a great vic-
tory has been won, there goes the Kaiser
— to thank his troops. Whenever a new
country has been captured, Serbia, Ru-
mania, there goes the Kaiser to strike
awe into the hearts of the captive popu-
lace, awe and respect for the Prussian
eagle. Wherever an ally is becoming a
little uneasy, there goes the Kaiser — to
stiffen weak backs and bolster causes
that seem lost.
Methods of the War Lord
One of the Kaiser's prerogatives is
that he holds the supreme command of
the German Army and the German
Navy. Incidentally, the German mili-
tary title for the office is " Kriegs
Herrn," a regular military title which
caused the Kaiser to be known to the
world as the War Lord, for Kriegs
Herrn literally translates into that.
Holding this supreme command, the Kai-
ser uses it. Our President is Comman-
der in Chief of the American Army and
Navy, but as a rule our Presidents rarely
direct the campaign of our army and
navy in time of war. Unlike our Presi-
dents, the Kaiser has studied military
and naval science his whole life, and he
believes he knows something concerning
it — a point, by the way, upon which
writers on military science differ.
Now the Kaiser's method with his
army is direct. He appoints the man
whom he believes to be best fitted for the
work to the office of Chief of the Gen-
eral Staff. This man is surrounded by
hundreds of the most efficient and highly
specialized officers in the German Army.
This General Staff, quartered in the
field at Charleville, France, works out
department by department every phase
of the big military campaigns. These
campaigns, decided upon by the Chiefs
of Staff, are then put up to the Kaiser.
After the success of the operations in
Serbia in the Autumn of 1915, Falken-
hayn formed a plan of campaign that
called for a spending of Germany's of-
fensive resources at that time against
France. Hindenburg, then in supreme
command of the German armies of the
East, (Falkenhayn not having jurisdic-
tion over him in any way,) violently op-
posed this plan against France. Hin-
denburg and his great strategist, Lu-
dendorff, told the Emperor that no of-
THE KAISER TODAY
19
fensive movement should be made
against France, but that a decision
should be first reached in the East. The
Kaiser had the two propositions in front
of him. Falkenhayn flatly promised the
Kaiser Verdun. He had it all figured
out convincingly. Hindenburg came out
against Falkenhayn's plan. The Kaiser
told Hindenburg he was wrong; but half
a year later Falkenhayn's head went into
the basket, next to Moltke's. He had
joined the lists of the Kaiser's Chiefs of
Staff who failed.
Now that is the Kaiser's position in re-
lation to the army. He is the supreme
arbiter. His Chief of Staff and his Gen-
erals conceive the military moves. He
studies their plans, suggests changes
here, and likes his Generals when they
openly disagree with him— that is, if it
turns out that they are right. If their
opposition is shown to be wrong, they get
on the imperial black list. The Kaiser
decides. That sums up his position with
the army.
His Control of Submarines
Similar is his relation to the navy.
That, too, has its General Staff. They
sit in a most modern building in Berlin,
a palace compared with the headquarters
of the army; and conceive their problems
of naval strategy. In that white sione
building on the shores of one of Berlin's
canals was born the idea of submarine
frightfulness. For two years they
worked on the campaign which was an-
nounced to the world on Jan. 31, 1917.
For two years they increased the build-
ing facilities of the German shipyards,
biding their time, as week by week the
number of " sea snakes " grew. Then,
when they had a certain number ready —
one does not pretend to know how many;
credible information says that Germany
can now build six submarines a week —
when they had raised the number of sub-
marines so it would satisfy their plans,
the German Admiralty Staff laid them
again before the Kaiser, and he made
his momentous decision. Will it make
him or break him?
Likewise with his Foreign Office does
the Kaiser decide. In that musty old
building, Wilhelmstrasse 76, there are
departments for every nation in the
world. One official, with his subordi-
nates, is in charge of the United States
department, another of the English, and
so on. It is the duty of these depart-
ment chiefs to be ready at the Kaiser's
call to lay before him any diplomatic in-
formation which he desires in relation to
that particular country. As executive
head of the Foreign Office — Secretary
for Foreign Affairs — von Jagow, with a
mild, suave, tolerant, cosmopolitan type
of mind, was quite all right for the rub-
ber stamp work that a German Foreign
Minister under Wilhelm II. has to do.
Quite all right, until the brew of subma-
rine frightfulness began boiling, and out
went the mild Jagow for the vigorous
Zimmermann. He is responsible to the
Chancellor for the efficiency of the For-
eign Office, and the Chancellor is re-
sponsible to the Kaiser.
As the army and navy chiefs bring up
their plans for a decision, so does Dr.
Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg. If the
Kaiser likes the Chancellor's plan, he
adopts it. If he doesn't, the imperial
frown is put upon it. One colossal blun-
der, and, like Moltke, Falkenhayn, and
Tirpitz, off will go Bethmann Hollweg's
head into the imperial basket; for the
Kaiser's chieftains publicly assume the
responsibility for the moves of Imperial
Germany. If the moves fail, they and
they alone are to blame, for, despite the
fact that none of these moves can be
made without the Kaiser's indorsement
of them, Wilhelm II., being the Kaiser,
" can do no wrong."
We find today the German Emperor at
the pinnacle of his power, lusty in health,
save for the shadow of that disease which
has cursed his family, and which at any
time may insidiously creep over him.
The Kaiser has the vitality to keep
continually active during this war.
Grave, bearing his responsibilities heav-
ily, rarely brightening except at the news
of a victory, he sternly and grimly goes
through the daily routine, knowing ex-
actly what is going on in every depart-
ment of the German war machine. In-
tensely religious, calling upon God in his
hour of trial more even than he called
upon Him in peace, the Kaiser, is relig-
20
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
ious today almost to the point of fanati-
cism. One might almost say that his
whole life is held together by his belief
that God is on the' side of Germany in
this war. Without that deep and sincere
religious conviction — it is almost insan-
what Bergson called a " mental com-
plex " — it seems incredible that the Kai-
ser could have stood up against the
strain, so deeply has he plunged himself
into the war, as long as he has.
In considering the Kaiser today too
much stress cannot be laid upon this re-
ligious side of his character. If he were
acting, if his ranting about God were
mummery, the task of the world would be
easier. For a hypocrite analyzes and
compromises quickly. Not a fanatic.
And the Kaiser's belief that he is a being
put on this earth by God and anointed by
God to rule the German Nation, and to
lead it to its destiny — which destiny the
writers of Germany have often assured
us has no small limits — this belief of the
Kaiser's that God is the protector of
German Kultur, this makes him in this
war the strongest ruler in the world.
For he will not compromise. Believing
as he does that God is with him, he will
go on fighting on and on, putting all the
life and treasure of Germany into what
he believes to be the arm of the Al-
mighty. He will fight on, and he will be
able to, because his people love him, de-
spite the appalling sacrifices he has
called upon them to make. Impelled by
this religious hysteria, he will continue
the war until he meets an end like that of
the old German gods, and the whole fabric
of his empire is rent asunder. Either that
or the world fighting him will be as
-Christ and try to end humanity's anguish
by overcoming the thought of " punish-
ment " with one of charity. But if the
world should be merciful the Kaiser
would believe that " our old German
God " — privately tagging the Almighty
as he so often does — had brought him
victory. And on the Linden the imperial
fanfares would sound, and from the gray
stone balcony of the schloss one of those
" with God " speeches would stir the Ber-
lin soul. * * * Yet — yet there would be
peace.
A Colossus today is the Kaiser. A
conqueror, lusty and hale. But tomor-
row, what of that?
Before the war a German, Franz von
Beyerlin, wrote a novel speculating 0*1
the fate of the German Army, asking the
question as to what the future held, and
taking that question as his novel's title,
"Jena or Sedan?" * * * defeat or
victory?
One can imagine a novel now, around
the Kaiser— " Tilsit or Versailles?"
* * * humbled or glorified, what will
he be? * * *
Perhaps the graves of Europe's dead
know, but cannot tell.
The Women of the War
By ETHEL WYN DITHRIDGE
Afar amid war's darkness, they suffer and grow strong,
For courage is their garment, and hope their evensong;
They hide the pain of parting with " till we meet again,"
Or greet with tender welcome their bruised and broken men.
They give their all ungrudging, nor think it much to give ;
They see their lives in ruin, then face the years, and live.
O heart of selfish sorrows and unavailing fears !
One day of their devotion were worth my idle years.
With uncomplaining patience their sacrifice is made —
So, tho' in lesser service, my debt of love were paid.
Take thou, beloved country, the little all I give,
Who am not born to greatness, and yet would greatly live.
Hunger Stalks Through Europe
Food Shortage and Stern Measures to Meet It
ALL information during late Febru-
ary and March indicated definite-
. ly that all the nations of Europe
were suffering severely from
food shortage. The crisis began to be
acute in February, and until the crops
of 1917 begin to mature, a period of
about three and a half months, all
Europe will continue to confront the
most serious lack of food that has yet
arisen. No portion of the entire Conti-
nent is free from privation, though the
shortage seems more acute in Germany
and Austria than elsewhere.
Oscar King Davis, who spent several
weeks in Germany before the severance
of relations, and who accompanied Am-
bassador Gerard on his journey home,
cabled to The New York Times from
Havana on March 11 a comprehensive
review of the food situation in Germany.
Mr. Davis wrote that Mr. Gerard re-
garded the condition of Germany as des-
perate, especially where the supply of
food and general economic conditions,
including finance, are concerned, and
that he knew the frame of mind of re-
sponsible German officials to be quite in
keeping with their recognition of the des-
perate situation of their country.
He wrote that one who has lived even
for a brief period in the restaurants and
hotels of Germany stands aghast in
France, as he does in Switzerland, at the
prodigal and extraordinary waste of
food. If you have had a meal in a pub-
lic eating place in Berlin, with the lively
and significant clink of forks and spoons
on plates and dishes, scraping up the last
drop of sauce or gravy, and then come
into a public eating place in Berne or
Paris, to find not only sauce and gravy
abandoned in unthinkable quantities, but
bread, meat, potatoes, and every kind of
thing good to eat sent away from the
table untouched or hardly more than nib-
bled at, you are simply overwhelmed by
the contrast.
" It is under such circumstances," con-
tinues Mr. Davis, " that you come to a
keener realization of how the organiza-
tion and control of her food supplies in
their production, collection, and distribu-
tion is evidence, not that Germany is
starving today, but that she is likely by
these very means to win through to the
bitter end without starvation. Hard-
ship, privation, underfeeding, and for
some of her people insufficient nourish-
ment, Germany unquestionably endures
today, with three or four severe months
yet to sustain before she finds relief from
new crops. But if those new crops re-
spond in fair measure to the efforts Ger-
many is making on them, her food prob-
lem will be postponed, in great measure,
for yet another year.
" The German officials have not been
eager to place exact scientific data in the
hands of foreign observers and investiga-
tors, but there have been a few American
scientific men who have made noteworthy
studies, especially on food and sanitary
conditions. Mr. Gerard has had the
advantage of their work and knows their
information. The results of their obser-
vations and their scientific conclusions
will undoubtedly be included in what Mr.
Gerard has to tell the President in the
next few days. It will be a report
tinged with malnutrition, undernourish-
ment, anemia, low blood count, and simi-
lar scientific terms meaning that those to
whom they are applied have not had food
in sufficient quantities or of proper qual-
ity. It will be applied especially to cer-
tain classes of Germans, such as seam-
stresses, servants, persons working for
small wages, children, the aged and in-
firm, and that sort."
A trusted observer of food conditions
in Germany reported to the State Depart-
ment at Washington on March 14 that
20,000,000 people directly connected with
the German Army or Government, 20,-
000,000 in the rural population, and
about 8,000,000 wealthy people were well
fed, but that the rest, about 20,000,000,
were in a serious plight.
Charles H. Grasty, an executive of
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
The New York Times Company, who
joined Ambassador Gerard's party in
Spain and sailed from Corunna to Amer-
ica with him, after eleven days in inti-
mate intercourse with the party of
diplomats, Military Attaches, doctors,
merchants, and travelers, who had had
unsurpassed opportunities for knowing
the real state of affairs in Germany,
wrote on March 11:
" After discussing the German situa-
tion for eleven days, my conclusion is
that the food shortage in the Fatherland
is more serious than has been believed
outside. The present condition is not
one of actual starvation, but there is
much suffering in spots, and Germany
faces a crisis between now and harvest.
Unless the submarine war prospers Ger-
many can hardly escape an upheaval.
" One doctor aboard the ship tells me
that, even with his unusual facilities, he
was much reduced by the lack of fats,
and when he reached Zurich he was so
ravenous that he made himself ill, de-
vouring everything greasy. Lack of fats
caused an incessant gnawfng and nothing
would ■ stick to his ribs.' His stomach
had no food reserve and intestinal diges-
tion was suspended.
" The misery resulting from the food
conditions is observable in every face.
The Government took all possible pre-
cautions, but while 60 per cent, turnips
could make bulk, it couldn't make nutri-
ment. A thick soup of cabbage and tur-
nips, a bit of meat, and a trace of grease
could be bought at the community
kitchens in the cities for 6 cents, (30
pfennigs,) and bread at 1 cent a slice,
but thirty minutes after eating, one was
hungry again.
" The diet gave no power of resistance
to the cold. The Americans who serve
as prison inspectors say that even with
huge furs they almost froze this Winter.
" Mothers and babies are without milk,
and the suffering is great. While the ef-
fect of the food conditions on the public
morale is temporarily offset by hysterical
loyalty, physical causes must prevail over
•logical in the end.
Unhealthy Social Conditions
" Throughout the trying times the Ger-
man women have been showing a splen-
did nerve. They are taking men's places
at manual labor. Many assure me if the
women are called they will respond in
tremendous numbers, game to perform
many trench tasks, if not actually do full
, military duty.
" The moral and social conditions are
entirely unlike old Germany. In high
society spying and intrigue prevail. No-
body trusts anybody, and the conversa-
tion is all insincerity and deception.
While the unwritten law still holds
among the nobility, the laws regulating
divorce are a dead letter.
" Soldiers at the front and wives at
home are freed from marital restraints.
Illegitimate births now reach 25 per cent,
in Berlin, and even more in Bavaria, and
the percentage is increasing.
" Popular taste on the stage calls for a
murder in every act, and the big theat-
rical successes reek with morbid details.
" The tendencies in Germany to rule
womankind with a rod of iron have been
emphasized by the war. Men use wo-
men roughly and punish them physically
for trifling faults. Women are treated
as recognized inferiors, and they don't
resent it.
" Such are some of the effects of baf-
fled militarism upon the Germans. They
went into this war expecting a three
months' picnic. The resistance, followed
by threatened defeat, has produced a per-
versity that breaks out as described.
" This is not to say that Germany is
all bad. I have heard stories of splendid
self-sacrifice in all circles. Some of the
aristocracy voluntarily adopt short com-
mons, and potato rations are passed to
the guests by liveried servants."
Greater Berlin is now issuing weekly
3,600,000 bread cards, and 66,500,000 cou-
pons representing daily rations find their
way back to the Bread Commission,
where they are checked off. Soldiers re-
turning from the front are met at the
railway station and receive bread tickets
good for their furlough.
One recent achievement of the German
chemists has been the utilizing of tar oil,
extracted from burned coal, for making
soap. The new process includes the
treatment of crude coal oil with potash,
HUNGER STALKS THROUGH EUROPE
23
the finished product yielding excellent
soft, hard, and powdered soaps.
Life in Hamburg
The German newspaper press reveals
in advertisements some facts regarding
the situation. The following is given
as an example of a war dinner which
may be obtained in Hamburg (Hackepeter
Restaurant, Reeperbahn 103):
' Herring with French beans, 1.40 marks.
Haddock (boiled) with mustard sauce and
sauerkraut, 1.50 marks.
Haddock (fried) with green cabbage, 2
marks.
Hare ragout, with cabbage stewed in wine,
(free from meat card,) 2.20 marks.
Roast venison with red cabbage, (one-half
meat card section,) 2.80 marks.
Rum grog, 60 pfennigs; red wine grog, 40
pfennigs.
Sea mussel meal prepared from living
fresh mussels mixed with meat is ap-
parently a popular dish in the sense that
it is freely advertised, and there are
many advertisements of salted fish and
even fresh fish. This, however, is. very
dear; five tons of plaice, for instance, is
offered at 260 marks a ton, and eighteen
tons of whiting and haddock at 280
marks a ton. The price of geese is so
high that it cannot be reckoned as a food
for the nation at large. Thus goose
breast costs 11.50 marks per pound, and
goose legs 9 marks per pound. Goose fat
must be a great luxury, for it is sold at
17 marks a pound. Large crammed
fowls can, however, be had for 4.50 marks
a pound, and ducks at 4.95 marks per
pound. Hens for roasting are advertised
at about $1.25 apiece. Foods of a kind
that are not as a rule eaten are freely
advertised, such as salt seal meat and
whale meat.
Soap is very scarce, and toilet soap
costs 63 cents a piece, and cannot
easily be got. Soap substitutes made of
calcium carbonate are common. Fatless
grease wash extracts for soap are freely
advertised. Many firms find a difficulty
in feeding their workers, and advertise
for supplies. Very common is the ad-
vertisement, " We buy food of all kinds
for workers in large quantities." One
firm announces that it will buy any quan-
tity of preserves, jams, and meat wares.
The strangest materials are being
used to produce covering for the poorer
classes of Germany. Nettle wastage
and raw nettles are advertised as well as
woven paper for making men's clothes.
Cheap costumes are made from artificial
silk, and moire material and lining are
used for dresses. There are many offers
in the clothing trade journals to buy
waste paper, from which paper yarn is
made. A textile firm advertises for
horse hair of all kinds, ox-tail hair, goat
hair, pigs' bristles and hair, which are to
be used in its factory. The lack of raw
material has caused many textile mills to
close down. Waste of every kind is
eagerly bought, such as metal, rags,
bones, rubber, iron, paper, newspapers
and books, and empty sacks, packing
cases, and bottles. There are numerous
advertisements due to the war which
point to the use of all available resources.
Organ Pipes for Munitions
Prussian churches are being stripped
of their organ pipes. Thus we find the
following proclamation from the Police
President in Berlin:
The proclamation of the Ober-Kommando
in Brandenburg respecting the sequestration,
census, arid expropriation of organ " pros-
pekt " pipes made of tin, and voluntary de-
livery of other tin pipes, sound-conductors,
&c, belonging to organs and other musical in-
struments, comes into force on Jan. 10. * * *
The Police President, Berlin.
An advertisement in the Berliner Tage-
blatt gives instructions as to how these
orders are to be carried out. In it the
" prospekt " pipes are described as all
those visible on the outside of an organ.
The price fixed for these tin organ pipes
is 6.30 marks per kilo, in addition to
a payment of 35 marks by way of com-
pensation for every organ damaged,
There is a great search after gold and
jewelry, a committee having been formed
for this purpose with the Crown Princess
of Prussia as its patroness, and backed
by the signatories of Bethmann Hollweg,
Wermuth, Oberburgermeister of Berlin,
and Dr. Haverstein, President of the di-
rectorate of the Reichsbank.
It is stated that the offices of the com-
mittee are open every weekday from 10
A. M. to 2 P. M. in various parts of
Berlin. The price of the objects bought
21
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
is fixed by valuators. Deliverers of gold
trinkets receive a written certificate,
and those who offer gold chains get an
iron chain at the cost of 2.50 marks, to
celebrate their patriotism, or a medal.
All those who offer gold objects worth
at least 5 marks receive a similar medal.
In analyzing any list of advertise-
ments it is necessary to remember that
most of the necessaries of life cannot be
bought without the production of official
vouchers. Thus edible fat, eggs, and
sugar can only be bought on production
of a food book which entitles the buyers
to certain quantities as per ration. This
applies, of course, to all articles of food
on the food ticket. Poultry, however,
and game are freely sold without cards,
which means that the well-to-do can still
get plenty to eat. A new order forbids
under heavy fine the bringing of dogs
into rooms where food is kept for sale.
Cultivating Town Lots
Many advertisements appear in the
agricultural papers urging the farmers
to cultivate vegetables in large quantities,
for a shortage of vegetables, on which
the poor in the absence of meat so much
depend, is feared. Building grounds in
towns are being parceled out for culti-
vation. Thus we get the following an-
nouncement in the Munchener Neueste
Nachrichten :
In order to hold out more easily we are
making available for the cultivation of fruit
and vegetables the Maxhof estate within the
town boundary of Munich, situated between
Forstenried, Neuried, &c. Thirty-five min-
utes distant from Waldfriedhof and Solin.
Since work must soon be begun it lies in
the interests of the buyer to choose quickly.
Owing to the bad weather during the recent
holidays we retain the old price of 7^ pfen-
nigs per square foot for Saturday and Sun-
day, when the ground can be viewed, &c.
One-quarter plot (tagwerk) equals 850 square
meters, cost 750 marks, &c.
Forstenried Garden City Co., Ltd.
Shortage of labor is a great difficulty
in getting the land cultivated, and even
men with artificial limbs are being used
in farm work. Belgian labor is offered
as if it were slave labor, if one may
judge from the following advertisement
in the Magdeburgishe Zeitung:
"Thirty Belgian civilian workers are
to be disposed of during the frosty
weather."
The high prices in Germany naturally
encourage smuggling from Holland. The
Dutch paper, Vaderland, declares that
the smuggling trade has grown such a
lucrative one in the Coevorden district
that many workmen are leaving their
employment to take this trade in hand.
The Algemeen Handelsblad is informed
from Zevenaar that at Didam, Bergh,
Wehl, and Zevenaar more than 5,000
kilos of fat and soap have been seized
from smugglers. A number of the smug-
glers have been caught and warrants
have been issued against 200, including
some Amsterdam people. The Dutch
require these articles for themselves,
since prices are very high in Holland.
Picture of Berlin Life
The Frankfurter Zeitung publishes an
account of the extraordinary change in
the appearance and life of Berlin. It is
only lately that Berlin has really altered
its character — since the shops shut at 7,
the houses at 9, the theatres at 10, and
the restaurants and cafes at 11:30, while
practically all the street cars stop at
midnight, and the population, adapting
itself to circumstances, really goes to
bed early. The Frankfurter Zeitung
gives the following picture:
" Without any exaggeration, Berlin
has become a different city. For every
town the new restrictions mean much,
but for Berlin they mean everything. In
other places people were active, but in
Berlin they were creative. Here was the
new Germany, the new Europe. The
manifold activities, the vitality have
gone, and all that remains is war, victory,
and peace. Although the individual
artist, merchant, or professor may still
have his ideas and pursue them in secret,
Berlin as a whole is waiting, breathless,
silent, tame, but burning for the moment
when she can again pursue her innumer-
able purposes with the old eagerness and
a new impulse. That is the characteris-
tic of intellectual and scientific Berlin —
waiting for the new moment, the new
time. * * * The streets are now
quieter by day and empty in the evening.
Life is a provisorium. One sees few
HUNGER STALKS THROUGH EUROPE
25
taxicabs, and notices more and more
the scarcity of vehicles generally and in
many cases of personnel. The women
are beginning to dominate the sphere of
work, doing everything on their own re-
sponsibility. * * * We have our
own army of occupation, since whole
rows of houses are taken up by the new
War Bureaus and the countless subordi-
nate departments which are carrying out
the national organization. What was
called ' shopping ' has stopped. Since
everything is rationed, shopping due to
fancy, luxury, or boredom — in other
words, women's shopping — has ceased."
The article goes on to say that the
theatres are full, but that, except in the
lowest class of revues, the plays have
little to do with the war. People have
become quiet and introspective, and hos-
tesses are acquiring the habit of reciting
poetry to their guests.
The Berliner Tageblatt on March 7 an-
nounced that the suspension of all beer
brewing in Northern Germany was im-
minent. This action was due to the
desire to save Indian corn for bread and
malt to take the place of coffee.
At a conference in Vienna March 3,
attended by Cabinet Ministers, Govern-
ors of Provinces, Burgomasters, and sev-
eral Parliamentary Deputies, Premier
Count Clam-Martinic announced that the
Minister of Finance was about to put
into operation measures to provide food-
stuffs for the poorer classes at con-
siderably reduced prices.
Bread Cards in France
Announcement that bread cards would
be instituted in France to prevent waste
was made March 1, 1917, in an official
communication issued by Edouard Her-
riot, Minister of Provisions. The an-
nouncement says:
"To avoid wastage, the Minister of
Provisions has decided to regulate the
consumption of bread by instituting
cards. Instructions will be given to the
Prefects of the different departments to
put the new regulation into effect."
It developed in a debate in Paris that
the wheat acreage of France was re-
duced about 800,000 by the invasion, out
of a total of 16,250,000, while the de-
ficiency for 1917 is estimated at 5,500,-
000 acres, of which 500,000, at least, is
expected to be made up by Spring seed-
ing of Manitoba wheat, which, it is now
conceded, will grow successfully in
French soil.
To increase the wheat acreage it is
necessary to raise the maximum selling
price from an equivalent of $1.85 to
$2.25 per bushel, and also to intensify
the use of modern motor implements
and a greater number of prisoners of
war, of whom only 35,000 have been em-
ployed on farms.
Russia also is suffering serious priva-
tion, aggravated by a serious breakdown
in its transportation and distributing
systems. News dispatches before the
recent revolution told of food riots in
Moscow and Petrograd, but the censor-
ship was so strict that no details were
allowed to filter through. Food riots in
Petrograd, indeed, were a direct cause
of the downfall of the Czar's Govern-
ment. Those who know most concerning
the internal situation in Russia declare
that starvation still faces large numbers
of the poor throughout that country.
Scarcity in Great Britain
There is a great scarcity of potatoes
in Great Britain, and it is stated that the
available stock will be entirely exhausted
by May 1, unless there is a material re-
duction in consumption. The measures
taken to increase the British food supply
by restricting the importation of non-
essentials are given in detail elsewhere.
Among the new regulations in London is
the establishing of one meatless day at
all clubs. The prices of bacon, butter,
cheese, and lard are regulated. A re-
liable observer says under date of March
8:
" All over the United Kingdom men
and women are, in advance of mandatory
legislation, limiting their food consump-
tion, reducing the use of meat, of sugar,
of all the things that are supplied by
seaborne freights. Britain is getting
ready to stand siege; millions of British
subjects recognize that the cost of vic-
tory in the great struggle may be scar-
city at home such as has not been known
in modern times in England.
" In the restaurants and hotels only
26
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
two courses are served for luncheon and
three for dinner. And nothing is more
impressive than the fashion in which
people are submitting to that sort of
regulation.
" The time has not come when there is
an actual and visible shortage of food-
stuffs in England. There is no starva-
tion and there is no evidence of that
very general underfeeding which all wit-
nesses agree is so unmistakable in Ger-
many. Britain is not yet hungry, but
Britons are taking every step to avoid
possible famine hereafter by making
meagre now."
Deprivations of Neutrals
The war years have doubled prices of
many necessities in all lands, and the
suffering in the neutral countries of
Europe is almost as acute as that in the
belligerent nations. Reports from the
Scandinavian countries and Holland tell
of serious want owing to the submarine
blockade. Sweden has not enough grain
to last until the next harvest, and Nor-
way has still less than Sweden.
Holland suffered a severe blow in the
torpedoing of six Government grain ships
by German submarines, followed by a
virtual paralysis of all overseas traffic.
There has been some modification of the
sea lanes open to Holland, but the food
shortage continues acute. The Dutch
Government found itself compelled,
owing to this situation, to prohibit the
exportation of bread to Belgium after
March 10, 1917.
Switzerland has two meatless days a
week, and must limit its egg consump-
tion, according to a measure promulgated
by the Bundesrat at Berne on Feb. 23.
In order to conserve the milk supply the
sale of whipped cream is forbidden in all
public places. » The same provision for-
bids the giving of more than 15 grams
of sugar with a tea or coffee order and
limits the quantity of sugar which may
be used for frostings. Butter may be
served only at breakfast or at meals at
which no meat or egg dishes are supplied
and may no longer be used with cheese.
The use of eggs in making pastry is pro-
hibited.
The United States has not escaped its
share of the war's effects. In New York
City late in February there were riots
in the congested districts over the high
prices of food and considerable excite-
ment prevailed for some . days. Many
tons of food were purchased at distant
points by municipal committees and sold
in New York at cost. After a week of
excitement the food supply increased,
prices dropped and the flurry subsided.
WAR SEEN FROM TWO ANGLES
[American View]
Germans and Turks in Retreat
Period from February 15 to March 17, 1917
By J. B. W. Gardiner
Formerly Lieutenant Eleventh United States Cavalry
DURING the past month only two
theatres of war have been at
all active — the front in France
and the Near East. The others
have remained in the grip of an un-
usually long Winter, which, while it has
permitted sporadic outbursts of short
duration, has effectually prevented any
sustained movements. But in these two
theatres the Allies have achieved the
greatest successes of the last two years.
On the French front the ground has
not hardened after the melting of the
Winter snows, but the British have main-
tained a consistent pressure which the
Germans have not seemed able to hold
back. Continuing their success at Grand-
court, which they took last month,
the British were pushing slowly up along
the railroad that runs from Albert to
Achiet le Grand and thence to Arras.
The Germans gave ground stubbornly for
a while, and then an unexpected thing
happened. The entire southern side of
the German salient began to retreat,
slowly and in good order, with apparent-
ly small loss. The German official re-
ports failed to mention this retreat for
days, and the British reports were none
too definite in regard to it. For some-
time the whole affair remained clouded
in mystery.
Apparently the British were taken by
surprise, and were afraid of some sort
of trap. Their advance, therefore, was
slow, as if they were feeling their way
forward. The Germans were equally
wary in their retreat. They left behind
them, as the main forces retired, strong
posts armed with machine guns lest the
retreat be turned into a rout. A number
of strong positions were given up. Even
the railroad junction at Achiet le Grand
was permitted to come directly under fire
of the British artillery through the oc-
cupation by the British of Achiet le
Petit. As many of the roads over which
the retreat had to be made were covered
by the British artillery the German loss
must have been considerable; but, not-
withstanding some press reports of a
rout, there was not the slightest indica-
tion that the withdrawal was otherwise
than orderly and in complete control.
The retreat carried the British lines up
to the outskirts of Bapaume, the first
of the objectives for which the battle
of the Somme was begun. Here the Ger-
mans made a stand. But the British im-
mediately shifted the point of pressure
and attacked along the Bapaume-Peronne
road against the Woods of St. Pierre
Vaast near Sailly-Saillisel. They cap-
tured these woods, and, pushing their
lines well forward both to the north and
south, went well to the east of the
Bapaume position, outflanking it and ac-
centuating the danger of an attack from
the south. On the morning of March 17
Bapaume was captured by the British,
while the French took Roye and Lassigny.
Abandoning the Whole Salient
This German retreat is evidently the
beginning of a retirement from the whole
of what might be termed the Ancre sali-
ent. That it has not progressed more
rapidly is evidence of the extreme care
which must be exercised in a retrograde
movement when enemy pressure is con-
stant and where contact is never for a
moment lost. The Germans, have, of
course, vast stores of ammunition in
their endless series of dugouts, and this
must be moved. Not a little of it has
fallen into British hands. This was un-
28
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
eration. But a small part was withdrawn
at a time. This, however, has reached a
stage where, for the forces left behind in
the original position, there is an element
of extreme danger.
On the other hand, the present German
position is untenable. The present Brit-
ish position is a three-quarter circle
about the German lines, this circle being
about ten miles from tip to tip and
about seven miles deep. Two railroads
run out of this circle to the German
bases eastward, the more northern being
about two miles from the northern tip,
while the more southern is but a few
hundred yards from the British line.
This latter, then, is of no use whatever.
The former can be used only with danger.
There are few good dirt roads in this
entire ten miles. To extricate the troops
THE HEAVY BLACK LINE SHOWS THE OLD FRONT, THE DOTTED LINE FROM ARRAS TO
SOISSONS THE NEW POSITION GAINED BY THE ALLIES UP TO MARCH 20, 1917
avoidable, and will be the case whenever
such a movement takes place, but, rela-
tively, the amount is small. This neces-
sity of removing ammunition is going to
be a source of much trouble to the Ger-
mans as they retire, as it must and
will subject them to much greater pun-
ishment than would otherwise be the
case. The fewer the roads, too, over
which this can be moved, the greater is
going to be the danger of disaster, at
least as far as ammunition is concerned.
And this difficulty is present now even
to a greater degree than before.
The Germans did not and could not re-
tire from the entire salient position at
one operation. The line here, with its
sinuosities, was about fifteen miles long.
Had a retirement on any such front been
attempted British pressure would have
ruined the movement as a tactical op-
which still hold the northwestern corner
of the old salient position can only be
accomplished at a considerable sacrifice
of material and great loss of men. And
yet this must be given up. There is
scarcely a foot of all this territory which
is not under fire of the British guns from
practically all directions. As trenches
cannot at the same time face more than
one way, it is impossible that they can
furnish adequate protection. The Ger-
mans are therefore in trouble, no matter
what their choice may be.
Causes of Retirement
The movements of the past month are
in themselves a sufficient answer to the
assertion that to get the Germans out
of France- it will be necessary to drive
them out foot by foot for the whole dis-
tance. Clever strategy can frequently,
WAR SEEN FROM TWO ANGLES
29
even in trench warfare, put an enemy in
a position where a retirement is his only
salvation, even though infantry may
never have to go into action to effect it.
This is what the British have done on the
Somme.
As to the reasons for the German re-
tirement, the Germans have been very
silent except to state that it was a stra-
tegic retreat. This is, of course, mean-
ingless, as every retreat is properly so
characterized. The British have in like
manner had but little to say of it. One
thing we may be certain of: It was dic-
tated by necessity, not through choice.
This necessity may have been either of
two things. As I have said, the British
pressure was becoming more and more
severe, and the trap was slowly being
drawn tighter and tighter about the Ger-
man lines. If these forces did not retire
soon there was a possibility that they
would not be able to retire at all, but
must surrender. Another question was
the shortage of men. There can be no
doubt that this question is causing not
a little embarrassment. The Central
Powers are outnumbered on all fronts
two to one, and are outgunned and out-
generaled on the western front. As it is
possible to increase the number of men
per mile of line only by shortening the
line, this must be done. The eastern line
cannot, from its very nature, be shortened
without grave sacrifice of territory.
Therefore this operation must take place
in the west. In either case it bespeaks
a German emergency.
Just how far the German retirement
will extend no one, of course, can say.
Since the rain broke up the battle of the
Somme last Fall the Germans have had
plenty of time to prepare in rear of their
present lines a strong line of defense,
just as strong, in fact, as was their orig-
inal line when the storm on the Somme
broke. It is equally certain that they
have taken advantage of the opportunity.
It is to this line that they are retiring,
and they will halt when it is reached, not
before.
The remainder of the western front
has shown an uneasiness, reflecting pos-
sibly the action north of the Somme. This
has shown itself on both sides of the
Oise north of the Aisne and in the Cham-
pagne district. Both of these sections
of the line are of importance in the
possibilities they present. The former
threatens the Noyons salient as well as
the entire Aisne line by flanking it, the
latter the same line from the other end
by threatening the railroad communica-
tions. A successful operation against the
road between Challerange and Bazan-
court would place the German line in an
unenviable position as far as supplies
are concerned.
The Turkish Reverses
In the Near East events have been much
more determinative, and at this time it is
not too much to say that Turkey is in
grave danger of being forced into a
separate peace. The British, operating
along the Tigris River from the head of
the Persian Gulf, have conducted one of
the most brilliant individual moves of
the war. Here the fighting has been wide
open, trench warfare has not appeared,
and, because of the mobility of the
forces engaged, strategy has borne a
much more prominent part than in the
western fighting. It is not a question in
this territory only or even principally of
the mechanics of war. It is a question
of the brilliancy of the individual com-
mander.
The British here have made the most
expert use of their cavalry through a
series of well-planned and skillfully exe-
cuted movements against the Turkish
line of communications along the river.
As fast as the Turks would halt and en-
deavor to make a stand, the British
cavalry, operating on the western bank
of the Tigris, where the ground is high
and excellently adapted to cavalry work,
would strike behind them and force a
retreat. As the Tigris is the only line
of communications the Turks possessed
in this country of few roads, a retreat
was in every case inevitable.
Position after position was turned in
this way, until, after a most rapid ad-
vance, Bagdad fell into British hands.
At this writing the British have pushed
fifty miles beyond the City of the Caliphs,
and the Turks are still in retreat. In
addition the British are striking out
so
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
along the road from Bagdad to Teheran,
along which the Russians are advancing
rapidly. The Turks are therefore in a
trap, which, if they do not move quickly,
they will not be able to escape. The
Turkish Army before the British is in
a state of almost complete demoraliza-
tion. It has lost the greater part of its
artillery and ammunition, has suffered
heavily in prisoners, and many of the
men have thrown their arms into the
Tigris as they fled. Indeed, the rate of
the British advance, which was unbelieve-
ably rapid, tells its own story of the
condition of the Turkish Army.
Further east, in Persia, the Russians
are having a similar experience. The
Turkish Army in Persia, alarmed at the
possibility of having its line of retreat
cut off by the advancing British, has
offered but feeble resistance to the Rus-
sians, who have definitely broken the
enemy's line and are hurrying westward
toward the Turko-Persian frontier. Their
rate of advance is as great as that of
the British. The Turkish force is in
vital danger. The British are squarely
across their main line of retreat, and to
get away at all they will have to break
over the mountains and pass through the
gap between the Russian and the British
Army — which gap is steadily narrowing.
Less than 150 miles now separates these
two forces, so that the danger to the
Turks of capture or destruction is ap-
parent. There seems no possibility of
the Turks offering any organized re-
sistance to either force until Mosul is
reached. At Bagdad they had in their
rear the Bagdad railway, and also natu-
rally had stored up in Bagdad a large
quantity of materials of war of all kinds.
It was indeed the main base from which
they were working. If with all these
advantages they were unable to halt the
British advance for more than two days,
it is evident that their power of re-
sistance has been broken.
Aside from the military situation
created by these successes, the political
situation will be even more prolific of
danger to the Turk. Syria and Arabia
are waiting only for the opportunity to
break loose from the Sultan's dominion
and set up independent States. The
initial steps have already been taken by
Arabia, so that it may be truly said that
the disruption of the empire has begun.
Further to the west we have also seen
during the month an incident of no little
importance. That is the British advance
along the coast of the Holy Land to the
Dead Sea. This is the beginning of a
threat against Adana and Aleppo. There
are along this line considerable German
forces which will probably make the go-
ing harder than it is further east. But
the significance of the general pressure
against the Turks on every front is not
to be lost.
[German View]
Politico-Military Events of the Month
By H. H. von Mellenthin
Foreign Editor New-Yorker Staats-Zeitung
[See Maps on Pages 28 and 45]
THE development of the war situation
during the month ending about the
middle of March has been confined
chiefly to politico-military events. While
upon the main theatres of war on the
European Continent subdued thunder
continues to herald the approach of a
new storm, and while the purely military
interest centres upon the new mobility
of warfare in Jthe Near East, the entire
political situation of the world has be-
come mobile. The subjoined discussion is
to deal with the two principal political
events of the period just past: the Amer-
ican declaration of a state of armed neu-
trality and the Russian revolution.
As regards the declaration of " armed
neutrality " on the part of the United
■■■■■■■■I
DR. PAUL RITTER
Swiss Ambassador to the United States, Who Now Looks
After German Interests at Washington
(Photo Central News Service)
COUNT TARNOWSKI VON TARNOW
New Austro-Hungarian Ambassador, Whose Recognition
Has Been Delayed by the Submarine Issue
WAR SEEN FROM TWO ANGLES
SI
States, directed against Germany, it must
be made clear from the outset that neu-
trality, as far as its correct definition is
concerned, knows no limitation. Neu-
trality constitutes the relationship be-
tween two States " qui neutrarum sunt,"
that is, which participate on no side.
Strictly speaking, it is, therefore, para-
doxical for any neutral to incline benevo-
lently toward one party while toward
the other party it takes up an expectantly
aggressive position, as, for instance, by
arming. In either case neutrality, strictly
speaking, has ceased.
The development of the law of nations
has, however, modified the conception of
neutrality. Thus we hear today of " ab-
solute " or " strict " neutrality, and of
" partial " neutrality. The latter in-
cludes, in the first place, the inclination
toward one of two belligerent parties by
any sort of assistance. That is " benevo-
lent " (bienveillante) neutrality. Sec-
ond, there is the conception of " armed
neutrality," which takes effect as soon as
a neutral State announces that, in order
to safeguard its position as a neutral, or
to protect its interests from the acts of a
belligerent, it will itself resort to the
force of arms.
A Historic Instance
The conception of " armed neutrality "
found its most pregnant and practical
demonstration during the American war
of independence. On Jan. 1, 1780, Rus-
sia, Prussia, Denmark, Sweden, and
Portugal concluded a treaty, of armed
neutrality for the protection and defense
of peaceful commercial intercourse.
The fact that this neutrality treaty
was directed primarily against England's
arbitrary acts at sea shows that England
even then disregarded the rights of neu-
trals and violated their interests. This
treaty led to Spain's declaration of war
against England and to England's decla-
ration of war on Holland.
Prussia at that time maintained a
policy of benevolent neutrality toward
the Colonies in their war of independ-
ence. Frederick the Great forbade the
march through Prussian territory of
Hessian auxiliary troops hired by the
English, thus delaying the arrival of
these troops in America and resulting in
great benefit to the fighters for liberty.
Neither benevolent neutrality nor
armed neutrality is regarded nowadays
as a discontinuance of peace. Both con-
stitute an attitude, not an act of partici-
pation in the war.
The next step after a declaration of
such a neutrality, if circumstances bring
the two nations toward actual hostilities,
is the declaration of a " state of war."
Even that does not necessarily lead to
war itself. At any rate, however, armed
neutrality is a ticklish proposition, for
the declaration of such a state shows a
high degree of tension between the neu-
tral and the belligerent in question.
The crisis between the United States
and Germany has been caused by the
declaration and enforcement of the Ger-
man unrestricted U-boat warfare in the
barred zones.
The German submarine blockade has a
dual purpose. England is to be forced
into a mood receptive for peace by the
interception of her supplies, and the
great offensive movements of the Allies
predicted for Spring are to be deprived,
by the blockade of the sea routes, of the
means for their execution, that is, men
and munitions.
Sir Edward Carson, First Lord of the
British Admiralty, on Feb. 21, and Pre-
mier Lloyd George two days later, ad-
mitted that the U-boat menace had as-
sumed ominous proportions and created
a serious situation. For the first time
the gravity of the U-boat's economic
menace to England was thus admitted
by English statesmen.
From the military point of view, the
second purpose of the German submarine
war, that of cutting the Allies off from
further overseas supply of death-dealing
weapons and war material, is the more
important one. In the second phase of
the U-boat war, which is to be devoted
to the materialization of this aim, it will
be seen whether the submarine is to prove
an effective means of war.
Through the declaration of armed neu-
trality on the part of the United States,
which presupposes the eventuality of a
state of war, the entire U-boat question
has been taken out of its coherence with
M
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
the European war and placed under the
wider perspective of world politics. For
a war between the United States and
Germany would be bound to develop into
a struggle between Anglo-Saxons' and
Teutons.
Events in Mesopotamia
To the world-political considerations
belong also the events on the Mesopo-
tamian theatre of war, where on Sunday,
h 11, the Anglo-Indian army under
General Maude occupied the ancient city
of Bagdad.
The name of Bagdad constitutes a po-
litical conception. This conception was
shattered a year ago by the British catas-
trophe at Kut-el-Amara. The political
conception of Bagdad forms one of the
principal aims of the Central Powers, for
the City of the Caliphs is to be the bul-
wark and the centre of economic expan-
sion in the Near East.
In December of last year the British
under General Maude reopened the Meso-
potamian campaign. Stubborn battles for
the possession of Kut-el-Amara followed.
On Feb. .28, 1917, Kut was occupied by
the British. The Turks retreated to the
north. On March 5 Lajij fell, and the
next day the victors passed the town of
Ctesiphon, evacuated by the Turks. On
March 7 the battles on the Diala River
began, eight miles from Bagdad. On
March 11 the Anglo-Indian troops en-
tered Bagdad. They have since reached
a point eighteen miles north of the city.
After the capitulation of Kut-el-Amara
by General Townshend, the then British
Commander, it was said in allied quar-
ters that now the Russians would enter
Mesopotamia and cut off the Turkish re-
treat. The Russians had taken Erzerum
and Trebizond and had advanced in Per-
sia. Isfahan, Persia's second capital, had
been conquered by them and the Turks
had been driven from Kasri-Shirin to
Chanykin, on the Mesopotamian frontier,
150 kilometers from Bagdad.
But after the victorious conclusion of
the Turkish campaign against the British,
strong Turkish forces were released.
These turned on the Russians and drove
them as far as Hamadan.
Now the Russians have reopened the
Persian campaign. On March 13 Ker-
manshah was occupied by the Musco-
vites, and on the following day the Turks
were driven from fortified positions on
the summit of Narlehtian, west of Ker-
manshah.
* The Turkish War Minister, Enver
Pasha, returning from the theatre of
operations in Mesopotamia, informed the
Turkish Parliament that the retreats on
the Mesopotamian and Persian fronts
were dictated by "military considera-
tions." This can only mean that the re-
tiring movements are made in accord-
ance with a previously arranged fixed
plan and for the realization of certain
strategic aims.
Nevertheless, it would be playing the
part of the ostrich were one to shut his
eyes to the actual significance of the fall
of Bagdad. From the military stand-
point the conception " prestige " is a com-
pletely illusory thing. The fact that the
British through the surrender of General
Townshend's army and Kut-el-Amara in
April of last year lost prestige in Egypt
and India did not prevent their occupa-
tion in March of this year of the city
of Harun-al-Rashid. That the Turks have
lost prestige by the fall of Bagdad by
no means precludes the possibility of a
recapture of the city.
At Bagdad, so say pro-ally sympa-
thizers, a dream to which Germany has
devoted twenty years, has been shattered.
The fact that the " terminus of the Bag-
dad Railway " has fallen into British
hands, it is added, bars the German road
to the East. And in the ears of the Orient
sounds the deathknell of German ambi-
tions. Because an open and completely
undefended city has fallen, therefore
this gigantic work of civilization is to
collapse! Can a handful of Indian di-
visions stem the logical tide of world
history?
Whether the Turks recapture Bagdad
or no, Mesopotamia remains an incidental
theatre of war. The final fate of the
Bagdad Railway, and with it that of the
two-river-land, is to be decided upon the
main theatres of war on the European
Continent.
Preparations for that decision are still
WAR SEEN FROM TWO ANGLES
S3
in full swing. The calm before the storm
begins to become uncanny. It is as if
again and again the new armor is tested
before the swords are once more drawn,
this time for the final decision.
Retirement in France
The retirement of the German troops
in the Ancre and Somme regions on the
west front had begun in the beginning of
February with the evacuation of Grand-
court, south of the Ancre. Through the
events of March 16, 17, and 18 not only
the Gommecourt-Transloy front but also
the lines north and south of the Somme
were pushed ahead by the British for a
considerable distance.
In a British advance on a width of
sixty-seven kilometers from north to
south, Bapaume and Peronne were taken ,
and north and south of the Ancre more
than sixty villages were occupied. Dur-
ing the twenty-four hours preceding this
writing the British pushed their extreme
southern front forward an additional
fifteen kilometers by occupying the tri-
angle Peronne-Chaulnes-Nesle.
Simultaneously, a German retirement
has set in on the line Roye-Noyon, which
adjoins the Somme front. The French
advanced on a front of thirty kilometers
between the Avre and the Oise, and have
occupied both Roye and Noyon as well as
the roads connecting these two points.
North of the Ancre front the Germans
are withdrawing as far north as Arras.
Along the whole front of retirement
only German rearguards were in fighting
contact with the Franco-British forces.
Berlin reports that these troops inflicted
heavy losses upon the advancing foe.
Even the English military experts de-
scribe the German withdrawal as a long-
prepared strategic chess move. It is to
be expected that the Germans will fall
back upon the line Soissons-Lille. The en-
tire1 systematically executed movement
points to the strong probability that the
Germans will remain on the defensive in
the west.
The Mystery at Petrograd
The military outlook on the east front,
where the great decision also is expected
to be fought for, is veiled by the historic
event of the Russian revolution.
Who was it that in the night of March
11 to 12 gave orders to the garrison of
Petrograd to fraternize with the revolu-
tionists? What happened in the great
Russian Army Headquarters during the
absence of Czar Nicholas immediately
after the outbreak of the revolution?
These two questions comprise the mili-
tary considerations. They cast signifi-
cant light upon the question as to what
influence the upheaval in Russia will
have upon the development of the war
situation. Efforts are made today to
make the world believe that the soldiery,
out of softness of heart, sympathized
with the starving populace. The streets
of Petrograd have seen many curious
things, but such sympathy — from that
quarter — never.
Who led the garrison on the side of
the rebels? In addition to the political
revolution against Czardom there must
have been a military conspiracy against
the person of the Czar, and this con-
spiracy must have decisive influence upon
the outcome of the war.
The Czar was at the front, about to
consult with his Generals at army head-
quarters. There, at headquarters, and
not in the streets of Petrograd, was the
die cast, and the only question is whether
the military conspiracy included the army
in the field. If this is the case, then the
future outlook as viewed in connection
with the garrisons at home offers the
following main points:
1. The war party takes over full con-
trol of the conduct of military operations.
2. It is forced to appeal once more to
the fortunes of arms.
3. In this event a new great offensive
on the east front is to be expected in the
near future.
The military revolution must bring vic-
tory, and the political revolution must
still the hunger of the masses. The de-
velopment of the situation at home and
at the front will depend upon the ques-
tion whether the new power will be able
to sharpen the weapons and satisfy the
stomachs.
Progress of the War
Recording Campaigns on All Fronts and Collateral Events
From February 18, Up to and Including March 18, 1917
GERMAN-AMERICAN RELATIONS
Germany released the Yarrowdale prisoners
and five American Consuls that were de-
tained after Ambassador Gerard left the
country.
A note from the German Foreign Secretary,
Dr. Zimmermann, to the German Minister
in Mexico, dated Jan. 19, contained a pro-
posal for an alliance between Germany,
Mexico, and Japan to make war on the
United States if the United States should
not remain neutral. The. Governments of
Japan and Mexico formally denied ever
having received the note. Its authenticity
admitted by Dr. Zimmermann.
President Wilson addressed Congress on Feb.
26, and asked for authority to supply
nament to American merchant ships
and to employ any other instrumentality
that might be needed to protect American
ships and people in their legitimate pur-
suit on the sea. He also asked for a
sufficient credit to enable him to provide
adequate means of protection. The armed
neutrality bill was introduced at once.
It was passed by the House, but the Sen-
ate, through the filibustering of eleven
Senators, failed to reach a vote before
the Congress expired March 4. President
Wilson on March 9 announced his decision
to arm American ships, and called Con-
gress in extra session for April 10.
Several American lives were lost during the
month as a result of Germany's submarine
campaign. Robert Allen Haden, a Presby-
terian missionary, was drowned when the
French steamer Athos, used as a troop-
ship, was sunk. Two Americans were re-
ported lost on the British bark Galgorm
Castle. The Cunard liner Laconia was
sunk Feb. 2~>, and two American women,
Mrs. Mary Hoy and her daughter, perished
in an open boat. On March 14 the Amer-
ican steamship Algonquin with Americans
in her crew was attacked and sunk with-
out warning. All on board escaped in
lifeboats. The sinking of three American
ships, the City of Memphis, the Illinois,
and the Vigilancia, was reported on March
18. Fifteen men perished.
SUBMARINE BLOCKADE
The British Government announced that
summaries of shipping losses from sub-
marines would be published weekly in-
stead of daily. The report of the Board
of Trade issued March 14 announced that
from Feb. 1 to March 11 three American
ships, fifty-one vessels belonging to other
neutral nations, and 156 British ships had
en sunk. The losses of other belligerent
nations were reported as " indefinite."
This list included the French troopship
Athos, Belgian relief ships Storstad and
Lars Fostenes, and the Cunard liner La-
conia. The American ship Algonquin was
sunk March 14 and three other American
ships were reported sunk March 18.
Holland's indignation at the sinking of seven
Dutch food ships that had sailed under
partial guarantee of safety led Germany
to offer to replace them with German
freighters on condition that Holland
purchase the German vessels at the close
of the war. Later Germany withdrew
this offer, fearing that England would
seize the ships.
The Allies presented a memorandum to the
Chinese Government expressing sympathy
with the attitude that China had taken
in regard to Germany's blockade and
promising favorable consideration of the
question of suspension during the war
of Boxer indemnity payments and the
revision of the tariff in the event of
China's effectively severing relations
with Germany and Austria. On March 4
the Chinese Cabinet voted to break rela-
tions, but President Li Yuan-Hung re-
fused to approve the action, saying that
the sole power rested with him, and
• Premier Chi-Jui and several members of
the Cabinet resigned. On March 7 the
President asked the Premier to return and
offered to ratify the Cabinet's proposal.
The Senate, on March 12, approved the
severance of relations, and on March 14
the break was announced, the German
Ambassador and Consuls were handed
their passports, and German-owned ships
in the Harbor of Shanghai were seized.
CAMPAIGN IN EASTERN EUROPE
Feb. 20 — Russians check German raid in the
region of Slaventine, northwest of Pod-
gaste.
Feb. 27 — Germans make gas attacks on the
Russians in the Smorgon region.
March 3 — Germans penetrate Russian lines
west of Lutsk on a wide front.
March 12 — Russians repel gas attacks south-
west of Lakparotch in the Zanarotch-
Stahootsy sector and in the region of
Velitzk, southeast of Kovel.
BALKAN CAMPAIGN
Feb. 22 — Allies establish contact between
French and Italian troops and clear the
enemy forces from the road between
Goritza in Southern Albania and Leskovie ;
postal communication between Athens and
the Central Powers cut; Teutons on the
PROGRESS OF THE WAR
35
Rumanian front repulsed near Dorna
Watra.
March 2 — Germans recapture hill near Rekoza
north of the River Zaval.
March 13 — Vienna War Office reports skir-
mishes northeast of Berat in Albania, re-
vealing the presence there of Italian
troops.
March 17 — .British occupy the railroad sta-
tion at Poroy east of Doiran Lake.
CAMPAIGN IN WESTERN EUROPE
Feb. 19— Artillery active on both banks of the
Meuse ; patrol encounters in Alsace.
Feb. 20— British fail in attack on German
lines near Messines, Belgium ; Germans
capture British point of support near Le
Transloy.
Feb. 21— British penetrate German front near
Ypres and Armentieres and do great
damage.
Feb. 23— British capture German trench north
of Guedecourt and advance near Petit
Miraumont.
Feb. 24— British enter Petit Miraumont and
gain on a mile and a half front north of
the river.
Feb. 25— British occupy Serre, Miraumont,
Petit Miraumont, and Pys.
Feb. 26— British continue advance along the
Ancre on a front of eleven miles ; Ger-
mans abandon Warlencourt-Eaucourt and
the Butte de Warlencourt.
Feb. 27— British occupy Ligny and capture
the village of Le Barque.
Feb. 2S— British occupy Gommecourt and cap-
ture Thilloy and Pulsieux-au-Mont.
March 1— British advance 600 yards north of
Miraumont on a front of a mile and a
half.
March 2— Germans make a stand on a new line
from Essarts through Achiet-le-Petit to
about 1,000 yards southeast of Bapaume ;
British report further progress north of
Warlencourt-Eaucourt and northwest of
Puisieux.
March 3— British advance on five-mile front
northwest of Bapaume ; General Haig
takes over French line as far south as
the Avre River.
March 4— British again advance west of Ba-
paume and capture German front and
support lines east of Bouchavesnes.
March 5 — Germans launch big attack at
Verdun, gaining at some points.
March 6 — French hold recaptured trenches
north of Cauri§res Wood and Douaumont
in the face of strong German attacks.
March 7 — French in Champagne capture
salient between Butte de Mesnil and
Maison de Champagne.
March 10 — British advance more than three
miles in the Ancre region and capture
Irles ; French repulse violent German as-
saults in the Champagne.
March 12 — French in Champagne recapture
all trenches of Hill 185 west of Maison
de Champagne Farm ; British gain slightly
north of Bouchavesnes.
March 13 — Germans abandon their main
defensive system west of Bapaume on a
front of three and a half miles ; British
occupy Grevillers and Loupart Wood.
March 14 — British advance on the Ancre and
reach the defenses before Bapaume ;
French capture Romainville Farm, close
to St. Mihiel.
March 15 — British capture two and a half
miles of German trenches between
Bapaume and Peronne ? French gain near
Roye ; Germans capture a position south
of Cumieres.
March 16 — British occupy almost all of St.
Pierre Vaast Wood; French advance on
both sides of the Avre from Andechy
to south of Lassigny.
March 17— British take Bapaume; French
capture Roye and Lassigny and advance
five miles, occupying fortified line be-
tween the Avre and the Oise Rivers.
March 18 — Germans retire on 85-mile line in
France, abandoning Peronne, Chaulnes,
Nesle, and Noyon ; line of Allies' ad-
vance extends from Arras to Soissons,
to a depth of twelve miles ; sixty villages
recaptured; Germans on the Meuse fail
in attack on Chambrettes Farm.
ITALIAN CAMPAIGN
Feb. 27 — Italians enter Austrian trenches on
the northern slopes of San Marco.
March 5 — Italians successfully storm Au-
strian positions in the upper part of the
Spellegrino Valley in the Avisio district.
March 12 — Italians repulse Austrian attacks
northeast of Lenzumo in the Trentino and
against the southern slopes of Cima di
Bocche in the Travignolo Valley.
ASIA MINOR
Feb. 23— British in the Tigris region capture
two lines of trenches near Sannaiyat.
Feb. 25— British cross the Tigris at the Shum-
ran bend in the rear of Kut-el-Amara.
Feb. 26— British take Kut-el-Amara.
Feb. 28— British engage Turks on three sides
at a point on the left bank of the Tigris
over thirty miles northwest of Kut.
March 3— Russians recapture Hamadan in
Persia and advance toward Bagdad as
British approach the city from the south.
.larch 4— Russians advance in the Bijar region
in Persia and occupy Khanikali.
March 7— Advance guards of the British Army
approach Jerusalem ; Russians in Persia
seize Asadabad summit.
March 8— British advance to within eight
miles of Bagdad, find Ctesiphon evacu-
ated ; Russians in Persia occupy Kangaver.
March 9— Two Bedouin tribes join the British,
who reach the outskirts of Bagdad ; Rus-
sians reach Sakkiz, twenty-five miles
from the Mesopotamian border.
March 10— British troops engage the Turks on
the Diala River line, six miles below Bag-
dad ; Russians capture the town of Senne
in Western Persia.
March 11— British occupy Bagdad ; Russians
st;
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
thnft in Northwestern Persia and
IM Turks toward Bisitun.
b 13— British occupy Kazimain, five
miles above Bagdad.
b 14— British advance thirty miles
beyond Bagdad ; Russians capture Ker-
manshah.
i ic— British occupy part of the town of
Bakubah; Russians dislodge Turks from
fortified positions on the summit of Nar-
leshkian.
March 1*— Russians capture Van, and sweep
on in Persia over a wide front, occupying
Baneh.
AERIAL RECORD
German aviators bombarded a Serbian hos-
1 at V* rtekop, causing heavy loss of
life. Two English nurses were among
those killed.
Air duels have been frequent on the western
front, as many as eleven and thirteen
machines being brought down on some
days.
Broad.stairs was bombarded by a Germaa
airplane and one woman killed.
Zeppelins raided the southeastern counties
of England on the night of March 16. One
machine was brought down by the French
near Compi^gne on its return flight, and
the crew of thirty were killed.
NAVAL RECORD
German destroyers bombarded Broadstairs
and Margate on the British coast Feb. 26.
The Russian cruiser Rurik was damaged by
a mine in the Gulf of Finland.
On Feb. 28 the French torpedo boat destroyer
Cassini was destroyed by a submarine in
the Mediterranean.
RUSSIA
As a result of a popular revolution the
Romanoff dynasty was overthrown. On
March 8 strikes were declared in several
munitions factories and riots occurred in
the streets of Petrograd because of a
shortage of food. These disturbances
were quelled, but only temporarily. On
March 12 the Czar issued imperial ukases
suspending the sittings of the Duma and
the Council of the Empire. The Duma
opposed the order and continued its sit-
tings. A three days* revolt followed,
which resulted in the abdication of the
Czar on March 15 and the establishment
of a Liberal Ministry headed by Prince
Lvoff. The Czar's younger brother, the
Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovitch,
was named as regent. He also abdicated,
and plans have been made for the con-
vocation of a constituent assembly and
full political amnesty. The new Foreign
Minister, Paul Milukoff, in a message to
Russian diplomats abroad, announced
that Russia would fight with the Allies
until the end of the war.
MISCELLANEOUS
The United States Government received from
Austria-Hungary a reply to a note inquir-
ing concerning Austria's attitude toward
the renewal of ruthless submarine war-
fare. Austria defended the barred zone
and said that safety could not be guar-
anteed to neutrals in enemy vessels.
Austria also sent a message to the United
States denying that the schooner Lyman
M. Law was torpedoed by an Austrian
submarine.
The entire Briand Ministry resigned in
France, following the resignation of Gen-
eral Lyautey as Minister of War after a
stormy debate in the Chamber of Depu-
ties on the desirability of discussing the
aviation service. President Poincar6 ask-
ed M. Ribot to form a new Cabinet, after
M. Deschanel had refused to undertake
the task.
CURRENT HISTORY CHRONICLED
The President's Inauguration
PRESIDENT WOODROW WILSON
■*■ took the oath of office for his sec-
ond term at the National Capitol at noon
March 5, 1917, in the presence of 50,000
people. He had previously gone through
the formality of taking the oath at noon
on Sunday, March 4. The parade was
not as long as usual, consisting of about
20,000 soldiers and sailors. There was
no inauguration ball, and a general air
of solemnity marked the whole occasion
on account of the critical international
situation. The President was very care-
fully guarded, but no untoward incident
marred the occasion. The inaugural ad-
dress was short and referred chiefly to
international affairs. Striking portions
of the address follow:
We stand firm in armed neutrality, since
it seems that in no other way we can demon-
strate what it is we insist upon and cannot
forego. We may even be drawn on, by cir-
cumstances, not by our own purpose or de-
sire, to a more active assertion of our rights
as we see them and a more immediate asso-
ciation with the great struggle itself. * * *
We are provincials no longer. The tragi-
cal events of the thirty months of vital tur-
moil through which we have just passed
CURRENT HISTORY CHRONICLED
37
have made us citizens of the world. There
can be no turning back. Our own fortunes
as a nation are involved, whether we would
have it so or not.
And yet we are not the less Americans
on that account. We shall be the more
American if we but remain true to the princi-
ples in which we have been bred. They are
not the principles of a province or of a single
continent. We have known and boasted
all along that they were the principles of
a liberated mankind. These, therefore, are
the things we shall stand for, whether in
war or in peace :
That all nations are equally interested
in the peace of the world and in the po-
litical stability of free peoples, and equal-
ly responsible for their maintenance.
That the essential principle of peace is
the actual equality of nations in all mat-
ters of right or privilege.
That peace cannot securely or justly
rest upon an armed balance of power.
That Governments derive all their just
powers from the consent of the governed
and that no other powers should be sup-
ported by the common thought, purpose,
or power of the family of nations.
That the seas should be equally free and
safe for the use of all peoples, under rules
set up by common agreement and consent,
and that, so far as practicable, they
should be accessible to all upon equal
terms.
That national armaments should be lim-
ited to the necessities of national order
and domestic safety.
That the community of interest and of
power upon which peace must henceforth
depend imposes upon each nation the duty
of seeing to it that all influences pro-
ceeding from its own citizens meant to
encourage or assist revolution in other
States should be sternly and effectually
suppressed and prevented.
China Breaks With Germany
/^N March 14 Paul Reinsch, American
^J Minister at Peking, reported to the
State Department at Washington that
China had severed diplomatic relations
with Germany and that the German
envoy had been handed his passports.
Chinese feeling against Germany' dates
from 1897, when, because of the murder
of two German missionaries, Germany
seized the east coast of the province of
Shan-tung, an area of about 200 square
miles; this animosity was greatly in-
creased by the conduct of German troops
during the Boxer expedition of 1900. Im-
mediately on breaking off diplomatic re-
lations with Germany, China seized six
German ships in Chinese ports, following
the precedent of Portugal.
The history of the break is as follows :
On March 4 the Chinese Cabinet defi-
nitely voted to sever relations, but Presi-
dent Li Yuan-Hung refused to act, on
the ground that the power to break re-
lations was his alone. The Cabinet re-
signed and withdrew to Tien-tsin, re-
turning only when the President yielded.
On March 10 the President and his
Cabinet appeared before the House of
Parliament and asked approval of a
severance of relations, which was granted
by a vote of 431 to 87. The Chinese
Senate later concurred. Definite invita-
tions to China to join the Entente have
been made but have not yet been acted
on.
The immediate effect of China's sever-
ence of relations will probably be a
greatly increased output of munitions for
Russia. China is Japan's source of iron
and has provided most of the raw ma-
terial for Russian munitions made in
Japan. China has further sent over 100,-
000 workmen to Russia and France, to
work in munition factories, and the tor-
pedoing of liners carrying these is the
immediate cause of the break.
* * *
Bethmann's Liberal Speech
A N episode full of profound signif-
•£*- icance occurred in the Prussian Diet
on March 14, when the German Chancel-
lor, von Bethmann Hollweg, announced
in the course of debate his firm adher-
ence to a progressive political faith and
his firm faith in a broader democracy
after the war. His words were as fol-
lows:
After the war we shall be confronted with
the most gigantic tasks that ever confronted
a nation. They will be so gigantic that the
entire people will have to work to solve them.
A strong foreign policy will be necessary, for
we shall be surrounded by enemies whom we
shall not meet With loud words, but with the
internal strength of the nation. We can only
pursue such a policy if the patriotism which
during the war has developed to such a mar-
velous reality is maintained and strength-
ened.
Woe to the statesman who does not recog-
nize the signs of the times and who, after
this catastrophe, the like of which the world
has never seen, believes that he can take up
38
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
his work at the same point at which it was
interrupted.
He used the phrase " Equal rights and
participation for all in the work of the
State." This is. construed to foreshadow
a complete reformation in the German
electoral system, and equal suffrage.
It has been hinted that the speech was
a result of the great events that were
occurring in Russia and in anticipation
of a possible Social Democratic uprising
in Germany. The German Socialist organ
commented on the speech with some
skepticism and warned the Chancellor
that he must keep faith.
* * *
New Cabinet in France
THE Briand Cabinet resigned March
17 on account of criticisms in the
Chamber, Minister of War Lyautey hav-
ing previously resigned because he was
heckled while addressing the Chamber.
Alexandre Ribot, the former Finance
Minister, formed the new Cabinet, of
which he becomes Premier and Foreign
Minister; Rene Viviani, former Premier,
Minister of Justice; Paul Painleve, for-
mer Minister of Public Instruction, is the
new Minister of War; Albert Thomas re-
mains Minister of Munitions; Admiral
Lacaze, Minister of Marine; Joseph
Thierry is Minister of Finance; Etienne
Clementhal, former Minister of Agricul-
ture, is Minister of Commerce. This is
the fourth Cabinet since the outbreak of
the war.
* * *
The British in Bagdad
"DAGDAD the great is fallen," cap-
*-* tured by the advance guard of
General Maude on March 11; the British
power is now dominant up the whole of
the hot Mesopotamian Valley from the
Persian Gulf, and General Townshend's
disastrous surrender at Kut-el-Amara
on April 13, 1916, after a siege lasting
from Dec. 5, 1915, is wiped out by vic-
tory.
Bagdad dates back far beyond the days
of Nebuchadnezzar and the captivity of
the Jews; as the capital of the Caliphs,
it was the most splendid city in the
world, giving to universal literature one
of the greatest books that ever came
out of the purple East—" The Arabian
Nights: The Stories of a Thousand
Nights and a Night." This great period
of Bagdad's history began in the year
762, before Charlemagne was crowned,
and about the time of Afred the Great of
England, when the Western world was
just emerging from barbarism. General
Maude's campaign has been extraordi-
narily rapid, evidencing admirable prep-
aration. On Feb. 26, 1917, he captured
Kut-el-Amara, with many thousand
Turkish prisoners, and within two weeks
his patrols pushed forward a hundred
miles, to within a few miles of Bagdad.
The great city, which lies in an open,
sun-burnt plain, was apparently almost
undefended, and on March 11 the British
and Indian forces were within the walls.
This striking victory gives to Great
Britain a practically continuous terri-
tory, beginning on the east at the
frontier of Siam, including Burma and
India, Baluchistan and Southern Persia,
which has been recognized as under
British influence since the Anglo-Rus-
sian pact of 1907, and now the whole of
the southern section of Asiatic Turkey,
with a protectorate over the new king-
dom of Arabia, behind Aden, thus bring-
ing the effective influence of England
to Egypt and as far as the border of
Italian Tripoli. All Southern Asia is
thus dominated by Britain.
* * *
Practical Failure of the Submarine
DY the first week in March it was evi-
■*-* dent that there was a marked falling
off in the amount of tonnage sunk by
submarines operating in the " forbidden "
zones about the British Isles and in the
Mediterranean, and a probable explana-
tion of this was furnished by reports
from England that large numbers of Ger-
man submarines had been captured or
sunk. It was said that of 100 U-boats
which began the campaign of ruthless-
ness on Feb. 1 no less than 48 had been
sunk or taken by Feb. 25; and while this
is probably in excess of the real figures,
nevertheless all evidence tends in the
same direction: that, as a means of
bringing famine to England, and thus
" forcing England to her knees," the sub-
marine has small chance of success.
CURRENT HISTORY CHRONICLED
39
It is now said in Germany that the
real object of the submarine warfare was
not to reduce England to submission by
famine,* but to compel her to withdraw
tonnage she had lent to Russia and Italy,
thus isolating these two countries, as a
step toward compelling them to make a
separate peace. But this explanation is
really an admission of failure, so far as
England is concerned. It was so widely
announced in Germany that unrestricted
submarining was Germany's last weapon,
which was to bring her rapid victory,
that it is difficult to see how the new
aspect of the situation can long be with-
held from the German people.
* * *
Appam Case Decided
THE United States Supreme Court on
March 6 in a unanimous decision de-
creed restoration to her English owners
of the liner Appam and cargo, brought
into Hampton Roads more than a year
ago by a prize crew from the German
raider Mowe. The ship and cargo, valued
at between $3,000,000 and $4,000,000,
must be delivered by April 6, 1917.
The decision upholds the original rul-
ing by Secretary Lansing that prizes
coming into American ports unaccom-
panied by captor warships have the right
to remain only long enough to make
themselves seaworthy.
American neutrality was violated in
bringing the Appam into Hampton
Roads, the court said, and neither the
ancient treaties relied upon by Lieuten-
ant Berg, the German prize commander,
The Hague Conventions, nor the Declara-
tion of London entitled any belligerents
to make American ports a place for de-
posit of prizes as spoils of war under
such circumstances.
" The principles of international law,"
the opinion adds, " leaving the treaty
aside, will not permit the ports of the
United States to be thus used by the
belligerents. If such use were permitted
it would constitute the ports of a neutral
nation harbors of safety into which prizes
might be safely brought and indefinitely
kept.
" From the beginning of its history
this country has been careful to maintain
a neutral position between warring Gov-
ernments, and not to allow use of its
ports in violation of the obligations of
neutrality, nor to permit such use beyond
the necessities arising from perils of the
seas or the necessities of such vessels as
to seaworthiness, provisions, and sup-
plies."
Fifteen Billions of Foreign Trade
rPHE foreign trade of the United States, imports and exports combined, since the
J- outbreak of the war in Europe at the end of July, 1914, to Feb. 11, 1917, amounted
to the sum of $15,622,785,853. Exports during this period were a little more than
double the imports, and the balance of trade in favor of this country resulting from
these thirty months of trade was $5,501,568,835. This table shows how this trade
has accumulated and the huge movement of gold which resulted from it:
merchandise
Credit Trade
Balance (Excess
of Exports.)
$371,766,169
3,089,769,254
1,776,074,152
263,959,260
Exports.
January, 1917 $613,441,020
Year, 1916 5,481,423,589
Year, 1915 3,554,670,847
Aug. 1 to Dec. 31, 1914 912,641,S88
Total since outbreak of war $10,562,177,344
GOLD
Exports.
January, 1917 $20,719,898
Year, 1916 155,792,927
Year, 1915 -. 31,425,918
Aug. 1 to Dec. 31, 1914 - 104,972,197
Total since outbreak of war $312,910,940
*Excess of exports.
Imports.
$241,674,851
2,391,654,335
1,778,596,695
648,682,628
Imports.
$58,926,258
685,990,234
451,954,590
23,252,604
$1,220,123,686
$5,060,608,509 $5,501,568,835
Excess of
Imports.
$38,206,360
530,197,307
420,528,672
*81,719,593
$907,212,746
40
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Colombian Treaty Defeated
THE treaty with Colombia was debated
in the United States Senate on
March 13 and 14, having been reported
for passage by the Foreign Relations
Committee; but it was withdrawn on the
16th, it being clear that it would fail to
receive the necessary two-thirds vote.
The objections to the treaty are: (1)
That $25,000,000 is an excessive amount
to pay Colombia for the Panama strip,
being $15,000,000 more than Panama re-
ceived; (2) that there is a clause in the
treaty giving Colombia preference in the
canal, which is deemed perilous; (3) that
the urgency for its passage at this time
savors of a threat by Colombia that it is
her price for refusing an alliance with
Germany; (4) that the treaty implies
that President Roosevelt committed § a
wrong with respect to the Panama revo-
lution, which resulted in the loss of the
canal strip by Colombia. It is reported
that the treaty when reintroduced will
be reconstructed. Senator Knox, Repub-
lican from Pennsylvania, who was Secre-
tary of State in the Roosevelt Adminstra-
tion, surprised his Republican colleagues
by strongly advocating the treaty as
presented.
* * *
The Gallipoli Report
T71ARLY in March the Commission on
■*-* the British Failure at Gallipoli re-
ported that the question of attacking the
Dardanelles was, on the initiative of
Winston Churchill, brought under the
consideration of the War Council on Nov.
25, 1914, as the ideal method of defend-
ing Egypt. The Commissioners hold that
the possibility of making a surprise land
and water attack offered such great mili-
tary and political advantages that it was
mistaken and ill-advised to sacrifice this
possibility by deciding to undertake a
purely naval attack, which, from its na-
ture, could not obtain completely the ob-
jects set out in the terms of the decision.
A part of the blame is laid upon Lord
Kitchener, who, says the report, was the
sole mouthpiece of War Office opinion in
the War Council. He was never over-
ruled by the Cabinet in any matter, great
or small. Lord Fisher is criticised be-
cause he did not voice his known dislike
of the proposed operation. When, because
of this dislike, he threatened to resign, a
minority report says, Lord Kitchener
took Lord Fisher aside and prevailed
upon him to return to his seat in the
Council. The report makes it clear that
the Dardanelles attack was made in part
in response to an appeal from Russia on
Jan. 2, 1915, Russia being then hard
pressed by the threatened Turkish inva-
sion of the Caucasus. It is evident, from
this report, that Britain's naval advis-
ers were convinced at the outset that the
purely naval attack must fail, but failed
to press their view. As a defense of
Egypt and of the Russian Caucasus, how-
ever, the Gallipoli attack was completely
successful.
* * *
In German East Africa
IN the last four or five months very
decided progress has been made by
the British in German East Africa, the
last of Germany's colonial possessions.
In September last the struggle there
entered a new phase; the Germans,
driven from the northern part of their
protectorate, and divided into three
isolated bodies, were fighting only to
detain in Africa troops which the Allies
might otherwise employ in the European
war theatres or in Mesopotamia.
On Sept. 11 the Belgian field force
drove out of Tabora the contingent of
the Prussian General, Wahle, of at least
4,000 seasoned native troops and over 500
Europeans. The Belgians found in
Tabora over a hundred British subjects,
men and women, who had been subjected
to many indignities, with the deliberate
intention of degrading them in the eyes
of the natives. General Wahle at first
retreated along the railroad in the direc-
tion of Kilima-tinde, with the Belgians
in pursuit and an English force under
General Crewe on his flank. On Oct. 22
there began a series of encounters be-
tween General Wahle and General
Northey, which lasted until the end of
November. On Nov. 26 one division of
Wahle's force, numbering 500, and in-
cluding fifty-four Europeans, was com-
pelled to surrender. By Jan. 6 Wahle's
CURRENT HISTORY CHRONICLED
41
force, reduced by one-half, had retreated
to Mahange, on which, at the end of Jan-
uary, General Northey was converging
three columns.
On Jan. 1 General Smuts began a new
offensive against Colonel von Lettow-
Vorbeck's German force in the Rufiji
Valley; hard pressed, these troops, en-
deavored to reach Mahange, to form a
junction with the remnants of General
Wahle's force. British and Belgian
forces, from all sides, are now converg-
ing on Mahange, where the struggle is
likely to come to an end.
* * *
German Influence in Mexico
IT was announced on March 14 that
confidential diplomatic reports from
Mexico indicated that the German Bank
in Mexico City and the German Legation
there are guiding virtually the entire
financial and diplomatic activities of
Mexico. According to these reports the
recent Mexican peace note was inspired
by the German Legation, while the Ger-
man Bank is said to have come into full
control of the Mexican financial situation,
having accepted quantities of the paper
money issued by the Mexican Govern-
ment. A very large influx of German
money from the United States is also re-
corded.
Two further facts point in the same
direction — the exodus of German reserv-
ists, who have crossed the Rio Grande in
large numbers since the diplomatic break
with Germany, bearing passes issued by
the Mexican Consulate here, and who are
reported to be drilling Mexican soldiers
and initiating them into the methods of
modern warfare; and the announcement
that there are several large German-
owned radio stations on Mexican soil,
one being in Southern California, capa-
ble of communicating directly with Ger-
many. These stations can easily make
connections with the internal telegraph
systems of the United States, and could
thus with practical impunity gather all
details of military preparations and
movements throughout the United States
and send them the same day to Berlin.
There are similar reports of the exist-
ence of strong radio stations in Colombia,
a few miles from the Panama Canal
Zone, likewise owned and operated by
Germans, and in communication with
the stations in Mexico and, through
these, with Berlin. This wireless net-
work over Central and South America
rivals the great system of radio stations
in Africa, by means of which German
Southwest Africa could communicate
with Berlin through a single link in the
Cameroons. There were equally power-
ful radio stations in Germany's Pacific
possessions.
Count Zeppelin Is Dead
COUNT ZEPPELIN shares with the
late General Shrapnel the distinction
of having given his name to a new in-
strument of war; but, while the English
officer died long before the shells called
after him had reached the height of their
fame, Count Zeppelin lived long enough
to see his very vulnerable airships tested
in a great war — and pretty well dis-
credited as weapons of offense. Born
nearly eighty years ago, he came to the
United States as a military observer dur-
ing the civil war, serving on the staff of
General Carl Schurz and narrowly es-
caping capture at Fredericksburg. He
was decorated in the Franco-Prussian
war and later represented the Kingdom
of Wurttemberg at Berlin in the Federal
Council of the Empire. -
In 1891 he devoted all his time and a
great part of his large fortune to the
construction of lighter-than-air flying
machines. Seven years later, after much
ridicule and many hairbreadth escapes,
he gained his first great triumph by as-
cending from Friedrichshafen on Lake
Constance, and remaining aloft for thir-
ty-seven hours, in the fifth of his air-
ships, and sailing in a straight course for
more than eight hundred miles. The
Kaiser and all Germany hailed him as
the conqueror of the air. But this ship
also was soon wrecked, representing a
loss of $500,000. It is interesting to re-
member that it was in the United States
that Count Zeppelin made his first
ascent, going up in a captive balloon be-
longing to the Union Army.
While his great airships have proved a
failure as a means of " bringing England
42 THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
to her knees" by terrorism from the were relieved at the German frontier;
clouds, and while admittedly the Zep- they were practically in rags and com-
pelins proved to be England's best re- plain that they had insufficient food,
cruiting sergeant, it is only fair to say They were cared for by Americans in
that Count Zeppelin did in fact com- Switzerland and will be sent home via
pletely succeed in his main purpose— to Spain,
make a dirigible balloon with great speed
and carrying power and with an immense k CCORDING to English official lists,
flying radius, a really fine achievement. J\ German casualties in January were
Count Zeppelin died on March 8. 77,534, and for February 60,471; of the
* * * latter 21,105 were killed or missing, 12,-
Germans In America 451 severely wounded. It is computed
THE number of native-born Germans from unofficial reports that the total
and Austro-Hungarians in the United German casualties up to March 1, 1917,
States at the time of the census of 1910 are 4,148,163, exclusive of those in the
was 4,181,615, divided as follows: navy and colonies.
NaU ve A ustrians 1,174,973
Native Germans 2,501,333 pi ERMAN Zeppelins after a long period
Native Hungarians 495,609 \j of inactivity, made an attack on
Of native-born Americans with one or London, March 16 and 17, which the
both parents born in Germany or British authorities assert was fruitless.
Austro-Hungary there were 6,811,699 in A Zeppelin, evidently bound for Paris,
the United States in 1910, divided as was brought down by the French near
follows: Campiegne when at an altitude of 10,-
Native bom, with one or 000 feet, and the entire crew was killed.
two parents born in The airship was. completely consumed.
Austria }">.<io,b£W
Germany 5,781,437 * * *
Hungary 204,627 T JNDER the new British pension plan
Total native-born Germans and Austro- U totally disabled privates will receive
Hungarians and Americans of first gen- a minimum of $6.87 weekly; the allow-
eration in the United States in 1910, ance for children is $1.25 and a sum
10,993,314. • slightly less for each subsequent child.
* * *
The Yarrowdale Prisoners mHE United States Congress passed
FIFTY-NINE Americans taken from *- and the President signed on March
vessels sunk by the German raider 2 the bill granting full citizenship to the
in the South Atlantic and borne to Swine- inhabitants of Porto Rico. The law pro-
miinde, Germany, on Jan. 1, on board the vides that any resident of Porto Rico
captured British steamer Yarrowdale, may renounce his American citizenship
were released from quarantine March 9, within a year. Prohibition is imposed in
and left at 4 P. M. for the Swiss frontier, the bill, but is accompanied by a refer-
The route over which they departed was endum provision. The first election un-
the one chosen for their return by the der the new law wil1 take Place in Julv-
United States Government. * * *
Much irritation was felt over the delay T T is estimated that the German U-boat
in the release of the men, and the ex- J- blockade reduced the foreign trade
pla nation of the German authorities that of the United States in the month of
they were held on account of quarantine February $190,000,000. At one time 300,-
was questioned, but later it was officially 000 tons of cargoes on ships of neutral
confirmed by the Spanish Embassy doc- registry were tied up in New York Har-
tor that typhus fever had appeared at bor alone, fifty-three steamships being of
the camp on Feb. 20, and the quarantine American, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian,
was not lifted until March 7. The men and Dutch registry.
The British Advance on Bagdad and
Jerusalem
TURKEY in Asia is again fighting
for life against three allied ar-
mies that are converging upon it
from three directions.
Bagdad, the immediate goal of the
new Mesopotamian campaign, has been
captured, while Jerusalem lies in the
path along which another British army,
coming out of Egypt, is advancing,
after driving off the Turks who were
threatening the Suez Canal. From a
third direction the Russians are aiming
another blow at the Turkish Empire in
Asia, namely, from Persia and Armenia,
where they have again assumed the of-
fensive.
The most important fighting has been
in Mesopotamia. Here the British have
completely regained the prestige which
they lost when General Townshend, with
9,000 men of the British and Anglo-In-
dian armies, surrendered at Kut-el-
Amara on April 28, 1916. When the
British began the first Mesopotamian
campaign from the head of the Persian
Gulf in 1915, it was understood that the
object was to destroy German aims in
Asiatic Turkey, and particularly the
scheme of expansion connected with the
Bagdad Railway. The British marching
on Bagdad were to have effected a junc-
tion with the Russians advancing from
Persia in the east and from Turkish Ar-
menia in the north. But when the Brit-
ish, after being defeated at Ctesiphon,
had to fall back, and were later caught in
a trap at Kut-el-Amara, and forced to
surrender after a long siege, the Russo-
British plan collapsed. The Turkish
forces released by Townshend's failure
were sent to reinforce the army holding
back the Russians, and the Russians also
had to retreat. The disastrous end to the
first British expedition was due entirely
to inadequate preparation and insuffi-
cient supports when they were wanted.
After a considerable interval plans for
the resumption of the campaign were
completed early in December, 1916, and
on the 13th of that month, with General
Maude in command, a new advance on
Kut-el-Amara was begun along the right
bank of the Tigris. The British force
consisted of three divisions of 120,000
men and was assisted by a large flotilla
of war craft specially adapted for river
work. The British marched through the
evacuated Es Sinn lines and established
themselves on the Shatt-al-Hai, a canal
which enters the Tigris above and below
Kut from the south. About Christmas
time operations were impeded by heavy
rains, but early in January, 1917, the
advance was again pressed, and on Jan.
9 and 10 the enemies' trenches northeast
of Kut were captured after a stubborn
conflict. Rain caused another delay of
more than a week, but by Jan. 21 the
whole of the right bank of the river
east of the Shatt-al-Hai was clear of
Turks, and on Jan. 25 further movements
to the west began. The Turks made a
vigorous resistance and lost heavily. On
Jan. 27 and 28 there were hot encounters,
and after a further engagement on Feb.
3 General Maude was able to report that
the enemy had been driven from the
whole of the right bank.
Recapture of Kut-el-Amara
The British had now to clear the Turks
from the left bank of the Tigris, where
at Sanna-i-Yat, fifteen miles below Kut,
they were strongly intrenched. Kut itself
lies in a sharp bend on the left bank of
the Tigris. The licorice factory opposite
the town was shelled, and on Feb. 13 it
was officially announced in London that
the British had established a line across
the Tigris bend west of Kut, and were
thus hemming in the Turks. On Feb.
23 the British launched a fierce frontal
attack against Sanna-i-Yat.
While the Turks were concentrating
their forces on the defensive at this
point the British made a successful at-
H
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
tempt to cross the Tigris at the Shumran
bend, about six miles above Kut. As soon
as the landing was effected a bridge was
built as the result of nine hours' strenu-
ous work by the engineers. The way was
thus open for an attack on the Turks in
the rear. Discovering their danger, the
Turks began on Feb. 24 to retreat in the
direction of Baghela, twenty-four miles
west of Kut, burning their stores as they
went, but maintaining a strong rearguard
defensive. In the meantime the British
pressed the advance on Sanna-i-Yat,
carrying one line of trenches after the
other. With the taking of all the Turk-
ish positions from Sanna-i-Yat to Kut-el
Amara the town passed automatically
into the hands of the British, whose pres-
tige was thereby re-established.
The scene of operations rapidly
changed from Kut to points much further
up the river. On Feb. 25 the British gun-
boats on the Tigris and the cavalry and
infantry on the land moved westward in
an endeavor -to cut off the enemy's re-
treat. The Turkish rearguards made a
stubborn stand about fifteen miles north-
west of Kut, but were driven from their
trenches. On Feb. 26 the pursuit was
maintained, and therre were engagements
over thirty miles west-northwest of Kut.
On Feb. 27 General Maude's report de-
scribed the Turkish force retreating to
Bagdad as degenerating into a disorderly
mob. After passing through Aziziyah,
fifty-two miles north of Kut, the Turks
tried to fight another rearguard action
at Lajij, nine miles southeast of Ctesi-
phon.
The Fall of Bagdad
The British were now within a few
miles of their furthest advance during
the first Mesopotamian campaign. It
was expected that the Turks would make
a stand at Ctesiphon, but when the Brit-
ish arrived there they found the place
evacuated. On March 7 British cavalry
found the Turks in position on the Diala
River, eight miles from the outskirts of
Bagdad. The river was unfordable and
constituted a formidable obstacle. Gen-
eral Maude therefore withdrew his
cavalry and brought his infantry into
action.
Meanwhile the Turks had received re-
inforcements from Bagdad. They of-
fered stubborn resistance along the Diala
and in a position covering Bagdad from
the southwest. General Maude threw a
bridge across the Tigris at its confluence
with the Diala. Notwithstanding the
heat and dust, the British made a bril-
liant march of eighteen miles toward
Bagdad and found the Turks strongly
posted six miles southwest of the town.
The Turks were attacked at once and
driven back to their second position, two
miles in the rear.
On the night of March 8 the British
established a footing on the north bank
of the Diala. On the 9th and 10th troops
on the right bank of the Tigris, in spite
of dust storms, pressed their advantage
and drove back the Turks to within
three miles of Bagdad. At the same
time the troops on the Diala thrust the
Turks back on the city, which was en-
tered on Sunday morning, March 11.
In announcing this success in the
House of Commons the next day, Bonar
Law said there was every reason to be-
lieve that two-thirds of the Turks' ar-
tillery had fallen into the hands of the
British or had been thrown into the
Tigris. He added this comment:
General Maude, in these operations, has
completed his victory by a pursuit of 110
miles in fifteen days, during which the
Tigris was crossed three times. This pursuit
was conducted in a country destitute of
supplies, despite the commencement of the
Summer heat. Such operations could be
carried out in such a country only after the
most careful arrangements made for the
supply of the troops thoroughly and syste-
matically had been effected. The fact that
General Maude not only has been able to
feed the army, provide it with munitions, and
assure proper attention for the sick and
wounded, but has been able to report that
he is satisfied he can provide for the neces-
sities of his army in Bagdad, reflects the
greatest credit on all concerned.
By March 15 the British forces were
thirty miles above Bagdad on their way
toward Mosul.
In the two months' fighting since De-
cember, 1916, it is estimated that the
Turks lost over 20,000 men in killed and
wounded. The British reported having
taken over 7,000 prisoners, and also large
quantities of guns, war material, and
BRITISH ADVANCE ON BAGDAD AND JERUSALEM
45
%?r-
SKETCH MAP SHOWING LOCATION OF THE THREE ALLIED EXPEDITIONS THAT ARE
CONVERGING TO CUT THE BAGDAD RAILWAY AND ISOLATE A LARGE PORTION OF
ASIATIC TURKEY
stores of all kinds which the Turks were
unable to destroy in their retreat. The
British river craft had the satisfaction
of recapturing the gunboat Firefly, which
the Turks had taken a year before, as
well as securing a considerable number
of prizes in the way of river steamers,
tugboats, barges, and pontoons.
The Advance From Egypt
No less interesting was the news on
March 7 that the advance guards of the
British forces marching through Pales-
tine from Egypt were within fifteen
miles of Jerusalem. The dispatch stated
that the Turks had abandoned a strong
position in the neighborhood of Sheik
Nuran, west of Shellal. Shellal, which
is also known as El Chalil or El Khulil,
is the ancient Hebron, which lies half
way between the Mediterranean and the
Dead Sea, twenty miles from each and
only fifteen miles from Jerusalem. The
Turks prepared for an offensive to keep
the enemy out of Syria and Asia Minor,
to save the Bagdad Railway, and- to pre-
vent the Russians, now at Bitlis, from
effecting a junction with the British.
These preparations account for the com-
paratively slight resistance with which
General Maude met after he captured
Kut-el-Amara. Between Feb. 26, when
Kut fell, and March 8 the British had
advanced nearly a hundred miles. For
some time past the Germans have been
extremely busy completing railroad com-
munication, transporting war material,
and establishing military camps and de-
pots, with a view to making good their
occupation in the territories of which the
Bagdad Railway is the main artery.
The Advance Through' Persia
Simultaneously with the British strokes
in Mesopotamia and Palestine the Rus-
sians reopened their drive in Western
Persia toward Bagdad. On March 2 they
occupied Hamadan, an important city 240
miles east of Bagdad, and on the 6th
captured Asadabad Summit, ten miles
west of Hamadan. On the 13th they had
, captured Kermanshah, seventy miles
further in the direction of Bagdad.
Without waiting for the completion of
the various moves in Asiatic Turkey, the
British Government has taken decisive
46
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
measures to bring Persia under control.
How this was achieved by a British expe-
dition was described in the House of
Lords in February, 1917, when Lord Cur-
zon made the first statement on the situ-
ation in Persia since the speech delivered
by Lord Crewe in the same house on
Dec. 7, 1915, (see Current History, Feb-
ruary, 1916, Pages 877 to 879.) The po-
sition at that time was one of consider-
able convulsion. The British Consul at
Shiraz had been recently arrested under
circumstances of some ignominy. Coming
down to the operations of the Turks and
Germans in Persia last year the report
of Lord Curzon's speech continues:
The movement reached its maximum force
in August last. The Turkish military advance
was exercising so disastrous an influence on
the situation in Teheran at that time that
the Persian Government was on the eve of
mting the capital. Since then there
had been not merely a sensible alleviation,
but a steady improvement in the conditions.
The Russian Army had recovered its position
and effectively barred the way of the Turk-
ish forces to Teheran. In that manner the
Russian force had rendered great service to
the allied cause, and we found ourselves in
the somewhat strange and anomalous posi-
tion of having the Russian Army acting as
a successful screen of defense to our Indian
Empire. The British Consul at Shiraz and
the few male members of the community
there who were imprisoned with him had
been released after eight months of harsh
captivity. Most of the German agents in the
country had been captured, and he hoped
that before long the few who were still at
large would be taken.
British Forces in Persia
The march of the force under Sir Percy
B from Bunder Abbas to Ispahan and
ly to Teheran, for 1,000 miles, in cir-
cumstances of the most arduous and, in some
. of a perilous character, had not, he
thought, been mentioned hitherto in this
pountry- It resulted in establishing order
over a wide area. In Teheran itself we had
secured the existence of a Government friend-
ly to the allied powers ; and Russia and
Great Britain had been constant, although
not imprudent, in giving steady financial
assistance to the Persian Government in the
dificult times through which it had passed.
The object of Sir Percy Sykes was to organ-
ize in Southern Persia a force of military
gendarmerie, or police, under the Persian Gov-
ernment, but officered by British officers
with Indian training and experience. That
force was ultimately to attain to a strength
of 11,000 men. Sir Percy Sykes had at pres-
ent a force of 5,000 men in addition to a
military escort of about 800 troops from India,
and his military position was being strength-
ened by reinforcements now being dispatched
from India under a military officer experi-
enced in tribal warfare. A similar force of
gendarmerie was being raised from Bakh-
tiari tribesmen, who had always been very
friendly to us. He hoped that before long
Sir Percy would be able to march from
Shiraz, where he was now, and to clear up
the brigand camps and robber nests with
which that part of Persia was infested. On
the eastern side of Persia a similar success
had been obtained by another force under a
British officer, Major Keith, who had suc-
ceeded in pacifying the whole of that con-
siderable quarter.
In Afghanistan the Ameer, in spite of so-
licitations and the offer of bribes, had, as
far as was known, remained entirely loyal to
his obligations to Great Britain, and had de-
clined to be seduced from that loyalty by the
tempting offer of the spoil of the Punjab.
The attempt to improve the general situa-
tion in Persia had been considerably assisted
by two independent movements of a military
character outside the borders of that coun-
try. The first was the success of General
Maude in Mesopotamia. The second outside
group of events tending to improve the situa-
tion arose from the movement of the Shereef
of Mecca. He could not say that the situa-
tion was altogether free from anxiety. Turk-
ish troops had still to be turned out of parts
of Persia, and in the hinterland of the Per-
siari Gulf there was still disorder. The posi-
tion of the oil fields was practically secure,
and he had not heard for many months past
of any interruption of communications in
that region.
■■••••■••a
AMERICAN AMBASSADOR TO MEXICO
Henry P. Fletcher, Who, After Long. Delay, Now Repre-
sents the United States at the Mexican Capital
(Photo Central News Service}
iimumji
umimmmTHimi
MAJOR GENERAL JOHN J. PERSHING
Head of the Expeditionary Force in Mexico, Who Succeeds
General Funston as Commander of the Southern Department
( Photo Underwood d Underwood)
■•••>••••••■>• ■•■•.. ■•■• ........ ........
■•••■■•■in
GERMAN SUBMARINE BLOCKADE
Arming American Merchant Ships and
the Events Attending It
THE severance of diplomatic rela-
tions with Germany was fol-
lowed three . weeks later by the
second step in the determination
of the United States to preserve the
freedom of the seas for its citizens, not-
withstanding the establishment of a so-
called " barred zone " by German subma-
rines, intended to cut off ingress to Eu-
ropean ports.
Count von Bernstorff, the German
Ambassador, was dismissed on Feb. 3,
1917; on Feb. 26 President Wilson ap-
peared in person before the houses of
Congress in joint session and read an
address, the substance of which was that
he should be authorized to supply arma-
ment and ammunition to American mer-
chant vessels and " to employ any other
instrumentalities or methods that may be
necessary and adequate to protect our
ships and our people in their legitimate
pursuits on the seas." The President's
address embodied the conclusions reached
by himself and his Cabinet after it had
become apparent that the German sub-
marine blockade was operating practi-
cally as an embargo on American trade
with Europe.
While the President was proceeding
to the Capitol to deliver his address
news reached him of the torpedoing of
the Cunard liner Laconia without warn-
ing, by which American lives were lost.
This fact gave additional weight to his
words.
Text of the President's ^Armed Neutrality"
Address to Congress
PRESIDENT WILSON'S address be-
fore Congress on Feb. 26 asked for
a formal concession of power
enabling him to arm merchant ships and
to take other measures needed for the
protection of American citizens and prop-
erty on the high seas when attacked by
submarines. The full text of the ad-
dress follows:
Centlemen of the Congress:
I have again asked the privilege of address-
ing you because we are moving through criti-
cal -times during which it seems to me to be
my duty to keep in close touch with the
houses of Congress, so that neither counsel
nor action shall run at cross-purposes be-
tween us.
On the 3d of February I officially informed
you of the sudden and unexpected action of
the Imperial German Government in declar-
ing its intention to disregard the promises
it had made to this Government in April last
and undertake immediate submarine opera-
tions against all commerce, whether of bel-
ligerents or of neutrals, that should seek to
approach Great Britain and Ireland, the At-
lantic coasts of Europe, or the harbors of the
Eastern Mediterranean and to conduct those
operations without regard to the established
restrictions of international practice, without
regard to any considerations of humanity
even which might interfere with their object.
That policy was forthwith put into prac-
tice. It has now been in active exhibition for
nearly four weeks. Its practical results are
not fully disclosed. The commerce of other
neutral nations is suffering severely, but not,
perhaps, very much more severely than it
was already suffering before the 1st of Feb-
ruary, when the new policy of the Imperial
Government was put into operation.
We have asked the co-operation of the other
neutral Governments to prevent these depre-
dations, but I fear none of them has thought
it wise to join us in any common course of
action. Our own commerce has suffered, is
suffering, rather in apprehension than in
fact, rather because so many of our shipo
are timidly keeping to their home ports tha.i
because American ships have been sunk.
Two American vessels have been sunk, tho
Housatonic and the Lyman M. Law. The
case of the Housatonic, which was carrying
foodstuffs consigned to a London firm, was
essentially like the case of the Frye, in
which, it will be recalled, the German Gov-
IS
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
ernment admitted its liability for damages,
and the lives of the crew, as in the case cf
the Frye, were safeguarded with reasonable
care.
The case of the Law, which was carrying
lemon-box staves to Palermo, disclosed a ruth-
lessness of method which deserves grave con-
demnation, but was accompanied by no cir-
cumstances which might not have been ex-
1 at any time in connection with the use
of the submarine against merchantmen as
the German Government has used it.
In sum, therefore, the situation we find
ourselves in with regard to the actual con-
duct of the German submarine warfare
against commerce and its effects upon our
own ships and people is substantially the
same that it was when I addressed you on
the 3d of February, except for the tying up
of our shipping in our own ports because of
the unwillingness of our ship owners to risk
their vessels at sea without insurance or
adequate protection, and the very serious
congestion of our commerce which has re-
sulted—a congestion which is growing rap-
idly more and more serious every day.
This, in itself, might presently accomplish,
in effect, what the new German submarine
orders were meant to accomplish, so far as
we are concerned. We can only say, there-
fore, that the overt act which I have ven-
tured to hope the German commanders would
In fact avoid has not occurred.
But while this is happily true, it must be
admitted that there have been certain addi-
tional indications and expressions of purpose
on the part of the German press and the
German authorities which have increased
rather than lessened the impression that, if
our ships' and our people are spared, it will
be because of fortunate circumstances or be-
cause the commanders of the German sub-
marines which they may happen to encounter
exercise an unexpected discretion and re-
straint, rather than because of the instruc-
tions under which those commanders are
acting.
It would be foolish to deny that the situa-
tion is fraught with the gravest possibilities
and dangers. No thoughtful man can fail to
see that the necessity for definite action may
come at any time if we are, in fact and not
In word merely, to defend our elementary
rights as a neutral nation. It would be most
imprudent to be unprepared.
I cannot in such circumstances be unmind-
ful of the fact that the expiration of the
term of the present Congress is immediately
at hand by constitutional limitation and that
it would in all likelihood require an unusual
length of time to assemble and organize tho
Congress which is to succeed it.
r foel that I ought, in view of that fact, to
obtain from you full and immediate assur-
ance of the authority which I may need at
any moment to exercise. Is*o doubt I already
possess that authority without special war-
rant of law, by the plain implication of my
constitutional duties and powers; but I prefer
in the present circumstances not to act upon
general implication. I wish to feel that the
authority and the power of the Congress are
behind me in whatever it may become neces-
sary for me to do. "We are jointly the serv-
ants of the people and must act together and
in their spirit, so far as we can divine and
interpret it.
No one doubts what it is our duty to do.
We must defend our commerce and the lives
of our people in the midst of the present try-
ing circumstances with discretion but with
clear and steadfast purpose. Only the
method and the extent remain to be chosen,
upon the occasion, if occasion should indeed
arise.
Since it has unhappily proved impossible to
safeguard our neutral rights by diplomatic
means against the unwarranted infringements
they are suffering at the hands of Germany,
there may be no recourse but to armed neu-
trality, which we shall know how to main-
tain and for which there is abundant Ameri-
can precedent.
It is devoutly to be hoped that it will not
be necessary to put armed forces anywhere
into action. The American people do not de-
sire it, and our desire is not different from
theirs. I am sure that they will understand
the spirit in which I am now acting, the pur-
pose I hold nearest my heart and would wish
to exhibit in everything I do.
I am anxious that the people of the na-
tions at war also should understand and not
mistrust us. I hope that I need give no
further proofs and assurances than I have
already given throughout nearly three years
of anxious patience that I am the friend of
peace and mean to preserve it for America
so long as I am able. I am not now pro-
posing or contemplating war or any steps
that need lead to it. I merely request that
you will accord me by your own vote and
definite bestowal the means and the authority
to safeguard in practice the right of a great
people, who are at peace and who are de-
sirous of exercising none but the rights of
peace, to follow the pursuit of peace in quiet-
ness and good-will— rights recognized time out
of mind by all the civilized nations of the
world.
No course of my choosing or of theirs will
lead to war. War can come only by the will-
ful acts and aggressions of others.
You will understand why I can make no
definite proposals or forecasts of action now
and must ask for your supporting authority
in the most general terms. The form in which
action may become necessary cannot yet be
foreseen.
I believe that the people will be willing to
trust me to act with restraint, with prudence,
and in the true spirit of amity and good faith
that they have themselves displayed through-
out these trying months ; and it is in that
belief that I request that you will authorize
me to supply our merchant ships with defen-
sive arms should that become necessary, and
with the means of using them, and to employ
PRESIDENT WILSON'S ARMED NEUTRALITY ADDRESS
49
any other instrumentalities or methods that
may be necessary and adequate to protect
our ships and our people in their legitimate
and peaceful pursuits on the seas. I request
also that you will grant me at the same time,
along with the powers I ask, a sufficient
credit to enable me to provide adequate
means of protection where they are lacking,
including adequate insurance against the
present war risks.
I have spoken of our commerce and of the
legitimate errands of our people on the seas,
but you will not be misled as to my main
thought— the thought that lies beneath these
phrases and gives them dignity and weight.
It is not of material interest merely that we
are thinking. Is is, rather, of fundamental
human rights, chief of all the right of life
itself.
I am thinking not only of the right of
Americans to go and come about their proper
business by way of the sea, but also of some-
thing much deeper, much more fundamental
than that. I am thinking of those rights of
humanity without which there is no civili-
zation. My theme is of those great princi-
ples of compassion and of protection which
mankind has sought to throw about human
lives, the lives of noncombatants, the lives of
men who are peacefully at work keeping the
industrial processes of the world quick and
vital, the lives of women and children and
of those who supply the labor which minis-
ters to their sustenance. We are speaking of
no selfish material rights, but of rights which
our hearts support and whose foundation is
that righteous passion for justice upon which
all law, all structures alike of family, of
State, and of mankind must rest, as upon
the ultimate base of our existence and our
liberty.
I cannot imagine any man with American
principles at his heart hesitating to defend
these things.
The Armed Ship Debate in Congress
FOLLOWING President Wilson's ap-
pearance at the Capitol, Congress-
man Flood, Chairman of the Com-
mittee on Foreign Affairs, introduced a
bill to carry out the President's recom-
mendations, the bill having been drafted
at the White House. It was passed by
the House on March 1 by a vote of 403
to 13; of those voting "No" nine were
Republicans, three Democrats, and one a
Socialist. As passed by the House the
bill empowered the President to arm mer-
chant ships, but did not extend to him
authority " to use other instrumentali-
ties," and it prohibited insurance of muni-
tion-carrying ships in the Government
War Risk Fund. The passage of the bill
in the House was marked by many patri-
otic addresses and a complete absence of
partisanship; the leaders of the Repub-
lican minority advocated the measure as
enthusiastically as the Democratic lead-
ers. It was debated for more than seven
hours, and more than fifty speeches were
made in its favor; there was no serious
opposition.
Flood Proclaims Our Policy
Chairman Flood of the Foreign Af-
fairs Committee vigorously announced
the policy of the Administration to sub-
mit no longer to the virtual blockading of
American ports by the German subma-
rine decree.
Germany, he said, had violated the
promises made in the interchange of
notes between the United States and
that nation, " and she is now undertaking
to destroy every merchant vessel, whether
belligerent or neutral, that is under-
taking to land at any port of Great Brit-
ain or Ireland, on the Atlantic Coast, or
the eastern ports of the Mediterranean.
The American merchant marine is tied
up in our harbors and American com-
merce is blockaded in our ports as effect-
ually as if an enemy had blockaded those
ports. This condition is intolerable to a
free and a brave people, and it has con-
tinued as long as the American Govern-
ment and the American people are willing
to submit to it. The pending bill gives
the President means to remedy this in-
tolerable condition and free our com-
merce and protect the lives of American
citizens in their lawful pursuits on the
high seas."
Mr. Flood said the bill might not avert
war, but it would do little directly to
bring about war.
" We may have to go further," he con-
tinued, " but if we do the fault will not
be ours. Our warships have the right to
sail the seas, our citizens have the right
to go there, and we propose to protect
them in that right. I hope we can do it
peacefully. If we cannot we will do it
50
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
with force and with arms. It is clear
that Germany does not intend to lessen
the ruthlessness of her submarine war-
fare in order to avoid a conflict with this
country. Our duty is clear — to protect
our citizens and our ships in their lawful
pursuits."
Mr. Flood said if Germany were con-
ducting her submarine warfare in ac-
cordance with international law and the
instincts of humanity, if she were merely
exercising the right of search and seiz-
ure, this country would take its chances
in the prize courts, and there would be
no need for the legislation of today.
" But Germany is not doing that. She
proposes to sink merchant vessels without
warning and without the slightest oppor-
tunity for noncombatants on board to
save their lives. America is not willing
to fail to defend her citizens, and I can-
not understand how any man with Amer-
ican blood in his veins and American
sentiment in his heart can hesitate to
give to the President the authority to
protect lives of American citizens."
Fails in the Senate
On Feb. 27 the Foreign Relations Com-
mittee of the United States Senate re-
ported the measure to that body, with the
fullest indorsement of the Administra-
tion. The text of the bill, as reported,
was as follows:
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of
Representatives of the United States of
America, in Congress assembled:
That the commanders and crews of all
merchant vessels of the United States and
bearing the registry of the United States are
hereby authorized to arm and defend such
vessels against -unlawful attacks, and the
President of the United States is hereby
authorized and empowered to supply such
vessels with defensive arms, fore and aft, and
also with the necessary ammunition and
means of making use of them ; and that he
be, and is hereby, authorized and empowered
to employ such other instrumentalities and
methods as may in his judgment and discre-
tion seem necessary and adequate to protect
such vessels and the citizens of the United
States in their lawful and peaceful pursuits
on the high seas.
The sum of $100,000,000 is hereby appropri-
ated, to be expended by the President of the
United States for the purpose of carrying into
effect the foregoing provisions, the said sum
to be available until the first day of Janu-
ary, 1918.
For the purpose of meeting the expendi-
tures herein authorized, the Secretary of the
Treasury, under the direction of the Presi-
dent, is hereby authorized to borrow on the
credit of the United States and to issue there-
for bonds of the United States not exceeding
in the aggregate $100,000,000, said bonds to
be in such form and subject to such terms
and conditions as the Secretary of the Treas-
ury may prescribe and to bear interest at a
rate not exceeding 3 per centum per annum :
Provided that such bonds shall be sold at not
less than par, shall not carry the circulation
privilege, and that all citizens of the United
States shall be given an equal opportunity to
subscribe therefor, but no commission shall
be allowed or paid thereon; that both princi-
pal and interest shall be payable in United
States gold coin of the present standard of
value, and be exempt from all taxation and
duties of the United States as well as from
taxation in any form of all State, municipal,
or local authorities ; that any bonds issued
hereunder may, under such conditions as the
Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe, be
convertible into bonds bearing a higher rate
of interest than 3 per centum per annum, if
any bonds shall be issued by the United
States at a higher rate than 3 per centum
per annum by virtue of any act passed on or
before Dec. 31, 1918.
In order to pay the necessary expenses con-
nected with the said issue of bonds, or any
conversions thereof, a sum not exceeding one-
fifth of 1 per centum of the amount of bonds
herein authorized to be issued, or which may
be converted, is hereby appropriated, out of
any money in the Treasury not otherwise
appropriated, to be expended as the Secretary
of the Treasury may direct.
The President is authorized to transfer so
much of the amount herein appropriated as
he may deem necessary,., not exceeding $25,-
000,000, to the Bureau of War Risk Insur-
ance, created by act of Congress, approved
Sept. 2, 1914, for the purpose of insuring ves-
sels, their freight, passage moneys, and car-
goes against loss or damage by the present
risks of war.
The Senate Filibuster
The discussion of this measure in the
Senate and its failure of passage through
a filibuster by a small group marked
one of the most sensational episodes in
the history of the upper house of the
National Legislature, and resulted in a
change in the rules which had been ad-
vocated fruitlessly for over 100 years.
The session of Congress was to end
automatically on March 4, hence there
were but four days remaining when the
measure was introduced. A certain group
of Senators, in view of the critical for-
eign situation, had previously insisted
ARMING AMERICAN SHIPS
61
that the President should call an extra
session of the new Congress, to convene
immediately on the expiration of the old
Congress, and to force this action they
had been filibustering for several days
over important revenue and appropria-
tion bills. Under the then existing rules
of the Senate, there was no limit to de-
bate, and a very small opposition group
could block all legislation and indefinite-
ly postpone final action on any measure
by dilatory motions and long speeches.
When the armed neutrality measure
came up for debate a small but deter-
mined opposition developed, which under-
took to prevent a vote until the ses-
sion ended, at noon March 4. Senator La
Follette of Wisconsin was at the head of
this group, and he was assisted by Sen-
ators Norris of Nebraska, Cummins of
Iowa, Gronna of North Dakota, Clapp of
Minnesota, and Works of California, Re-
publicans, and Senators Stone of Mis-
souri, O'Gorman of New York, Kirby of
Arkansas, Lane of Oregon, and Varda-
man of Mississippi, Democrats.
Senator Stone was Chairman of the
Foreign Relations Committee. In con-
sequence of his opposition to the bill, he
relinquished parliamentary control of it
to Senator Hitchcock of Nebraska, the
next ranking member of the committee.
The debate over the measure proceeded
with more or less bitterness for three
days, but it was not until the final day of
the session, when it was clear that this
small group had determined to defeat the
measure by dilatory tactics, that the acri-
mony reached its acute stage. The leaders
of the Senate, both Democratic and Re-
publican, as well as all the influence of
the Administration, exerted all possible
pressure on the filibusters to allow the
measure to reach a vote, but in vain.
Senators La Follette and Clapp were deaf
to all appeals, and throughout the long
session, lasting all night of the 3d of
March and until the stroke of 12 on the
4th, they blocked every effort to have a
vote. At noon the bill died by the auto-
matic end of the session.
The Famous Manifesto
During the early hours of March 4,
when it was apparent that the filibuster
would succeed, the Senate majority per-
formed the unprecedented act of signing
a manifesto declaring that the will of
the overwhelming majority of the Sen-
ate was being defeated by a small group
of recalcitrants. Seventy-five of the
ninety-six members of the body signed
the document, and eight more would have
signed it could they have been reached.
This historic manifesto was as follows:
The undersigned, United States Senators,
favor the passage of Senate Bill 8322, to
authorize the President of the United States
to arm American merchant vessels.
A similar bill already has passed the House
of Representatives by a vote of 403 to 13.
Under the rules of the Senate, allowing
unlimited debate, it. now appears to be im-
possible to obtain a vote prior to noon March
4, 1917, when the session of Congress expires.
We desire the statement entered in the
record to establish the fact that the Senate
favors the legislation and would pass it if a
vote could be obtained.
President Wilson's Appeal to the Country
PRESIDENT WILSON was deeply in-
dignant over the success of the Sen-
ate filibusters in defeating the
armed neutrality measure, and issued the
following address to the country a few
hours after Congress adjourned, follow-
ing closely on the heels of his second in-
auguration :
The termination of the last session of the
Sixty-fourth Congress by constitutional limi-
tation disclosed a situation unparalleled in the
history of the country, perhaps unparalleled
in the history of any modern Government. In
the immediate presence of a crisis fraught
with more subtle and far-reaching possibili-
ties of national danger than any the Govern-
ment has known within the whole history of
its international relations, the Congress has
been unable to act either to safeguard the
country or to vindicate the elementary rights
of its citizens. More than 500 of the 531
members of the two houses were ready and
anxious to act ; the House of Representatives
had acted, by an overwhelming majority;
but the Senate was unable to act because a
little group of eleven Senators had determined
that it should not.
The Senate has no rules by which debate
can be limited or brought to an end, no rules
by which dilatory tactics of any kind can bo
52
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
prevented. A single member can stand in the
way of action, if he have but the physical en-
durance. The result in this case is a com-
plete paralysis alike of the legislative and of
the executive branches of the Government.
This inability of the Senate to act has ren-
dered some of the most necessary legislation
of the session impossible at a time when the
need of it was most pressing and most evi-
dent. The bill which would have permitted
such combinations of capital and of organiza-
tion in the export and import trade of the
country as the circumstances of international
competition have made imperative — a bill
which the business judgment of the whole
country approved and demanded — has failed.
The opposition of one or two Senators has
made it impossible to increase the member-
ship of the Interstate Commerce Commission
to give it the altered organization necessary
for its efficiency. The Conservation bill,
which should have released for immediate
use the mineral resources which are still
locked up in the public lands, now that their
release is more imperatively necessary than
ever, and the bill which would have made the
unused water power of the country immedi-
ately available for industry have both failed,
though they have been under consideration
throughout the sessions of two Congresses
and have been twice passed by the House of
Representatives. The appropriations for the
army have failed, along with the appropria-
tions for the civil establishment of the Gov-
ernment, the appropriations for the Military
Academy at West Point and the General De-
ficiency bill. It has proved impossible to ex-
tend the powers of the Shipping Board to
meet the special needs of the new situations
into which our commerce has been forced or
to increase the gold reserve of our national
banking system to meet the unusual circum-
stances of the existing financial situation.
It would not cure the difficulty to call the
Sixty-fifth Congress in extraordinary ses-
sion. The paralysis of the Senate would re-
main. The purpose and the spirit of action
are not lacking now. The Congress is more
definitely united in thought and purpose at
this moment, I venture to say, than it has
been within the memory of any men now in
its membership. There is not only the most
united patriotic purpose, but the objects mem-
bers have in view are perfectly clear and
definite. But the Senate cannot act unless its
leaders can obtain unanimous consent. Its
majority is powerless, helpless. In the midst
of a crisis of extraordinary peril, when only
definite and decided action can make the
nation safe or shield it from war itself by the
aggression of others, action is impossible.
Although, as a matter of fact, the nation
and the representatives of the nation stand
back of the Executive with unprecedented
unanimity and spirit, the impression made
abroad will, of course, be that it is not so
and that other Governments may act as they
please without fear that this Government can
do anything at all. We cannot explain. The
explanation is incredible. The Senate of the
United States is the only legislative body in
the world which cannot act when its majority
is ready for action. A little group of willful
men, representing no opinion but their own,
have rendered the great Government of the
United States helpless and contemptible.
The remedy? There is but one remedy.
The only remedy is that the rules of the Sen-
ate shall be so altered that it can act. The
country can be relied upon to draw the moral.
I believe that the Senate can be relied on to
supply the means of action and save the
country from disaster.
Supplementary Statement
At the same time the President au-
thorized the further statement that what
rendered the situation even more grave
than had been supposed, was the dis-
covery that, while the President under
his general constitutional powers could
do much of what he had asked Congress
to empower him to do, it had been found
that there were certain old statutes as
yet unrepealed which might raise in-
superable practical obstacles and nullify
his power.
Popular Indignation
A wave of indignant protest swept the
country. Legislatures of many States
passed resolutions denouncing the fili-
bustering Senators and pledging support
to the President; mass meetings were
held in many cities, and at some places
the opposing Senators were hanged in
effigy. Telegrams of protest poured in
from all parts of America and resolu-
tions of protest were passed by impor-
tant bodies and associations throughout
the country.
The Senate had been convened in extra
session, as is the custom after the in-
auguration of the President, to act upon
nominations. As soon as the body con-
vened steps were taken to amend the
rules so that there could never be a repe-
tition of such a filibuster. An amend-
ment was agreed upon by the Democratic
and Republican caucuses, and on March
8 it was adopted by a vote of 76 to 3, the
three negative votes being cast by Sena-
tors La Follette, Gronna, and Sherman of
Illinois. This rule provides that a two-
thirds vote of the Senators present may
bring a measure to a vote, and thereafter
each Senator may debate the measure
PRESIDENT WILSON'S APPEAL TO THE COUNTRY
53
only one hour, when it is to be put
upon its passage without any dilatory
motions or further debate being in
order.
This rule is regarded as the most far-
reaching change in the procedure of the
Senate since the organization of our
Government. The adoption of the rule,
as was anticipated, removed all obstacles
to the effectiveness of an extra session
of Congress, and President Wilson there-
fore called such a session by proclama-
tion on March 9, summoning the body to
meet on April 16, 1917.
Sinking of the Laconia and Algonquin
PRESIDENT WILSON declared in his
address of Feb. 3, in which he sev-
ered diplomatic relations with Ger-
many, that " only actual overt acts " of
German submarines against American
citizens and ships on the high seas could
change the situation into one of war. The
succeeding weeks brought a growing list
of acts of that nature. On Feb. 3 the
German submarine U-53 sank the Amer-
ican freight steamer Housatonic, bound
from Galveston to Liverpool with grain.
On Feb. 12 the American sailing schooner
Lyman M. Law, en route with lumber
from Maine to Italy, was destroyed by a
submarine off the coast of Sardinia. Five
Norwegian steamers with Americans on
board were sunk without adequate warn-
ing in the next ten days.
The first American to perish by sub-
marine attack after the break with Ger-
many was Robert A. Haden, a mission-
ary, traveling from China on the French
steamer Athos, which was carrying Sene-
galese troops and colonial laborers. The
Athos was torpedoed 210 miles east of
Malta on Feb. 17. Mr. Haden perished
while trying to aid the Chinese on board.
Two American members of the crew of
the British bark Calgorm Castle were re-
ported lost after the torpedoing of that
vessel in British waters on Feb. 27.
The Laconia Disaster
A far graver case, however, occurred
at 10:30 o'clock Sunday night, Feb. 27,
when the Cunard liner Laconia, 18,000
tons burden, carrying seventy-three pas-
sengers— men, women, and children — of
whom six were American citizens —
manned by a mixed crew of 216, bound
from New York to Liverpool and loaded
with foodstuffs, cotton, and war mate-
rial, was torpedoed without warning by a
German submarine 150 miles off the
Irish coast. The vessel sank in about
forty minutes. Twelve persons perished
in the bitter weather before the survivors
in open boats were rescued by British pa-
trol vessels.
Two of the dead were American citi-
zens— Mrs. Mary E. Hoy and her daugh-
ter, Miss Elizabeth Hoy, of Chicago. Both
were in a lifeboat that was swamped, and,
though taken into another open boat, they
died of exposure and were buried at sea.
The Rev. Dunstan Sargent of Grenada,
British West Indies, a passenger on the
Laconia, who administered the last rites
of the Roman Catholic Church to seven
persons who perished, gave the following
account of tragic events in his boat :
" Mrs. Hoy died in the arms of her
daughter. Her body slipped off into the
sea out of her daughter's weakened arms.
The heartbroken daughter succumbed a
few minutes afterward, and her body fell
over the side of the boat as we were
tossed by the huge waves.
" In icy water up to her knees for two
hours, the daughter all the time bravely
supported her aged mother, uttering
words of encouragement to her. From
the start both were violently seasick,
which, coupled with the cold and exposure,
gradually wore down their courage. They
were brave women.
" The first to die in our boat was W.
Irvine Robinson of Toronto. After his
body had been consigned to the sea we
tossed about for an liour, getting more
and more water until the gunwales were
almost level with the sea. Then Cedric
P. Ivatt of London, who was not physical-
ly strong, succumbed in the arms of his
fiancee, who was close beside him, trying
in vain to keep him warm by throwing
her wealth of hair about his neck. Even
after he died she refused to give him up,
54
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
and, although the additional weight made
the situation more dangerous for us all,
we yielded to her pitiful pleading and al-
lowed her to keep the body. It was taken
aboard the rescuing patrol, from which it
was buried.
M The Hoys were the next to pass away
after Mr. Ivatt. Then a fireman died, and
later two others of the crew who were too
thinly clad to resist exposure. Alto-
gether, we were in the boat ten hours.
We were rescued in the middle of the
morning."
Word Picture of Scene;
One of the survivors, Floyd P. Gibbons,
has placed on record this picture of the
last moments of the Laconia :
The torpedo had struck at 10:30 P. M., ac-
cording to our ship's time. It was thirty
minutes afterward that another dull thud,
which was accompanied by a noticeable drop
in the hulk, told its story of the second tor-
pedo that the submarine had dispatched
through the engine room and the boat's vitals
from a distance of 200 yards.
We watched silently during the next minute,
as the tiers of lights dimmed slowly from
white to yellow, then to red, and nothing was
left but the murky mourning of the night,
which hung over all like a pall.
A mean, cheese-colored crescent of a moon
revealed one horn above a rag bundle of
clouds low in the distance. A rim of black-
ness settled around our little world, relieved
only by general leering stars in the zenith,
and where the Laconia's lights had shown
there remained only the dim outlines of a
blacker hulk standing out above the water
like a jagged headland, silhouetted against
the overcast sky.
The ship sank rapidly at the stern until at
last its nose stood straight in the air. Then
it slid silently down and out of sight like a
piece of disappearing scenery in a panorama
spectacle.
As the vessel was sinking, the subma-
rine that had done the deed suddenly rose
out of the sea within a few feet of a
boatload of passengers, and a German
voice demanded the name of the ship, its
tonnage and cargo, and the whereabouts
of the Captain. When he had received
civil answers the German commander re-
marked: "Well, you'll be all right. A
British patrol will soon pick you up.
Good night! " Then he and his ship van-
ished, and the lifeboats full of shivering
victims were left weltering on the empty
sea until picked up the next morning by
patrol boats.
The sinking of the Laconia furnished
the overt act which the President had in-
dicated would call for a more vigorous
policy, but it rested with Congress to de-
termine the extent of the warlike step
to be taken. On Feb. 28 President Wil-
son made public the following cablegram
which he had received from Austin Y.
Hoy, whose mother and sister had per-
ished through the act of a German sub-
marine:
I am an American citizen, representing the
Sullivan Machinery Company of Chicago, liv-
ing abroad, not as an expatriate, but for the
promotion of American trade. I love the
flag, believing in its significance. My be-
loved mother and sister, passengers on the
Laconia, have been foully murdered on the
high seas.
As an American citizen outraged and as
such fully within my rights and as an Ameri-
can son and brother bereaved, I call upon my
Government to preserve its citizens' self-re-
spect and save others of my countrymen from
such deep grief as I now feel. I am of mili-
tary age, able to fight. If my country can
use me against these brutal assassins, I am
at its call.
If it stultifies my manhood and my nation's
by remaining passive under outrage, I shall
seek a man's chance under another flag.
German Government officials regarded
the Laconia case as the climax of the sit-
uation, and expected the United States to
act, but added that there " could be no
going back " in their submarine policy.
Sinking of the Algonquin
The next act seriously affecting the re-
lations of the two countries was the sink-
ing of the American steamship Algon-
quin, bound from New York to London
with foodstuffs. The Algonquin was at-
tacked without warning at 6 o'clock on
Monday morning, March 12, by a Ger-
man submarine, which sank her with
shellfire and bombs. After twenty-seven
hours in open boats the crew of twenty-
six men reached Scilly. Captain A. Nord-
berg gave the following account of the
event :
Just after daylight I was on the bridge.
It was the mate's watch. I saw two steam-
ers, apparently colliers, steaming west, one
on the starboard and the other on the port
side. Two minutes later the mate called my
attention to another object and at once I
said, " I think that is a submarine."
The -submarine was about three miles dis-
tant, as were also the steamers. Immediately
I saw a flash of a gun and a shell fell short.
At once I stopped the engines and then went
full speed astern, indicating this by three
SINKING OF THE LACONIA AND ALGONQUIN
55
blasts on the whistle. The submarine kept on
firing, the fourth shot throwing- up a column
of water which drenched me and the man at
the wheel. It was a close thing.
The fifth shot struck the ship's side and the
next went aft. The submarine was using two
guns. Twenty shots were fired at us. I
ordered the crew to the boats, and we pulled
away two ship's lengths. All this time the
submarine was firing at us. Some of the
shots came very close.
Once we were in the boats the Germans
ceased firing and the submarine dived.
Later we saw, the periscope, which circled the
Algonquin half a dozen times. Then, finding
her abandoned, the submarine came to the
surface and a boat's crew boarded the
steamer.
The first thing done was to lower the
American flag. Then I concluded they were
going to sink my ship. Ten minutes after
I heard the crackle of an explosion and saw
smoke. They had blown the ship up with
bombs. In fifteen minutes the Algonquin had
sunk.
The submarine was flying the German en-
sign. Her commander asked me the name,
nationality, destination, and cargo of the
ship, which had the American colors painted
on her side and flew the American flag day
and night. I asked him to tow us toward
land, but he refused, saying: " I'm too busy.
I expect a couple of other steamers."
The Algonquin, as it happened, changed
owners after its departure from New
York, but the fact was unknown alike to
the Captain and crew and to the Ger-
man submarine commander. Fourteen
members of the crew were Americans,
and Captain Nordberg was a Norwegian
who had become a naturalized American
citizen.
Ships Armed by Presidential Proclamation
PRESIDENT WILSON issued on
March 9 the proclamation calling
Congress in extra session April 16,
1917, without specifying any particular
purpose, but the following statement an-
nouncing the President's determination
to arm merchant vessels was given out at
the White House:
Secretary Tumulty stated in connection with
the President's call for an extra session of
Congress that the President is convinced that
he has the power to arm American merchant
ships and is free to exercise it at once. But
so much necessary legislation is pressing for
consideration that he is convinced that it is
for the best interests of the country to have
an early session of the Sixty-fifth Congress,
whose support he will also need in all mat-
ters collateral to the defense of our merchant
marine.
The President decided to act at once,
and on March 12 formal notice was given
to the world of this decision. The fol-
lowing statement, prepared by Secretary
of State Lansing, after a conference with
President Wilson, was sent out by the
State Department on the 12th to all
members of the Diplomatic Corps in
Washington :
In view of the announcement of the Im-
perial German Government of Jan. 31, 1917,
that all ships, those of neutrals included,
met within certain zones of the high seas
would be sunk without any precautions being
taken for the safety of the persons on board,
and without the exercise of visit and search,
the Government of the United States has de-
termined to place upon all American mer-
chant vessels sailing through the barred
areas an armed guard for the protection of
the vessels and the lives of the persons on
board.
Legal Basis of Action
In arriving at the decision that he had
legal authority to furnish armament to
merchantmen President Wilson was
guided by the advice of both Secretary
Lansing and Attorney General Gregory.
Mr. Lansing had had no doubt from the
first of the President's power to take
means for the defense of American ships
and American lives on the seas. Others
thought, however, that a law enacted in
1819 prohibited the President from per-
mitting any merchant vessel of Amer-
ican register to use force against the
ships of a nation with which the United
States was not actually and officially at
war. This law specified that armed
merchant vessels should not use their
guns against national vessels of a Gov-
ernment with which the United States
was in amity.
Secretary Lansing held that this
statute had been enacted with particular
reference to protection against pirates,
and that it had no application whatever
to the present situation. It could not
properly be construed, he contended, to
apply to the use of arms by an American
merchant vessel to protect itself against
56
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
the unlawful attack of a German subma-
rine.
To make assurance doubly sure Presi-
dent Wilson referred the question of the
interpretation of the law to Attorney
General Gregory, who sustained the Sec-
retary of State, holding that the law of
1819 had reference to conditions when the
seas were infested with piratical craft,
and was not a bar to a ship protecting
herself from the effort of a German sub-
marine to sink her without warning. The
President, therefore, felt that no occasion
existed for postponing the issuance of an
order to furnish Government armament
to merchant vessels.
Although the Armed Ship bill, which
failed of passage in the Senate, provided
for a bond issue of $100,000,000 to pay
the expenses of armed neutrality, the
Government has sufficient money avail-
able for its immediate purposes. Con-
gress will be asked to provide more when
the extra session convenes.
Crux of the Situation
Under a bill passed during the last
days of the last Congress, the funds at
the disposal of the Federal War Risk Bu-
reau to insure American ships was in-
creased to $15,000,000. Armed neutrality
is expected to remove the practical
blockade of American ports and place the
issue of eventual war squarely upon Ger-
many. An attack upon an armed Amer-
ican vessel would precipitate a fight if
the ship got sight of the submarine, and
an unwarned attack would be regarded
by the United States as an act of war.
Germany and Austria both have de-
clared armed merchantmen war vessels.
These declarations were based largely,
however, upon the charge that British
merchant ships used their armament of-
fensively, and it remains to be seen
whether Germany will so class and treat
American craft with defensive arms. The
whole German press comment and unoffi-
cial utterances since the question was
raised in this country have indicated the
conviction that any armed vessel should
be considered hostile and sunk in the
same way as a belligerent war vessel.
There has been no official expression on
the subject.
The guns defending American mer-
chantmen will be in charge of gunners
belonging to the United States Navy.
The official instructions to these men
have not been made public, but reliable
correspondents have asserted with an air
of authority that in view of the warnings
by the German Government, the discover-
ing of a submarine in the war zone by an
armed ship would presuppose that it had
hostile intent, and that it would be fired
upon on sight. German official opinion
as quoted by the German press asserts
that the firing upon a German submarine
by an armed American merchantman
would be regarded by that country as an
act of war.
The Secretary of the Navy issued a
formal request to American newspapers
and news agencies to refrain from pub-
lishing the departure of any American
ships from American or foreign ports,
and to exclude any information regard-
ing the arming of ships. It is known
that six-inch guns were placed upon a
large number of American ships in the
week ended March 17, 1917, and it was
understood that several large freighters
and at least one American passenger
liner, fully equipped fore and aft with
six-inch guns, left American ports for
the barred zone during the week named.
No official announcement of the sailings
was permitted.
Armed neutrality became the status of
the United States the moment the first
merchant ship under the American flag
put to sea with a gun mounted for de-
fense. President Wilson clearly forecast
this fact in his address to Congress on
Feb. 26.
Writers on international law have held
that armed neutrality consisted in plac-
ing the country in a position to defend
itself and its neutrality against threat-
ened attacks or inroads by belligerents.
This state of preparedness may last an
indefinite length of time, through good
fortune in avoiding contact with bellig-
erent forces afloat or ashore, or through
the design of the belligerent to confine
its declaration of purpose to infringe the
neutrality of a country to mere threats
unsupported by action. On the other
hand, the status of armed neutrality
SHIPS ARMED BY PRESIDENTIAL PROCLAMATION
57
may change into one of actual hostility-
through a collision, such as a submarine
attack on an armed merchantman.
Armed Neutralities of 1780 and 1800
Oppenheim thus describes the origin of
the armed neutralities of 1780 and 1800 :
In 1780, during- war with Great Britain, her
American colonies, France, and Spain, Russia
sent a circular to England, France, and Spain
in which she proclaimed the following five
principles :
(l).That neutral vessels should be allowed
to navigate from port to port of belligerents
and along the coast ;
(2) That enemy goods on neutral vessels,
contraband excepted, should not be seized by-
belligerents ;
(3) That, with regard to contraband, Arti-
cles 10 and 11 of the treaty of 17G8 between
Russia and Great Britain should be applied,
in all cases ;
(4) That a port should only be considered
blockaded if the blockading belligerent had
stationed vessels there, so as to create an
obvious danger for neutral vessels entering
the port ;
(5) That these principles should be applied
in the proceedings and judgments on the
legality of the prizes.
George B. Davis, former Judge Advo-
cate General and one of the best-known
American authorities on international
law, defines an armed neutrality as " an
alliance of several powers, usually of a
defensive character, though this is by no
means essential."
" The purpose of such an alliance," he
says, " is to secure the maintenance of
certain views of neutral right, which are
believed to be in danger or whose justice
is likely to be questioned. If the com-
mercial interests of several nations are
threatened by unjust and unlawful meas-
ures on the part of a belligerent which
they deem unjust or dangerous, there can
be no question of their right to secure
their menaced interests by such combina-
tions as seem best calculated to accom-
plish this purpose."
Effects of Intensified Submarine Activity
GERMANY relentlessly made good
her threat to institute unrestricted
submarine warfare in the zone sur-
rounding the United Kingdom and
France. On March 19 the following of-
ficial announcement was made at Berlin:
* In February 368 merchant ships of an
aggregate gross tonnage of 781,500 were
lost by the war measures of the Central
Powers. Among them were 292 hostile
ships, with an aggregate gross tonnage
of 644,000, and 76 neutral ships of an ag-
gregate gross tonnage of 137,500. Among
the neutral ships 61 were sunk by sub-
marines, which is 16.5 per cent, of the
total in February, as compared with 29
per cent., the average of neutral losses in
the last four months."
These figures differ widely from those
given out by the French and English Ad-
miralties. London reported that the total
shipping sunk by submarines in Febru-
ary was 490,000 tons.
In the first three weeks of March Ger-
many asserted that the February ^average
was maintained, but again there was a
disparity of figures; the English Admi-
ralty reported on March 15 that the total
tonnage sunk from Feb. 1 to March 11
was 156 British, 51 other neutrals, and 3
Americans; between March 4 and 11, 1
American, 20 British, and 2 French.
Forty-six British ships were sunk be-
tween March 1 and 15; of these 16 were
less than 1,600 tons each, and 6 were
small fishing craft. The Admiralty re-
ported that at the beginning of 1917
Great Britain possessed 3,731 vessels of
1,600 tons and over. Of this number 78
were sunk up to March 15, leaving 3,653
ships of 1,600 tons or more after six
weeks of the submarine war.
In the prosecution of their intensified
warfare the U-boats spared nothing that
came in sight. Hospital ships, Belgian
relief ships, and any vessels of neutrals,
whether coming or going, were attacked
and sunk with the same disregard of the
law of visit and search as that exercised
toward the craft of Germany's enemies.
The most sensational episodes of the
month were the sinking of six grain-
laden Dutch ships and the news of the
sinking of three American vessels, the
58
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
latter reported March 19. These ships
were the City of Memphis, the Illinois,
and the Vigilancia.
The City of Memphis had sailed on
March 16 from Cardiff for New York in
ballast. When she left port the steam-
ship had the Stars and Stripes painted
on both sides. She encountered a sub-
marine about 5 o'clock Saturday evening.
The German commander ordered the
Captain of the steamer to leave his ship
within fifteen minutes.
The entire crew entered five boats, and
the submarine then fired a torpedo, which
struck the vessel on the starboard side,
tearing a great hole, through which the
sea poured. The steamer settled down
quickly and foundered within a few min-
utes.
The Memphis was of 5,252 tonnage, 377
feet long, and was valued at $600,000.
The Vigilancia was torpedoed without
warning; she was of 4,115 tonnage and
was proceeding to Havre, via the Azores,
from New York on Feb. 28, with a cargo
of provisions. She was marked on her
sides with the American flag and her
name in letters that could be read three
miles away. The hailing port, " New
York," was painted on the port and star-
board bows in letters five feet high.
The Illinois was a tank ship, and sailed
from Port Arthur, Texas, Feb. 17, 1917,
for London. She was of 5,220 gross ton-
nage. She carried a cargo of oil.
1
On March 19 it was ascertained that
fifteen members of the Vigilancia crew
were lost. Captain Borum and eight
members of the crew of the City of
Memphis were not heard from until three
days later when it was learned they had
reached Glasgow.
The news aroused fresh indignation in
this country and convinced the public that
Germany had included in her plan of
submarine ruthlessness American ships
as well as those of belligerents. The feel-
ing in Government circles was that the
sinking of the vessels produced an actual
state of war with Germany. President
Wilson took measures to speed up the
naval program; on the 20th 260 sub-
marine chasers were ordered for im-
mediate construction, the $115,000,000
emergency fund was employed for pur-
chase of naval equipment, and the im-
mediate graduation of the first and
second classes in the Annapolis Naval
Academy was ordered, with the rushing
of naval recruits to the full emergency
limit of 87,000. The general conviction
prevailed by March 20 that a formal
declaration of war would soon follow. It
was known that American merchantmen,
armed fore and aft, had left American
ports with naval gunners aboard, who
were instructed to fire at sight on any
submarine that made a hostile ap-
proach.
United States Prepares for Defense
SINCE the diplomatic break with
Germany the War and Navy De-
partments of the United States Gov-
ernment have been working night and
day to organize for adequate defense in
case of war. The navy has made im-
portant progress in that direction. Con-
gress, in its closing hours, passed a naval
appropriation bill aggregating $535,000,-
000, the largest in a single year of the
nation's history. This total included the
authorization of $150,000,000 in twenty-
year 3 per cent, bonds, the proceeds of
which were to be made immediately
available for the President's use, $115,-
000,000 of the amount to be applied to
speeding up the construction of war-
ships already authorized, and $35,000,000
to be devoted to the building of subma-
rines. For aviation in connection with
naval operations $5,133,000 was appro-
priated.
On March 6 Mr. Daniels, Secretary of
the Navy, called a conference of the
leading shipbuilders of the nation in
Washington and asked what they could
do in the emergency. He made it plain
to them that the Government was count-
ing on them for their fullest co-operation
and would not hesitate to commandeer
the shipyards if necessary. He told
them that the Government was now de-
UNITED STATES PREPARES FOR DEFENSE
59
sirous of having some of the new subma-
rines built in nine months. The best
building time that had been offered pre-
viously was eighteen months. Mr. Dan-
iels also indicated that the Government
was desirous of having destroyers built
within a year instead of two years, the
best time previously offered. Many of
the shipbuilding concerns declared their
willingness and ability to meet the needs
of the hour.
Large Contracts Placed
On March 15 Secretary Daniels placed
contracts for what was probably the larg-
est single order for fighting craft ever
given by any nation. Under these con-
tracts private builders undertook to turn
out four great battle cruisers and six
scout cruisers, costing nearly $112,000,000
for hulls and machinery alone, and
pledged themselves to keep 70 per cent,
of their working forces on navy construc-
tion. Though the major ship builders
were besieged with commercial orders,
some of which would bring 50 per cent,
profit, they agreed to accept 10 per cent,
profit on the battle cruisers, whose cost
will represent about $76,000,000 of the
total sums involved in the contracts.
This action made it unnecessary for the
President to use his authority to com-
mandeer plants. A fifth battle cruiser
will be built at the Philadelphia Navy
Yard, so as to avoid overstraining the
facilities of the private establishments.
Both classes of cruisers are of new
types and are designed for a speed of 25
knots an hour. The scouts range in cost
from $5,950,000 to $5,996,000 and the
stipulated time of delivery is from thirty
to thirty-two months. These figures can
be no guide to the actual cost or time,
however, as under the emergency clause
of the Naval Appropriation bill construc-
tion will be hastened to the limit, the
Government footing the bill for addi-
tional cost.
The battle cruisers, the fixed limit of
cost of which is $19,000,000 per ship, ex-
clusive of speeding-up expense, were
placed as follows: Newport News Ship-
building and Dry Dock Company, two
ships; Fore River Shipbuilding Corpora-
tion, one ship; New York Shipbuilding
Company, one ship.
With the exception of the New York
company, each private builder will have
to install new ways and machinery for
the huge craft. The Government will
bear its fair share of this expense. Al-
ready an appropriation of $6,000,000 has
beeen ordered expended to equip the
Philadelphia yard for capital ship build-
ing.
Four of the scout cruisers will be built
on the Pacific Coast — two by the Seattle
Construction Company and two by the
Union Iron Works at San Francisco.
The other two will be built by William
Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia.
The Three-Year Program
In a statement to newspaper men, Sec-
retary Daniels said:
The Navy bill provides the initial appro-
priations for the following vessels of the
three-year program adopted by the first ses-
sion of the Sixty-fourth Congress, which au-
thorized the construction of 156 vessels of
different types : 3 battleships, 1 battle cruiser,
3 scout cruisers, 15 destroyers, 18 submarines,
1 destroyer tender, and 1 submarine tender.
Of the three-year program, therefore, the
money has been provided in this bill and in
the former bill to commence the construction
of the following vessels : 7 battleships, 5
battle cruisers, 7 scout cruisers, 35 destroy-
ers, 48 submarines, 1 destroyer tender, 1
submarine tender, 1 hospital ship, 1 fuel
ship, 1 ammunition ship, 1 gunboat, leaving
to be first appropriated for next year the
balance of the three-year program, consisting
of 3 battleships, 1 battle cruiser, 3 scout
cruisers, 15 destroyers, 19 submarines, 2 fuel
ships, 1 repair ship, 1 transport, 1 destroyer
tender, 1 ammunition ship, and 1 gunboat.
The outstanding features of the bill are,
first, the $115,000,000 appropriation for speed-
ing up the construction of ships already au-
thorized and authorized in the bill just ap-
proved, and the purchase or construction of
aircraft, additional destroyers, submarine
chasers, motor boats, and other small craft,
which will be essential in an emergency, and
which can be constructed in a comparatively
short time. A further emergency appropria-
tion of $18,000,000 is provided specifically for
the construction of twenty coast submarines
in addition to the eighteen submarines for
which money is provided in the bill of the
three-year program, making thirty-eight sub-
marines specifically appropriated for in this
bill.
Contracts for sixteen non-rigid dirigi-
ble airships to be used for coast and
harbor patrol were let by Secretary
Daniels on March 12. The contracts are
for $*649,250, and the specifications call
60
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
for the delivery of these airships in the
remarkably brief period of 120 days,
which means by the middle of June.
Under the leadership of Franklin D.
Roosevelt, Assistant Secretary of the
Navy, a volunteer reserve auxiliary fleet
of 750 ships and motor craft, with 10,000
civilians to man them, is in process of
organization for the protection of waters
adjoining New York City.
Military Defense Measures
Military defense has made less prog-
ress. The Army Appropriation bill for
$279,000,000 was among the- important
measures that died in the Senate during
the filibuster at the close of the session*
The chief work of the Secretary of War
has consisted in organizing the indus-
tries and executive talent of the nation
for the emergency. The newly formed
Council of National Defense has become
an active force during the month. It
is the central agency for the industrial
mobilization of the country, and under
the direction of Daniel Willard, a
prominent railroad President, its ad-
visory commission is organizing for the
rapid transportation of large bodies of
troops, for the conservation of great
quantities of food and supplies of all
kinds, and for the effective employment
of all the country's resources at short
notice.
All the remaining National Guard
units on the Mexican border, embracing
about 75,000 men, were ordered on Feb.
17 to return to their home States for
immediate muster out of Federal serv-
ice. A few days later Judge Advocate
General Crowder delivered an opinion
to the effect that there was no essential
difference in the status of the militiamen
who had taken the Federal oath under
the terms of the Hay National Defense
act and those who had not; in other
words, both classes of National Guards-
men would be subject to call by the
President in case of war with Germany.
. Meanwhile orders had been issued on
March 7 by the War Department direct-
ing the Colonels of all regular army regi-
ments along the border to designate
sixty enlisted men from each regiment
who could be commissioned as company
officers in the army in case of an emer-
gency call. This would furnish a total of
5,000 new officers, who would be eligible
for offices up to the rank of Captain, and
who could be promoted in case of need.
In the event of real war the Government
would be compelled to call to the colors
not less than 500,000 men, and for such
an army 25,000 officers would be neces-
sary. These officers would be obtained
from the regular commissioned personnel
of the army, from the rapid graduation
of West Point cadets, and from the new
officers' reserve corps now in process of
creation.
Late in February the Secretary of
War, Newton D. Baker, sent to the Sen-
ate Committee on Military Affairs the
draft of a bill framed by the War College
Division of the General Staff calling for
eleven months of compulsory military
training for every American boy of 18
years who did not come within certain ex-
emption clauses. Under this bill it was
estimated that within three years the
country would have a first-line reserve
of 1,500,000 young men ready to respond
instantly to a call to the colors until
their thirtieth year. The bill failed of
passage, but will be brought up in Con-
gress again.
German Chancellor's Address on the
Break With United States
CHANCELLOR VON BETHMANN
HOLLWEG delivered an important
address in the Reichstag on Feb.
27, reviewing Germany's position as af-
fected by the intensified submarine war-
fare and the action of the United States
in breaking off diplomatic relations with
the Imperial Government. Discussing
the attitude of neutrals the Chancellor
said:
One step further than that taken by
European neutrals has been tal^en (as is
known) by the United States of America.
President Wilson, after receiving our note
of Jan. 31, brusquely broke off relations with
us. No authentic communication about the
reasons which were given for his step reached
me. The former United States Ambassador
here in Berlin communicated only in spoken
words to the State Secretary of the Foreign
Office of breaking off relations, and asked
for his passports. This form of breaking off
relations between great nations living in
peace is probably without precedent in his-
tory.
All official documents being lacking, I am
forced to rely upon doubtful sources — that is,
upon the Reuter office's version of the con-
tents of the message sent by 'President Wil-
son on Feb. 3 to Congress. In this version
the President is reported to have said that
our note of Jan. 31 suddenly and without pre-
vious indication intentionally withdrew the
solemn promises made in the note of May,
1916. To the United States Government,
therefore, no choice compatible with dignity
and honor was left other than the way which
had been announced in its note of April 20,
1916, covering the case if Germany should not
wish to give up her submarine method.
If these arguments are correctly reported
by Reuter, then I must decidedly protest
against them. For more than a century
friendly relations between us and America
have been carefully promoted. We honored
them — as Bismarck once put it — as an heir-
loom from Frederick the Great. Both coun-
tries benefited by it, both giving and taking.
Since the beginning of the war, things have
changed on the other side of the waters. Old
principles were overthrown.
On Aug. 27, 1913, during the Mexican
troubles, President Wilson in a solemn
message to Congress declared that he intend-
ed to follow the best usage of international
law by a prohibition of the supplying of
arms to both Mexican parties at war against
each other. One year later, in 1914, these
usages apparently were no longer considered
good. Countless materials of war have been
supplied by America to the Entente, and
while the right of the American citizen to
travel without hindrance to Entente countries
and the right to trade without hindrance with
France and England, even through the midst
of the battlefield, even the right of such trade
as we had to pay for with German blood —
while all these rights were jealously guarded,
the same right of American citizens toward
the Central Powers did not seem to be as
worthy of protection and as valuable.
They protested against some measures of
England which were contrary to interna-
tional law, but they submitted to them. Un-
der conditions of this kind objection as to
lack of respect makes a strange impression.
With equal decisiveness I must protest
against the objection that we, by the manner
in which we withdrew the assurances given
in the note of May 4, offended the honor and
dignity of the United States. From the very
beginning we had openly and expressly de-
clared that these assurances would be invalid
under certain conditions.
The Chancellor then recalled the last
paragraph of the note of May 4, 1916,
which he read verbatim, the last clause
being: "Should the steps taken by the
Government of the United States not
attain the object it desires, namely, to
have the law of humanity followed by all
the belligerent nations, the German Gov-
ernment would then be facing a new situ-
ation, in which it must reserve to itself
complete liberty of decision."
The Chancellor then continued:
As to the American answer given to the
German note, it was so absolutely contrary
to what we in our note had said clearly and
without any possibility of misunderstanding,
that a reply on our part would have changed
nothing as to the standpoints maintained by
both sides. But nobody, even in America,
could doubt that already long ago the con-
ditions were fulfilled upon which, according
to our declaration, depended our regaining
full liberty of decision.
England did not abandon the isolation of
Germany, but, on the contrary, intensified
it in the most reckless fashion. Our adversa-
ries were not made to respect the principles of
international law, universally recognized be-
fore the war, nor made to follow the laws of
humanity. The freedom of the seas, which
America wanted to restore, in co-operation
with us, during the war, has been still more
completely destroyed by our adversary, and
62
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
America has not hindered this. All this is
common knowledge.
Even at the end of January England issued
a new isolation declaration for the North
Sea, and in this period, since May 4, nine
months had passed. Could it then be sur-
prising that on Jan. 31 we considered that
the freedom of the seas had not been re-
established and that we drew our conclu-
sions from this? But the case extends be-
yond that of formal importance. We, who
were ready for peace, now by mutual under-
standing fight for life against an enemy who
from the beginning put his heel upon the
recognized laws of nations. The English
starvation blockade, our peace offer, its re-
buke by the Entente, the war aims of our
enemies purporting our destruction, and the
speeches of Lloyd George are known also in
America.
I could fully understand it if the United
States, as a protector of international law,
should have bartered for its re-establishment
in equal fashion with all the belligerents,
and, if desiring to restore peace to the world,
had taken measures to enforce the end of the
bloodshed. But I cannot possibly consider it
a vital question for the American Nation to
protect international law in a one-sided fash-
ion, only against us.
Our enemies, and American circles which
are unfriendly toward us, thougTit that they
could point out an important difference be-
tween our course of action and that of the
British. England, they have satisfied them-
selves, destroys only material values, which
can be replaced, while Germany destroys
human lives, which are impossible to replace.
Well, gentlemen, why did the British not
endanger American lives? Only because neu-
tral countries, and especially America, volun-
tarily submitted to the British orders, and be-
cause the British, therefore, could attain their
object without employing force.
What Would have happened if Americans
had valued unhampered passenger and freight
traffic with Bremen and Hamburg as much
as that with Liverpool and London? If they
had done so, then we should have been freed
from the painful impression that, according
to America, a submission to British power
and control is compatible with the essential
character of neutrality, but that it is incom-
patible with this neutral policy to recognize
German measures of defense.
Gentlemen, let us consider the whole ques-
tion. The breaking off of relations with us
and the attempted mobilization of all neutrals
against us do not serve for the protection
of the freedom of the seas proclaimed by the
United States. These actions will not pro-
mote the peace desired by President Wilson.
They must, consequently, have encouraged
the attempt to starve Germany and to multi-
ply the bloodshed.
We regret the rupture with a nation which
by her history seemed to be presdestined
surely to work with us, not against us. But
since our honest will for peace has encoun-
tered only jeering on the part of our enemies,
there is no more " going backward." There
is only " going ahead " possible for us.
Adverting to peace discussions, the
Chancellor pointed out that the German
Nation, in the Reichstag's last vote
granting new war credits, demonstrated
to the whole world its readiness to con-
tinue the struggle until its enemies were
ready for peace.
Ambassador Gerard's Difficulties
in Leaving Berlin
UNITED STATES AMBASSADOR
GERARD received official notice
of the break with Germany at 8
o'clock Sunday evening, Feb. 4. On
Monday he made formal application for
his passports, going in person to For-
eign Secretary Zimmermann. The Am-
bassador's orders from Washington in-
cluded certain instructions regarding the
action of American Consuls in Germany.
Telegrams were prepared in the usual
code transmitting these instructions to
these Americans. These messages were
sent to the telegraph office in the
customary way bjr an embassy messen-
ger. Each message bore across its face
a stamp showing that it was an official
message sent by the duly accredited rep-
resentative of the American Government.
But the telegraph office refused to re-
ceive those messages. Some one in the
German Government recognized by the
officials of the Government telegraph
office had notified that office not to ac-
cept for transmission any further mes-
sages from officials of the American
Embassy.
Later the telephone connection of the
embassy was broken, his telegrams
were not delivered, and the embassy
AMBASSADOR GERARD'S DIFFICULTIES
63
mail failed to be delivered. When this
state of affairs dawned upon the Am-
bassador he proceeded to take precau-
tions. He personally burned or destroyed
all code books and ciphers or other means
of confidential communication. Every
confidential letter, telegram, or other
form of communication in the embassy
files went into the fire under Mr.
Gerard's direction.
The situation following is thus de-
scribed by a staff correspondent of The
New York Times:
"Officials of the Foreign Office and
the War Office made more or less open
efforts to cajole or induce American
newspaper correspondents to remain in
Berlin after Mr. Gerard had gone. There
was an extraordinarily interesting ses-
sion with Herr Zimmermann, the Foreign
Secretary, at the Foreign Office on the
Sunday evening when news of the
rupture in relations was first received.
Emphasis was then laid by him upon the
German interpretation of the old treaty
of 1799 between Prussia and the United
States, and the vigor of his expression
of hope that Germany would be able to
negotiate with Mr. Gerard for reaffirma-
tion of that treaty and its specific appli-
cation to existing conditions gives a clear
line on the motive for what was to occur
so promptly to Mr. Gerard. Again on
Tuesday evening, when the correspond-
ents met Colonel Hafeton of the Military
Staff, at military press headquarters,
they received a renewed and emphasized
impression of the importance with which
Germans regarded their efforts to pro-
cure extended application of that old
treaty to pending relations with the
United States.
Interview with Montgelas
" It was while the correspondents were
receiving their lecture from the military
staff that evening that Mr. Gerard re-
ceived a call from Count Montgelas,
Chief of the American Affairs Division
of the Foreign Office. It was at that
interview that Count Montgelas submit-
ted to Mr. Gerard a draft of the protocol
proposed by Germany by way of reaffir-
mation and emendation of the old Prus-
sian treaty.
" It was at that meeting that Mr.
Gerard denounced the way in which he
had been treated by the German Gov-
ernment, and received in explanation a
statement of Count Montgelas that the
German Government was as yet in igno-
rance of what had happened to Count
von Bernstorff in America. But it was
only the censorship of the German Gov-
ernment which was preventing the re-
ceipt of full authentic news from the
United States, and it was inconceivable
that Washington was preventing von
Bernstorff from communicating with his
Government if he desired to do so.
" It was in response to Count Mont-
gelas's presentation of the proposed pro-
tocol that Mr. Gerard "stated that he
could not be * sandbagged ' into signing
such a document. It was in reply to a
further suggestion by Count Montgelas
that favorable action by Mr. Gerard
upon the German proposal would fa-
cilitate the withdrawal of newspaper
correspondents and other Americans
from Germany that Mr. Gerard vigor-
ously declared he would sit right where
he was until Christmas if his compa-
triots were not permitted to withdraw
along with him.
" Moreover, the American Ambassador
pointed out that it was in practical fact
an act of war for Germany to refuse to
permit Americans to withdraw from the
country under- the circumstances. There
had been no declaration of war by the
United States, only a rupture of diplo-
matic relations. Under every considera-
tion and any interpretation of legal or
moral right, Germany had no ground
whatever for interference in such with-
drawal. It was at this interview also
that Mr. Gerard referred to efforts of
the German Government to get his con-
sent to the proposed protocol as an at-
tempt to blackmail him.
Garbled News from America
" Berlin was without authoritative
news from the United States. Nothing
was coming through but criminally false
stuff, carried by a news association
which seemed bent on doing everything
in its power to accentuate the trouble
between the United States and Germany.
64
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
These dispatches purported to describe
the confiscation of the German ships in
American waters by the American Gov-
ernment.
" I had filed several dispatches for
Thk New York Times reporting these
events and describing the mischievous
character of these dispatches. Whether
any of them got through or not I do not
yet know, but I do know that on Thurs-
day morning, when the tension in Berlin
had become acute, I received a message
from the managing editor of The Times
giving explicitly the situation in the
United States and setting forth exactly
the status of the German ships in Amer-
ican waters and their crews. I showed
this message immediately to Ambassa-
dor Gerard, who said it was most impor-
tant and urged that the widest possible
publicity be given it. Thereupon I went
at once to the Foreign Office and showed
the message to one of the Under Secre-
taries.
" The effect was instantaneous. The
message was taken at once to Secretary
Zimmermann and sent by the Foreign
Office to a German news agency, with
the result that it was published that
afternoon in all newspapers, and again
the next morning.
" There was noticeable immediately a
decided rise in the German official tem-
perature. The attitude toward Amer-
icans and their departure from Germany
was markedly friendly.
" It was not until Friday afternoon
that the first passports were delivered,
and those did not include Gerard's. His
came Saturday morning. Some of the
party who left Berlin on the train with
him that evening did not receive their
passports until 5 o'clock that afternoon.
Despite the modification of the attitude
following the receipt of TnE New York
Times dispatch, the decision to permit
Americans to leave was not made until
some time Friday afternoon. On Thurs-
day evening, however, Gerard received a
call from another member of the Foreign
Office staff, the apparent purpose being
to endeavor to smooth out the unpleasant
impressions, also to see if something
could not be done, even at that late date,
on the important matter of that old
Prussian treaty, with its astounding joker,
about the safe conduct for German ships
to be furnished by the American Gov-
ernment in case of war between the two
countries."
Ambassador Gerard and his party,
numbering about 100, first proceeded to
Switzerland. At the Swiss frontier rep-
resentatives of the Government received
them, and they were hospitably enter-
tained at Berne. Again at the French
frontier they were officially received, and
at Paris a formal reception was tendered
by the Government. From Paris the
party proceeded to Madrid, where the
King held a long interview with the Am-
bassador, and thence to Corunna, at
which port they embarked on the steam-
ship Alfonso XIII., arriving at Havana,
Cuba, without incident on March 5. The
Ambassador left on the 10th for Key
West, and reached Washington Wednes-
day, March 14. He was cordially greeted
en route by committees representing the
cities and States, and was officially re-
ceived at Washington. The President
was confined to his room by illness, but
the Ambassador was closeted on Wednes-
day for several hours with Secretary of
State Lansing.
Mr. Gerard reached New York Friday,
March 16, and was enthusiastically wel-
comed by Reception Committees repre-
senting the State and the municipality.
He studiously declined to make any pub-
lic statement, holding that any refer-
ences to his report should be made by
the Government.
It is a curious coincidence that Mr.
Gerard reached Washington on the same
day and practically at the same hour that
Count von Bernstorff arrived at Berlin.
Thanhs of British Government
Mr. Balfour, the British Foreign Sec-
retary, announced in the House of Com-
mons after the diplomatic break between
the United States and Germany on Feb.
3 that he had communicated to the
United States Government, through Am-
bassador Walter H. Page, the following
letter of thanks for the services of Am-
bassador James W. Gerard and his staff
in caring for British interests at Berlin
since the beginning of the war:
AMBASSADOR GERARD'S DIFFICULTIES
65
I have the honor to acknowledge the re-
ceipt of your Excellency's note of the 4th
inst., (No. 2,766,) in which your Excellency
informed me that diplomatic relations be-
tween the United States of America and
the German Empire had ceased as from 2
P. M. on the 3d inst. I request that your
Excellency will be good enough to convey to
your Government an expression of the
thanks of his Majesty's Government for the
action taken by them in transferring the
charge of British interests in Germany to
the Netherland Minister at Berlin.
I desire to take this opportunity of ex-
pressing to your Excellency his Majesty's
Government's deep appreciation of the care
and devotion with which the United States
Government has taken charge of British in-
terests in Germany since the outbreak of
war. His Majesty's Government are fully
conscious of the immense amount of work
which the care of British interests has nec-
essarily entailed upon the staffs of the United,
States Embassies in London and Berlin, and
they feel that they cannot value too highly
the promptitude and efficiency with which
that work has invariably been performed, and
the unfailing tact and courtesy shown by
the members of your Excellency's staff in
dealing with the care of German interests
in this country.
His Majesty's Government are especially
gratefu; for all that has been done by the
United States diplomatic and Consular offi-
cers in Germany for the British prisoners of
war. There can be no doubt that their ef-
forts have been the direct cause of a con-
siderable improvement in the treatment of
British prisoners, while the machinery de-
vised for relief has, as far as possible,
ameliorated the lot of those British subjects
who, though not , interned, have for various
reasons been unable to leave Germany. His
Majesty's Government fully realize that
these results have not been achieved without
much labor on the part of the American
officials concerned, and, in some cases, in
face of strenuous opposition on the part of
the German authorities, and I can assure
your Excellency that the work done by the
representatives of the United States of
America on behalf of British subjects in hos-
tile hands will not readily be forgotten either
by his Majesty's Government or by the Brit-
ish people.
I beg that your Excellency will accept per-
sonally, and convey to the members of your
staff, this expression of the most cordial
thanks of his Majesty's Government, and that
you will also be so good as to ask your Gov-
ernment to express to Mr. Gerard his Ma-
jesty's Government's profound gratitude and
recognition of their deep indebtedness to him
and to his Excellency's staff.
The Alliance With Mexico and Japan Proposed
by Germany
AN important phase growing out of
our rupture with Germany and
the subsequent drift toward war,
(the main issues being treated fully in
preceding pages,) was the uncovering of
an anti-American alliance proposed by
Germany with Mexico and Japan in the
event the threatened war ensued.
The plot was revealed by the publica-
tion on March 1, 1917, of a letter dated
Jan. 19, 1917, signed by the German
Foreign Secretary and addressed to the
German Minister, von Eckhardt, in Mex-
ico City. The text of the letter is as fol-
lows:
Berlin, Jan. 19, 1917.
On Feb. 1 we intend to begin submarine
warfare unrestricted. In spite of this, it is
our intention to endeavor to keep neutral the
United States of America.
If this attempt is not successful, we piopose
an alliance on the following basis with Mex-
ico : That we shall make war together and to-
gether make peace. We shall give 'general
financial support, and it is understood that
Mexico is to reconquer the lost territory in
New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona. The de-
tails are left to you for settlement.
You are instructed to inform the President
of Mexico of the above in the greatest confi-
dence as soon as it is certain that there will
be an outbreak of war with the United States,
and suggest that the President of Mexico, on
his own initiative, should communicate with
Japan suggesting adherence at once to this
plan. At the same time, offer to mediate
between Germany and Japan.
Please call to the attention of the President
of Mexico that the employment of ruthless
submarine warfare now promises to compel
England to make peace in a few months.
ZIMMERMANN.
The revelation created a profound im-
pression throughout the country. The
immediate effect on Congress was the
elimination of practically all opposition
to the proposal then pending to authorize
the President to proceed at once to arm
American merchantmen against German
submarines; it also crystallized the con-
<;o
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
viction throughout the country that the
German submarine blockade must be
sternly resisted, even though it resulted
in a declaration of war by Germany. A
question having been raised in the United
States Senate as to the authenticity of
the letter, a resolution was passed re-
questing the President to inform the
Senate as to the genuineness of the Ger-
man note; thereupon the following reply
was communicated by the Executive on
the same day:
Washington, D. C. March 1, 1917.
To the Senate :
In response to the resolution adopted by the
Senate on March 1, 1917, requesting the Presi-
dent to furnish the Senate, if not incompati-
ble with the public interest, whatever infor-
mation he has concerning the note published
in the press of this date purporting to have
been sent Jan. 19, 1917, by the German Secre-
tary for Foreign Affairs to the German Min-
ister to Mexico, I transmit herewith a report
by the Secretary of State, which has my
approval. WOODROW WILSON.
[Inclosure.]
To the President :
The resolution adopted by the United States
Senate on March 1, 1917, requesting that that
body be furnished, if not incompatible with
the public interest, whatever information you
have concerning the note published in the
press of this date, purporting to have been
sent Jan. 19, 1917, by the German Secretary
for Foreign Affairs to the German Minister
to Mexico, I have the honor to state that the
Government is in possession of evidence which
establishes the fact that the note referred to
Is authentic, and that it is in possession of
the Government of the United States, and
that the evidence was procured by this Gov-
ernment during the present week, but that it
Is, in my opinion, incompatible with the pub-
lic interest to send to the Senate at the pres-
ent time any further information in posses-
sion of the Government of the United States
relative to the note mentioned in the resolu-
tion of the Senate. Respectfully submitted,
ROBERT LANSING.
How the Note Was Obtained
The authorities have given no intima-
tion as to how the Zimmermann note was
procured, but an unconfirmed explana-
tion was given that four men of the First
Indiana Infantry, a noncommissioned of-
ficer and three privates, doing patrol
duty along the Rio Grande near Llano
Grande, Texas, had overhauled a messen-
ger sent by the German Ambassador,
Count von Bernstorff, and found the note
on his person. The details as related in a
dispatch from Houston, Texas, are as fol-
lows :
" Just opposite where the messenger
attempted to sneak across the river was
stationed a squad of thirty-five Carranza
' rurales,' fashioned after the organiza-
. tion of ' Texas Rangers.' However, the
messenger did not meet the * rurales/
but four men of Company G, First Indi-
ana Infantry, and they got the Zimmer-
mann note and other papers from his
person. They caught him near the town
of Progreso, where he was arrested on
Feb. 21, when he attempted to cross the
Rio Grande, twelve miles below San Juan
Ferry and twenty-five miles west of the
International Bridge at Brownsville,
Texas, the two regulation crossings.
Since the patrol of the border was begun
no person is allowed to cross without be-
ing questioned, searched, and minutely
examined by the patrol bodies, made up
of four men and covering every foot of
territory from Sam Fordyce, Texas, to
Brownsville, Texas, along the Rio Grande
— a distance of 106 miles. The messen-
ger doubtless was following explicit in-
structions as to where to cross, and in so
doing he aroused the suspicions of the
militiamen."
It is stated, and not officially denied,
that the document was in the hands of
the President when he broke off relations
with Germany by dismissing the Ambas-
sador, but its absolute authenticity was
not established until a day or two before
it was made public.
Confirmed by Germany
When the Zimmermann proposal was
first made public it evoked indignant
protests from pro-Germans throughout
the country, on the ground that it was
spurious, and that its publication was a
political trick. The German press in
America denounced it as a palpable forg-
ery, a clumsy artifice to influence Amer-
ican sentiment. However, on March 3
Secretary Zimmermann himself ac-
knowledged that the letter was genuine,
and the following statement was tele-
graphed from Berlin that day by the
German Official News Bureau, the Over-
seas News Agency:
Foreign Secretary Zimmermann was asked
GERMAN-MEXICAN-JAPANESE ALLIANCE
67
by a staff member of the Overseas News
Agency about the English report that " a
German plot had been revealed to get Mexico
to declare war against the United States and
to secure Japan's aid against the United
States." Secretary Zimmermann answered :
" You understand that it is impossible for
me to discuss the facts% of this * revealed
plot ' just at this moment and under these
circumstances. I therefore may be allowed to
limit my answer to what is said in the Eng-
lish reports, which certainly are not inspired
by sympathy with Germany. The English re-
port expressly states that Germany expected
and wished to remain on terms of friendship
with the United States, but that we had pre-
pared measures of defense in case the United
States declared war against Germany. I fail
to see how such a ' plot ' is inspired by un-
friendliness on our part. It would mean
nothing but that we would use means uni-
versally admitted in war, in case the United
States declared war.
" The most important part of the alleged
plot is its condition and form. The whole
• plot ' falls flat to the ground in case the
United States does not declare war against
us. And if we really, as the report alleges,
considered the possibility of Jiostile acts of
the United States against us, then we really
had reasons to do so.
" An Argentine newspaper a short while
ago really ' revealed a plot * when it told
that the United States last year suggested to
other American republics common action
against Germany and her allies. This ' plot '
apparently was not conditional in the least.
The news as published by La Prensa (Buenos
Aires ) agrees well with the interpretation
given, for instance, by an American newspa-
per man, Edward Price, in Berlin and Lon-
don, who said that the United States was
waiting only for the proper moment in order
opportunely to assist the Entente. The same
American stated that Americans from the
beginning of the war really participated in it
by putting the immense resources of the Uni-
ted States at the Entente's disposal, and that
Americans had not declared war only because
they felt sure that assistance by friendly neu-
trality would be during that time much more
efficient for the Entente than direct partici-
pation in the war. Whether this American
newspaper man reported the facts exactly we
were at a loss to judge in satisfactory fash-
ion, since we were more or less completely
cut off from communication with the United
States.
" But there were other facts which seemed
to confirm this and similar assurances. Ev-
erybody knows these facts, and I need not
repeat them. The Entente propaganda ser-
vices have sufficiently heralded all these pro-
Entente demonstrations in the United States.
And if you link these demonstrations with
the actual attitude of the United States, then
it is obvious that it was not frivolous on our
part to consider what defensive measures we
should take in case we were attacked by the
United States."
German Comment
The German newspaper press was cau-
tious in its comments on the disclosure,
though some influential organs criticised
the manoeuvre as unwise. It was at first
reported that the Reichstag would repu-
diate the Minister and demand his dis-
missal, but this story proved to be wholly
unfounded. The Reichstag Budget Com-
mittee at an executive session on March
5, lasting six hours, unequivocally in-
dorsed the action of the Foreign Office
by unanimous vote. The Government's
efforts to negotiate an alliance in the
eventuality of war with the United States
was approved as being within the legiti-
mate scope of military precautions. The
committee expressed regrets at the mis-
fortune which resulted in the interception
of Foreign Secretary Zimmermann's
note.
After Dr. Zimmermann had given his
report in regard to the instructions to the
German Minister in Mexico the subject
was debated by members of the Reichs-
tag. Reporting the debate, the Overseas
News Agency said that a National Lib-
eral member reminded the committee
that President Wilson had attempted to
instigate neutrals against Germany. He
said he was unable to object to Dr. Zim-
mermann's action.
Members of the Socialist minority criti-
cised unfavorably the Foreign Secre-
tary's move. Their remarks evoked ener-
getic protests from a member of the
Catholic Party. A Conservative member
declared Dr. Zimmermann's action was
unobjectionable and should be indorsed.
The objections raised by the members of
the Socialist minority were criticised by
other Socialists.
The most caustic criticism of the mat-
ter came from Theodor Wolff, editor of
the influential Berliner Tageblatt, who
wrote :
The invitation to Mexico would have been
a mistake even if it had not strayed from
the right road. The fresh spirit of enterprise
it shows too impatiently eliminated sober
judgment.
The Minister . to Mexico was instructed to
hold out the conquest of Texas, New Mexico,
and Arizona to Carranza, and it would cer-
68
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
tainly be interesting to see the face of the
wily Mexican when this offer was made. The
idea, too, that through Carranza's mediation
one could win over rather self-conscious
Japan is somewhat strange. With Russia,
England, and America, all leading powers
in Eastern Asia, standing on the other side,
Japan will certainly not be very amenable to
Mexico's influence. It is not probable one
can help along the world's history in this
way.
Naturally no man says a word about moral-
ity in this connection; in the first place,
morality has for a long time been that thing
whose nonobservance is self ^understood ; sec-
ondly, it hasn't the least to do with the Mexi-
can matter. It is not immoral to offer Mex-
ico an alliance for the eventuality of war,
and it would not be immoral even to ask
Japan, " My yellow beauty, will you go with
me? " One who does so is far from being a
Machiavelli.
Likewise, nothing justifies the charge that
the authors of the plan have touched the fuse
to the American powder barrel. The devel-
opment of things would have been approxi-
mately the same, even without the Mexican
correspondence. Neither should one condemn
an action because it fails. The greatest
diplomatic geniuses have occasionally gone
wrong.
After we have thus blown ourselves up with
righteousness, we can quietly say that the
jewel of statesmanship went lost between
Berlin and Mexico.
Georg Bernhard in the Vossische Zei-
tung expressed disapproval in these
terms:
To begin with we cannot see what interest
we might have in offering the Mexicans bits
of American territory. Mexico is carrying on
a war of defense against the Union. The
Mexicans know full well for what reasons,
not only financial, but political, the United
States is forced to seek an extension of its
territory beyond the Mexican boundary. The
American need to defend the Panama Canal
Is a perpetual menace to every State lying
between the Canal and the United States
boundary. Therefore these States are bound
to look upon the German proffer to assist
them in their defense as highly valuable.
Wholly incomprehensible, however, is the
inspiration of our diplomacy to negotiate with
Japan by way of Mexico. It betrays a wholly
false estimate of latent possibilities. We are
fully acquainted with Japan's attitude toward
America. All the beautiful speeches of the
statesmen in Washington and Tokio cannot
deceive us, for beneath the mask of friend-
ship the two grimmest foes of the future are
facing one another. Long before the war we
were aware that Japanese diplomacy was
not only astute, but very purposeful, and we
know further that among no people has the
art of keeping one's face been so keenly de-
veloped. Whoever assumed that Japan, in
this war, would probably forsake her alle-
giance to her friends betrays anything but a
diplomatic line of reasoning.
Mexico and Japan Speak
The State Department announced that
it had no reason to believe that the Zim-
mermann proposal had ever been pre-
sented to the Mexican Government, and
the Mexican Charge d'Affaires of the
Mexican Embassy at Washington, Ra-
mon de Negri, issued a formal state-
ment denying that the Carranza Gov-
ernment had been in any way implicated
in the matter. The Japanese Embassy
at Washington also issued a formal state-
ment denouncing the letter as a " mon-
strous plot," and adding:
" If such a proposal were made, it is
one that could not be entertained by
the Japanese Government, as it is an
absolutely impossible proposal. Japan
is not only in honor bound to her allies
in the Entente, but could not entertain
the idea of entering into any such alli-
ance at the expense of the United
States."
The Japanese Foreign Minister, Vis-
count Motono, considered the suggestion
ridiculous, and added: " If Mexico re-
ceived the proposal, that country showed
intelligence in not transmitting it to
Japan." The Prime Minister of Japan,
Count Terauchi, made the following
statement regarding the matter on
March 5:
The revelation of Germany's latest plot,
looking to a combination between Japan
and Mexico against the United States, Is in-
teresting in many ways. We are surprised
not so much by the persistent efforts of the
Germans to cause an estrangement between
Japan and the United States as by their
complete failure of appreciating the aims and
ideals of other nations.
Nothing is more repugnant to our sense of
honor and to the lasting welfare of this
country than to betray our allies and friends
in time of trial and to become a party to a
combination directed against the United
States, to whom we are bound not only by
the sentiments of true friendship, but also
by the material interests of vast and far-
reaching importance.
The proposal which is now reported to
have been planned by the German Foreign
Office has not been communicated to the
Japanese Government up to this moment,
either directly or indirectly, officially or un-
officially, but should it ever come to hand
I can conceive no other form of reply than
that of indignant and categorical refusal.
GERMAN-MEXICAN-JAPANESE ALLIANCE
69
The Mikado of Japan sent President
Wilson the following greeting on his
second inauguration on March 5:
On the occasion of your inauguration as
the President of the United States of Amer-
ica we desire to offer to you our sincere
congratulations and to express our ardent
wishes that your Administration may be
attended by brilliant successes in the future,
as it has been in the past, and that the
United States may grow more and more in
its prosperity.
Attitude of Carranza
The exposure of the proposed Ger-
man-Mexican-Japanese alliance was fol-
lowed by disclosures of intrigues by al-
leged German agents in nearly all the
Central and South American States. On
March 9 it was reported that Washing-
ton had discovered that a wireless sta-
tion has been installed in Mexico, where-
by direct communication could be had
with Germany. Numerous reports came
from points in Central and South Amer-
ica of plottings to involve various States
in quarrels, and one circumstantial story
was related to the effect that efforts
had been made to embroil Mexico with
all the Central American States, with
the promise that Mexico should be per-
mitted to acquire nearly all of Guate-
mala and British Honduras.
Carranza, the de facto President of
Mexico, made no announcement regard-
ing the exposure of the plot, and it was
remarked that no official repudiation of
the proposal had been made by any im-
portant official of the Carranza Govern-
ment. It is recalled that on Feb. 12,
1917, Secretary Lansing received from
R. P. de Negri, Charge d' Affaires of
the Mexican Embassy at Washington,
the copy of an identical note which the
de facto Government of Mexico had also
dispatched to Argentina, Brazil, Chile,
Spain, Sweden, Norway, and other na-
tions, asking that they and the United
States join with Mexico in an interna-
tional agreement to prohibit the ex-
portation of munitions and foodstuffs to
the belligerents in Europe.
This proposal, contrary to international
law and to the principles of neutrality
as laid down by the United States in its
notes to the German and Austro-Hun-
garian Governments, caused critics of in-
ternational affairs to say that, as the
Central Powers were the only ones to be
benefited by the proposal, it was proba-
bly due to German influence on General
Carranza or to Carranza's own desire to
have a hand in the European quarrel.
Carranza s Intervention Note
The text of the Carranza note reads,
in part:
Over two years ago there began on the old
Continent the most gigantic armed conflict
which history records, spreading death, deso-
lation, and misery among the belligerent na-
tions. This tragic struggle has deeply
wounded the sentiments of humanity of all
the countries not taking any part in the
struggle, and it would not be just or humane
that these nations should remain indifferent
before such great disaster. A deep senti-
ment of human brotherhood therefore obliges
the Mexican Government to offer its modest
co-operation in order to bring about the
cessation of the struggle. * * *
The present European war seems to the
whole world as a great conflagration, as a
great plague that ought to have been isolated
and limited long ago, in order to shorten its
duration and avoid its extension. Far from
that, the commerce of the neutral countries
of the world, and particularly that of Amer-
ica, has a great responsibility before his-
tory, because all the neutral nations, more
or less, have lent their asisstance in money,
in provisions, in munitions, or in fuel, and
in this way have fed and prolonged this
great conflagration.
By reason of high human morals and for
their own national preservation, the neutral
nations are obligated to abandon this pro-
cedure, and also to refuse to continue lending
this assistance that has made possible the
continuation of the war for over two years.
To this end the Mexican Government, acting
within the most strict respect for the sov-
ereignty of the countries at war, inspired by
the highest humanitarian sentiments, and
guided at the same time by the sentiment
of self-conservation and defense, permits
itself to propose to the Government of
your Excellency, as it is also doing to the
other neutral Governments, that, working
in mutual accord and proceeding upon the
basis of the most absolute equality for both
groups of combatant powers, to [we?] in-
vite them to put an end to the present war,
either by themselves or taking advantage
of the good offices or of the friendly media-
tion of all the nations that jointly may ac-
cept this invitation.
If within a reasonable length of time peace
cannot be established by this means, the
neutral countries will then take the neces-
sary measures in order to confine the con-
flagration to its strict limits, refusing to
the belligerents all kinds of supplies and
70
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
stopping merchant traffic with the nations
of the world until the end of the war is
achieved.
The Mexican Government recognizes that
in its proposition it steps aside a little from
the principles of international law which
until now have been in force in the rela-
tions of the neutrals with the belligerents.
But we ought to recognize that the present
European war is a conflict without any
precedent in the history of humanity, which
demands supreme effort and new remedies
that cannot be found within the narrow
and somewhat egotistical limits of interna-
tional law as known up to date.
The Government of Mexico understands
that no neutral nation, powerful as it may
be, could by itself take a step of this nature,
and that the result of this measure only can
be reached with the co-operation of the neu-
tral Governments possessing the greatest in-
ternational influence before the belligerent
nations.
It pertains especially to the United States,
Argentina, Brazil, and Chile in America, and
to Spain, Sweden, and Norway in Europe,
which are more influential and more at lib-
erty to take a determined stand before the
belligerents concerned, to foster this initia-
tive, which, not because it proceeds from a
nation which is supposed to be weak at the
present time, and therefore incapable of an
effective international effort, is neverthe-
less worthy of serious study and minute
consideration.
The proposal at the time brought sharp
protests from the newspapers and prom-
inent spokesmen of all the countries, and
was denounced as a movement in the in-
terest of Germany. General Carranza
expressed surprise that his suggestion
should be so construed, and disclaimed
that it was made in the interest of any
of the belligerents.
Earlier Intrigues in Mexico
German plottings with reference to
Mexico were first divulged on Dec. 8,
1915, when it was reported that Franz
Rintelen, an intimate friend of the Ger-
man Crown Prince, and one of the finan-
cial advisers of the German Admiralty,
had been sent to the United States in
the Spring of that year for the double
purpose of stirring up strikes in Amer-
ican factories engaged in the manufact-
ure of munitions for the Allies, and also
of bringing about a war between the
United States and Mexico, the purpose
of the last-named plot being to create a
situation in this country which would
make impossible the sale of war materials
to the Allies so long as the Mexican
trouble lasted.
Rintelen arrived in the United States
in April, 1915, under an assumed name,
which he changed to another assumed
name shortly after his arrival. He had
offices in a New York bank building, and
was known to the other tenants as Han-
sen. As Hansen he went to an uptown
hotel with a letter of introduction to a
man who was at that time a power in
Mexican affairs.
The letter introducing him was written
by an official of a bank in which Aus-
tro-Hungarian officials in this country
have kept large accounts. Rintelen also
had an account in this bank, which at one
time amounted to several hundred thou-
sand dollars. This money, according to
American Secret Service agents, was part
of a large fund given to Rintelen by the
German Government to carry out the
anti-American conspiracies which caused
the Berlin authorities to send him to the
United States. The total amount of the
fund said to have been at the disposal of
Rintelen has been placed by responsible
officials as high as $30,000,000.
Huerla and Rintelen
A few weeks after Rintelen arrived in
New York, Victoriano Huerta, former
dictator of Mexico, arrived here from
Spain. He had fled to the latter country
a few weeks following the American oc-
cupation of Vera Cruz, in the Spring of
1914. There is every reason to believe
that Rintelen also came to this country
from Spain, and that while in that coun-
try he had conferred with Huerta and
other prominent Mexicans who were then
in exile there.
Shortly after his arrival in New York
Huerta met Rintelen. Several times later
he met and conferred with Captain von
Papen, then the German Military Attache
in Washington. Von Papen subsequently
was recalled by the German Government
at the request of President Wilson. The
reason of the recall has never been made
public, but those who are in close touch
with the situation have never seen fit to
deny that the Mexican activities of Ger-
man agents had something to do with
the disgracing of the Attache.
GERMAN-MEXICAN-JAPANESE ALLIANCE
71
The German proposition to Huerta was
submitted to him at a conference held in
a Fifth Avenue hotel, at which there were
present, besides Huerta and Rintelen, at
least one former Foreign Minister of the
Mexican Government and several other
Mexicans whose names were household
words south of the Rio Grande five years
ago.
Von Papen was not at this conference,
but he conferred subsequently with
Huerta. Von Papen is said to have gone
to the border in the Summer of 1915,
and, with trusted German agents, made
a close study of the situation from a
military point of view.
Huerta took kindly to the German
proposition, and a few weeks later he
announced that he had decided to make
New York his home, and rented a house
on Long Island. This statement regard-
ing a change of residence proved to be a
ruse to throw the United States Secret
Service agents off Huerta's track, for a
few days after he moved to his Long
Island home he disappeared. The Secret
Service agents found him in Missouri,
speeding on a limited train for El Paso,
Texas, where it was learned he was to be
joined by confederates and was to slip
across the line near Juarez and start the
new revolution, the purpose of which was
to bring on a war with the United States.
The Germans, it is said, had promised
Huerta 10,000 rifles, a huge amount of
ammunition, and a first credit of about
$10,000,000 to finance the enterprise.
Huerta never arrived at El Paso. In-
stead, the Government agents intercepted
him in New Mexico, near the Texas line,
and made him a prisoner. Pascual Orozco,
a former Madero chieftain, who was also
in the plot, was killed a few weeks later
in trying to escape into Mexico. Whether
or not Huerta ever confessed to the
Federal authorities his part in the Ger-
man plot has never been stated, but the
impression is that he died in the jail at
San Antonio without telling what he
knew of the affair.
The arrest of Huerta and the subse-
quent investigation by the Secret Service
agents resulted in the flight from this
country of Rintelen. He sailed on a Hol-
land-America liner on a fraudulent Swiss
passport, and was arrested by the British
when his ship called at Falmouth for ex-
amination by the British military author-
ities. He is still a prisoner of war in
Great Britain, the place of confinement
being, it is said, a prison near London.
A significant indication of the attitude
of the Carranza Government toward Ja-
pan lies in the fact that about the time
the Zimmermann note was due to be de-
livered at Mexico City the Mexican Gov-
ernment canceled orders for 20,000,000
rifle cartridges that had been let in this
country and transferred them to Japa-
nese munitions works. The ostensible
reason given was the irksome regulation
imposed by our Government in regard
to deliveries.
It is stated that by March 10 there
were 6,000 Germans in various parts of
Mexico, all trained soldiers, and that
the number is increasing rapidly by the
departure from American cities of hun-
dreds each week for Mexico.
Microbes as War Weapons
A German Plot to Infect Rumanian Horses and Cattle
Is Charged
Robert de Lazeu, a writer for the Taris Figaro, .has collected the evidence tending to prove
that the Germans, under protection of diplomatic immunity in time of peace, had introduced
Into Rumania certain explosives and microbe cultures intended to be used to blow up Ru-
manian railways and infect Rumanian cattle and horses.
[This article is published without verification by the editor, and is pre-
sented as an ex parte contribution.— Editor Current History Magazine]
IN the course of the Dobrudja cam-
paign I had occasion to witness and
verify many Bulgarian horrors and
German atrocities; but none of these
seems to me to have equaled in infamy
the discovery that was made on Oct. 5,
1916, at 11 o'clock in the morning, in the
garden of the German Legation at
Bucharest, of a case of powerful ex-
plosives and a whole set of tubes and
little boxes of bacillus cultures, intended
to spread in Rumania two dreaded epi-
demics— anthrax and glanders.
The fact is so unheard of, so mon-
strous, so unprecedented in the annals
of civilization and even of barbarism,
that I confess I did not give it entire
credence at first. The newspapers pre-
sented it in an incomplete and cursory
fashion. The Austro-German press de-
nied it, and denies it still, sometimes
with violence, sometimes with an air of
rather strained levity. The newspapers
of neutral countries, especially those of
America, remained skeptical and con-
cluded that such machinations passed the
limits of probability. How could one
blame them?
This is why it seems to me to be im-
portant to ascertain all the circumstances
of an act which the mind and even the
imagination refuse to admit, and to de-
vote all the more care to the proofs be-
cause the facts involved seem incredible.
I have seen all the apparatus, all the
poison bottles, discovered in the legation
garden. I have had in my hands all the
official reports and all the records in
this unprecedented case. I am going to
try to present them in such a way that
the German press shall be obliged to
implore its " good old God " for inspira-
tion to invent new lies, and that no one
can longer doubt that in 1916 — in a coun-
try not at war — in a European capital,
diplomats and Military Attaches who
were in social intercourse every evening
with Ministers or high officials were
spending their days, with sleeves rolled
up, in preparing explosives to blow up
their hosts, and deadly microbes to de-
stroy the horses attached to the vehicles
in which they rode.
Bucharest has a Prefect of Police
whom all the capitals might envy if they
knew him — M. Corbesco. Several weeks
before Rumania's entry into the war M.
Corbesco had ascertained that explosives
were being introduced into the country —
coming surreptitiously from the Central
Empires — and that the diplomatic chan-
nel was being used for this purpose. One
day a policeman came and reported to the
Prefect that he had found where the ex-
plosives were. They were at the Ger-
man Consulate. M. Corbesco was stupe-
fied, but he kept his counsel and bided his
time.
After the mobilization M. Corbesco was
anxious to search the legation. It re-
quired long parleying. The American
Legation, which is intrusted with the
protection of the German Legation, in-
terposed purely formal difficulties. Final-
ly, on Sept. 22, at the request of the
Rumanian Minister of Foreign Affairs,
the American Legation delegated its
First Secretary, Mr. Andrews, to be
present at the search.
Poor Mr. Andrews! Whoever knows
Mr. Andrews, so obliging and correct,
thin as certain scruples and long as an
English novel, can guess with what
melancholy that diplomat presented him-
self at that ceremony, for which the
peaceful and distinguished manners of
the Chancelleries had not exactly fitted
him. He took his overcoat, his hat, his
MICROBES AS WAR WEAPONS
73
gloves, his diplomatic phlegm plus his
American phlegm, and, covered with all
these phlegms, betook himself to the
German Legation — very phlegmatically.
There he found M. Corbesco, Chief of
Police, and M. Rafael, Chief Inspector.
All three entered the premises, then the
garden. They found there one Michel
Markus, guardian, and one Andrei Maftei,
domestic, both authorized to occupy the
legation after the departure of the Ger-
man Minister, their employer, in the ca-
pacity of guards.
" I know," said M. Corbesco, address-
ing Michel Markus, " that certain boxes
have been buried in this garden, and
that you have helped to place them
here."
Michel Markus admitted that this was
true.
" Do you know what these cases con-
tain? "
"No, Sir."
" You are going," said the Prefect,
" to show me immediately where these
things are buried, and you are going to
help me dig them up."
Markus and Maftei went to seek
spades and picks, and set themselves to
dig in the garden border along the wall
of the house on the side next to Cosma
Street. At a depth of about twenty
inches, between the eighth and ninth
tree from the corner of the house, they
soon brought to light, first, fifty Bick-
ford fuses, then fifty metal boxes of a
long, rectangular shape.
" That is not all," insisted M. Corbesco.
" No, Monsieur le Prefet."
And the docile Markus led M. Corbesco
to the fence that separates the legation
garden from the adjoining premises on
Cosma Street. He paused before a heap
of fagots and firewood. Markus removed
this and began a new excavation, which
shortly brought to light a rectangular
box wrapped in white paper and bearing
the seal of the Imperial German Consu-
late at Kronstadt (Brachow) in red wax
— also the following labels :
Durch Feldjager! Ganz geheim ! Nicht
werfcn ! ! ! Bucarest.
Fur Herrn Kostoff, S. Hochwohlgeb. Dem
Oberst u. Militarattache an der Kaiser-
lich-Bulgarischen Gesandtschaft zu Buca-
rest, Herrn Samargieff.
{Translation: " By orderly. Absolutely se-
cret. Not to be throivn! For Mr. Kostoff.
To his Honor, Mr. Samargieff, Colonel and
Military Attache at the Imperial Bulgarian
Legation in Bucharest."]
Within this first envelope was found
another envelope of white paper bearing
in red pencil the words:
Ganz geheim! Durch Feld.
An den koniglichen Oberst und Militar-
attache, Herrn von .
[Translation: " Absolutely secret. By
orderly. To Mr. von , royal Colonel and
Military Attache. "1
The half-effaced name was easily de-
ciphered. It was that of Colonel von
Hammerstein, Military Attache at the
German Legation, just as Samargieff
was that of the Military Attache at the
Bulgarian Legation. In all this business
Kostoff was merely a sort of tool and go-
between, ordered to carry the ignomin-
ious package from one legation to the
other.
The box was opened and within it was
found, on a bed of wadding, a typewrit-
ten note in German, as follows :
Anbei 1 Flaschchen fur Pferde und 4 fiir
Hornvieh. Verwendung wie besprochen.
Jedes Rorchen genii gt fur 200 Stuck. Wenn
moglich den Tieren direct in das Maul, sonst
in Futter. Bitten um kleinen Bericht liber
dortige Erfolge und falls Resultate zu ver-
zeichnen, ware Anwesenheit von Hr. K. fur
einen Tag hier Erwunscht.
[Translation: " One vial for horses, four for
cattle. Use as agreed. Each tube is enough
for 200 animals. If possible, to be placed di-
rectly in the mouth, otherwise in the fodder.
Please inform us of the results in a brief note.
The presence of Mr. K. is desired here for
one day.]
The text of this outrageous document
was immediately countersinged by the
Chief of Police and by Mr. Andrews,
representative of the Central Empires in
the circumstances.
In the box, under the wadding, were
found six little boxes of white wood, of
oblong form. In each little box was a
glass tube containing a yellowish liquid,
whose nature remained to be ascertained.
How had these objects been buried
here: — by whom — under whose orders?
This was to be learned by questioning
Markus and Maftei, and it was done on
that same day of Oct. 5 in the presence
of Mr. Andrews, who became more and
more depressed, in the hotel of the
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
United States Legation. I have been able
to procure the exact text of the declara-
tions of these two men. That of Michel
Markus is as follows:
My name is Michel Markus. I am a Ger-
man subject living at Bucharest in the
premises of the German Legation, where I
have been employed for twenty-two years.
Regarding the facts on which you interrogate
me, namely, what I know concerning the
discovery of the fifty fuses and of the
fifty boxes containing explosives, and con-
cerning the box sealed with the seal of the
German Consulate at Kronstadt, all found
buried in the garden of the German Legation
at Bucharest, I make the following declara-
tion :
On the day before, or the very day of the
departure of the German Diplomatic Corps
from Bucharest, Mr. von Rheinbaden, coun-
selor of the legation, gave me the order to
burn the flags and everything that remained
not locked up. The cases containing the
objects above mentioned were in a room of
the cellar, where they had been brought from
the German Consulate before the day on
which the decree mobilizing the Rumanian
Army was published. When 1 called the
attention of Mr. Rheinbaden to these cases
he told me it would be necessary to bury
them.
After the departure of the diplomats I
asked Mr. Kriiger, Chancellor of the lega-
tion, what I should do with the cases, and
he replied that they must be buried. Then
Mr. Kriiger, Andrei Maftei, and I took them
and buried them in a ditch dug by us at
the place where you found them. I did not
know what these cases contained ; I only
know that Mr. Kriiger advised me to handle
them carefully. Regarding the box wrapped
in paper and bearing the seal of the Im-
perial Consulate, I recall that on the day
before the mobilization, or on the day itself,
Mr. Adolf (I don't remember his family
name, but I know that he was Assistant
Military Attache^ serving with Colonel Ham-
merstein, the Military Attache) brought me
this box and told me to bury it in the garden.
I helped for a moment to dig a hole, but, as
I was very busy with my own work, it was
finally Mr. Adolf himself who buried the
box. He did not tell me what was in the
box, which he held in his hand. I do not
know whence or by whom this box was
brought to the legation ; I saw it for the first
time on the day when Mr. Adolf ordered me
to bury it in the garden.
After having read over this declaration
and pronounced it correct, the undersigned
has hereto placed his signature.
(Signed) MICHEL MARKUS.
When Andrei Maftei was questioned
regarding the same facts he made the
following declaration:
My name is Andrei Maftei, and I am a na-
tive of Transylvania; I was employed at the
German Legation until the day when Dr.
Bernhardt left it to go and live at 8 Temisana
Street.
Concerning the explosives, I know that
after the departure of the diplomats— I don't
remember the day— Mr. Markus told me to
take the case and carry it into the garden,
where it was buried by Mr. Markus and Mr.
Kriiger ; then I went on to attend to my work.
I know nothing more, either about this case
or about the white box with a red seal which
has been found by you at the back of the
garden near the fence, under a pile of wood.
After having read over this declaration and
pronounced it correct, the undersigned has
hereto placed his signature.
(Signed) ANDREI MAFTEI.
What was the nature of the explosives
and tubes of poison discovered in the
garden of the German Legation? The
Bureau of Pyrotechnics of the Rumanian
Army and the Institute of Pathology and
Bacteriology at Bucharest were asked to
ascertain this. The results of their
analyses proved beyond doubt that the
affair was no " simple joke," as one Ger-
man paper ventured to state — without
joking.
Here is the report on the explosives
written by Lieut. Col. Philipesco, Di-
rector of Pyrotechnics, and Lieutenant
A. Pecuraru, chief of the Laboratory
Service:
The explosives discovered at the German
Legation and sent to us for examination
consist of:
Fifty cartouches made of rectangular zinc-
plate boxes of the dimensions of 20 by 7 by
5 centimeters ; three of the larger surfaces
each present points for priming, in order to
permit of the discharge of the cartouche re-
gardless of its position.
These cartouche mines, each weighing one
kilogram, (two and one-half pounds,) bear
the label, " Donarit I. Kavalerie Spreng-
patronen. Sprengstoff A. G. Carbonit Ham-
burg ' Schlebusch.' "
The explosive contained in these boxes be-
longs to the class of shattering explosives,
which have as their base nitrate of ammonia
and trinitrotoluene (trotyl) with its less
nitrous derivatives.
In destructive force this explosive is in the
category of dynamite and " Kieselguhr," one
kilogram developing 700 grand calories.
Regarding this destructive effect it is suffi-
cient to mention that 200 grams of the said
explosive, that is to say, one-fifth of the con-
tents of any one of these boxes, is sufficient
to blow up one meter of a railway. The fifty
kilograms could destroy a bridge pier or
a large building, could be used to mine a
railway, &c.
MICROBES AS WAR WEAPONS
And here is the report of Dr. Babes,
Director of the Institute of Pathology
and Bacteriology, under date of Oct.
5 (18):
Having completed the testing of the vials
of cultures received with your letter No.
143,003, dated Sept. 24, I have ascertained as
follows :
1. The vial covered with red paper con-
tained a culture of the bacillus of anthrax,
which has been identified by derivative cul-
tures and by inoculations of animals.
2. The vial covered with white paper con-
tained a culture of the bacillus of glanders,
which has been identified by derivative cul-
tures and by injections applied to animals.
Comment of Professor Roux
In an article in the Bulletin des
Armees the eminent director of the
Pasteur Institute at Paris, Dr. Roux,
accepts the foregoing charge as proved,
and makes the following comment:
" These microbes have been identified
by Professor Babes, director of the
Bacteriological Institute at Bucharest.
Besides, a label in German indicated the
method of using these cultures; they
were intended for cattle and horses. One
vial of glanders was sufficient to infect
200 horses.
" It is very certain that if the contents
of one of these tubes had been turned
into the trough from which the horses
of a cavalry squadron drink, most of the
animals would have been infected, and,
with the help of the fatigue of the cam-
paign, an epidemic of glanders would
have followed. The Germans hoped that
it would spread to other cavalry units.
Cavalrymen whose horses are glandered
are soon dismounted.
" In like manner the anthrax cultures,
if thrown into the food of cattle or
horses, would have given some of these
the anthrax fever, which kills more surely
and rapidly than glanders. The bacilli
of glanders and anthrax are not only
fatal for horses and cattle, they are also
fatal for human beings, who can contract
these diseases in caring for the animals
or handling infected meat. The Ger-
mans, by infecting the animals, hoped
also to communicate the disease indirect-
ly to men.
" Our enemies, who pervert every-
thing, even science, have thus attempted
to make of the most beneficent of
all sciences — that of bacteriology — a
clandestine weapon. This incontestable
and criminal ability, however, is not as
formidable as one might imagine. It is
not as easy to create an extensive epi-
demic among men or animals as the
wickedness of our adversaries desired.
To sow the disease is not enough; cir-
cumstances must lend themselves to the
propagation of the microbes. It is prob-
able that the number of human and
animal victims in this case would not
have been very great, for we now pos-
sess singularly effective means for
checking the extension of these mala-
dies."
A Historian's Answer
By Joseph Reinach
French Historian and Publicist
Shortly after Fresident Wilson sent his peace note of Dec. 20, 1916, to the belligerent
powers, Joseph Reinach wrote for the Taris Figaro the reply here translated for Current
History Magazine.
POINTS OF FACT
I. Premeditation of the War
CONSIDERING that on April 13,
1905, the Reichstag passed a new
military law extending over six .
years, and providing for an
initial, non-renewable credit of 87,000,000
francs and a supplementary credit of
39,000,000 annually for expenses in case
of war;
That on March 7, 1911, the Reichstag
voted a five-year non-renewable expendi-
ture for military purposes of 103,000,-
000, with a supplementary annual ex-
penditure of 55,000,000;
That on June 14, 1912, the Reichstag
voted another non-renewable credit of
180,000,000 and a new annual supple-
mentary credit of 55,000,000;
That on July 3, 1913, the Reichstag
voted a non-renewable credit of 1,105,-
000,000 francs, with a new annual sup-
plementary credit of 228,000,000;
CONSIDERING that during the same
period the French Chamber voted: On
March 21, 1905, a supplementary annual
credit of 21,000,000, and, on March 26,
1914, through the necessity of parrying
in part the menace of the enormous sums
appropriated by the Reichstag since 1905,
and especially in 1913, a permanent sup-
plement of 257,000,000 francs for the war
budget, and a non-renewable credit of
720,000,000;
That these facts and dates establish
the respective tendencies of the two coun-
tries at the beginning of 1914;
II. Responsibility for the War
CONSIDERING that on July 25, 1914,
in response to the Austro-Hungarian
ultimatum of the 23d, the Serbian Gov-
ernment accepted in practical totalitv the
conditions imposed by the Government at
Vienna, and declared itself ready to sub-
mit any points of difference either to The
Hague or the great powers;
That on the same day, without paying
any attention to this reply, which had
been made at the request of Russia and
France, the Austro-Hungarian Minister
broke off relations with Serbia and left
Belgrade;
That on July 27, 1914, the British Gov-
ernment, in concert with France and
Russia and with the support of Italy,
proposed to Germany a conference in
London with a view to preserving the
peace of Europe;
That the German Government refused
to consider this suggestion;
That on July 29, 1914, relying upon
the declaration of Herr von Jagow, the
German Minister of Foreign Affairs,
" that Austria must have special guar-
antees before Serbia's reply could offer
a basis for negotiations," the French
Government immediately suggested that
an international commission should take
charge of the execution of Serbia's prom-
ises:
That no response was made to that
suggestion;
That on the same day a personal tele-
gram from the Czar of Russia to the
German Emperor offered to submit the
Austro- Serbian difference to The Hague
tribunal ;
That again there was no reply to this
telegram; and that, furthermore, this
important matter of record was omitted
intentionally from the German White
Book of August, 1914;
That on July 31 the British Govern-
ment asked France and Germany
whether, in case war could not be
averted, they would respect the neutral-
ity of Belgium;
That France, one of the parties to the
Treaty of 1839, at once replied that the
treaty would be scrupulously respected;
That Germany, also a party to that
treaty, refused to give any guarantee,
A HISTORIAN'S ANSWER
77
and on Aug. 2, upon a pretext — since
proved absolutely false — that France was
preparing to send troops through Belgium
along the Meuse, destroyed the treaty,
qualifying it in the words of the German
Chancellor as a " scrap of paper," ad-
dressed an ultimatum to Belgium, in-
vaded Luxemburg, whose neutrality she
had no less solemnly guaranteed, and
crossed the Belgian frontier with her
armies;
That on July 31, 1914, Germany began
mobilization under the pretext that she
was " in danger of war " ;
That on the next day France, while
finding herself compelled to take a simi-
lar step, announced that in order to avoid
any clash at the frontier she was with-
drawing her border troops ten kilome-
ters back of the line;
That on Aug. 2, early in the morning,
the first German patrols set foot on
French soil, while it was only in the
evening of the following day, Aug. 3,
1914, that the German Government sent
its declaration of war to the French
Government;
That this declaration of war was ac-
companied by a statement that Belgian
and German territory had been violated
by French aviators, a statement since
recognized by the German Government
itself as without foundation of fact or
truth ;
POINTS OF RIGHT
III. — Conduct of the War
CONSIDERING that the whole world
knows how the Central Powers and their
allies have conducted the war, notably
in violating the articles of the Geneva
Convention relating to the Red Cross,
those of The Hague Conference on the
use of asphyxiating gas, the laws of
maritime warfare, and Article 22 of the
Convention of Nov. 29, 1909, forbidding
a belligerent to force citizens of another
belligerent to take part in war opera-
tions against their own country;
IV. — The Lessons of History
CONSIDERING that the Imperial
German Government has sought in vain
to throw upon the Entente the responsi-
bility for a catastrophe without precedent
and for the death of several millions of
men;
That the statesmen, educators, and
military officials of Germany, in their
writings, teachings, and public addresses
have' long proclaimed the necessity of
making right bow before might;
That whole German generations have
been mentally formed upon a doctrine of
contempt for the plighted word and the
triumph of brute force;
That in connection with her increasing
and unjustified military preparations,
Germany, through an unscrupulous and
immoral diplomacy, sought to impose
upon free nations a habit of humiliation
and fear;
That these nations, in the illusion of
an imprudent confidence, had come to
neglect — for the works of civilization and
peace — the most legitimate precautions
and preparations for self-defense;
That the men responsible for the dis-
regard of plighted honor and the brutal
aggression which the war has brought
forth, could not, a few months before
hostilities, longer keep their own evil
counsel, as evidenced by the Emperor's
conversation with the King of Belgium
on Nov. 6, 1913, and the speech of the
German Chancellor from the tribune of
the Reichstag on Aug. 4, 1914;
That the rulers of Germany, therefore,
by virtue of the very power they hold,
have been the sole responsible and guilty
parties, having for a long time previous
to hostilities premeditated and prepared
war, loosing it at the moment which they
judged favorable and giving it its char-
acter of increasing ferocity, as mani-
fested in the untold destruction of prop-
erty and cruelty to humanity;
That in logical consequence these men,
who have shown contempt for their sa-
cred engagements, are disqualified to en-
gage in peace negotiations, which they
themselves, either through cynicism or
through lack of conscience, characterize
as "offensive diplomacy";
That the Governments and peoples of
the Entente cannot consider the question
of peace as long as they have to treat
with men who can no longer be trusted;
CONSIDERING that no chance exists
for a just, honorable, and lasting peace,
78
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
a peace restoring the principles of right
and honor, in the presence of men who
have deliberately violated engagements
and treaties signed by themselves;
CONSIDERING that these men thus
remain the sole yet insurmountable
obstacle to the re-establishment of that
peace of which they pretend to be sincere
champions, and which is longed for by
their own people, who are suffering
cruel deprivations, and even hunger;
CONSIDERING that if the German
Nation has been deceived by official
falsehood and systematically kept in
ignorance of the true facts, the German
rulers have followed out exactly a coldly
premeditated plan;
CONSIDERING that, having failed to
crush France, as they had hoped, in a
few weeks, and to turn then upon Russia
and terrorize or corrupt Belgium, Eng-
land, Japan, Italy, Portugal, and Ru-
mania, they do not conceal the fact that
peace for them now would be only a
truce to prepare for a new aggression;
CONSIDERING that there could be
neither security nor justice in a world
over which is suspended the sword of
Prussian militarism:
THE ENTENTE POWERS, resolved
not to lay down their arms before the
liberation of the oppressed peoples, de-
clare, in the name of the nations that
are the victims of German aggression
and in the face of the world, that they
will not treat with William II., the man
responsible before humanity and history
for this war, its mourning and its ruins.
America Through English Eyes
By William Archer
English Dramatist, Essayist, and Critic
[The severance of relations by the United States with Germany aroused widespread dis-
cussion of the attitude of Great Britain toward the United States. Among the many contri-
butions on this subject, Mr. Archer's essay in The Westminster Gazette (London) is especially
noteworthy for its truth, clarity, and keen analysis. — Ed. Current History Magazine.]
M
ANY people do not realize that
hitherto all the active political
relations between Great Brit-
ain and America have been
hostile relations. Twice the two nations
have been at war, and there are not a
few Americans who are fond of boasting
that in both of these conflicts they
" whipped " us. Our normal level rela-
tions have no doubt been amicable
enough; but whenever the level has been
broken it has been by incidents which
left a certain legacy of ill-feeling. The
general attitude of Britain during the
great civil war was anything but sympa-
thetic. Once we were on the verge of a
rupture over the case of Mason and Sli-
dell. The affair of the Alabama was ex-
ceedingly disagreeable. The Venezuelan
squabble led us, not perhaps to the brink
of hostilities, but some way in that direc-
tion. The incident of Manila Bay is per-
haps the only international episode of
any note that has definitely tended to
draw the two nations together.
Of course this does not mean that
there has not been real friendship be-
tween them. There has never been a mo-
ment when thousands of Englishmen
and thousands of Americans have not
felt the warmest regard for each other.
Perhaps it may even be said that the re-
ciprocal feeling of the majority of both
peoples has been a sort of vaguely criti-
cal and suspicious kindliness. But there
have always been certain classes in
America that cherished old and new ran-
cors against England, and these were not
a little encouraged by the general tone of
common school education. No one can
read the American newspapers of today
without realizing that, except among a
cultured minority in the Eastern States,
pro-ally sympathies are centred rather
upon France and Belgium than upon
England, and that in the Middle West
and West the feeling of the masses to-
ward the Allies in general, and England
in particular, is at best one of indiffer-
ence.
HERBERT C. HOOVER
Mr. Hoover's Work as Head of the Belgian Relief Commis-
sion Has Been Called the Most Splendid American
Achievement of the Last Two Years
(Photo Underwood 6 Underwood)
• •IMHUIIHIIMMIIIMIMU MMMI ••■•■••
The British Victor of Kut-el-Amara, Who Has Defeated
the Turks and Fought His Way to Bagdad
(Photo Preen Illuetrating Service)
J
AMERICA THROUGH ENGLISH EYES
79
Whatever may happen, this is not go-
ing to change all at once. We are not
going to fall on each other's neck and
swear eternal friendship. Nevertheless,
a great new fact has come into existence.
In the most momentous crisis in the his-
tory of the world the whole English-
speaking race is at last standing shoul-
der to shoulder. Nothing but criminal
unwisdom or malignant ill-fortune can
cancel or turn to evil the beneficent re-
sults that ought to flow from this won-
derful and almost unhoped-for achieve-
ment of German political genius. Never
again can it be said that " all active po-
litical relations between Great Britain
and America have been hostile relations."
That remark is expunged from the page
of history.
And now it is up to us — why should
we not talk American? — to make the
best of this new situation. Hitherto —
take us all around — we have been culp-
ably and stupidly inappreciative of
America. The time has been, no doubt,
when there was a great deal of rawness
in American life, which lent itself to
caricature, and when, on the other hand,
many Americans displayed at once great
self-assertiveness and morbid resentful-
ness of criticism. But the civil war may
fairly be said to have made an end to all
that — or at least the beginning of an
end. Since then half a century has
passed, and now we have not the smallest
rational excuse for carelessness or cap-
tiousness in our judgments of America.
To any one with a spark of imagina-
tion the United States is the most fasci-
nating country in the world. Its past is
romantic, its present marvelous, its fut-
ure inconceivable.
Let me give one instance of the ro-
mance of the past that clings to so many
places in America. I will not speak of
Lexington or Concord; I will not speak
of Mount Vernon or Charleston; I will
speak of the place in all America which
most people in England, perhaps, think
of as the very antithesis of romance — I
mean Pittsburgh. It is called " hell with
the lid off," and I don't say it does not
merit that term of endearment; but to
stand on the big bluff over against the
city, and look down upon the confluence
of the Allegheny and the Monongahela
(most beautiful of words!) is to experi-
ence a strange and complex emotion.
For the two rivers (each as great as the
Rhine or the Rhone) unite to form the
magnificent Ohio. And the Ohio rolls on
into the still mightier Mississippi; and
down these gigantic waterways the first
French adventurers paddled thousands
of leagues through the boundless, sinister
wilderness; and Martin Chuzzlewit and
Mark Tapley sought the city of Eden;
and Huckleberry Finn and Jim went
drifting through an Odyssey which I, for
one, believe to be as surely immortal as
any story in this world. A few miles up
the Monongahela is the spot where Gen-
eral Braddock, with George Washington
and George Warrington in his train, fell
into the fatal ambush. Arid there, at the
very tip of the tongue of land between
the two rivers, nestling in the shadow of
the skyscrapers like a beehive under St.
Peter's, is the Jittle octagonal block-
house, pierced for musketry, which was
once Fort Duquesne, and after that Fort
Pitt, and from which the city takes its
name. Of the titanic, lurid picturesque-
ness of the scene I shall not attempt to
speak. I have merely tried to suggest a
few of the historic and literary associa-
tions which cluster around the spot it-
self, and the vast river system to which
it is, as it were, the northeastern gate-
way. How any one can find America
prosaic or uninteresting passes my com-
prehension.
As for its present, as summed up and
typified in New York, what is there in
the world to compare with it? The view
of the mountainous city, towering be-
tween its noble estuaries, is by far the
most impressive testimony that can any-
where be found to the genius and daring
of man. Beautiful? I don't know.
There is an immense amount of beauti-
ful architecture to be seen in New
York and all through the Eastern States;
but the whole impression of New York is
more than beautiful — it is exciting,
thrilling, inspiring. To land in New
York on a cloudless day (and they are
many) of Spring or Autumn is to realize
why America is bound to lead the world.
It is because there is some as yet un-
80
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
identified element in the pure, keen air,
which, passing into the blood, tingles
through the whole system in the form of
energy and capacity.
Yet there is no greater error than to
think that New York is a city of unrest-
ing rush, clatter, and whirl. It is a city
where not only women but men have
plenty of leisure and know how to enjoy
it. Above all, it is a city where they
have always time to be helpful and hos-
pitable to the stranger within their
gates. Nowhere are the amenities of
life carried to higher perfection. I never
return to England without feeling that I
have come back some five-and- twenty
years in the art of living, at any rate on
the material side. Indeed, one might say
fifty years, were it not that we have of
late had the sense to learn a good deal
from America.
And think, now, of the future! Amer-
ica has been, and still is, largely occupied
in the development of her material re-
sources; yet think what strides she has
also made on the intellectual side! The
splendid universities which stud the land
may not rival those of Europe in pure
scholarship; but they are humming hives
of all sorts of eager intellectual activity.
It will not, perhaps, be to their disad-
vantage if intimate relations with Ger-
many are severed for a time. Their lead-
ing scholars confess that the German in-
fluence has not been wholly beneficial.
But everywhere they have magnificent
apparatus for research, and everywhere
they make full use of it. Who does not
know that the cultivated American is one
of the finest products of civilization?
And civilization of the best sort is
spreading with enormous rapidity.
I am aware that in some ways my vis-
ion of America is unduly roseate, for the
simple reason that it has been my good
fortune, wherever I went, to move almost
exclusively in the circles that were most
congenial to me. Of course there are
many less desirable sides of American
life with which I have scarcely come in
contact, or not at all. There are, for in-
stance, the vulgarities and crudities in-
separable from every great half-edu-
cated democracy — that is a matter in
which we certainly have no right to
throw the first stone. Of course Amer-
ica, like all the rest of the world, has
great social, struggles, and possibly con-
vulsions, to go through, before she can
attain something like a just and stable
social order. New York, Boston, Chi-
cago, St. Louis — there is much that is
terrible as well as much that is admir-
able in the life of these swarming, seeth-
ing cities. But nowhere is there a more
alert social idealism at work, or a more
ardent spirit of social service.
My point, then, is this: Let us realize
what an enormous advantage we possess
in our community of language, of his-
torical and intellectual traditions, and of
political and moral ideals, with this na-
tion of marvelous achievements and still
more marvelous potentialities. If these
ideals are to survive and flourish, it is of
the utmost importance that America and
Great Britain should grow together, in-
stead of growing apart. The community
of speech, while it is a priceless bond, is
also a source of danger. Careless, carp-
ing, supercilious talk, narrow-minded
comment, uncivil jesting, whether with
pen or pencil, rankles doubly when it is
brought home to us in our own language.
This is an admonition to both sides, but
mainly to England. We are the older
people, and ought to show the finer con-
sideration. In this respect our sins are
many — sins, mainly, of ignorance and
thoughtlessness. But, in spite of every-
thing, we are, and have been any time
this century, drawing together in a re-
markable way. Note how half the most
successful pieces on the London stage
are of American origin, and are often
most acceptable when played by Amer-
ican actors. Note how the bookstalls are
piled with the writings of ar. author so
redolent of the soil as 0. Henry. Think
how the cinema is familiarizing even the
street arab and the factory girl with the
surface aspects of American life. We
have now a unique opportunity to draw
closer all the countless ties which unite
us with our " gigantic daughter of the
West." Let us have done with careless-
ness, ignorance, supercilious patronage,
flippant criticism, and make the best of
this great boon which the Germans have
so kindly forced upon us.
Military Operations of the War
By Major Edwin W. Dayton
Inspector General, National Guard, State of New York;
Secretary, New York Army and Navy Club
Major Dayton has personally studied the military methods of the European armies in six
of the countries now at war, and has been officially recognized by the United States War
Department as an authority on strategy and tactics. He is one of the experts who have
chronicled the present war for The Army and Navy Journal. The subjoined article is the
second in a series which Major Dayton is writing for Current History Magazine, covering in
a rapid and authoritative narrative all the military events of importance since the beginning
of the great European conflict.
II. — Battles of the Marne, the Aisne, and Tannenberg
banks of the Seine. Conscious of a pos-
sible menace to his right rear from the
west, he left a rear guard of considerable
strength in the valley of the Ourcq
facing the suspected menace. The cru-
cial battle of the Marne, recognized by-
all the commanders as
the supreme crisis of
the war, began at
dawn on Sunday,
Sept. 6.
The new French
Army, the Sixth, en-
gaged in hand-to-hand
fighting among the
villages above Meaux,
and turned von Kluck's
flank. The British,
covered by the Forest
of Crecy, moved north-
east toward a line be-
tween Dagny and Cou-
lommieres.
The Fifth French
Army on the British
right struck north on
a route which, as they progressed, led
them on the 7th across the Grand Morin,
on the 8th over the Petit Morin, and by
the 9th close to the south bank of the
Marne below Mezy.
The British, making a half wheel to
the left, made an alignment with the
French Fifth Army, and on the 9th ar-
rived on the Marne with their centre at
La Ferte. The French Sixth Army, at-
tacking at right angles, closed in above
the Marne and on the west of the Ourcq,
gradually as the victory progressed
changing front toward the north, so that
by Sept. 10 they were aligned on the left
SEDAN DAY— Sept. 5— in 1914 was
only superficially an echo of Sedan
Day in 1870. The armies of
France had suffered defeat, but
nowhere had allowed themselves to be cut
off. The defenses of Paris were in poor
shape and would not
have withstood a Ger-
man attack much bet-
ter than had those of
Antwerp or Namur
The necessity of the
situation was for a
counterattack in the
open.
Von Kluck, flushed
with continuous vic-
tories, thought the
French and British in
his front entirely de-
moralized, and he con-
tinued his headlong
drive. He made a
tactical blunder by
marching his right
flank across the ene-
mies' front in an effort to separate the
British from the supporting French
Fifth Army. The British air scouts dis-
covered von Kluck's manoeuvre and re-
ported large detachments south of the
Marne with one column on the Grand
Morin. The French airmen, too, report-
ed all the German dispositions from the
lower Marne to Verdun. General Joffre
decided that the time had come to strike
back, and formed a plan which would
have been impossible if the reports of
the air scouts had been lacking.
On the night of Sept. 5 von Kluck's
cavalry patrols got as far south as the
GENERAL FOCH
Hi
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
abreast of the British and astride the
Ourcq.
The battle was continuous and on a
scale hitherto unknown. Military stu-
dents will study its details for genera-
tions. Here I can only attempt the
merest outline of the great struggle.
Von Kluck was outfought by a superior
force, which caught him in a false posi-
tion into which he had been betrayed by
the belief that his opponents, soundly
beaten, needed only one more hard blow
to complete their collapse. Instead of
that they were in excellent morale, and
had received powerful fresh reinforce-
ments. I believe that eventually it will
be proved that the speed of von Kluck's
pursuit had caused his great army to
outrun much of its supplies. His change
of direction toward the east was not only
an attempt to drive a wedge through the
allied front, but also was intended to
close up his overextended lines of com-
munication.
On Sept. 9, following a whole series
of glorious battles, the British crossed
the Marne at Chateau-Thierry, and by
evening were some miles north of the
river. The French, under d'Esperey,
ended a day of terrific fighting by join-
ing the British right at Chateau-Thierry.
Further east one of France's greatest
Generals, Foch, found von Billow's right
flank exposed and attacked the Prussian
Guard at La Fere Champenoise. In the
marshes drained by the Petit Morin,
Foch took forty guns and many prison-
ers, and about Sept. 9 he had driven a
wedge between the armies of von Bulow
and von Hausen. As the battle progressed
the French General Staff used Langle
to help Foch, and the Germans were
driven back toward Epernay and Chalons.
By Sept. 10 the Allies had virtually
completed the great victory called the
battle of the Marne. The German right
(von Kluck) had received heavy re-
inforcements of perhaps 40,000 men, but
von Billow's crushing defeat to the east
made it impossible for the German line
to re-form for a counterattack.
The German retreat is admitted to
have been a military masterpiece, and
on Sept. 12 they had reached the line of
positions on the Aisne and the Suippes
which they had previously prepared for
emergency use. On the east the Crown
Prince fell back to preserve the align-
ment, and this saved Fort Troyon, which,
under bombardment, was ready to fall.
The Crown Prince held the Argonne and
St. Menehould. In the Vosges, after a
prolonged struggle, the French, under
General de Castlenau, withstood an at-
tempt of the Crown Prince of Bavaria
to force a passage through the Gap
of Nancy. By Sept. 12 de Castelnau had
taken Luneville, St. Die, and the line of
the Meurthe.
Battle of the Aisne
The battlefield of the Aisne is the
birthplace of modern trench warfare.
When the Germans were pursuing the
French and British toward Paris in the
first week of September it might have
seemed as though the prospect of quick
victory would obscure all other vision.
Nothing in the long history of the war
proves the value of trained professional
staff officers more clearly than the fact
that just then, as they crossed the Aisne
flushed with victory, parties of sappers
were left behind. Their mission was to
prepare a defensive position on the
plateau north of the river valley and ex-
tending to the east across Champagne
into the Argonne. Beyond the Argonne
the Crown Prince was already closing in
to the investment of Verdun with a great
circle* from the Argonne to the Woevre.
It was nearly the middle of September
when the victorious Allies, fresh from
the victory of the Marne, began to be
puzzled by the stern resistance they met
along this line. It was no longer merely
the hard fighting of rear guards de-
termined to cover retreating armies, but
seemed like the determined stand of an
enemy unwilling to retreat further. On
Sept. 12 Maunoury's Sixth Army, which
had clung to the heels of von Kluck's
army all the way from Paris, began to
shell the hostile positions beyond the
river with a view to covering a crossing
by pontoon, as the bridges had been sys-
tematically destroyed. The British Army
to the east, near Soissons, was similarly
engaged. Beyond them the other French
armies were delayed under d'Esperey
MILITARY OPERATIONS OF THE WAR
83
and Langle along the Vesle and the
upper Suippe.
On the 13th Maunoury got several
divisions across the Aisne under heavy
fire, and a good part of the British Army
crossed, but with great difficulty. The
following day these French and British
troops fought their way forward until
they came in touch with the real German
lines of intrenchment on the high ground
of the plateau, where they proceeded to
dig, themselves in and try to hold on to
the ground gained. Sir John French
was the British commander, and in com-
mand of the First Corps was Sir Douglas
Haig, who was destined to win much
glory in the heavy fighting of the next
week. England lost many officers" in
this hard-fought battle, including three
Colonels in one brigade, all killed on the
first day.
On the 15th the Germans began a
series of violent counterattacks and
forced both French and British to retire
short distances, which, however, were
largely regained on the 17th after the
arrival of strong reinforcements. On the
18th the Allies failed, after furious ef-
forts, to break the German fortified lines,
and so the acute stage of the battle ended.
On the right, meanwhile, the German
Crown Prince was delivering a fierce
attack upon the fortress of Verdun, held
by the French under General Sarrail.
First Battle of Verdun
Before the German defeat at the
Marne the Crown Prince's right flank
had held St. Menehould, twenty miles
west of the fortress, but in maintaining
his alignment with the German armies
to the west he had fallen back two days'
march to the north. General Sarrail
realized from the experience of the Bel-
gian forts that no fortification could
withstand a close bombardment by the
heavy German howitzers. Consequently
he threw up earthworks and intrench-
ments on every hill and across every val-
ley for twenty miles or more around.
On Sept. 20 the German heavy shells
practically demolished Fort Troyon, south
of Verdun, and on the 23d the Crown
Prince's forces crossed the Meuse and
captured St. Mihiel, with the bridgehead,
thus establishing a marked salient in the
line of invasion which was destined to
remain for years.
On Oct. 3 the Crown Prince attempted
to turn Sarrail's flank and get through
again to St. Menehould, where he would
have cut the railway communications be-
tween Verdun and Paris. In the Forest
of Argonne the French won the battle
and established touch with the right
flank of General Langle's Fourth Army
in Champagne, thus establishing a line
which, with slight fluctuations, remains
to this day.
Joffre s Extension to the Sea
General Joffre had formed two new
armies meanwhile, and about the time
the lines along the Aisne began to con-
geal into what we have since learned to
call the stalemate, he brought these new
units up on the left. General de Castel-
nau was brought from Lorraine to com-
mand the Seventh Army, and Joffre
brought out of a professorship in the
military college General Maud'huy to
command the Tenth Army. The Seventh
Army took its place on a line through
Peronne and Roye about Sept. 20, and at
the end of the month Maud'huy occupied
Arras and Lens after a hard battle in
which the French used every available
reserve, including even marines.
This great extension was intended to
outflank the Germans in their intrench-
ments on the Aisne, and by cutting their
lines of supply compel another retire-
ment. The plan failed because simul-
taneously the Germans were extending
their right flank in an effort to gain
the coast at Calais.
Early in October large forces of Ger-
man cavalry were active about Lille, and
General French asked for authority to
transfer the British Army from almost
the centre to the extreme left. General
Joffre agreed and filled the gap with a
new army of reserves under General
d'Urbal. By Oct. 19 the British First
Corps reached St. Omer just in time to
prevent huge German armies from driv-
ing a wedge between the Allies and the
Channel ports.
Alsace and Lorraine
As soon as it became evident that war
could no longer be avoided, France de-
84
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
termined to secure the advantage of the
initiative by striking through the lost
provinces of Alsace and Lorraine and in-
vading Germany across the Rhine. There
was no doubt that the Germans would
violate Belgium, but it was hoped that
the resistance at the fortified triangle —
Liege, Namur, and Antwerp — would
greatly delay the invasion of Northern
France, and meanwhile it was hoped that
a strong diversion could be created by
the invasion of Germany below Metz. It
would be worth much to make German
soil, instead of French, the scene of
war's devastations, and then, too, French
patriotism cried out for the redemption
of the provinces torn from France forty-
four years ago.
France struck an eager blow, but with
forces not really sufficiently mobilized
to give the effort the weight it required
for so great a mission.
On Aug. 7 a brigade from the fortress
at Belfort crossed the frontier and routed
small German detachments which en-
deavored to defend Altkirch, an Alsatian
town in the plain between the southern
end of the Vosges Mountains and the
Swiss frontier. An invasion of Germany
made through this gap between the
mountains would, after crossing Alsace,
strike Southern Wiirttemberg, with Ba-
varia beyond and the Austrian Tyrol be-
low. Certainly it would have been a
brilliant stroke of genius if France could
have transferred to those South German
kingdoms the war which has since
wrecked Flanders, Artois, Picardy, and
Champagne. But not only would that
have required a great force for the at-
tack, but another army would have been
needful to guard the flank against the
German strongholds at Strassburg and
Neu Breisach. To be successful, the
effort launched here should have had
something like the weight in men and
material with which Germany struck
down from the north.
On Aug. 8 the French occupied without
opposition the important town of Mul-
house and attacked with success a Ger-
man force stationed in the woods beyond.
By the 10th strong German reinforce-
ments arrived, and the French fell back
to Altkirch. Here faulty reports from
French air scouts produced the impres-
sion that a comparatively weak German
force was defending the Rhine country
below Metz. Consequently a general of-
fensive was undertaken by the French
Army in Alsace, under General Pau, and
the army of Lorraine, commanded by
General de Castelnau.
The plan was to attack along the
whole line from Nancy to Belfort, and
by Aug. 15 the French had captured most
of the passes through the Vosges and
were looking down on the plains of Al-
sace beyond. Attempted diversions by
German columns from Metz were defeat-
ed by de Castelnau, and Pau pressed
forward, capturing Dannemarie, Thann,
Mulhouse, and Saarburg.
By Aug. 17 not only the entire range of
the Vosges had been captured, but at
Saarburg the French were astride the
railway communications between Strass-
burg and Metz. This point and date
marked the high tide of the French in-
vasion, for by Aug. 20 an overpowering
German Army fell upon their left from
the direction of Metz. The French at-
tempted to retreat, but a division on the
left was overwhelmed and practically de-
stroyed in the battle of Metz. By the 22d
the French armies of Alsace and Lor-
raine had lost all the ground gained, and
the pursuing Germans were threatening
the whole French sector between Toul
and Nancy. Their victorious advance
was halted by de Castelnau's splendid de-
fense of the field works which he erected
on the wooded hills about Nancy.
From the 6th to the 9th of September
the Bavarians were encouraged in des-
perate attacks by the presence of the
Kaiser, but they were unable to gain
ground in face of the deadly fire of the
French 75-millimeter guns, which made
great practice at shore ranges. On Sept.
9 the Germans lost their positions in the
Forest of Champenoux, and the French
took Amance. Two days later they had
St. Die and the line of the Meurthe River.
The fighting in this sector ended on Sept.
12, when de Castelnau's men reoccupied
Luneville, and since then the fortified
eastern frontier of France has remained
an impassable barrier to the German
legions.
MILITARY OPERATIONS OF THE WAR
85
Eastern
■Rise of
Theatre of War
Hindenburg
One of the earliest surprises of the
■war was the prompt mobilization of the
Russian Army, which all professional
critics looked upon as a brave, slow army-
good for defense, but lacking in initia-
tive. The notion was proved wrong by a
very speedy mobilization and a quick
and effective attack upon East Prussia
designed to relieve the
pressure upon Rus-
sia's allies in the west. '""••/
Within the first
week of August Gen-
eral Rennenkampf, a
hero of the Manchu-
rian war, crossed the
Prussian frontier, cut
the railway which
skirts the Masurian
Lakes, and drove back
the whole line of Prus-
sian outposts. Gen-
eral von Francois, the
Prussian commander,
made a stand at Gum-
binnen, but after three
or four days' fighting
against greatly su-
perior artillery and
infantry he was com-
pelled to retreat on Konigsberg.
Meanwhile General Samsonov, another
soldier who learned modern war by fight-
ing Japanese, marched up from Mlawa
through the region west of the Masurian
Lakes. This army drove a strong Ger-
man force headlong out of an intrenched
position between Orlau and Frankenau
and took many prisoners as the panic-
stricken Germans retreated on Konigs-
berg. By the last week in August what
was left of the German armies in East
Prussia was shut up in Konigsberg.
Then Germany called out of his retire-
ment at Hanover a veteran of 1870, Gen-
eral von Hindenburg, who knew thor-
oughly the terrain of East Prussia. In
the period of his active service he had
commanded army corps at Konigsberg
and Allenstein, and had frequently com-
manded at manoeuvres in the Masurian
Lake region. He loved the ground, and
knew it as no one else in the world did.
GENERAL VON HINDENBURG
He had used every ounce of his influence
at Berlin to block the project of a land
improvement company, who had pro-
posed to drain the lakes and marshes.
An army of something like 150,000
men was given to von Hindenburg, and
he brought this force together east of
Thorn and Graudenz. Rennenkampf,
after his series of early successes, swept
on confidently to the investment of Ko-
nigsberg, a first-class
:..;.; „ ••:„•....: ~- v.^ fortress, with a gar-
-•* rison of 50,000 and
* . 1,200 guns. Samsonov
pushed on toward the
north of the lake re-
gion, but was quite
out of touch with Ren-
nenkampf. He turned
to pierce the lake re-
gion to his west via
Allenstein, probably
with the intention of
striking in between
Thorn and Danzig.
He had about five
army corps, of prob-
ably 200,000 men, and
certainly outnumbered
von Hindenburg's
force.
On Wednesday,
Aug. 26, von Hindenburg struck on a
wide front, and Samsonov's march was
abruptly halted. He discovered that
a strong army was posted behind the
lakes and marshes, which were com-
manded by the German batteries. The
strength of von Hindenburg's position
consisted not only in a well-defended
front, but in exceptionally good oppor-
tunities to develop quickly flank attacks
both right and left.
The battle, one of the classics of strat-
egy, lasted until the end of August, and
gave the Germans one of the most com-
plete victories of the entire war. Von
Hindenburg, feinting first toward one
flank, then toward the other, succeeded
in rolling the Russian Army up in a
confused and helpless mass, entangled
in the marsh lands.
Von Hindenburg's complete mastery
of the strategy of this great battle was
evidenced as much by what he refrained
86
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
from doing as by what he did. Midway
of the battle he had a great victory sure-
ly within his grasp, and could have driven
a defeated enemy headlong back into
Russia. He withstood the temptation,
and carried the battle on for sevaral days
while he continued to entangle Samsonov
in a position whence there might be no
escape. By Aug. 31 von Hindenburg had
scored the only complete victory of the
war. Samsonov and most of his corps
and division commanders were killed.
Perhaps 20 per cent, of the Russian force
escaped via Ortelsberg. The Germans
took nearly 90,000 prisoners and so much
artillery and booty that they had hard
work to handle it.
This tactical victory made von Hinden-
burg a national hero, for, with a smaller
force, he had surrounded and destroyed
the larger army. Von Hindenburg turned
north against Rennenkampf, who instant-
ly abandoned the attack on Konigsberg,
and retreated precipitately into Russia
via Gumbinnen, where he fought a rear-
guard action.
Poland and Galicia
To the south early in August the Ger-
mans crossed the frontier and occupied
without opposition several towns in
Western Poland, and from the mining
region began to ship coal back to Ger-
many via Posen.
In Galicia Austria concentrated for an
important campaign against Russian Po-
land. One army, whose base was at
Przemysl, was for the attack toward the
north, while the second army, with a base
at Lemberg, faced east. These armies
numbered over 300,000 men each.
The first army pushed north with no
very serious opposition. A Russian army
under General Ruzsky crossed the fron-
tier, took Sokal, and advanced upon Lem-
berg. General Brusiloff, with another
army, joined in the attack upon Lem-
berg. The fighting was general along a
line between the Vistula and the Dnies-
ter. Austria's plan was to take advan-
tage of the expected slowness of Russian
mobilization and strike without waiting
to be struck. To their astonishment they
soon met the armies of Ruzsky and Bru-
siloff, each with over a quarter of a mill-
ion men. A third and smaller Russian
army under General Ewerts was to en-
gage the Austrians while the larger ar-
mies should envelop them.
By Aug. 27 Brusiloff took Tarnopol
after a hard battle, and a few days later
he captured Halicz and proceeded to in-
vest Lemberg, which was in the hands
of the Russians by Sept. 3. In the
week's series of battles the Russians took
100,000 prisoners and great quantities of
ordnance abandoned by the Austrian
armies, whose retreat was a rout. From
Lemberg the Russians pursued the de-
moralized Austrians into the Carpathian
passes, taking many towns en route. To
the north, Ivanov, who had succeeded
Ewerts, attacked a mixed Austro-Ger-
man army under General Dankl and the
Archduke Joseph, and on Sept. 10 won a
splendid victory. At Rava Russka, von
Auffenberg, in command of Dankl's
right, was crushed and his army dis-
persed. The utterly defeated remnants
of the Austrian armies retreated to
Cracow, Przemysl, and Jaroslav. The
Austrians were expelled from Poland,
and the Russians were going deep into
Austria.
On the Serbian Front
When Austria declared war on July 28
a bombardment of the Serbian capital at
Belgrade began, but the Dual Monarchy
met unexpectedly stiff resistance when
attempts were made to cross the Danube.
A combined Serbian and Montenegrin
force invaded Bosnia, and advanced to-
ward Serajevo. On Aug. 17 a larger
Austrian army was soundly beaten at
Shabatz by a Serb force, and a few days
later they suffered another reverse on
the banks of the Jadar. Both defeats
were costly, and the Serbs took many
prisoners and much artillery. They
showed a surprising ability to withstand
whatever forces Austria dared divert
from the Russian front.
[Continuation in May Issue']
Naval Power in the Present War
By Lieutenant Charles C. Gill
United States Navy
This article, describing the concluding phases of the Battle of Jutland, is the fourth of
a series contributed to Current History Magazine by Lieutenant Gill of the superdreadnought
Oklahoma— with the sanction of the United States Naval Department— for the purpose of
deducing the naval lessons furnished by the sea engagements of the European war.
IV. — The Battle of Jutland — Continued
The Third Phase
The British Grand Fleet Joins in the Battle
DURING the first and second
phases of the battle the Grand
Fleet was closing at utmost
fleet speed on a southeast by
south course. Three battle cruisers, led by
Rea*r Admiral Hood in the Invincible, to-
gether with screening light cruisers and
destroyers, were in advance operating as
a fast wing. At 5:45 an outpost light
cruiser was engaged with a division of
German light cruisers. At 6:10 Admiral
Beatty's engaged squadron was sighted
by the Invincible. At 6:21 Admiral
Hood led his squadron into action, taking
station in the van just ahead of the Lion
and closing at 6:25 to a range of 8,000
yards. A few minutes later the Invinci-
ble was sunk by gun fire.
In the meanwhile the British battle
fleet was coming into action, filling the
previously mentioned gap opening up be-
tween Admiral Beatty and Rear Admiral
Evan Thomas. At 5:55 advanced British
armored cruisers, light cruisers, and de-
stroyers were engaged with German
cruisers and destroyers. At 6:16 the
armored cruisers Warrior, Black Prince,
and Defence under Sir Robert Arbuthnot
were drawn between the lines and dis-
abled by close-range fire from the Ger-
man battleships. At 6:14 Admiral Jelli-
coe formed the Grand Fleet in battle line,
and during deployment at 6:17 the first
battle squadron opened fire on a Ger-
man battleship of the Kaiser class. At
6:30 the other battle squadrons en-
gaged ships of the Konig class. The
four battleships of the Elizabeth class,
previously engaged during the second
phase, formed astern of the main battle
fleet. At this time the Warspite of this
fifth battle squadron had her helm jam
with right rudder, causing her to turn
toward the German line, where she was
subjected to severe fire, but the trouble
being soon corrected she was extricated
from this predicament. Admiral Jellicoe
reports:
Owing principally to the mist, but partly
to the smoke, it was possible to see only a
few ships at a time in the enemy's battle line.
Toward the van only some four or five ships
were ever visible at once. More could bo
seen from the rear squadron, but never mora
than eight to twelve. * * * The action be-
tween the battle fleets lasted intermittently
from 6:17 P. M. to 8:20 P. M., at ranges be-
tween 9,000 yards and 12,000 yards. During
this time the British fleet made alterations
of course from southeast by east to west
(168% degrees) in the endeavor to close, but
the enemy constantly turned away and
opened the . range under cover of destroyer
attacks and smoke screens. The alterations
of course had the effect of bringing the
British fleet (which commenced the action In
a position of advantage on the bow of the
enemy) to a quarterly bearing from the
enemy's battle line, but at the same time
placed us between the enemy and his bases.
During the somewhat brief periods that the
ships of the High Seas Fleet were visible
through the mist the heavy and effective
fire kept up by the battleships and battle
cruisers of the Grand Fleet caused me much
satisfaction, and the enemy vessels were
seen to be constantly hit, some being ob-
served to haul out of the line and at least
one to sink. The enemy's return fire at this
time was not effective and the damage
caused to our ships was insignificant.
Series of Local Actions
From the reports it appears that the
area of the battle was covered by mist
and smoke of varying density, inter-
spersed with sections wherein opposing
ships could see each other at the battle
range. This gave rise to a series of local
actions during which all ships of the
ss
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
DIAGRAM OF LATER PHASES OP BATTLE OP JUTLAND
battle fleet became engaged, but at no
time simultaneously. These detached
actions were for the most part between
few ships for brief periods. The aggre-
gate fighting, however, seems to have
been considerable, as may be gathered
from the following synopsis of the princi-
pal incidents reported by Admiral Jel-
licoe and Vice Admiral Beatty:
At (5:17 the third hattle squadron engaged
German battleships, battle cruisers, and light
cruisers at a range of 11,000 yards. The
fourth battle squadron, in which was placed
th" Commander in Chief's flagship Iron
Duke, engaged the battle squadron, consist-
ing of the Konig and Kaiser classes, as well
as some of the German battle cruisers and
light cruisers. The mist rendered range
taking difficult, but the fire of the squadron
was effective. The Iron Duke opened at
6 :30 on a battleship of the Konig class at
12,000 yards range, hitting on the second
salvo, and continuing to hit until the target
ship turned away. The fire of other ships of
the fourth squadron was principally directed
at enemy battle cruisers and cruisers as they
appeared out of the mist. The ships of the
second battle squadron were in action with
vessels of the Kaiser and Kftnig classes be-
tween 0 :"0 and 7:20, and fired also at a
battle cruiser which had dropped back, ap-
parently severely damaged. The first battle
NAVAL POWER IN THE PRESENT WAR
89
squadron received more of the return fire
than the remainder of the main fleet. The
Colossus was hit, but not seriously damaged,
and other ships were straddled with fair fre-
quency by the German salvos.
Admiral Jellicoe makes special men-
tion of the Marlborough of the third
battle squadron, stating that at 6:17 she
fired seven salvos at a German battleship
of the Kaiser class, then engaged a
cruiser and again a battleship. At 6:54
she was hit by a torpedo and took up a
considerable list to starboard, but at 7:03
reopened on a cruiser, and at 7:12 fired
fourteen rapid salvos at a battleship of
the Konig class, hitting her frequently
until she turned out of line. These details
in the case of the Marlborough permit
some rather interesting speculations. It
seems that this ship alone fired approxi-
mately between 200 and 250 13.5-inch
shells, each one weighing about 1,240
pounds, aggregating in the neighborhood
of 140 tons of high explosive steel shell,
at the effective battle range of 12,000
yards in the beginning and closing to 9,000
yards during the course of the action.
If this is at all indicative of the fighting
done by the other battleships of the main
body it is apparent that a considerable
weight of metal was let loose. In the
first and second phases it is estimated
that each of the ships under Vice Ad-
miral Beatty and Rear Admiral Thomas
fired four or five times this amount
(about 600 tons each) and the Germans
quite as much, if not more.
After the injury to the Marlborough
Vice Admiral Burney transferred his
flag to the Revenge.
It appears that the British battle
cruisers after the loss of the Invincible
were out of action for about half an hour.
At about 6:50 the two remaining ships
of Admiral Hood's squadron were ordered
to prolong Admiral Beatty's line astern,
and, having lost sight of the enemy, the
battle cruiser squadrons reduced speed
to 18 knots. Course was gradually
changed to south and then to southwest
in an effort to regain touch with the
enemy. At 7:14 two German battle cruis-
ers and two battleships were sighted at
about 15,000 yards range, bearing north-
westerly. At 7: 17 Admiral Beatty's ships
re-engaged and increased speed to 22
knots. At 7:32 the British battle cruisers
had again reduced speed to 18 knots.
German destroyers advanced, emitting
clouds of dark gray smoke, under which
screen the German capital ships turned
away and were lost sight of at 7:45.
British light cruisers were ordered to
sweep westward to regain touch, and at
8:20 Admiral Beatty ordered a westerly
course in support.
Climax of the Fighting
Soon afterward German battle cruis-
ers and battleships were heavily engaged
at 10,000 yards range. Admiral Beatty
reports that the leading ship was hit re-
peatedly by the Lion and turned out of
line eight points, emitting high flames;
that the Princess Royal set fire to a
three-funnel battleship, and that the New
Zealand and' Indomitable both engaged
the third ship, forcing her to haul out of
line on fire and heeling over. The mist
at this time shut them from view, but
the Falmouth reported the German ships
as last seen at 8:38 steam to the west-
ward. The British battle cruisers did not
regain touch, and at 9:24 changed to the
southerly course set by Admiral Jellicoe
for the battle fleet.
During the third phase the conditions
of mist and failing light favored torpedo
attack, but few details have as yet been
reported. The fourth light cruiser squad-
ron occupied a position in the van until
7:20 P. M., when they carried out orders
to attack German destroyers. Again at
8:18 P. M. this squadron moved out to
support the eleventh destroyer flotilla in
a torpedo attack. They came under a
heavy fire from the enemy battle fleet at
ranges between 6,500 and 8,000 yards,
but succeeded in firing torpedoes at Ger-
man battleships.
At 6:25 the third light cruiser squad-
ron attacked the German battle cruisers
with torpedoes, ' and the Indomitable re-
ported that a few minutes later a Ger-
man battle cruiser of the Derff linger
class fell out of line. This may have
been the Liitzow, as at about this time
Vice Admiral Hipper, while under a
heavy fire, transshipped his flag in a
torpedo boat from the disabled Liitzow
to the Derfflinger.
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NAVAL POWER IN THE PRESENT WAR
91
Losses on Both Sides
It is thus seen that during the third
phase, lasting from 6:15 to about 8:30
P. M., practically the entire British
Grand Fleet was engaged with practical-
ly the entire German High Seas Fleet.
Early in the phase the British armored
cruiser Defense (tonnage 14,600, carry-
ing four 9.2-inch guns and 755 men) was
sunk. At the same time the armored
cruiser Warrior (tonnage 13,500, carry-
ing six 9.2-inch guns and 704 men) and
her sister ship, the Black Prince, were
disabled. The Warrior was taken in tow
by the Engadine, but broke away dur-
ing rough weather in the night, and
sank after the crew had been taken off.
The Black Prince came in close contact
with a German battleship during the
night and was sunk by gunfire.
Between 6 and 6:30 the Germans lost
the light cruiser Wiesbaden. Rear Ad-
miral Hood's flagship, the Invincible,
(tonnage 17,250, carrying eight 12-inch
guns and 750 men,) was sunk soon after
engaging. The German battle cruiser
Liitzow (tonnage 28,000, carrying ten
12-inch guns and 750 men) was disabled,
and sank while returning to port. The
German battleship Pommern (tonnage
13,040, carrying four 11-inch guns and
750 men) was probably disabled during
the day battle and sunk in the night by
a torpedo. The German light cruisers
Frauenlob and Rostock were destroyed
in the evening fighting, while the light
cruiser Elbing was abandoned because
of damage due to collision with another
German ship. According to official ad-
mission, each side seems to have lost
about four destroyers, either during this
phase or during the night fighting.
The details of how Admiral Jellicoe
manoeuvred his ships into action have
not been disclosed, but the British battle
fleet probably approached with squad-
rons or divisions in line or line of bear-
ing. That is, the ships were in several
parallel columns on a southerly course,
with the leading ships in a line approxi-
mately east and west, at such a distance
apart as to permit all ships to swing into
one column, heading either east or west.
The deployment into a battle line head-
ing easterly seems to have been skill-
fully effected under trying conditions.
Just what the relative positions of the
two fleets were during this phase is not
known, but the British seem to have had
a tactical advantage in turning the Ger-
man van. The conditions of poor visi-
bility, however, did not permit them to
get full benefit of it, although they had
the German ships backed by the twilight
sky, an important advantage, which
must have increased as darkness ap-
proached.
Some criticism has been made of Ad-
miral Jellicoe for not pressing the retir-
ing enemy ships more closely, but it is
to be remembered that retiring ships are
in a favorable position for using mines
and torpedoes. Moreover, the mist and
the direction of the wind were helpful to
the destroyers in making a good smoke
screen for the Germans.
The Fourth Phase
Torpedo Attacks and Fighting During the Night
of May 31 to June /
Admiral Jellicoe reports that after the
arrival of the Grand Fleet the tactics of
the Germans were generally to avoid
further action, in which they were fa-
vored by conditions of visibility.
At this stage of the action, shortly
after 8:40, Admiral Jellicoe quotes Vice
Admiral Beatty as follows:
In view of the gathering darkness, and
the fact that our strategical position was
such as to make it appear certain that we
should locate the enemy at daylight under
most favorable circumstances, I did not
consider it desirable or proper to close the '
enemy battle fleet during the dark hours.
Admiral Jellicoe then reports:
At 9 P. M. the enemy was entirely out
of sight, and the threat of torpedo boat
destroyer attacks during the rapidly ap-
proaching darkness made it necessary for
me to dispose of the fleet for the night, with
a view to its safety from such attacks, while
providing for a renewal of action at day-
light. I accordingly manoeuvred to remain
between the enemy and his bases, placing
our flotillas in a position in which they
would afford protection to the fleet from de-
stroyer attack and at the same time be
favorably situated for attacking the enemy's
heavy ships.
The British fleet, after making dis-
positions to guard against night tor-
pedo attacks, steamed at moderate
92
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
speed on southerly courses. During the
night the British heavy ships were not
engaged, but Admiral Jellicoe reports
that the British Fourth, Eleventh,
Twelfth, and Thirteenth Flotillas deliv-
ered a series of successful torpedo at-
tacks.
Apart from the proceedings of the
flotillas, the second light-cruiser squad-
ron, stationed in the rear of the battle
fleet, was in close action for about fif-
teen minutes at 10:20 P. M. with a Ger-
man squadron, comprising one cruiser
and four light cruisers. In this action
the Southampton and the Dublin suf-
fered rather heavy casualties, although
their steaming and fighting qualities
were not seriously impaired.
This night fighting comprises an in-
teresting and perhaps an important
phase of the battle, but too little is
known about it at this time to permit
profitable discussion. During both the
day and night conditions were favorable
for the use of torpedoes. Destroyer .at-
tacks seem to have been numerous, per-
sistent, and daring. It may be assumed
that a great many torpedoes were fired,
but the resulting damage does not appear
to have been very extensive.
The German fleet after nightfall prob-
ably steered a southwesterly course at
somewhat reduced speed because of dam-
aged ships. It should be kept in mind
that the fleet speed of the British was
20 knots. The fleet speed of the Ger-
mans was 17 knots, as their dreadnoughts
had been eked out with predreadnought
battleships of less speed.
Of course, to deceive the enemy, Ad-
miral Scheer may have set a different
course, such as toward the nearest land
to the eastward; but it seems more rea-
sonable that he tried to ease around the
British fleet in the general direction of
his Heligoland base.
Early on the morning of June 1 (3 A.
M.) Admiral Jellicoe's battle fleet was to
the westward of Horn Reef, some ninety
miles from the battlefield, as shown on
the chart. The British fleet then turned
to the northward and retraced its course.
Visibility was three to four miles. Ad-
miral Jellicoe reports that the British
fleet remained in the proximity of the
battlefield and near the line of approach
to German ports until 11 A. M., June 1;
that the position of the British fleet must
have been known to the enemy, because at
4 A. M. the fleet engaged for about five
minutes a Zeppelin which had ample op-
portunity to note and subsequently to re-
port the position and course of the British
fleet ; that the waters from the latitude of
Horn Reef to the scene of the action were
thoroughly searched, but no enemy ships
sighted; and that at 1:15 P. M., it being
evident that the German fleet had suc-
ceeded in returning to port, course was
shaped for British bases, which were
reached without further incident. By
9:30 P. M. of the next day, June 2, the
fleet having fueled and replenished with
ammunition, was reported ready for fur-
ther action.
Results of the Battle
The conduct of the British fleet on the
morning of June 1, retracing its tracks
to the northward over the battle area —
apparently searching the least likely
places to find enemy ships — raises a lot
of perplexing questions. On the chart,
Page 88, it is evident that, if the Ger-
man fleet was trying to ease around the
British fleet from the westward toward
its bases, it must have been in the shaded
area, whether using fleet speed of 17
knots for five hours, or more likely, say,
12 knots for that time. If, as suggested
above, Admiral Scheer had taken an east-
erly course, with perhaps the Skagerrack
in mind in case of emergency, the Ger-
man fleet must have been to the eastward
of the course taken by the British fleet in
the night — which would seem the one
lane where the German fleet could not be
located.
With the Grand Fleet in position to put
itself between the German High Seas
Fleet and its bases, why was there no de-
cisive engagement? The fleets could
not have been very far apart. Consider-
ing that the June nights between evening
and morning twilight are only five hours
long in these latitudes, and also consid-
ering the numerous scouts, both German
and British, it looks as though they
should have been pretty well informed of
each other's whereabouts. But before
NAVAL POWER IN THE PRESENT WAR
93
criticising Admiral Jellicoe for not seek-
ing an engagement in the vicinity of
Heligoland it might be well to reflect
upon the conditions confronting him on
that morning: Visibility only three to
four miles; close to enemy bases and
comparatively far from home bases; a
fleet somewhat knocked about after the
previous day's fighting, and no doubt a
number of the ships short of both fuel
and ammunition; destroyers and light
cruisers scattered, many more or less
damaged, and perhaps the majority with
torpedoes expended; an enemy skilled in
the use of submarines and mines.
Because of these conditions, and since
the success of the allied cause and the
safety of the British Empire depend
upon the Grand Fleet, there appear to
be few grounds for questioning Admiral
Jellicoe's wisdom in safeguarding his
ships against the submarine and mine
traps laid for them in the vicinity of
Heligoland Bight. It is significant that
the British Admiralty Staff, which com-
prises those who know most and care
most about the conduct of the fleet, ap-
pears to be well satisfied with the way
the ships were handled.
It is hard for persons unused to the
sea to visualize the conditions and cir-
cumstances attending this engagement.
Even seagoing men of excellent balance
are liable, when transplanted tempora-
rily to the tranquillity of a war college,
to be somewhat influenced by en-
vironment, and, while in enthusiastic
search of illustration for pet theories,
they may overlook or fail to give due
weight to modifying factors which can-
not be simulated on the game board.
Students of tactics on shore make their
decisions after study and discussion in
the comfortable quiet of a well-lighted
room, and then use T square and ruler
to move their miniature ships on a mo-
tionless wooden ocean. The fighters of
the Jutland battle faced quite a dif-
ferent proposition. Decisions had to be
made quickly, accurately transmitted by
signal, and promptly carried out on a
sea darkened by mist, smoke, and ap-
proaching night. All this had to be
done, moreover, in the midst of battle,
under the strain of apprehension, in the
uncertainties of meagre and conflicting
information.
Which side won and which side suf-
fered the more damage — these are and
for some time probably will continue to
be debatable questions. Great Britain
and Germany both claim a victory, and
one's point of view seems to determine
which of these two opinions is accepted.
Very likely history will judge the battle
indecisive. As to the damage inflicted,
present official British and German ad-
missions show that Great Britain lost
a greater tonnage in ships actually sunk,
but this is by no means conclusive evi-
dence that the British fleet suffered
greater punishment than did the Ger-
man fleet. A careful study of the re-
ports of the battle as well as sidelights,
such as the official veil of secrecy en-
shrouding the German fleet and the fact
that an honorary degree has been con-
ferred upon the Chief Constructor of the
German Navy because of the structural
merits of German warships, especially
with regard to their non-sinkability aft-
er injury, all indicate that many British
shells and torpedoes found their mark.
The chief losses, moreover, occurred in
the battle cruiser squadrons. The bat-
tleship line, the backbone of British sea
power, was not shorn of a single unit.
As regards general results, the mili-
tary situation does not seem to have
been much changed. British sea power
is still supreme and exerting its inex-
orable pressure; the German High Seas
Fleet is still a fleet in being and a men-
ace to its enemies.
The following is the British statement
of losses:
BATTLE CRUISERS
Ton- Armor Main
nage. Belt. Battery. Sp'd.Men.C'p'd
Queen Mary. 27,000 9 in. 8 13.5-in. 28 1,000 '13
Indef gable .18,750 8 in. 8 12-in. 26 899 '11
Invincible ...17,250 7 in. 8 12-in. 26 750 '08
ARMORED CRUISERS
Defense ....14,600 6 in. 4 9.2-in. 23 755 '08
Bl'k Prince.. 13, 550 6 in. 6 9.2-in. 20.5 704 '06
Warrior ....13,550 6 in. 6 9.2-in. 22.9 704 '08
DESTROYERS
Tipperary ... 1,900 31 160 '14
Turbulent
Fortune 920 29.50 100 '12
Sp'w Hawk.. 950 3 4-in. 31.32 100 '12
Ardent 950 3 4-in. 31.32 100 '12
Nomad
Nestor
Shark 950 3 4-in. 31.32 100 '12
94
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
The German losses reported by the
German Admiralty are:
Pommern
BATTLESHIP
Ton- Arma-
nage. ment.
.13,040 4 11-in.
14 6.7-in.
Date
Bp'd, Completion.
19
BATTLE CRUISER
Lutzow 28,000 8 12-in. J
1907
1915
12 6-in.
LIGHT CRUISERS
Rostock —
Frauenlob .
.. 4,820 12 4.1-in. 27.3
.. 2.656 10 4.1-in. 21.5
1914
1903
NEW LTGHT CRUISERS •*
Elbing
Wiesbaden
DESTROYERS
Five
TOTAL TONNAGE LOST
British 117.150
German 60,720
TOTAL PERSONNEL LOST
•British 6,105
German 2,414
[The fifth article of this series will
appear in May.}
A German Story of the Sinking of the Lutzow
THE Telegraaf of Amsterdam has
published a statement made by a
deserter from the German Navy,
a seaman of the first class who had been
six years in the navy and received the
Iron Cross after the Jutland battle. He
stated that in the Jutland battle he was
aboard the Lutzow, which was sunk.
Over 1,000 were saved of her crew, which
totaled 1.600. He was taken aboard a
destroyer, which was sunk five minutes
later. The following remarkable details
of the sinking of the Lutzow formed part
of his narrative:
It was 8 o'clock in the evening. We were
first hit by a torpedo behind the foremast be-
low the water line. The torpedo penetrated
the walls and exploded within the ship, kill-
ing and wounding a great number of men
and destroying the food store. The water-
tight compartment before the engine room
held good, and everything was done to sup-
port the bulkhead, with the object of pre-
serving the ship. Gradually, however, her
condition became hopeless. The staff left
the vessel about 10 P. M., the crew remaining
on duty. After the staff had been transferred
to a torpedo boat the Lutzow received an-
other hit, which destroyed the wireless room
beneath the bridge. Every one within was
killed. Afterward the ship received four
severe hits from fifteen-inch shells. She was
now proceeding at only three miles an hour.
At 3 o'clock in the morning the vessel ap-
peared to be lost, and we were ordered to
leave the ship. Four torpedo boats received
1,003 men surviving out of 1,000. Three hun-
dred wounded remained on board, whom it
was impossible to remove. Our torpedo boat
was not 100 yards from the Lutzow when it
was attacked by five English destroyers and
two small cruisers. Our vessel was tor-
pedoed and quickly sank. Three other
German torpedo boats thereupon took us over.
Some time afterward the torpedo boat I was
on was hit near the engine room. An order
then arrived to retire from further operations
by developing smoke. A heavy screen of
smoke hid us and the Lutzow from the
English. That was our salvation.
To save her from falling into English hands
we were ordered to sink the Lutzow with 300
of her own wounded on board. This order
was executed. One of our torpedo boats tor-
pedoed this great German ship, which quickly
sank, carrying with it our 300 wounded into
the depths. The English then left us in
peace, and proceeded in the direction where
the Lutzow had sunk. Apparently they had
not seen through the screen of smoke that the
Lutzow had sunk. While they were vainly
seeking the ship we escaped and steamed
at full power southward for thirteen hours.
We were then taken over by the small cruiser
Regensburg, in which we steamed for five
hours more before our return at midnight to
Wilhelmshaven.
It is remarkable that all our ships hit in
the Jutland battle were hit in the forepart.
Many ships were severely damaged while
proceeding homeward. All the badly dam-
aged vessels have been repaired, and new
ships are serving, or are shortly to serve, in
the fleet. Among the new ships are the
Baden, Bayern, and Hindenburg. Shortly
also there will be a new Emden, while a new
Karlsruhe is already in active service. An
Ersatz Bliicher is on the stocks in Danzig
Dockyard. The Derfflinger, which was seri-
ously damaged in the Jutland battle, is again
in service. The dockyards are now exclu-
sively constructing submarines and large
cruisers, because the greatest losses have
been suffered in these types.
r* RHEIMS, THE DESERTED CITY
*32BPSP&m
This Lonely Woman, Still Faithful to the Martyr City, Only
Emphasizes the Emptiness of the Once Busy Streets
(Pfyoto Central News Service)
sS
0
AN ITALIAN MINE LAYER
I-
A Mine Laying Vessel Sowing Its Deadly Freight Under
Full Headway. The Mines Are Dropped at
Carefully Charted Points
(Photo Cvntral N9W9 Service)
i
.. v'L'^.rvivv.-
m
> <srra
Comparative Strength of Navies Today
By Thomas G. Frothingham
Member of Military Historical Society of Mas-
sachusetts and of the United States Naval Institute
II. — The United States Navy and Others
O <2)
U. S. S. ROANOKE, 1863
Seagoing Turret Vessel
Armament: two 15-inch, two 11-inch, two 150-pdr. rifled guns. Armor: lVi-in.
wrought-iron deck in two layers of % in. each, and side armor, 4^ in. at top, 3^ in.
at bottom; wrought-iron plates 4 ft. below and 6 ft. above waterline.
AS was explained in Part I. of this
/\ article, the United States Navy
JL JLfell back in tonnage from second
to third place in the period of
foreign naval increase, from 1906 to
1911. Through all these years our navy
was restricted to the two-battleships-a-
year program.
Fortunately, as has been shown when
making comparisons with the British and
German navies, tonnage does not tell the
whole story. The United States Navy
has been the leader in the development
of the " all-big-gun " battleship of today,
called the " dreadnought." From the first
single-turret ship, the Monitor, to the
two-turret monitors, then to the U. S. S>
Roanoke — these were the three great
strides in such ships designed by the
United States Navy in the epoch-making
times of the civil war, which led to the
plan of big guns in turrets aligned over
the keel.
With the present article are shown
plans of the U. S. S. Roanoke and U. S.
S. Michigan. The design of this last ship
has been imitated by all the navies in
their dreadnoughts. The design of her
parent ship, the Roanoke, will be of in-
terest because some of the foreign navies
have reverted to the plan of the Roanoke,
as will be seen later. N
In the recognized first essentials of
sea power the strength of the United
States Navy is given as follows:
UNITED STATES NAVY— BUILT AND
BUILDING
Dreadnoughts 17
Predreadnought battleships 21
The United States Navy has no battle
cruisers.
As the object of this article is to give
the strength of the navies at correspond-
ing stages of their building programs,
two of the dreadnoughts should be
omitted from this list, the Tennessee and
California, as their percentage completed
is small. The three ships of the class of
the Mississippi, recently launched, should
be included on this basis, as these three
ships might be hurried to completion, in
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
U. S. S. MICHIGAN, 1906
Armament: eight 12-in. 45 cal. B. L. R., twenty-two 3-in. 50 cal. R. F., four
3-pdr. saluting. Armor belt: 10' in., 11 in., 12 in., at top; 8 in., 9 in., 10 in., at
bottom. Casemate: 8 in. at top; 10 in. at bottom. Side plating forward and aft,
1%-in. nickel steel. Protective deck forward, 1%-in., after, 3-in. nickel ■teel.*
•By courtesy of U. S. Naval Institute Proceedings.
U. S. S. PENNSYLVANIA
Length, 600 feet. Beam, 97 feet. Mean draught, 28 5-6 feet.
Ahead: 6 — 14 in. Broadside: 12 — 14 in. Astern: 6 — 14 in.
view of the indicated non-completion of
the building programs of the British and
German Navies. A look at the chart on
Page 90 showing battle formation in
Lieutenant Gill's article, will confirm
what was said about this in Part I. of
this article. The dates of the ships are
conclusive.
Consequently, the dreadnoughts in the
corresponding program of the United
States Navy should be fifteen.
The Battle Fleet
Above is given the plan of U. S. S.
Pennsylvania. As will be seen, this ship
is the developed design of the Michigan,
with three guns in each turret instead of
two. It is probably safe to say that this
ship and her sister ship, the Arizona, are
the most powerful battleships in the
world. The nearest approach would be
the Japanese battleships of the Fu-So
class. The Japanese ships, while closely
imitating ours in armament, followed
our earlier design of the Arkansas, also
shown, in which the twelve guns are
carried in six turrets instead of four.
This arrangement of turrets in the
Japanese battleships has made necessary
COMPARATIVE STRENGTH OF NAVIES TODAY 97
a longer hull and armor spread over Battle Cruisers.
more turrets — a less powerful fort with No- Jl
less available guns. It • • • • 35-000 35 10 14"in-
The recent building program of our 5^
first-line dreadnought battleships is « * ' ' * Characteristic« not determined
given below: Scout Cruisers.
0 No. 4 Seattle
Comp'd . Displace- Speed 51
in— Name. ment. Armament. Knots. 6 } 7,100 35
1912.. Arkansas ... 26,000? ,0 ,0 . 121.05 7J
1912.. Wyoming ... 26,000 ( 12 12"m } 21.22 81
1913. .Texas 27,000 10 14-in 21.0 9|
^::^adTa°rk:::: &&{ ""f- &% lt\ -• Characteristics not determined
1915.. Oklahoma ... 27,500 J 1U 14_in 120.05 12 1
1916.. Pennsylvania. 31,400 ?.,, ... . M _ 13
1916. .Arizona 31,400 [ 12 14"m- •• • 21.05 J _ •
Idaho 32,000^1 From the foregoing table it will be
N?w Mexico.'. 1,000/ 12 14"in"" 2L° seen that a Sreat ^crease of the United
5 55 S
U. S. S. ARKANSAS
Length, 554 feet. Beam, 93% feet. Mean draught, 28% feet.
Ahead: 4 — 12 in. Broadside: 12 — 12 in. Astern: 4 — 12 in.
In addition to the dreadnought battle-
ships of the first line, it should be under-
stood that our predreadnought battle-
ships are better than those of other
navies. Our consistent policy of making
the gun the main thing has given many
of these second-line battleships a clear
title to be factors in a battle of modern
fleets.
UNITED STATES VESSELS BUILDING
AND AUTHORIZED
Name. Displace- Main Where
Battleships, ment. Sp'd. battery. building.
Tennessee . 32,300 21 12 14-in. New York
California . 32,300 21 12 14-in. Mare Island
Colorado. . . -s (Camden
Maryland. . . I q2 fsnn oi o1fiiJ N'port News
Washington p"»ww 21 8 16"ln-1 Camden
W. Virginia J ^N'port News
No. 49""
50
g2 J" • • • Characteristics not determined
53
54.
States Navy has been authorized. As
this is for future years it has nothing
to do with this article. But the program
is here given because some of its fea-
tures point out the real weakness of our
navy — our weakness in auxiliaries of the
battle fleet.
Auxiliaries of Battle Fleet
Our lack of battle cruisers does not
now seem the fatal defect so often pro-
claimed in the first months of the war.
Battle cruisers are not now considered
equal to the task of standing up against
battleships. The development of the
submarine has lessened the raiding value
of the battle cruiser, which was thought
destined to be the knight errant of the
seas. In consequence, the tactical use of
battle cruisers, by such a navy as the
08
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
German or Japanese, against a navy
without battle cruisers, seems restricted
to the use of these ships as scout cruisers
and screen.
Undoubtedly they would give great
trouble to such a fleet as ours, but their
limitations are now realized. As will
be seen from the above table, unless
there is some change, we are to build
six battle cruisers in our three-year pro-
gram. It is possible that we may be the
last to build them.
The authorization of ten scout cruis-
ers draws attention to the real weakness
and greatest need of our navy. We have
absolutely no scouts in the modern sense
of the word — and from the great sums
given by Congress to the navy a large
number of these ships should be built as
soon as possible. .
In destroyers also we are below the
needs of our fleet. We have sixty-three
built and building. The tactics of the
battle of Jutland and the development of
the torpedo and submarine indicate an
increased value for these craft. A great
number should be built as soon as pos-
sible. Many are authorized in the future
program — and these should be rushed to
completion.
Fortunately, without any guiding wis-
dom of our own, the war has given our
country great elements of preparedness.
Where there were practically no high
explosives available, we now have a great
stock on hand. Many kinds of munitions
of war are available for seizure in our
emergency.
The same conditions have developed an
efficient type of submarine that has been
built — and can be built — in great num-
bers in an unprecedentedly short time.
This is fortunate for our nation, as in
our problem of defense submarines will
be of great value. Our coasts are long,
and the danger of raids by battle cruisers
was very real before the war developed
the submarine. Now only specially built
monitors dare to stay near a coast long
enough to attempt a serious bombard-
ment.
Aircraft are now given a vogue, in
spite of the fact that in the war very
small tactical results have resulted from
the great sums expended on them. Out-
side of the limitations imposed on their
use by the weather, the development of
anti-aircraft guns compels them to fly at
such great heights that their usefulness
is diminished. It is obvious that we
should have some of these craft of a
reliable type — but there should not be a
great deal of money and energy diverted
to aircraft. Their usefulness at sea is
greatly diminished, because they are un-
able to navigate. Out of sight of land, or
out of sight of the mother ship, they
are lost.
Armament
The details of the principal guns of
the United States Navy were given in
Part I. of this article. The twelve dread-
noughts completed of the battle fleet
carry sixty-four 12-inch guns and sixty-
four 14-inch guns. The three ships of
the Mississippi class will add thirty-six
14-inch guns to this total.
In addition to these, the two ships of
the Michigan class, which are more pow-
erful than many foreign dreadnoughts,
carry sixteen 12-inch guns. Of the other
predreadnought battleships six carry
twenty-four 45-calibre 12-inch guns, and
eight carry thirty-two 40-calibre 12-inch
guns, which would make these ships
factors in any battle of modern fleets.
This cannot be said to the same extent
of the predreadnought battleships of the
other navies. Every gun in this list is
available for a broadside because all our
big guns are carried in turrets aligned
over the keel.
The shortage of men is too much em-
phasized in current comment on our navy.
It should be realized that we have a high-
ly trained personnel, that even the sec-
ond-line ships in reserve are in being
with skeleton crews — and that we have
unusually intelligent classes to draw
upon for our war strength.
Great Britain's lesson in unprepared-
ness should be studied by our country.
On land and sea it was not the lack of
men that was the trouble. It was the
lack of weapons for the men.
On land our energies should be con-
centrated on providing munitions and
equipment — on the sea to provide ma-
COMPARATIVE STRENGTH OF NAVIES TODAY
99
rn — rn
FRENCH DREADNOUGHT NORMANDIE
Length, 574 feet. Beam, 92 feet. Maximum draught, 28% fe<
(roadside: 12 — 13.4
Astern: 4 — 13.4 in
terial is still more urgent. Great as is
the need of more trained men for our
navy, our need of scouts is outstanding;
and with every resource of American in-
genuity we should hasten the building of
a fleet of scout cruisers.
The French Navy
The French Navy was for many years
second only to the British Navy, but in
the abnormal increase from 1906 to
1911 there was no effort made to keep
pace with Great Britain and Germany —
and this was probably wise from the
peculiar situation of France. The
strength of the French Navy in the main
accepted essentials is as follows:
FRENCH NAVY— BUILT AND BUILDING
Dreadnoughts 12
Predreadnought battleships 17
The French Navy has no battle
cruisers.
The known recent building program is
as follows:
Comp'd Displace- Speed
in— Name. ment. Armament. Knots.
1915. .Bretagne 23,172]
1915..Loraine 23,172 }-10 13.4-inch. . 20.0
1915. .Provence 23, 172 J
1916. .Normandie . . .24,828]
1916..Languedoc ... 24,828 |
1916. .Flandre 24,828 [-12 13.4-inch. . 21.5
191G..Gascogne 24, 828 1
1917.. Beam 24,828 J
As will be seen from the plans of the
Normandie given above, the French have
reverted to the plan of U. S. S. Roanoke,
with three turrets aligned over the keel —
but with four guns in each turret. No
other navy has adopted this arrangement
of guns.
The French have always designed and
FRENCH NAVAL GUN IN USE ON THE
WESTERN FRONT
(© Underwood d Underwood.)
100
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
built good battleships — and French ships
have been of great use in the Mediter-
ranean and elsewhere. But with the fear-
ful drain of all the resources of France
necessary to maintain her battle front, it
is safe to say that not only has there
been no completion of her naval building
program, but that many of her ships are
not now in active commission.
It is now known that equality in heavy
artillery on the western front was only
established by use of the French naval
guns — many of them actually taken from
French warships. Probably the French
Navy was also drawn upon for men in
this great emergency. Consequently the
French Navy should be considered as a
power in abeyance — not in proportion to
its building program.
In auxiliaries of the battle fleet France
is well equipped. Her submarines in par-
ticular are known to be very good,
although, as has been the case with the
British Navy, there has not been much
chance to use them.
The Japanese Navy
The strength of the Japanese Navy in
the first essentials in the known building
program is as follows:
JAPANESE NAVY-BUILT AND BUILD-
ING
Dreadnoughts 6
Predreadnought battleships 13
Battle cruisers ' 4
The recent building program, so far as
known, is as follows:
DREADNOUGHTS
Comp'd Displace- Speed
in— Name, ment. Armament. Knots.
1912. . KawachJ .... 20,800) r> io_inch 20 R
1915. .Pu-So 30,600]
ll»l»». . Yamashiro ... HO^Hll.oii in„h .>•>,.
1916.. Ise :;o.<;oor1J 14'incn"--- "
11)17.. Hinga 30,000 J
BATTLE CRUISERS
1918. .Kongo 27,500 I R 14 inrh I 28,0
19l4..HJyei 27,500 ) 8 14inch- • • I27.0
1014. .Kirishima . . . 27,500 } s 1 . . . S 28.0
1915. .Haruna 27,500 S 8 14"inch- "' \ 28.0
The first two dreadnoughts have the
ineffective arrangement of the turrets of
the German Helgoland class, (Part I.,
Figure 2.) The four dreadnoughts of
the Fu-So class are formidable battle-
ships, but, as explained above, they have
followed the design of the Arkansas, and
are probably not as powerful as the bat-
tleships of the Pennsylvania design.
The Japanese predreadnought battle-
ships are not as good as those of the
United States Navy.
As a matter of course Japan, like the
other nations at war, has given out no
naval information since she entered
the war. Undoubtedly there has been a
great increase of the Japanese building
program, but it is not probable that any
new capital ships are ready for service.
The Battle Cruisers
As in the case of the British Navy, it
will be noted that the Japanese naval
program did not include battle cruisers
for completion later than 1915. Whether
:=Q3Q \j^\o^=^a
i — i — i — i — ■"
JAPANESE DREADNOUGHT FU-SO
Ahead: 4 — 14 in.
Length. 673 f
Broadside: 12 — 11 in.
Astern: 4 — 14 in.
COMPARATIVE STRENGTH OF NAVIES TODAY
101
JAPANESE BATTLE CRUISER KONGO
Length, 704 feet. Beam, 92 feet. Maximum draught, 29% feet.
Ahead: 4 — 14 in. Broadside: 8 — 14 in. Astern: 4 — 14 in.
or not other ships of this class have, been
recently laid down is not known.
The four battle cruisers in the Japan-
ese building program probably make up
the most powerful squadron of their class
afloat today, but it is also possible that
the Japanese regret building these ships
instead of battleships. Their fine arma-
ment is carried on hulls that cannot be
trusted to resist a serious combat with
battleships. Their tactical use would
greatly embarrass such a battle fleet as
our own, but they cannot any longer be
considered a menace.
In all the auxiliaries of the battle fleet
it may be .assumed that the progressive
Japanese are well equipped. In guns they
have closely followed us — and it is prob-
able that they are going to larger cali-
bres, as is the United States Navy.
The Russian Navy
In the matter of sea power Russia has
been at a disadvantage through being
obliged to maintain two separate navies
— the Baltic fleet and the Black Sea fleet.
This unusual condition has come from
closing the Dardanelles to Russian war-
ships. Their strength in first essentials
is as follows:
..
S^2 ! 3 ; 4 ; s ; 6 -i 7 j a ; e j w j \\ j «( j » j w j' » ] . *. ; n I » J » ! 20
^V^ *4%L
RUSSIAN DREADNOUGHT GANGOOT
Length, 590% feet. Beam, 85% feet. Mean draught, 27% feet.
Ahead: 3—12 in. Broadside: 12—12 in. Astern: 3—12 in.
102
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
a
RUSSIAN BATTLE CRUISER BORODINO
Ahead: 3—14
Guns:
in.
•14 in., 20—5.1 in.
Broadside: 9 — 14
Torpedo tubes
in. Astern:
J— 14 in.
RUSSIAN NAVY— BUILT AND BUILDING
Dreadnoughts 7
Predreadnought battleships 7
Battle cruisers 4
The known building program of dread-
noughts is as follows:
Comp'd Displace- Speed
in— Name. merit. Armament. Knots.
1914.. Sevastopol .. 23,0261
1014. . Petropavlovsk 23,020 ll9 19 .-.-y, Oo n
1014. .Poltava 23,026 fl- "-«»ch. . . . Jd.u
1914..Gangoot 23,026 J
lOU^Imp'sa Maria 22,4351
Imp. Alex. Ill 2l2,4:',r> J. 12 12-inch 21.0
l915..Ekaterina II.. 22,435 J
Of these the last three are for the
Black Sea fleet. It will be observed that
the Russian dreadnoughts are turret
ships of the Roanoke design, with four
turrets instead of three — and three guns
in each turret.
ment. Armament. Knots.
32,000]
12 14-inch.
25.0
The program is as follows:
RUSSIAN BATTLE CRUISERS
Comp'd Displace- Speed
in— Name.
L916..Navarin .
1016.. Borodino 32,000
1 01 *',.. Ismail 32,000 f
1916..Kinburn 32,000 J
In these Russian battle cruisers we
find again the design of the Roanoke,
with three guns in each turret instead of
two.
Knowing the pressure that the war has
brought upon Russia, it seems impossible
that this building program of dread-
noughts and battle cruisers has been
completed in any degree that would make
the Russian Navy a factor in the balance
of sea power at this time.
T77T
ITALIAN DREADNOUGHT GIULIO CESARE
Length, 575% feet Beam, 91% feet. Mean draught, 27% feet.
Ahead: 5 — 12 in. Broadside: 13 — 12 in. Astern: 5—12 in.
COMPARATIVE STRENGTH OF NAVIES TODAY 103
, ,
Russia, however, is well provided with be realized that the country has probably
destroyers, having an unusual number of been too much occupied in other fields to
these craft for a navy of its size. carry out this ambitious naval program.
The Italian Navy The Hungarian Navy
The corresponding strength of the Austria-Hungary's known strength in
Italian Navy is as follows: first essentials of sea power is given as
ITALIAN NAVY— BUILT AND BUILDING follows:
Dreadnoughts 9 Dreadnoughts 8
Predreadnought battleships 7 Predreadnought battleships \. '...'.] 6
The Italian Navy has no battle The Austro-Hungarian Navy has no
cruisers. The latest construction in the battle cruisers. The recent known build-
known building program is as follows: ing program is as follows:
Comp'd Displace- Speed AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN NAVY-BUILT AND
in— Name. ment. Armament. Knots. -dtttt mxTn ■^ms
1913..Giulio Cesare 22,022 13 12-inch 22.5 BUILDING
• 1914.. C'ti di Cavour 22,022 13 12-inch.... 22.5 Comp'd Displace- Speed
l^I-^i1roeaD°ria-2222|§!}^12-inch.... 22.5 19^ . ViHbuTunitis ^A—nt. Knots.
1917'. :?arraciolo- '. \ '. 30^0 jgS' 'l^fe i« T 12"inCh' ' ' " 21°
Jg?::^°cflSS?bnoa iffl[8^-inch 25.0 1914::^ent Istvan! W 12 12-inch. .. . 21.0
1917. .F'co-Morosini. 30.000J },{ [ ] ;g£« 8£?\ - \ U;Sg\
The Italian naval constructors have (*)... One ship 24,500flu w-^inch--- 21.0
, i -n-r i 1 At. u • (x)...One ship 24,500 j
been very skillful — and the above is an . .
advanced program calculated to make It is improbable that this program has
Italy, if not a great naval power, a been carried through to any degree. It is
valuable ally to any naval power. The much more likely that with German as"
turret plan shown above should be stance Austria-Hungary has been de-
noted, as it provides an ingenious way votin^ her energies to submarines-and
of mounting thirteen heavy guns— and has thus become a factor in the war of
it is unique among the navies of the destruction now being waged in the Medi-
world. terranean.
But, again in the case of Italy, it must (1) Time due t0 be completed unknown.
f-iJXux
AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN DREADNOUGHT VIRIBUS UNITTS
Length, 496 feet. Beam, 89% feet. Mean draught, 27 feet.
Ahead: 6 — 12 in. Broadside: 12 — 12 in. Astern: 6 — 12 In.
Austria-Hungary's Submarine Note
Reply to the United States
A USTRIA-HUNGARY'S new Ambas-
/\ sador to the United States, Count
jLjl Tarnowski von Tarnow, successor
to Dr. Dumba, arrived in Wash-
ington almost simultaneously with the an-
nouncement of Germany's new policy of
sinking all merchant ships without warn-
ing. Before accepting the credentials of
Count Tarnowski, the United States Gov-
ernment decided that it must know the
attitude of his Government oh this vital
subject. Accordingly on Feb. 18 a note was
dispatched to Vienna asking for a defi-
nite and full statement as to the stand
which the Dual Monarchy had assumed
regarding submarine warfare, and in-
quiring whether the assurances given to
the United States at the time of the sink-
ing of the Ancona and Persia were to be
regarded as changed or withdrawn.
Frederic C. Penfield, American Ambas-
sador at Vienna, handed this memoran-
dum to Count Czernin, the Austro-Hun-
garian Foreign Minister, and the status
of the new Ambassador remained one of
suspense pending a reply.
Text of American Note
' The text of the United States Govern-
ment's inquiry of Feb. 18, as reported
through the European press, is as fol-
lows:
In Note 4,107 of Dec. 9, 1915, the American
Government laid down the points of view
whereby it was guided regarding the activity
of submarines in naval warfare. These points
of view were on an earlier occasion clearly
expressed to the German Government, and
the United States Government was of the
opinion that the Austro-Hungarian Govern-
ment was acquainted therewith. The Austro-
Hungarian Government replied with Note
n,7.;.j of Dec. 14, 1915, wherein it declared it
had neither adequate knowledge of the ex-
change of ideas which had taken place be-
tween the United States and Germany nor
was of the opinion that even complete knowl-
edge would suffice for judgment in regard to
the Ancona incident, as the questions arising
from this incident bore a different character.
Nevertheless, the Austro-Hungarian For-
eign Ministry declared, in Note 5,949 of Dec.
21, 1915 : " As regards the principle set up
in the United States Government's very es-
teemed note, that enemy private ships, pro-
vided they do not flee or offer resistance,
should not be destroyed before the passengers
are placed in safety, the Austro-Hungarian
Government is in a position to assent in the
main to this view of the Washington Cab-
inet."
Further, the Austro-Hungarian Government
on the occasion of the sinking of the steamer
Persia in January, 1916, declared that, al-
though not informed regarding this incident,
it would "be guided by the principles whereto
it agreed in the Ancona affair, should events
prove that responsibility falls on Austria-
Hungary in this matter.
Simultaneously with the communication
from the German Government on the 10th
of January, 1916, the Austro-Hungarian Gov-
ernment declared that every merchant ship
which for whatever purpose was armed with
a gun forfeits by this circumstance alone the
character of a peaceful vessel, and that in
consideration of these circumstances the Aus-
tro-Hungarian naval forces had received or-
ders to treat such vessels as warships. In
conformity with this declaration, ships
whereon were American citizens were sunk
in the Mediterranean, presumably by Austro-
Hungarian submarines. Some of these ships,
for example the English steamer Welsh
Prince, were torpedoed without warning by a
submarine under the Austro-Hungarian flag.
The American Ambassador at Vienna re-
quested information regarding these cases,
but thus far has received no reply.
At the same time as the German declara-
tion of Jan. 31, 1917, which described certain
portions of the sea off the coasts of Entente
countries as exposed to danger from subma-
rines, the Austro-Hungarian Government
made known that Austria-Hungary and her
allies, as from Feb. 1, would prevent with all
available means shipping within -the defined
barred area.
From the foregoing it can be concluded
that the assurance, given on the occasion of
the Ancona case and renewed on the occasion
of the discussion of the Persia case, is in all
material respects the same assurance con-
tained in the note of the German Govern-
ment of May 4, which reads : " In conformity
with the general principles of international
law concerning the holding up, search, and
destruction of merchant ships, such ships will
not be sunk either inside or outside that por-
tion of the sea which has been declared a
naval war zone without previous warning
and without taking such means as are avail-
able for saving human lives, unless such
ships flee or endeavor to offer resistance,"
and that this assurance is more or less
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY'S SUBMARINE NOTE
105
altered by the declaration of the Austro-
Hungarian Government of Feb. 16 and
Jan. 31.
Since the United States Government is in
doubt regarding the meaning to be attached
to these declarations, especially the last, it
desires to be finally and clearly informed of
the standpoint which the Austro-Hungarian
Government adopts in these circumstances
and also whether the assurance given in the
Ancona and Persia cases is to be regarded as
changed or withdrawn.
Text of Austrian Note
The reply of Emperor Charles's Gov-
ernment to the foregoing memorandum
was handed to Ambassador Penfield on
March 6. It took the unsatisfactory po-
sition that neutrals at sea would enter
the barred zone at their own risk, and
that only neutrals on neutral ships had
any right to freedom of the seas. At
the same time the" Austro-Hungarian
Government asserted that it adhered
strictly to the assurances given at the
time of the Ancona incident, though it
had declared in the second Ancona note:
" The Imperial and Royal " Government
can substantially concur in the principle
that private ships, in so far as they do
not flee or offer resistance, may not be de-
stroyed before the persons on board have
been brought into safety."
The full text of the Austro-Hungarian
reply to the United States is as follows:
From the memorandum ef Feb. 18 of the
American Ambassador, the Austro-Hungarian
Foreign Minister has concluded that the
Washington Cabinet, in view of statements
made on Feb. 10 of last year and on Jan. 31,
1917, by the Austro-Hungarian Government,
is now in doubt regarding the attitude which
Austria-Hungary will henceforth observe re-
garding the submarine war and as to whether
the assurances given by the Austro-Hungarian
Government to the Washington Cabinet, in
the course of negotiations about the Ancona
and Persia papers, have not been nullified by
the aforementioned statement. The Austro-
Hungarian Government is ready to make a
clear and definite statement so that these
doubts may be solved.
The Austro-Hungarian Government may be
allowed first of all to discuss briefly the
methods employed by the Entente Powers in
waging submarine war, because they are the
starting point for the intensified submarine
war begun by Austria-Hungary and her allies
and also throw a bright light upon the atti-
tude which the Austro-Hungarian Govern-
ment has taken hitherto in regard to the
questions which have arisen.
When Great Britain joined the war against
the Central Powers only a few years had
elapsed since that memorable time when she,
in union with other States, began to lay
the foundation at The Hague for modern
naval war law. Soon afterward the British
Government had assembled in Holland repre-
sentatives of the great powers in order to
consolidate the further work of The Hague
Conference, especially in the sense of a just
arrangement between interested belligerents
and neutrals. These efforts aimed at nothing
less than the mutual establishment of prin-
ciples of right which even in war times should
embody the principles of freedom of the seas
and the safeguarding of the interests of neu-
trals.
Neutrals were not to enjoy these benefits
for long. Hardly had the United Kingdom
decided to participate in the war when, al-
most at once, it began to break down tho
barriers which the principles of international
law had erected. While the Central Powers,
in the very beginning of the war, had de-
clared that they would observe the Declara-
tion of London, which also bore the signature
of the British representative, Great Britain
threw overboard some of its important pro-
visions. In an endeavor to cut off the Cen-
tral Powers from supplies from overseas she
enlarged, step by step, the list of contraband
until nothing was missing in the list of things
which today men want for their subsistence.
Then Great Britain proclaimed what she
called a blockade of the coasts of the North
Sea, which form also an important commerce
route for Austro-Hungarians, in order to pi^e-
vent goods which were still missing in the
list of contraband from entering Germany
and in order to prevent all sea traffic by
neutrals to those coasts as well as all ex-
ports through neutrals. That this blockade
was in flagrant contradiction to the custom-
ary principles of the right of blockade, as
established by international agreements, was
explicitly declared by the President of the
United States of America in words which will
continue to live in the history of interna-
tional law.
By the illegal prevention of reports from
the Central Powers Great Britain aimed at
paralyzing the countless factories and works
which the industrial and highly developed
peoples of Central Europe had created and,
by forcing workmen to be idle, to incite them
to rebellion.
When Austria-Hungary's southern neighbor
joined the enemies of the Central Powers his .
first act was to declare as blockaded all
coasts of the enemy, following, of course, the
example of his allies in ignoring all the legal
rights in the creation of which Italy had
taken an active part a short time before.
Austria-Hungary did not neglect to inform
neutral powers at once that the blockade was
not legal.
Long-Suffering Central Potters
For more than two years the Central Pow-
ers hesitated. Only then, and after long and
careful consideration of pros and cons, did
106
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
they begin to return like for like and at-
tacked the enemy on the sea. As the only
ones of the belligerents who had done every-
thing to secure the existing treaties which
were to guarantee to neutrals the freedom of
the seas, they felt with pained hearts the law
of the hour which commanded them to vio-
late this freedom. But they took this step to
fulfill the paramount duty toward their peo-
ples and from the conviction that it would
help the principle of the freedom of the seas
to be victorious. The proclamations which
they issued last January are apparently di-
rected only against the rights of neutrals. In
reality they serve toward the restoration of
these rights, which their enemies have inces-
santly violated and which, if they were vic-
tors, they would destroy forever. Thus the
submarines which are cruising around the
English coast announce to peoples who need
the sea— and what people does not want
coasts?— that the day is not far off when the
flags of all States, in the glory of their newly
won freedom, can freely fly over the seas.
We cherish the hope that this announce-
ment will find an echo everywhere where
neutral peoples live, and that it will espe-
cially be understood by the great people of
the United States, whose most illustrious rep-
resentative has during the war defended with
flaming words the freedom of the seas as the
highway of all nations.
Wording for " Freedom of the Seas "
If the people and Government of the United
States keep in mind that the blockade pro-
claimed by Great Britain is not only meant
to wear down the Central Powers by starva-
tion, but aims at subjecting the seas to her
rule in order to establish in this manner her
tyranny over all nations, while, on the other
hand, the blockade of England and her allies
only serves to make these powers incline to-
ward peace with honor and a guarantee to
all nations of the freedom of the sea traffic
and sea commerce, and thereby a secured
existence, then the question which of the two
parties has the right on its side is already
decided. Though the Central Powers have
no desire in this war to beg for allies, they
yet believe that they will be entitled to look
to neutrals to appreciate their efforts to
revise in the interest of all the principles of
international law and equal rights of nations.
In replying now to the question put in the
American note of Feb. 18, the Austro-Hun-
garian Government firstly remarks that in
the exchange of notes referring to the cases
of the Ancona and the Persia it restricted
itself to defining its attitude to concrete
questions which individually arose, without
laying down its fundamental legal conception.
But in its note of Oct. 19, 1915, referring to
the Ancona case, it reserved to itself the
right to bring up for discussion at a later
date difficult international questions which
arise in connection with submarine warfare.
It now refers to this reservation, and now
briefly discusses the question of sinking
enemy vessels, to which that note refers, it is
guided by the desire to show the American
Government that it now, as heretofore,
strictly adheres to the assurance already
given, and endeavors by clearing up that im-
portant question arising from submarine war-
fare, because it touches the laws of humanity,
to avoid misunderstandings between the mon-
archy and the American Union.
Above all, the Austro-Hungarian Govern-
ment desires to emphasize that it is also its
opinion that the thesis set up by the American
Government, which also is represented in
various learned records, that enemy mer-
chantmen, apart from cases of attempted
flight and resistance, must not be destroyed
without precautions being taken for the safety
of the persons aboard, forms, so to say, the
kernel of the whole subject. Regarded from
a higher standpoint, this thesis can, of course,
be ranked in a further suggestive connection,
and from that view its domain of application
can be marked out more exactly.
" General Warning " Sufficient
From the laws of humanity, which the*
Austro-Hungarian Government and the
"Washington Cabinet take in the same manner
as judging the lines, the more general prin-
ciple can be derived that when executing the
right of destroying enemy merchantmen the
loss of human life should as far as possible
be avoided. To this principle the belligerent
can only do justice by issuing warning before
exercising the right. Therein he can choose
the way which the aforementioned thesis of
the American Government indicates, accord-
ing to which the commander of the war ves-
sel himself gives warning so that the crew
and passengers may bring themselves into
safety in the last moment, or the Government
of a belligerent State can, -if this is recognized
as an inevitable necessity of war, issue warn-
ing of full effect also before the departure
of the vessel which is to be sunk ; or, finally,
it can, if it establishes extensive measures
against enemy sea trade, employ a general
warning for all enemy vessels in question.
That the principle according to which care
must be taken for the safety of the persons
aboard undergoes exceptions the American
Government itself recognized. But the Aus-
tro-Hungarian Government believes that de-
struction without warning is admissible not
only when a vessel flees or offers resistance.
It appears— to mention only one example—
that the character of the vessel itself also
must be taken into consideration. Merchant-
men or other private vessels which carry a
military garrison or arms aboard in order to
commit hostile acts of any kind may, accord-
ing to valid right, be destroyed without hesi-
tation.
Austrian Ships Sunk Without Notice
The Austro-Hungarian Government need
not call attention to the fact that the bel-
ligerent is released of all consideration for
human life if his opponent sinks enemy mer-
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY'S SUBMARINE NOTE
107
chantmen without previous warning-, as hap-
pened with the vessels Electra, (German;)
Bubrovnik, (Austrian;) Zagreb, (Austrian,)
&c, which already has been repeatedly cen-
sured ; and in this respect the Austro-Hun-
garian Government never returned like for
Mke, notwithstanding its uncontested right.
In the course of the entire war Austro -Hun-
garian war vessels have not sunk one enemy
merchantman without previous, if only gen-
eral, warning.
The repeatedly mentioned thesis of the
United States Government also allows va-
rious interpretations, in so far, namely, as
it is doubtful whether, as is asserted from
various sides, only on resistance justifies
Uhe destruction of a vessel with persons
aboard, or resistance of another kind ; as is
shown if the crew intentionally neglects to
take the passengers into boats— the Ancona
case— or if the passengers themselves refuse
to enter boats. According to the opinion of
the Austro-Hungarian Government, the de-
struction of a warned vessel without rescuing
the persons aboard is admissible in cases of
the latter kind, because otherwise it would
be left to the individual passenger to nullify
the right of belligerents to sink vessels.
Moreover, it may be pointed out also that
there is no unanimity as regards in what
cases the sinking of neutral merchantmen at
all is admissible. The obligation to issue a
warning immediately before sinking vessels
leads, according to the opinion of the Austro-
Hungarian Government, on the one hand, to
harshness which could be avoided ; on the
other hand, it is under circumstances calcu-
lated to injure the justified interests of bel-
ligerents. In the first place, it must not be
overlooked that the rescue of persons is al-
most always left to mere chance, as the only
choice remaining is to take them aboard war
vessels which are exposed to any enemy in-
fluence, or to expose them in small boats to
the dangers of the elements ; so that it there-
fore corresponds much better to the principles
of humanity to prevent persons, by timely
warning, from using endangered vessels.
Neutrals Must Not Use Enemy Ships
Furthermore, notwithstanding careful ex-
amination of all legal questions referring
thereto, the Austro-Hungarian Government
could not come to the conviction that sub-
jects of neutral States are entitled to travel
unmolested on enemy vessels.
The principle that neutrals in war time
also should enjoy the advantages of free-
dom of the seas refers only to neutral ves-
sels, not to neutral persons on board enemy
vessels, because belligerents, as is well
known, are entitled to prevent the enemy's
sea traffic as far as they are able. Being
in possession of the necessary war means
and considering it necessary for the attain-
ment of their war aims, they can prohibit
sea traffic of enemy merchantmen on pain
of their destruction, provided they have pre-
viously announced this to be their intention,
so that every one, whether enemy or neu-
tral, may be enabled to avoid endangering
life. Even if doubts should arise regarding
the justifiableness of such procedure, and
if the enemy should threaten reprisals, then
this would be an affair for settlement be-
tween the belligerents only, who, as gen-
erally recognized, are entitled to make the
high seas the scene of military operations
and to oppose any interference with their en-
terprises and to decide for themselves what
measures shall be taken against enemy sea
traffic.
In such cases neutrals have no other legit-
imate interest, and therefore no other legal
claim, than that the belligerent inform them
in time of prohibitions directed to the enemy,
that they can avoid intrusting their lives and
their goods to enemy vessels.
The Austro-Hungarian Government can
suppose that the Washington Cabinet will
agree with these explanations, which, ac-
cording to the Austro-Hungarian Govern-
ment's firm conviction, are unassailable, as
otherwise disputing their correctness would
doubtless be tantamount to saying — which
certainly does not correspond to the opinion
of the United States— that neutrals must be
free to interfere with military operations of
belligerents or even directly assume the of-
fice of judging as to the war means which
are to be employed against enemies.
Analogy of Land Warfare
It appears that it also would be a flag-
rant misunderstanding if a neutral Govern-
ment, only to enable its subjects to travel
on enemy vessels, while they as readily,
and even with far greater security, could
use neutral vessels, should fall to arms
with a belligerent power which, perhaps,
was fighting for its existence, not to speak
of the most serious abuses for which the
road would be left clear if the belligerent
were to be forced to lower arms before
every neutral who desired to use enemy
vessels for his business or pleasure trips.
Never was there the slightest doubt that
neutral subjects themselves have to bear all
the loss which they suffer by entering on
land territory where warlike operations are
taking place. There obviously is no reason
to allow different principles for war on sea,
the more so as at the Second Peace Con-
ference the wish was expressed that, until
the time when war on sea should have
found a settlement by agreements, the law
in force for war on land should be employed,
as far as this was possible, also for war on
sea.
In the spirit of what was previously said,
the regulation that warning must be given
to a ship which is to be sunk undergoes ex-
ceptions of various kinds, under certain cir-
cumstances, as, for instance, as mentioned by
the American Government, in cases of flight
and resistance, when vessels may be de-
108
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
stroyed without warning, while in other cases
warning before the departure of a vessel is
necessary. The Austro-Hungarian Govern-
ment can therefore state, whatever attitude
the Washington Cabinet may take in regard
to individual questions raised here, that it,
as especially regards protection of neutrals
against endangering their lives, is essentially
in accord with the American Government.
But it was not only satisfied to put into
effect in the course of this war the conception
represented by her, but beyond that it also
accommodated its attitude with painful care
to the thesis set up by the "Washington Cab-
inet, and would feel inclined to support it in
its endeavor to secure American citizens
against dangers at sea, which endeavor it
supports by the warmest philanthropy, and
by instructing and warning those intrusted
with it.
As regards Circular Note 10,602 of last year,
regarding the treatment of armed enemy
merchantmen, the Austro-Hungarian Govern-
ment, it is true, has to state that, as al-
ready mentioned previously, it is of the
opinion that the arming of merchantmen,
even solely for defense against the exercise
of the right of capture, is not established by
modern international law. A war vessel is
obliged to come into contact with enemy mer-
chantmen in a peaceful manner. It has to
waylay the vessel by certain signals, to enter
into communication with the Captain, to ex-
amine the ship's papers, draw up a protocol,
and, if necessary, take an inventory, &c.
Fulfillment of these duties presupposes nat-
urally that the war vessel has full certainty
that the merchantman, on its part, also will
act peacefully. Without doubt such certainty
does not exist if the merchantman possesses
armament which is sufficient to fight the war
vessel. It can hardly be expected to discharge
its duties under the muzzles of guns, whatever
their purpose may be, without mentioning the
fact that merchantmen of the Entente Pow-
ers, despite all assurances to the contrary,
are — as this has been proved — provided with
arms for an aggressive purpose and also use
them for this purpose.
It would also be a misinterpretation of the
duties of humanity to demand the crews of
war vessels expose themselves without de-
fense to arms of the enemy. No State could
value its duties of humanity toward the legal
defenders of the Fatherland less than its
duties toward subjects of foreign powers.
The Austro-Hungarian Government therefore
could have stated from conviction that its
promise made to the Washington Cabinet did
not extend, from the very beginning, to armed
merchantmen, because they, according to the
valid principle and right which restrict hos-
tilities to organized forces, are to be regarded
as private vessels, which may be destroyed.
As history shows, it was never permitted
under general international law that mer-
chantmen oppose the exercise of the right of
capture by war vessels. Even if a regulation
of such kind could be found, this would not
prove that vessels should be allowed to arm
themselves. It must also be taken into con-
sideration that the arming of merchantmen
would completely transform warfare on the
sea, and that such a transformation cannot
correspond with the intentions of those who
endeavor to bring to bear the principles of
humanity in warfare on sea. In fact, since
the abolition of privateering no Government,
until a few years ago, has thought in the
least of arming merchantmen. At the Second
Peace Conference, which was occupied with
all questions of naval war law, the arming of
merchantmen was mentioned only once. This
utterance, however, is significant because it
was made by high naval officers, who freely
declared : " When a warship proposes to stop
and visit a merchant ship, the commander,
before launching a small boat, will cause a
cannon shot to be fired. A cannon shot is the
best guarantee that can be given. Merchant
ships have no cannon on board."
Notwithstanding that, Austria-Hungary ad-
hered to her promise also as regards this
question. In the mentioned circular note
neutrals were warned in time against in-
trusting their persons and property to armed
vessels. The issued measure was not put in
force at once, but a period of grace was given
in order to enable neutrals to leave armed
vessels which they had already boarded.
Finally, Austro-Hungarian war vessels them-
selves have been instructed, even in the case
of encountering armed enemy merchantmen,
if, in view of the circumstances, it is possible,
to issue a warning and take care of the res-
cue of passengers.
The statement of the American Embassy
that the armed British steamers Secundo,
Uno, and Welsh Prince were torpedoed by
Austro-Hungarian submarines without warn-
ing is erroneous. [The Secundo and Uno are
listed in marine registers as Norwegian ves-
sels.] The Austro-Hungarian Government
meanwhile received information that no Aus-
tro-Hungarian war vessel took part in the
sinking of these steamers.
In the same manner as in the repeatedly
mentioned circular note, the Austro-Hun-
garian Government — and therewith it comes
back to the question of intensified submarine
warfare — as mentioned at the beginning of
this aide-memoire and also in its declaration
of Jan. 31 of the current year, issued a warn-
ing to all neutrals by fixing a certain period.
Moreover, the whole declaration represents in
essence nothing else but a warning, namely,
that no merchantmen will be allowed to enter
the sea areas exactly described in the decla-
ration.
Moreover, Austro-Hungarian war vessels
are instructed if possible to warn merchant-
men encountered in these areas and to bring
into safety the crews and passengers. The
Austro-Hungarian Government also possessed
numerous reports that crews and passengers
of vessels which have been destroyed in these
areas have been brought into safety. For the
eventual losses of human life which never-
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY'S SUBMARINE NOTE
109
theless may occur in the destruction of armed
vessels or such encountered in the barred
zone the Austro-Hungarian Government can
take no responsibility.
Little Risk From Austrian V '-Boats
Moreover, it may be pointed out that
Austro-Hungarian submarines solely are op-
erating in the Adriatic and Mediterranean,
and that, therefore, an encroachment of
American intrests is hardly to be feared from
Austro-Hungarian war vessels.
In view of everything mentioned in the be-
ginning of this aide-memoire, there need
hardly be an assurance that the barricad-
ing of sea areas described in the declaration
does not aim at destruction of human life or
even its endangering. But apart from the
higher aim of sparing further suffering to
mankind by shortening the war, and solely
to place Great Britain and her allies, who,
without an effective blockade over the coasts
of the Central Powers, prevent the sea traffic
of neutrals with these powers in the same
isolation, the step is taken to render them
by this pressure more pliable toward a peace
which bears in itself a guarantee and is
durable.
That Austria-Hungary uses different means
is especially caused by circumstances over
which mankind has no power. The Austro-
Hungarian Government is convinced that it
has done everything in its power to avoid
human losses. It would attain this aim,
which is intended by the Central Powers,
most quickly and most certainly if in those
sea areas no single human life were lost and
no single life were endangered.
Says Ancona Pledge Stands
Summarizing, the Austro-Hungarian Gov-
ernment can state that the assurance given
to the Washington Cabinet in the Ancona
case and renewed in the Persia case has
neither been abolished nor restricted by its
declaration of Feb. 10, 1916, and Jan. 31,
1917. Within this assurance it will also in
the future, united with its allies, do every-
thing so that the peoples on earth will soon
again participate in the blessings of peace.
If in the prosecution of this aim, which, as
is well known, finds full sympathy in the
Washington Cabinet, it sees itself obliged to
prevent neutral sea traffic in certain sea
areas, in justification of this measure it will
point not so much at the attitude of the
enemy, which it considers not at all worthy
of imitation, but it will point out that Aus-
tria-Hungary, by reason of the obstinacy
and malignity of her enemies, who intend
her destruction, has been placed in a state
of self-defense than which history knows no
more typical example.
As the Austro-Hungarian Government finds
inspiration in the consciousness that the fight
which Austria-Hungary is waging serves not
only for maintenance of its vital interests
but also for realization of the equal rights of
all States, it lays the greatest stress in this
last and most severe period of the war,
which, as it deeply deplores, demands sacri-
fices also from friends, on the confirmation
by word and deed that the principle of hu-
manity guides it, in the same manner as the
law of respect of the interests of neutral
peoples.
[Russian Cartoon]
An Unspeakable Libel
—From Novi Satirikon, Petrograd.
Shark: " Ah, neighbor, I have been grossly insulted! "
" How? "
" I was mistaken for a German submarine."
*?
The Blacks Attack!"
A Vivid Battle Scene by Rheinhold Eichacker, a German Officer
on the Western Front
"After a lengthy artillery preparation,
•whije ami colored Frenchmen attacked our
positions in heavy force. They succeeded in
getting a foothold in some of our most ad-
vanced trenches. A furious counterattack
drove them back again in a hand-to-hand
encounter. Nothing else of importance."—
German Army Report.
AT 7:15 in the morning the French
/\ attacked. The black Senegal
JL JL negroes, France's cattle for the
' shambles. After a seven-hour suf-
focating drumfire that, according to all
human reckoning, should not have left a
mortal man alive. But we still lived —
and waited. Six meters under the sod
lay our "waiting rooms." Burrowed
into the ground on a slant. " Courage
bracers," they call them out there.
At 7:15 the enemy shifted his fire
backward upon our reserves. Our pick-
ets sounded the alarm. We sprang to
arms, with our gas masks in place. For
a few seconds the trenches resembled an
antheap. There was feverish hurrying,
running, shouting, and shoving. Just
for seconds. Then everybody was at his
post. ^Everybody who was alive. Every
one a rock in the seething waves. Every
one determined to hold his position
against hell itself.
A gas attack! Several hundred pairs
of wide-open warriors' eyes fixed their
glances upon the ugly, smoking cloud
that, lazy and impenetrable, rolled to-
ward us. Hundreds of fighting eyes,
fixed, threatening, deadly. Let them
come, the blacks! And they came. First
singly, at wide intervals. Feeling their
way, like the arms of a horrible cuttle-
fish. Eager, grasping, like the claws
of a mighty monster. Thus they
rushed closer, flickering and some-
times disappearing in their cloud.
Entire bodies and single limbs, now
showing in the harsh glare, now
sinking in the shadows, came nearer and
nearer. Strong, wild fellows, their log-
like, fat, black skulls wrapped in pieces
of dirty rags. Showing their grinning
teeth like panthers, with their bellies
drawn in and their necks stretched for-
ward. Some with bayonets on their
rifles. Many only armed with knives.
Monsters all, in their confused hatred.
Frightful their distorted, dark grimaces.
Horrible their unnaturally wide-opened,
burning, bloodshot eyes. Eyes that
seem like terrible beings themselves. Like
unearthly, hell-born beings. Eyes that
seemed to run ahead of their owners,
lashed, unchained, no longer to be re-
strained. On they came like dogs gone
mad and cats spitting and yowling, with
a burning lust for human blood, with a
cruel dissemblance of their beastly
malice. Behind them came the first
wave of the attackers, in close order, a
solid, rolling black wall, rising and fall-
ing, swaying and heaving, impenetrable,
endless.
" Close range ! Individual firing ! Take
careful aim! " My orders rang out sharp
and clear and were correctly understood
by all the men. They stood as if carved
out of stone, their lips tightly pressed,
the muscles of their cheeks swollen, and
took aim. Just like rifle range work. The
first blacks fell headlong in full course in
our wire entanglements, turning somer-
saults like the, clowns in a circus. Some
of them half rose, remained hanging,
jerked themselves further, crawling,
gliding like snakes — cut wires — sprang
over — tumbled — fell.
Nearer and nearer rolled the wall.
Gaps opened and closed again. Lines
halted and — rolled on again. Whrrr rratt
— tenggg — sssstt — crack! Our artillery
sent them its greeting! Whole groups
melted away. Dismembered bodies, sticky
earth, shattered rocks, were mixed in
wild disorder. The black cloud halted,
wavered, closed .its ranks — and rolled
nearer and nearer, irresistible, crushing,
devastating! And the rifles were flash-
ing all the time. A dissonant, voiceless
rattle. The men still stood there and
took aim. Calmly, surely, not wasting a.
THE BLACKS ATTACK!
Ill
single shot. The stamping and snorting
of thousands of panting beasts ate up the
ground between us.
Now the wave was only 300 paces from
our defenses — from their remnants — now
only 200 — 100 — irresistible, seething and
roaring — 50 paces ! — " Rapid fire ! " I
roared, I shrieked, through the swelling
cracking of the rifles. A hurricane
swallowed my voice ! Hell seemed let loose
at a single blow, raging, storming, obliter-
ating all understanding! Shoving and
stamping, shrieking and shouting, crack-
ing and rattling, hissing and screeching.
A heavy veil hung over the wall. In this
cloud pieces of earth, smoke spirals,
black, red, white, yellow flashes, quivered
and flared. Rattling, rapping, pounding,
hammering, crackling. And the shots fell
unceasingly. Clear and shrill the rifles,
heavy and roaring the shells.
And now came the gruesome, incon-
ceivable horror ! A wall of lead and iron
suddenly hurled itself upon the attackers
and the entanglements .just in front of
our trenches. A deafening hammering
and clattering, cracking and pounding,
rattling and crackling, beat everything
to earth in ear-splitting, nerve-racking
clamor. Our machine guns had flanked
the blacks!
Like an invisible hand they swept over
the men and hurled them to earth, mang-
ling and tearing them to pieces! As an
Autumn storm roars over the fields they
swept in full flood over the ranks and
snuffed out life! Like hail among the
ears of grain, their missiles flew and
rattled and broke down the enemy's will!
Singly, in files, in rows and heaps, the
blacks fell. Next to each other, behind
each other, on top of each other. Hurled
m heaps, in mounds, in hillocks. Fresh
masses charged and fell back, charged
and stumbled, charged and fell. And
there were always fresh forces! They
seemed to spring from the very earth!
We had losses; heavy losses. Here a
man suddenly put his hand to his fore-
head and swayed. There another sprang
gurgling to one side and fell, as flat and
heavy as a block of stone. S-s-s-t — it
went above our heads. The French were
throwing shrapnel against our trenches,
hissing, cracking, and in volleys.
Hell still rages. The blacks get rein-
forcements. Finally the whites them-
selves charge, a jerky, rolling, bluish-
green mass! In a powerful drive they
get over the first rise in the ground.
Now they have disappeared. Now they
bob up, as out of a trap door. Here and
there the ranks shoot forward in great
leaps, the officers ahead of all, with their
swords swinging high in the air, just as
in the pictures! A splendid sight. Now
they reach the bodies of the blacks. They
halt for a few seconds, as if in horror,
then on they roll over the dead, jumping,
wallowing, dozens falling.
We still stand firmly in the breach.
Our nerves are strained to the snapping
point, gasping, bleeding, feverish! We
dare not waver. " Steady, men! Steady!"
We must calmly let them come as far as
the wire entanglements, as the blacks
did. The blacks? Where are they? Disr
appeared! Only they left their dead be-
hind. The same thing will happen to
the whites. We are waiting for them.
The death-spewing machine guns are ly-
ing over there. They lie there and wait
until their time comes. Steady, steady!
They lie there and wait impatiently — but
yet they are silent — Now! — No — I am
raving! "Rapid fire!" — I hiss — My
neighbor staggers — I only listen and
wait, wait and listen, for only one thing.
Something that has to come, must finally
come, has to come! Great God, other-
wise we are lost! Be calm, be calm!
Now they will begin reaping! Now they
must begin to rattle, our machine guns,
our faithful rescuers — now — at once!
What can they be waiting for ? Why, they
are there in the wires already. Hell and
Satan! No man can endure that! They
are hesitating too long — the enemy is al-
most in the trenches ! Ah ! At last ! A
rattling— a hoarse crackling — Heaven
help us, what is that?
A devilish howling rises hoarsely from
over there, lacerating, bestial, shrieking!
The blacks, the devils! How did they
reach our flank over there? That's where
our machine guns are. It cannot be.
There! Hell! They are carrying hand
grenades, are in their rear! Heaven help
us! And the whites! They are at our
breastworks. Already they are in *the
112
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
trenches, fighting like wild beasts. Hor-
ror makes them crazy. Help is coming
to us from the left. The second company
has fallen upon their flank. The French
run like hunted animals. A shell bursts
in their midst, catches twenty or thirty
of them and throws them in the air like
toys. They run still further, through the
air, bowling along on their heads, grue-
somely — and fall in heaps to the ground.
Heads, legs, twitching bodies! The
French run until back of the bodies. 'The
rest of them are cut to pieces, or made
prisoners. But now our men must come
back.
We struggle for breath. Wounded men
writhe around and moan and groan heav-
ily. The trench is bathed in blood. Far
more than half of the company has been
slain. We are only a handful. I assem-
ble the valiant men and distribute them
among the trenches. They stand reso-
lutely, breathing hard and gasping.
A furious rattling and buzzing and
hissing calls us again to our posts. They
pre charging anew. Now the whites
again, in front, on the side. They are on
our flank! Back of them the blacks in
frightful clusters. " Bring the sand-
bags ! " The sandbags fly from hand to
hand. A wall rises in the midst of the
trench. The other half was overrun long
ago and is a knot of struggling men. A
piece of wood hits me on the shoulder —
crack — I cry out! A shot lands in the
m;dst of our ammunition — it was our
last. This way with the hand grenades!
We jiave got to smoke them out!
A roaring hurrah! Heaven help us,
aid is at hand! The Fourth, and the
Fifth — I know the men — and some of the
First, too — all mixed up — dispersed
troops rallied again. Now, up and at
them! The French defend themselves
furiously. They hold the trench. The
dead are heaped up before their ram-
parts— but keep it up! A wild passion
takes possession of me. My revolver and
my dagger have been lost in the fighting.
I seize a bottle. Hell sends it to me at
the right moment! Like an animal mad
with hate I rush forward. My bottle
lands, crashing and splintering, on a
woolly skull, with a distorted grimace.
A hot shock rushes through my shoulder
— a shock — a wrench — I grasp at the air
— grasp something convulsively — throw
myself in the air — and fall in a heap. A
confused mist dances before my eyes.
Colossal War Expenses of Great Britain,
Germany, and France
THE request of the British Chancellor
of the Exchequer, Bonar Law. for a
supplementary credit of $250,000,-
000 on March 14 disclosed the fact that
the total amount voted for the war by
Great Britain for the year ending March
31, 1917, reached $10,000,000,000. A
total of $3,000,000,000 was voted between
Feb. 12, 1917, and the end of March.
Great Britain's " victory " popular
loan exceeded all estimates; the total
subscribed was $5,001,564,750; the total
number of applicants was 5,289,000.
Germany's Nev> War Credit
The German Reichstag voted a new
credit of $3,750,000,000 early in March.
In submitting the new budget the Minis-
ter of Finance, Count von Roedern, ut-
tered some significant phrases. He said:
Germany's sincere proposal of peace has
met with a refusal. Mediation from the side
of the neutrals failed in consequence of the
decision of our enemies. The British block-
ade of the German and neutral coasts, which
neither as regards the means by which it is
put into effect nor jts extension to different
classes of goods and neutral countries corre-
sponds to the hitherto existing usages of in-
ternational law, has been answered by an
actual blockade by means of a weapon created
by this war. For this reason there could not
yet be any written regulations in interna-
tional law governing this weapon. This
weapon is the submarine.
He affirmed that Germany was forced
into the war. In discussing the new
budget he said:
New taxation proposals are submitted to
you which amount for the next year to 1,250,-
000,000 marks and hold out the prospect of
additional taxation on war profits later on.
Moreover, a further war credit of an un-
COLOSSAL WAR EXPENSES
113
precedented amount— namely, 15,000,000,000
marks— is asked for. The payment of in-
terest on previous credits is fully provided
for. The safety law which became necessary
last year provides for an increase of the
legal reserve from 50 to 60 per cent., but
the budget brings in during the financial
year no new money ; therefore, an additional
tax of 20 per cent, on the existing war taxa-
tion is necessary.
Count von Roedern then pointed out
the great value of the coal produced in
Germany and imported into Germany,
which he had estimated before the war at
2,500,000,000 marks. The idea of taking
over the coal mines by the State had been
rejected as impossible. Germany could
safely rely on her own production of coal
and even on having coal for export dur-
ing normal times. Coal could be taxed
the more readily, since the prices at home
during the war, as compared with those
in foreign countries, were comparatively
low. The average price in Germany, he
said, was 15 to 18 marks, while Great
Britain paid 20s. to 30s. per ton; Italy
over 300 lire; France, in November, 125
francs to 150 francs for house coal; and
North America $6 to $7 ; so that " an
average tax of 2V2 marks on coal and 80
pfennigs on lignite was not too high."
Count von Roedern then dwelt on the
proposed taxation of railway tickets and
bills of lading. He pointed out that
similar measures had already been taken
in other belligerent countries. A tax of
7 per cent, would be placed on all freights
and a tax of from 10 to 16 per cent, on
railway tickets. He proceeded :
World's Total $75,000,000,000
The war credit voted last October is nearly
exhausted. As in all belligerent countries,
our war expenditure during the last few
months has experienced a certain tension.
Our average extraordinary expenditure dur-
ing October to January amounted in all to
2,775,000,000 marks. I have reason to sup-
pose that, as between both groups of bellig-
erents, the proportion today is still two to
one ; the war expenditure of the whole world
exceeds 300,000,000,000 marks, ($75,000,000,-
000.) and therefore not more than 100,000,000,-
000 marks ($25,000,000,000) fall on us and our
allies, while over 200,000,000,000 marks ($50,-
000,000,000) fall on the Entente. The tension
will not relax in the war expenditure during
the next few months. The war credit of
15,000,000,000 marks is therefore asked for.
Next month we must issue another loan.
This exact picture, as shown by the budget,
is certainly serious, but our economic life
gives no reason to look into the future with
less confidence than hitherto. If the German
people firmly believe in a happy issue of the
final struggle which, in consequence of the
plan of our enemies, has become inevitable,
the German people may also expect that for
this reason financial consequences are also to
be deduced. Against the demand of our ene-
mies for reparation we shall be able to put
the word " indemnity." I have confidence
in our economic future, in the unbroken fi-
nancial strength of our people, and am con-
vinced that, in view of our rapid technical
development during the war and the firm
determination of all circles of productive
industry, everything which the war has de-
stroyed will be rebuilt by our common labor.
Our strength is not founded on paper, as
our enemies suppose, but on the unexhausted
income of the people and on the fact that we
did not fall into the slavery of debt to for-
eign countries, as our European enemies had
to do in so high a degree. Our financial
strength has been proved by the increase of
the deposits in the savings banks, which
in 1916 again exceeded 3,000,000,000 marks,
by the extraordinary increase in the deposits
of the banking institutes, and by reports of
400 limited companies, which show not only
increasing profits but also wise reserves.
The war has proved that we are united in the
will to hold out to victory. I know that after
the war we shall not be united on all eco-
nomic questions, but there is one thing we
shall carry over into peace time— the convic-
tion that the development and increase of our
production are of equal importance to all
classes of the population, and that we must
work together toward reconstruction. The
Federal Governments count on co-operation
on these lines, especially from the Reichstag,
which will prove its determination to do its
share by maintaining a sound financial
policy, by the impartial examination of the
proposed taxes, by providing the means for
the continuance of the war, and by ready
support of the coming loan.
War Expenditures of France
At the end of June France will have
spent during the war in round figures
83,000,000,000 francs, or more than $16,-
000,000,000. The amount of the short-
term national bonds in circulation at the
end of February was 14,500,000,000
francs.
In addition to her expenditures, France
has advanced to her allies 3,875,000,000,
making a total outlay since Aug. 1, 1914,
of 87,000,000,000 francs. Loans made
in the United States amount to 2,188,-
860,000 francs. The bonds placed in
England will yield 5,927,128,000.
Great Britain Restricts Imports to Food
and Munitions
PREMIER LLOYD GEORGE an-
nounced to the House of Commons
Feb. 23, 1917, that orders would be
issued at once for a drastic restriction of
non-essential imports, so that the full
cargo space of shipping would be em-
ployed for food and munitions. He an-
nounced that minimum prices for farm
products would be guaranteed over a
term of years to encourage the farmer to
plant every available foot of land, and
that this would be supplemented later
by an announcement that land owners
would be forced to cultivate their land.
The Premier announced that a million
tons of food luxuries and several million
tons of paper, ore, and lumber would be
lopped off the nation's imports. He said
that the stocks of food were lower than
ever before, not because of the enemy's
submarine activities so much as because
of the bad harvests. In the course of his
address he stated that shipbuilding was
increasing by special efforts, at some
yards as much as 40 per cent.
The following is the royal proclama-
tion, dated Feb. 23, 1917, relating to this
announcement:
(1) As from and after the date hereof, sub-
ject as hereinafter provided, the importation
into the United Kingdom of the follow-
ing goods is hereby prohibited, viz. : Aerated,
mineral, and table waters ; agricultural ma-
chinery ; antimony ware ; apparel, not water-
proofed ; (except boots and shoes;) art, works
of ; baskets and basketware of bamboo ;
books, printed, and other printed matter, in-
cluding printed posters and daily, weekly,
and other periodical publications, imported
otherwise than in single copies through the
post; boots and shoes of leather, and material
used for the manufacture thereof, not already
prohibited; brandy; clocks and parts thereof;
cloisonne wares ; cocoa, preparations of ;
cocoa, raw ; coffee ; cotton hosiery, cotton
lace and articles thereof; curios; diatomite
and infusorial earth ; embroidery and needle-
work ; fancy goods, known as Paris goods ;
feathers, ornamental, and down ; fire extin-
guishers ; flowers, artificial ; flowers, fresh ;
fruit, raw, of all descriptions, (except lemons
and bitter oranges,) and almonds and nuts
used as fruit ; glass manufactures not already
prohibited; gloves; hats and bonnets; hides,
wet and dry; incandescent gas mantles; jute,
raw ; leather, dressed and undressed ; linen,
yarns, and manufactures of; lobsters, canned ;
mats and matting ; mops ; painters' colors and
pigments ; perfumery ; photographic appara-
tus ; pictures, prints, engravings, photo-
graphs, and maps ; plated and gilt wares ;
quails, live; quebracho, hemlock, oak, and
mangrove extracts ; rum ; salmon, canned ;
silk, manufactures of, not including silk
yarns; skins and furs, manufactures of; Soya
beans ; stereoscopes ; straw envelopes for
bottles ; straw plaiting ; sugar, articles and
preparations containing, used for food ; (ex-
cept condensed milk;) tea; tomatoes; type-
writers ; wine ; wood and timber of all kinds,
hewn, sawn, or split, planed or dressed.
Provided always, and it is hereby declared,
that this prohibition shall not apply to any
such goods which are imported under license
given by or on behalf of the Board of Trade,
and subject to the provisions and conditions
of such license.
(2) As from and after the date hereof the
prohibition imposed by the Prohibition of Im-
port (paper, tobacco, furniture, woods, and
stones) Proclamation, 1916, on the importa-
tion of the following goods shall be removed,
and the said proclamation amended accord-
ingly, viz. : All periodical publications ex-
ceeding 10 pages in length, imported other-
wise than in single copies through the post.
Of the above articles now barred to
Great Britain the exports from the
United States in 1915 were $9,220,809,
and $67,613,814 in 1916.
The Prime Minister's announcement
also contained the following proposals:
MINIMUM PRICES TO BE GUARANTEED
TO FARMERS
Wheat— 60s. per qr. this year, 55s. per qr.
in 1918-19, 45s. per qr. in 1919-20, 1920-21, and
1921-22. /
Oats— 38s. 6d. per 336 lbs. this year, 32s. per
336 lbs. in 1918-19, and 24s. per 336 lbs. in the
next three years.
Potatoes— £6 per ton this year.
In case the State commandeers cereals or
potatoes, the maximum prices to be fixed in
consultation with the Board of Agriculture.
FARM LABORERS' WAGES
As a corollary of the guarantee of prices, a
minimum wage of 25s. per week to be paid by
farmers to every able-bodied man during the
period of the guarantee.
The National Service machinery to be used
for deciding whether a man is able-bodied.
RENTS
Farmers to be guaranteed against the rais-
ing of rents except with the consent of the
Board of Agriculture.
GREAT BRITAIN RESTRICTS IMPORTS
115
IMPORTS TO BE PROHIBITED
Apples, tomatoes, and certain raw foods ;
aerated, mineral, and table waters ; coffee
and cocoa.
Printed posters, paperhangings, and certain
kinds of foreign printed matter and period-
icals.
Foreign teas.
Certain manufactured articles of luxury.
IMPORTS TO BE REDUCED
Imports of paper material to be reduced to
640,000 tons, the reduction to be distributed
equally between the printing and packing
trades, and the use of paper for posters, cat-
alogues, and for Government publications to
be restricted.
Imports of oranges, bananas, grapes, al-
monds, and nuts to be restricted to 25 per
cent, of the supply of 1915.
Canned salmon imports to be cut down by
50 per cent.
Indian tea, (amount of reduction not
stated.)
(A total saving of 900,000 tons to be effected
on food and feeding stuffs.)
ALCOHOLIC LIQUORS, &c.
Output of beer to be reduced from the
18,000,000 barrels now allowed to 10,000,000
barrels, (to effect a saving of 600,000 tons of
foodstuffs per annum.)
Imports of spirits and wines to be further
reduced by 75 per cent, on the 1913 basis.
Rum to be excluded.
Imports of leather goods, boots, raw hides,
and bottles to be restricted.
Timber for British Army in Prance to be
obtained in France.
Timber for home use to be obtained at
home.
Home production of iron ore to be increased.
A Deserter's Wife and Her Dilemma
IS a woman to blame if she receives
her husband when she knows him
to be a deserter and does not de-
nounce him? This was the question dis-
cussed in the Paris Appeal Court in a
recent case. Mme. Marcelle Veryken, a
corsetmaker, aged 27 years, was sur-
prised last July by a visit from her hus-
band, who had deserted from the Sev-
enty-fifth Regiment of infantry. She
gave him an asylum, remained with him
at the conjugal domicile, and did not de-
nounce him. Arrested in September, the
soldier's wife wrote to the examining
magistrate requesting to be set at lib-
erty. She had, she said, always lived an
honorable life; her only fault was that
she had kept her husband at home, and
no one expected a wife to do less.
Mme. Veryken was released, but was
brought up before the Correctional
Chamber for complicity in desertion by
concealing her husband, and sentenced to
three months' imprisonment. When her
appeal came on for hearing the prose-
cution urged that in such circumstances
a wife ought to abandon her home instead
of .remaining with a deserter, whose
crime constituted a grave insult to her.
The court, however, took another view.
There was no proof, it maintained, that
the wife had provoked or approved of the
desertion of her husband, or concealed
him. The court could not reproach her
with having remained at home after her
husband's return, for she was only ful-
filling a legal obligation. It would be ex-
cessive, continued the judgment, to blame
Mme. Veryken because she did not de-
nounce her husband. To do so would be
to demand of a woman having affection
for her husband a sacrifice above her
power. The court, therefore, annulled
the previous judgment, and acquitted
Mme. Veryken.
A like indulgence was, however, denied
to Mme. Desmares for a similar act. She,
unfortunately, was unable to produce her
marriage lines, and the case of the de-
serter, named Goujy, was aggravated by
the fact that in 1913, when he saw the
war approaching, he hid himself, changed
his name and address, and remained in
concealment until discovered in 1916.
His companion and accomplice was sen-
tenced to one year's imprisonment with
the benefit of the First Offenders' act,
and the deserter Goujy was sent to prison
for five years.
A German Peace League That Failed
By John T. Wheelwright
" Territorial aggression and national abase-
ment will pave the way for fresh war."— Ad-
dress of British Labor Independents, Septem-
ber, 1914.
BOURRIENNE* reports Napoleon
as saying in 1805 : " There is not
sufficient unanimity among the
nations of Europe. European
society must be regenerated. A superior
power must control the other powers and
compel them to live at peace with each
other, and France is well situated for this
purpose " — and thus of Germany would
the German Emperor speak today. The
great Corsican battled for ten years
after 1805 to establish that supreme
power of France in Europe, which was to
insure peace on earth, but the nations to
be controlled were too human to enjoy
peace. on such terms.
At Napoleon's downfall tired Europe
rested on its arms for nearly forty years.
It is now proposed to substitute for the
one " superior power " a league of States
to enforce peace by mutual agreements,
and President Wilson, in ah address to
our Senate, recently proclaimed his belief
that the United States should be a party
to this agreement, and that the present
war should be terminated by a peace that
shall stop short of conquest by either side.
At a dinner given in New York on
Nov. 24 last by the League to Enforce
Peace communications were received ap-
proving the principle of forming such a
permanent league of nations from Aris-
tide Briand, Premier of France; Chancel-
lor von Bethmann Hollweg of Germany,
and Viscount Grey, Great Britain's Sec-
retary of State for Foreign Affairs.
The German Chancellor in his mes-
sage said: "The first condition for
evolution of international relations by
way of arbitration and peaceful com-
promise of conflicting interests should
be that no more aggressive coalitions are
formed in the future. Germany will at
all times be ready to enter a league for
♦Scribner's edition. Vol. II., Page 385.
the purpose of restraining the disturbers
of peace, and will honestly co-operate
in the' extension of every endeavor to
find a practical solution, and will collab-
orate to make its realization possible.
This all the more, if the war, as we ex-
pect and trust, shall create political con-
ditions which do full justice to the free
development of all nations, the small as
well as the great nations. Then it will
be possible to realize the principles of
justice and free development on land,
and of the freedom of the seas."
The Chancellor's message is couched in
language none too clear. Can it be be-
lieved that the German Empire will co-
operate in this league? As Prussia, Aus-
tria, and the other German States were
once members of a "league to enforce
peace " called the German Confedera-
tion, it is conceivable that the Teuton
allies might, after this war, under cer-
tain circumstances, join such a league
and abide by the compact.
The " Bundes act " of the German Con-
federation provided that in case of a
difference between two States the ques-
tions at issue should be submitted to a
committee of the Diet for solution. When
the Diet decided a question, and made a
decree, it was the duty of the Diet to
appoint a corps to carry out an execution
against a Federal State. The Federal
army was not intended to be brought into
requisition except to repel a foreign foe.
By the Federal act members of the Con-
federation were strictly forbidden to
make war on each other. In case of a
State proving refractory, a summons was
to be addressed to it to conform with the
resolution of the Diet. Then, in case
of refusal, an execution was ordered,
and a State or States charged with carry-
ing it out; but before the last forcible
means were taken another summons was
to be made, so as to give the State at
fault another chance to avoid punish-
ment.
War between the States was considered
A GERMAN PEACE LEAGUE THAT FAILED
117
to be impossible, but this was a false
assumption, as the events of 1864 proved.
Decree and Execution
The Schleswig-Holstein question be-
came acute in 1860, when Denmark en-
deavored to get control of Holstein, a
member of the German Confederation.
In 1864 Federal execution was ordered
by the Confederate Diet against the
Grand Duke Charles of Holstein to com-
pel him to carry out Confederate decrees
of 1860 and 1863, and an army was
formed of the lesser States, composed of
6,000 Saxons and 6,000 Hanoverians; a
further army of 5,000 Prussians and 5,000
Austrians was held in reserve, but the
latter two great powers of the Con-
federation undertook the task.
Great Britain had encouraged Den-
mark to resist, but in the end she stood
aside and allowed the Danes to be crushed
in the war, so that Denmark, instead of
gaining control of the Duchy of Holstein,
lost both it and Schleswig.
Austria and Prussia came to an agree-
ment in regard to the Duchies to the ef-
fect that Prussia was to have the ad-
ministration of Schleswig and Austria
that of Holstein, although the countries
to be thus governed by these two powers
wished to be united. Then Austria re-
fused to consent to the annexation of the
Duchies to Prussia, and appealed to the
Diet and to the Middle German States
to aid her in case of attack by Prussia.
At the same time Prussia addressed a
circular note to the German States, in
which she begged them to inform her
what course they would pursue suppos-
ing she were to be attacked by Austria.
The majority of these States referred
her to the Diet of the Confederation.
Prussia then made overtures to Aus-
tria, but the latter power refused to en-
tertain them. The powers stepped in to
try to prevent war. Austria placed the
solution of the Schleswig-Holstein situa-
tion in the hands of the Diet of the Con-
federation, promising to abide by its de-
cision. In this case the Diet voted a de-
cree to accede to the demands of Aus-
tria, although her call for execution by a
Federal army was contrary to the spirit
and letter of the act. The vote of the
States for this decree stood 9 to 6 on
June 14, 1866. Prussia thereupon issued
a circular note calling for a new confede-
ration, from which Austria and Luxem-
burg were to be excluded, and the " six
weeks' war " between Prussia and Aus-
tria ensued.
We see, then, that the elaborate ma-
chinery to avoid war failed to work suc-
cessfully when the two strong members
of the confederation came to a disagree-
ment. Each was struggling for the
leadership of the confederation — Austria
to retain her old hegemony, and Prussia,
under the subtle Bismarck, to displace
her. These two powerful nations with
totally irreconcilable views had to settle
their differences by the sword, notwith-
standing their being members of a
" league to enforce peace."
In this war the " needle-gun " brought
swift victory to King William and his
allies, and four years later the aggran-
dizement of Prussia brought about its
war with France. The annexation of
Alsace-Lorraine, considered necessary
for the protection of Prussia and the sub-
jection of France, has led to the alliance
of that country with Russia. Thus we
find that the present catastrophe in
Europe goes back lineally to the Pan-
dora's box of the Schleswig-Holstein
question.
This review of events shows that the
first league to enforce peace was not
happy in its results, and yet it may be
that, as Prussia once accepted a consti-
tution which provided for the submission
of rival claims of Confederate States to
the Confederate Diet and the promulga-
tion of decrees and the enforcement of
those decrees by Federal execution, it
might, in order to bring about a stable
peace between the States of Europe and
Great Britain, bring itself to an adhesion
to some such a league as is now planned.
The present upheaval in Europe was
perhaps caused by the disturbance of the
equilibrium of the Balkan States as well
as by the growing military power of the
German Empire and its avowed ambi-
tions, which were curbed by the constric-
tion of Germany within its narrow
bounds. The first serious vibrations felt
118
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
in Western Europe came from the
Balkan States. Now, after two years
and a half of war, the control of the
bridge between the Teuton allies and the
Near East is being bitterly contested.
If the Entente Allies should not succeed
in barring this eastern extension of Ger-
many over its wished-for vassal States
of Austria-Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria,
Rumania, and Turkey, the German Em-
pire, like Prussia in the old German Con-
federation, would be too strong to sub-
mit a quarrel to the arbitration of a
council of a league of nations. But if
the Teutons fail in the Balkans, and the
Entente Allies hold the "bridge," Ger-
many might well be a tractable member
of such a league, after the experience of
this war. This contest on the eastern
front seems the vital tug of war, and the
western fighting seems now to be a
necessary corollary of it.
The practical question, then, before the
world is this: If a State, a member of
such a league, is strong enough, or thinks
it is strong enough, to stand against all
the others to gain its end, will it abide by
any decree made by the proposed League
to Enforce Peace, even after arbitration
before the league tribunal, it being under-
stood beforehand that such a refusal
would lead to the coalition of the whole
world against it?
It is quite clear that before the expe-
riences of the " world war," great nations
would not have been bound by any such
agreement. When the important inter-
ests of a nation are at stake, its course
has almost always been selfish, but the
terrible war may be teaching a lesson
even to that nation whose strict adher-
ence to a league would be the only guar-
antee of its success.
It seems fairly clear, then, that rather
than to attempt what may be impossible,
that is, the humiliation of Germany, an
effort should be made, after a check to the
Teutons in the east, to make a peace which
should give all the countries their aspira-
tions— the return of Alsace-Lorraine to
France, a recognition of Germany's ne-
cessity for expansion, and an outlet for
Russia to the Mediterranean, and provide
for the restoration and indemnification
of ruined small countries; Great Britain
has all she wishes today, and only desires
to be left alone.
The unstable equilibrium of Europe
must be cured before a stable foundation
for peace — or for a peace league — can
be laid. Communities under alien rule,
races governed by other races, religions
ruled by other religions, countries shut
off from their natural development,
countries forced into unnatural expan-
sion, are never content. It is only by
minds convinced of these premises that a
sound peace can be made.
Jerusalem
By O. C. A. CHILD
Again the Briton nears the ancient gates!
The city of the Holy Sepulchre
Sits in its Eastern calm and dumbly waits
The coming of the legions from afar.
They're dust a thousand years, the knightly train
That followed Richard's leopard-blazoned shield
Down the long road that valor pointed plain —
The path of honor to the stricken field.
Now men as bold as they, their sires' sons,
Toil through the sands where centuries ago
Their forebears fought — awake with roaring guns
The dead who heard crusading trumpets blow.
Perchance the ghost of grim old Saladin
A scimitar across their path may fling,
Yet shall one wave them onward till they win —
The wraith of England's Lion-hearted King!
At the Western Fighting Fronts
By Frank H. Simonds
Frank H. Simonds, associate editor of The New York Tribune, visited the battlefields in
France and had personal interviews with the British and French Premiers and military
chiefs in February, 1917. He presented his conclusions in a series of articles, parts of which,
by special agreement, are herewith presented in Current History Magazine. Mr. Simonds's
judgment on the situation in Europe is highly regarded in well-informed circles.
[Copyrighted— Printed by Special Arrangement]
BEFORE I went to the British front
and talked with the British com-
manders I shared the view of
most uninformed observers from
afar that the main purpose of British
strategy and tactics alike was to pierce
the German lines, to force the Germans
out of France by some
swift, complete stroke
— I believed that this
was a possible thing.
But I doubt if any
British General of au-
thority really believes
or expects this sort of
outcome to the war at
the present time.
Rather the prevailing
notion is summed up
in Grant's memorable
words — and the Brit-
ish Army expects to
fight the present cam-
paign out on the exist-
ing lines if it takes a'U
Summer or several
Summers. Indeed, I
was struck with the
emphasis Sir Will-
iam Robertson laid on the parallel of the
civil war when I talked with him in Lon-
don later.
Here is about the point of view of the
British Army in France:
" Today we have more guns and more
amnunition than the Germans. We are
pounding them day and night as they
once pounded us. The weakening in
their morale is slowly but surely grow-
ing, as is demonstrated by the number
of desertions that are taking place and
the growing readiness of units to sur-
render.
" We are pounding without ceasing,
and the results of the pounding prove not
FRANK H. SIMONDS
that the German troops in front of us are
about to collapse, not that the German
lines are about to break up like a fro-
zen river with the Spring thaw, but that
some day this process of weakening will
have serious consequences. It may be
that the Germans will avoid these conse-
quences by gradual
retirement, but such
gradual retirement
shakes the morale of
the soldier and of the
nation. It may be that
the Germans will hold
on as Lee did before
Richmond until the
last, and thus court
disaster, such disaster
as came to Lee. But
these things are in the
future.
" As to piercing the
German lines, given
the present style of
war, given the mag-
nificent organization
of the German lines,
given their mechani-
cal resources, notably,
this is a long task,
thing is not to pierce
kill Germans and to
wear out the German armies. It makes
relatively little difference whether this
is done on the line of the Somme or on
the line of Cambrai, or even at the
French frontier, from Hirson to Lille,
behind which is again the line of the
Scheldt and the Meuse — the best line of
all. Each time the German shortens his
line he reduces the number needed to hold
it and the strain upon his resources.
" The parallel is, after all, not the foot-
ball field, but the prizering. We shall
only defeat Germany by exhausting her;
machine guns,
And the main
lines, but to
120
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
we shall only win by a knockout; and
the knockout may come in one corner of
the ring or the other.
" Two years ago we were holding our
lines by rifle fire against high explosives.
In the second week in May, 1915, Field
Marshal French was compelled to attack
at Festubert to aid the French and take
the pressure off the Canadians in the
Ypres salient. He had ammunition for
forty minutes of bombardment, and that
was all. Then the infantry had to at-
tack, and it cost 8,000 casualties. We had
neither machine guns, trench mortars,
nor any of the instruments Germany had
been accumulating for years. German
aircraft were supreme in our sector.
" But today we have more guns and
better guns than the Germans. We fire
four shells to the Germans' one, and in
the battle of the Somme not a German
aircraft 'came over' for days on end.
Their artillery shot in the dark; ours was
informed by our aviators. At the begin-
ning of the battle of the Somme we had
terrific losses because it was a new ex-
perience and a new army. A brigade
attacking at one point lost 1,900 killed,
1,800 wounded, and brought back 300
men. The other day, in one of the last
attacks, another brigade lost 1,400 men,
and, in addition to burying 900 Germans,
brought back 1,800 prisoners.
" Night and day we pound the Ger-
mans. Their artillery does not reply
much of the time. We raid their trenches,
and they seldom react. We take an ever-
increasing number of prisoners. We see
ever-increasing signs of wearing out.
Do not misunderstand — the Germans are
still very strong. The new units arrive,
each soldier carrying his extra pair of
shoes. They are well fed and well led;
they will be to the last.
If there is desertion and surrender in
some units, others fight as well as ever
and there is no ' Kamerad ' business with
them." * * *
No Victory This Year
I do not believe the British Army in
France expects to win the war this year.
I do not believe that the Generals are
thinking in terms of a day, a month, or a
year. What seems to be the feeling is
that after two years and a half of war
there has been fashioned a British Army
which is still gaining in knowledge and
strength, but already has a proved su-
periority over its foe ,in morale, in ma-
terial, and in the things that may be
measured by the slow but sure retrogres-
sion of the Germans before them. For
nearly two years the British Army hung
on, now it is advancing; it escaped an-
nihiliation, it is experiencing success.
One of the questions I asked all the
Generals with whom I talked was as to
the possibility of a German offensive at
some point on the British front. All
agreed that it was possible; some ex-
pected it. A push at the Ypres salient,
the worst position on the whole front,
was frequently suggested. General Mal-
leterre in Paris quite strongly argued
that the Germans would make this at-
tack. I think that there is a considerable
expectation in London that it will come,
and I find this view repeated in later
dispatches commenting upon the Ger-
man retirement about Bapaume.
But such an offensive carries no real
peril to the mind of the British Army in
France, which is chiefly interested to
know if the Germans will bring out
some new device, some new weapon like
" poison gas," and endeavor by using it
to open a gap in the British front such
as was opened at Ypres just two years
ago next month and offered the Germans
one of the golden chances of the whole
war.
Troops in Fine Condition
Of the physical condition of the British
Army it is impossible to speak too highly.
I was in France in the zero weather of
January. Every morning I rode out
along the roads and camps, and never
have I seen so many soldiers, or soldiers
looking so young and strong and fit. It
semed as if all the eastward leading
valleys of France were swarming with
British, Canadian, and Australian troops
pushing onward to the front; it seemed
an endless and inexhaustible flood, while
behind, each little village had new reser-
voirs of khaki-clad Tommies. * * *
From the British Army in France, with
which I stayed a week, I brought away
the feeling of confidence and of intelli-
AT THE WESTERN FIGHTING FRONTS
121
gent optimism. It has the appearance of
an army which has undertaken a con-
tract, not with a time-limit clause, not
with a fixed hour or place of completion.
It has undertaken a contract to dispose
of the German military problem, of that
part of the German Army assigned to it
to deal with. It feels that it is doing the
work, it recognizes that the way is still
difficult and the time may yet be long.
It expects new German attacks and it en-
visages the possibility of local German
successes, but it has only one possible ap-
prehension: it looks not to the front and
the Germans for its main peril, but to
England and the man behind the lines —
if he can hold, the end is assured and the
fate of the " Hun " is sealed. And this
is the feeling of the French Army quite
as well. The soldier sees victory, unless
his civilian fellow-citizen weakens — and
of this the signs are few in England, as
in France.
I can perhaps sum up my impression
of the British Army in France by saying
it recalls all that I have heard and read
of the armies of the North in 1864. It
is a volunteer army in the main; its of-
ficers are men proved by the test of two
yars and a half of war. Its men, volun-
teers though they are, are no longer raw
or green. Haig, Home, Rawlinson, Gough,
Allenby, Plumer — these Generals com-
manding armies have survived the test
of battle elimination.
As an army the British force has
been battered, driven, it has been de-
feated and it has been repulsed. Its ex-
periences recall those of the Army of the
Potomac from the Peninsula to Gettys-
burg— but, like the Army of the Poto-
mac, it has found itself, it has meas-
ured itself against a foe ready and
trained and equipped as Lee's army was
not. And it is advancing. The Tommy
in the trench more clearly than any Gen-
eral or military writer sees and weighs
the evidence of German weakening.
Hence his supreme confidence. Hence
for him the German peace proposal was
the plea of the beaten.
The nearer you get to the German
line the more serene the spirit of the
British seems.
The Battlefield of the Somme
Over an area perhaps of ten miles by
twenty, of the battlefield on the Somme,
the whole face of the earth has been
changed, the heart of hills has been
blown out; you look up the slope of a
considerable hill, you climb with difficul-
ty up its rounding slope, and suddenly
you gaze down into a chasm, a volcano's
crater; all the interior of the hill has
been blown out by a mine; the hillside
is an open shell; an ocean liner could be
concealed in the crater.
Coming out of Albert along the road
so many thousands of men have followed
to death one approaches the field of
actual fighting with little real warning.
Albert itself is a shelled, half-destroyed
town. The tower of its church, with a
statute of the Virgin suspended in a
prostrate position across the tower, has
become a thing familiar to all who have
read of the battle. When it falls, so
the people of the region believe, peace
will come. But Albert is only a shelled
town; many of its houses stand, most of
them retain their walls and many their
roofs.
But a mile the other side of Albert,
traveling toward Peronne, one comes
suddenly out upon the most terrible and
bewildering scene of desolation it is pos-
sible to imagine. From the upper layer
of the earth there has been swept away
not alone the trees, the sod, the outer
covering, but the very depth of the
lower strata has been churned up and
scattered about. Of a sudden in the
midst of the landscape of Picardy, with
smiling valleys and pleasant woodlands,
there is the image of the Sahara, of
something more than the Saraha, of
the fields above Pompeii or Messina,
down which have flowed the streams of
lava which not only engulf but endure.
Only Skeletons of Hills
Turning off the main road one leaves
the car and climbs heavily up a hillside.
122
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Along this hillside ran the first line of
German trenches, but now there are
neither trenches nor semblances of
trenches. This hill and all the surround-
ing hills are worked by shell fire until
they resemble nothing so much as the
pictures of the surface of the moon, fa-
miliar to all who recall the geographies
of their youth. The flesh of the hill has
been swept away; only the skeleton re-
mains.
.Occasionally, where the slope of the
hill is undulating, the suggestion of a
German dugout remains, perhaps a dug-
out overwhelmed by the first deluge of
fire and still holding in its unexplored
depths the scores of Germans who in-
habitated it when the avalanche arrived.
All over the hillside, too, is the litter
of war,#unexploded shells, the fragments
of bombs, the debris of earlier and later
camps. Always, too, wherever there is
a bit of level ground are graves, endless
graves, graves placed without order and
without system — the graves dug by men
pressed with the need to get forward,
compelled to lay aside all regard for the
ceremony of inhumation.
From the hill of Mametz one looks
westward beyond the battlefield. Across
a little ravine the opposite slope rises,
still but little scarred. The frontier of
desolation is exactly marked; it is as
plain to the eye as if it were indicated
upon a map. But looking westward over
miles and miles, there is nothing but the
wild scene of desolation. The surface of
hill and valley has been swept away; it
is as if the outer and the inner strata of
the earth had in some fashion changed
places. It is destruction suggesting that
of Sodom and Gomorrah — a destruction
deliberately designed to make impossible
forever the return of men to their old
fields.
I do not know any way that one can
give any slight hint of the desolation of
the battlefield of the Somme. There it
iies, ten miles deep, one shore touching
the furnace which is still burning up and
destroying the surface of the earth and
all animate and inanimate things there-
on. At the other shore there begins
sharply the countryside of France, and
between the two shores is an infernal
region in which at least a million and a
half of men, British, German, and
French, have been killed or wounded.
Perhaps half a million men lie buried in
the shattered folds and turns of the
scarred hillsides or in the flats beside the
little brooks.
Mametz Swept Off the Earth
Sometimes in the Sunday supplements
scientists or alleged scientists used to
write articles describing the time when
the earth would begin to dry up, when
flames from inside the narrow crust
would burst forth. What they sought to
describe the artillery of the last great
war has illustrated on the slopes of the
Picardy hillsides.
Standing still on the slopes of the
Mametz hill, on the slopes toward the
north and east, one looks out upon the
sites of many villages. At your feet was
Mametz, but of Mametz there is not a
stone, not a fragment. It has not been
buried; it has been literally blown from
the face of the earth; it has dissolved in
dust, and the dust has been swept away.
Here was a well-built little French town,
with its solid houses of plaster and stone,
old houses enduring from other centuries.
It had the usual church, the familiar
place, the fountain, all the slight but
permanent details of a French village,
and now there is just nothing.
And what is true of Mametz is true
of Montauban; it is true of Fricourt; it
is true of I do not know how many more
villages. They are gone, and sometimes
the hills upon which they stood are gone.
On the map you will see marked many
little bits of woodland, the usual com-
munal grove or the inevitable clump of
trees surrounding the frequent chateaus.
But the woods are gone.
Woods Obliterated Near Verdun
I saw the same thing at Verdun, when
I visited Fort de Vaux before I went to
the Somme. There half a dozen of the
woods that have filled the battle reports
have vanished — Bois de Laufee, Chenois,
Capitre — they are gone, and there are
left neither stumps nor stump holes; the
ground out of which they grew has been
worked into a mass of holes, huge cavities
AT THE WESTERN FIGHTING FRONTS
123
in which men and animals have disap-
peared and been drowned.
This new artillery fire does not wreck ;
it does not even pause with obliteration;
it alters the very surface and the sub-
surface; it raises new hills and it de-
stroys old elevations.
And when the armies are gone and the
war ends, (for even this war must end
some time,) it is interesting, if tragic,
to think of what will be the emotions of
all the little people who inhabited these
regions, people who, faithful to the
French love for the land, will return to
their old homes. And of their old homes
they will find not even a fragment; the
fields that they cultivated and that their
fathers cultivated will have disappeared;
the subsurface will still be honeycombed
by the corridors of mines or the molelike
burrows of the dugouts.
I do not think one can get any concep-
tion of the real terror of this war who
has not seen the country of the Somme
or of Verdun, who has not seen the fash-
ion in which this war, like a malignant
war spirit, has not alone destroyed all
that there was of homes of human habi-
tation and of the fields of human effort,
but has swept the earth with fire and
sown it with salt, as if in the determina-
tion that there should never again be
life, that men should not exist or fruit
and foods grow in the fields over which
it had passed.
Yet it is not alone the sense of destruc-
tion that one feels at the Somme. Indeed,
I think the sense of human industry, of
enormous effort of innumerable men at
their tragic task of war, even passes the
impression of desolation. Take one of
the large anthills that one sometimes
sees in a country field, draw a rake
deeply through its curved summit, and
watch the myriad of ants come swarming
up and begin what seems a mad and
frantic outburst of industry, and you
will have some faint suggestion of what
the battlefield of the Somme is like.
Industry Amid Ruin
For, in spite of the desolation, there is
no lack of population, there is no lack of
human activity. Indeed, looking down
upon any section ,of the field, it suggests
pictures that one sees of some great en-
gineering operation, the removal of a
mountain, the transformation of some
square miles of the surface of the earth,
a labor like that of Panama. For grid-
ironed amid all the waste are railroad
tracks, the bottom of every valley is car-
peted with rails, and the noise of the dis-
tant artillery is deadened by the shrill
whistles of engines as they drag cars up
toward the front — toward the railhead —
the " dump " of the military argot.
And beside the railroads are highways,
the white, even, and splendid highways
of France. They alone have survived the
ruin, as the stones of the Appian Way
have outlived the centuries and the on-
rush of other barbarians. And along
these highways flow the most amazing
streams of mankind that are conceiv-
able, and not alone men but motors and
horses; the voice of the Missouri mule
challenges the passage of the " tank "
and the donkey of the pack train alike.
Up these roads, following their artil-
lery, surrounding their rolling kitchens,
the men of Australia and of Canada
move between those of Scotland and of
England. And the roads are crowded day
and night, like the roads that lead to the
Polo Grounds when a ball game is sched-
uled. And on the shell-swept hillsides
every sort of shanty and barrack affords
temporary resting place for the mender
of highways or police of the rear. It is
as if the flower and pick of British im-
perial manhood had suddenly sought a
dwelling place in the desert.
And the impression is bewildering be-
yond all else I have ever seen. Here are
some square miles of the earth's, surf ace
which have been swept and torn and
wrecked by shell, by the fury of the
weapons invented by man, and the men
who have done these things with the
maddest of all energy, with the most ter-
rible of all machines, have now come for-
ward to restore to human use what they
have just destroyed. First they have cre-
ated a wilderness, and worse than a wil-
derness, and then they have fared for-
ward into the wilderness, bringing with
them all the machinery they could devise,
not to repair all the injuries they have
wrought, but such of these injuries as
124
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
are hampering their purpose — which
purpose is to get forward swiftly and
turn still more miles of France into the
same centre of desolation.
•Scene of Lasting Destruction
I do not know how any one can quite
describe this battlefield of the Somme so
that the man who lives in peace on this
side of the Atlantic can understand it
or grasp something of the supreme in-
sanity and the supreme intelligence which
are both unmistakable there. I am sure
that centuries from now men and women
will go to this place to see the surviving
evidences of the storm that blighted it a
year ago. I have never seen anything
that approached the terribleness of the
sight, save about Verdun.
Yet an engineer, a man interested in
the moving of mountains or the trans-
formation of valleys to human ends,
would look down also upon these fields
today and see an order, an organization,
a development of human genius and hu-
man system, which would take him com-
pletely and command his admiration.
The saddest and most completely wasted
corner of a valley may conceal a terminal
station that would make an operating
railroad man jealous. A New York
policeman, a traffic man, used to the
problems of Fifth Avenue and Forty-
second Street, might shrink from the task
of separating and ordering the stream
that flows through what was once the
main street of Montauban and is now a
white road in the midst of powdered
ashes.
And like the forest fires of the North,
destruction advances, steadily, surely.
The road below the hill at Mametz pas-
ses Montauban, Guillemont, Ginchy, it
reaches Combles, it arrives at Sailly-Sail-
lisel, which is now the extreme front, but
tomorrow the flames will pass Sailly-Sail-
lisel. And when the storm has passed,
then the railroad and the highway will
push forward, more men will come with
tools and with machinery, and they will
reclaim to their own purposes this land
that has been deluged with steel, torn by
mines, watered by the blood of thousands
and thousands of men coming from the
uttermost parts of the earth and exhaust-
ing their resources, first of destruction
and then of reconstruction.
Last Summer we used to wonder why
the British advance was so slow. I do
not think one wonders when one clambers
with difficulty up the steep slopes of one
hHl and sees beyond this hill after hill,
valley after valley; not great hills, but
sharp and steep hills, all now like to
nothing so much as the deserted nest of
hornets, along whose slopes there may
still be traced in places the cuttings of
the trenches and tangles of barbed wire.
" Tank " a Symbol of Fury
Beyond Mametz, at Trones Wood, my
guide showed me a " tank," disabled and
lying beside the road. Oddly enough, it
seemed to me the only really appropriate
thing in the whole accursed region round-
about. It seemed animal rather than
mechanical, like a prehistoric animal, and
it was not difficult to imagine that all
the scene of desolation that extended on
every side was the work of this animal,
of many animals such as this; that there
was still going forward the war of some
prehistoric age between man and this
scaled creature, and that in its fury, its
dying fury — for this " tank " was dead —
it had torn up the Trones Wood, lashed
about itself and overturned trees and
rooted them up.
One more detail. All this field of con-
trasting waste and reconstruction is well
within reach of German shell fire. Now
and again the storm begins and the cara-
vans of men and animals slowly extend,
draw out into thin groups, and go on. It
never stops by day or by night, this
steady, even flow of human life toward
the extreme front at which annihilation
becomes absolute, at an arbitrary fron-
tier of sandbags.
The centre of the storm has passed,
but the storm area includes all of the
torn and wrecked country, and always
there is to be heard, not distant, the
steady drumming of heavy artillery; the
hills are shaken almost every moment
by the tremendous explosions, and the
intermittent cannonade rises to the mag-
nitude of an earthquake again and again.
A year ago I visited the field of the
Marne. Here there was nothing of de-
AT THE WESTERN FIGHTING FRONTS
125
struction visible that might not have
been the work of the men and the ma-
chines that fought Napoleon on the same
ground a century before. On the battle-
field of Champagne, of 1915, as I have
said, the effect of shell fire was patent
but temporary; the walls of houses stood
and the fields can be plowed and
planted when the trenches are filled and
the barbed wire removed. But at the
Somme there is nothing more terrifying
in all the terrible things that one sees
than the mutilation of the surface of the
earth itself, the permanent destruction
of the hills, and the lasting scarring of
the hillsides, sown as they are with the
shattered fragments of half a million of
human beings and condemned to eternal
sterility. Surely the Somme must be
the last word in war.
America as Viewed by the Allies
Mr. Simonds, in discussing the effect
of the break in diplomatic relations be-
tween the United States and Germany
and the probable entrance of this country
into the war, says:
I found no belief in Britain that it
would be possible for America to organ-
ize, equip, and transport armies to the
European front in time to contribute to
the decision, although the British Prime
Minister expressed the conviction that
thousands of American volunteers
would flock to the allied cause and serve
either in British or French armies under
the American flag, but commanded — as
to higher officers — by the British or the
French Army chiefs.
What the British felt was possible
was that America would be able, by
seizing German shipping in American
ports, to contribute to mitigating the se-
verity of the German submarine block-
ade, and, by giving the Allies credit, sim-
plify and accelerate the financing of
the war. Some slight help in the shape
of convoys for merchant ships sailing
under the American flag, but carrying
munitions and foodstuffs, was also sug-
gested.
But in the main I think London has
few illusions as to the material benefits
to flow from American participation in
the war, and there is a profound sus-
picion that in some way or other a meth-
od will be found by the President to avoid
coming in — that is, effectively.
The simple truth is that the British
have put aside almost all the illusions
that they had in the earlier period of
the war. They do not expect to starve
the Germans to death, however much dis-
comfort and privation their blockade may
cause. They no longer expect that Ger-
mans will rise against their own Gov-
ernment and welcome their enemies as
liberators, nor do they longer pin any
faith to the old ideas of Anglo-Saxon
solidarity, however pleasant to them
is the sympathy and support of their
American friends.
England — Britain, the empire — expects
to win the war by fighting, by killing
Germans on the western battle front. She
is making her preparations not for one
but for several years of war. If Russia
or Italy, or even heroic France, whose
contribution and devotion find only praise
and admiration, are able to contribute
much or little, so much the better; if
America joins and contributes, still bet-
ter. But these things will be as they may
be — the main thing is for Britain to pre-
pare to do all that Britain can.
The French Viewpoint
I do not believe that any one can go
to France, despite all there is of suffer-
ing and of sorrow, and not feel that the
will of the nation remains unshaken and
that, though the loss of blood has been
great, the strength of will remains un-
broken. Confidence in victory there is,
too. France expects to win, but beneath
all is the grim realization that to sub-
mit now, to accept a German peace, is
but to escape destruction for a little and
to bind the nation to eternal slavery to
the ideas and the ideals which are ab-
horrent to all Frenchmen and destructive
of all that France means in the world or
has meant.
Always Frenchmen, talking of America
126
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
and American views, speaking of Presi-
dent Wilson and his course, come back to
the same point. To them it is incompre-
hensible that any democratic nation, any
civilized nation, can fail to perceive the
fact of this war, can fail to perceive the
impossibility of making peace, not with
Germans as Germans, but with the Ger-
man race, so long as it clings to those
doctrines which have brought so much of
horror and shame into France and swept
away so much of what was beautiful in
man and in art.
The Germans persist in the notion that
the French people desire peace and the
French politicians compel war. I think
the opposite is the truth. I think it is the
politicians who are the sole pacifists,
those who do profess pacifism, and I
think this is due to their failure to under-
stand the will and the determination of
those whom they represent. A peace
Government, a peace Ministry, could no":
live; no French politicians dare openly
to talk of peace, save those who do not
count and cannot gain or lose by their
words.
When I was in Paris the city was suf-
fering from the worst Winter since the
siege. Coal was practically unobtainable
and the suffering was great; there was
a sense of suffering about that one does
not think of in Paris, and yet through
it all there was no outward evidence of
any weakening of will, there were no
disorders of the sort that one hears as
taking place in German cities; life is not
easy in France, it is not pleasant, the
sufferings that the war brings mount
day by day, and the end of the increase
is not in sight.
Yet I do not think that any one who
loved the French would talk to them long
of peace. I do not think any but an in-
credibly stupid man, or a German, would
find evidence of the breaking of French
spirit or the decay of French resolution.
Returning to France after a year, one
could not help feeling the extension of
sadness, the intensification of the strain.
France is suffering and she is bleeding,
but there has been no change in French
spirit or the French conception of the
ultimate issues of the war. It remains
a battle between civilization and bar-
barism, and it remains a battle which
must have a decision, and a decision
which will insure the safety of France.
All else means permanent ruin, the end
of France. France, French men and
French women are struggling with an
unclean but powerful beast; they are
struggling with a beast which will de-
stroy them and their children, as it has
devoured some and outraged more, unless
they are able to destroy it, and no suf-
fering, no agony, can make peace pos-
sible save death itself until the victory
is won, because any other peace is death.
This, I think, is the French view, and this
is why for France the war will go on be-
yond this year, if necessary.
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The ^Liberators " of Poland
Horrors of the Teutonic Invasion, as
Attested by Russian Official Records
Eugene Griselle, General Secretary of the French Catholic Committee of Foreign Mis-
sions, contributes to La Revue Hebdomedaire the subjoined account of events attending the
Prussian and Austrian occupation of Poland. His materials are drawn from Colonel A. S.
Rezanoff's " German Atrocities on the Russian Front," summarizing the results of an official
inquiry by the Russian Government. In each case the source is given in full in the original.
[This matter is published without verification
by the editor, and is presented as an en parte
contribution. — Editor Current History Magazine.]
THE chateau of A. Budny was visit-
ed by two Austrian officers,
Count Zitchy and Baron Sardas.
They began by ordering a copious
meal, and, while it was being prepared,
they made a tour through the chateau,
during which they stole shamelessly.
Baron Sardas, without the smallest hesi-
tation picked up from a table a valuable
gold watch, with chain and charms, and,
when M. Budny protested, drew a re-
volver and threatened to shoot him.
Count Zitchy, carrying a small traveling
bag in his hand, gathered up rare bibe-
lots as " keepsakes." From the stable the
two officers chose six thoroughbred
horses, of a total value of 50,000 rubles,
saying that they " requisitioned " them.
The visit of these two Austrian " aristo-
crats " cost M. Budny something over
80,000 rubles.
The Austrians, when retreating, set
fire to the villages and savagely shot
down the pacific inhabitants. Among
prisoners taken by the Russians was a
Captain Schmidt, who made himself fa-
mous as an incendiary of defenseless vil-
lages, a destroyer of churches and
shrines. * * *
A Russian officer testified : " I saw with
my own eyes the savagery and insane
cruelty of the Austrians, running from
house to house, to burn a village and de-
stroy, in the midst of so much suffering,
whatever had miraculously escaped our
artillery fire. The town of Iuzefov, on
the Vistula, was burned to the ground.
* * * At Iurov the Teutonic fury mani-
fested itself with peculiar violence. After
setting fire to the village at four points,
the Germans began to fire on all who
tried to save anything from the flames.
The hapless inhabitants who escaped
from the burning houses were equally
greeted with rifle fire. A few families
hid in the cellars; others in potato pits.
As soon as they discovered this, the Ger-
mans threw straw into the pits and set
fire to it. The maddened refugees, when
they tried to climb out, were met with
bullet and bayonet. In the cellars forty-
two bodies, slain in this horrible way,
were counted. The Germans killed an
old man named Bazarnik by firing foar
salvos at him, the first being aimed at
his feet, the second at his loins, the third
at his breast, the fourth at his head.
These salvos were fired at intervals, in-
tentionally lengthened." * * *
In the villages of Sonta and Veprie-
Czero the Austrians assaulted the wo-
men. In the village of Sumin, according
to the deposition of the parish priest of
Ternovatka, a woman who resisted was
murdered; her ears and breasts were cut
off. * * *
The " woman tax " was reduced to
system by the Austrians. The officers
coldly ordered so many women to be
brought to one or another detachment
of their troops. Those who resisted were
shot. * * *
The Deputy, Makonietchni, who visited
the Lublin district, testified that the vio-
lations of women were innumerable; the
most monstrous and incredible outrages
were inflicted on them, many of them
having their breasts cut off. * * * The
Austrians, literally drunk with fury,
threw the unfortunate inhabitants into
the burning houses. There were numer-
ous cases where soldiers impaled children
on their bayonets and then threw them
into the flames. * * *
The manager of an estate on the out-
skirts of Lovicz testified: "The Teutons
128
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
came to us toward evening, at least sev-
enty in number. They put their horses
in the stables, the sheds, and the cow
houses, driving out the cows. Then they
came into the house, crying: ' Give us
supper! ' ' Give us wine! ' We killed
poultry and I opened the cellar. Mean-
while, the officers wandered from room
to room, with drawn swords, slashing at
everything, portraits, porcelains, the
grand piano.
" But the worst came later. When sup-
per was over, the officers, three in num-
ber, who had drunk six bottles of wine,
were completely drunk. ' Bring us wo-
men! ' they cried. The soldiers rushed
to fulfill their orders. I had my wife
and a little girl of 12; the mechanician
who lived in the house had a young wife;
he had been married only that Summer.
The poor creatures were seized. Terror-
ized, broken down, I could not move.. The
mechanician's wife struggled to escape,
crying to him: ' Save me from dis-
honor! ' He dashed toward her, but a
dragoon cut him over the head with his
sabre. She died during the night. They
brought the two women and the little girl
into the officers' room. The little girl
was found dead in the morning. * * *
An eyewitness records a monstrous
piece of cruelty which he saw in the vil-
lage of Kilniki, in the district of Versh-
bolovo, in the Government of Suvalki:
The inhabitants led me to the hut of a
Polish peasant, aged 56, Ossip Bindero-
vitch by name. The miserable wretch
was lying on a mattress, torn by con-
vulsions of agony. His daughters, with-
out a word, led me close to the body,
which was beginning to stiffen, and with
their fingers opened his mouth. I shud-
dered with horror; in place of the tongue
there was a gaping wound. A few min-
utes later Binderovitch died under my
eyes. His daughters told me the Germans
had torn his tongue out because he had
refused to show them the direction in
which the Cossack scouts had retreated
from the village. * * *
The prior of the famous Polish Mon-
astery of Czenstochovo has testified to
the thefts of the Germans. Thousands of
pounds of silver and gold, the offerings
of pilgrims to the shrine, a great quan-
tity of pearls from the halo of the famous
image of the Virgin, among others a
costly pearl given by the Chancellor,
Prince Lubomisrki; the giant ruby taken
from the haft of a dagger captured by
Jan Sobieski under the walls of Vienna,
an emerald weighing more than forty
karats, given by an unknown pilgrim in
1812, were carried away. * * * When
the German officers, installed in the mon-
astery after the expulsion of the monks,
had emptied the wine cellars, they
" requisitioned " the women of the town.
The razzia was carried out under atro-
cious conditions. [The details here are
so abominable that it is impossible to
translate them. — Ed.] * * * Soon
there was not a house in which were not
heard foul German oaths; in the streets
the conduct of the Germans was re-
volting. * * * There was not a house
in Czenstochovo that had not some in-
famy to lament. * * *
By evening, more than fifteen hundred
had been arrested, men and women. All
were declared prisoners of war and sent
to Germany. * * * In the village of
Topaltcha, the soldiers of the Apostolic
Emperor, Francis Joseph, established
their hospital in the church, which was
found littered with excrement. The
church vessels were gone. * * * On
the altar the soldiers had drunk, eaten,
and played cards. In the sacristy, all
objects of value were stolen. The fonts
were turned into urinals. * * *
Michlachevski, an employe of the
Countess Branitzka, testified: With a
considerable group of Poles, I was moved
from town to town in Germany, working
at the supply of provisions for the troops,
in the slaughterhouses, at the burial of
soldiers, digging trenches. Finally, we
were dressed in military uniforms and
sent to fight against the French at
Luneville. * * *
S. F. Koninski testified: The Germans
brought a large body of civilian prison-
ers to Silesia, drilled them, and sent
them to Belgium and France, where they
were put on the firing line. * * *
Ordeals of the Wounded
Extraordinary Phases and Episodes Described by Medical
Experts
i.
[Translated for Current History Magazine
from a report made by Professor Ludovico
Isnardi to the Royal Academy of Medicine of
Turin, Italy. Professor Isnardi has been
Director of the Military Reserve Hospital at
Vercelli since the beginning of the war.]
THERE is a sort of suppurating
wound produced by the so-called
wounds by explosion, with orifice
of ample exit, funnel-shaped and
especially dangerous when found in the
thigh and leg. In these wounds for the
most part the skeleton is affected.
It is easy to understand how in these
cases the wounds become infected, if one
thinks of the difficult places in which our
war is being carried on. Some wounded
have been lowered with ropes from the
rocks. Many with serious wounds are
compelled to go on foot over long tracts
of most laborious road. One soldier fell
at fifty meters from the enemy's trenches
with fracture of the femur near the base
of the thigh and with a wound on the
internal side as large as a hand; all alone
he bound the sick leg tightly to the well
one with his belt, then slid down the
slope of a hill, and for five hours crawled
on hands and feet until he reached his
own camp.
The inflammation of these wounds is
impressive. From the orifices issue
black blood, pus, and sometimes gas; the
intermuscular spaces are invaded by the
pus, the whole joint is discolored and
much swollen; high fever, and in the first
nights delirium. One condition only is
favorable, the extent of the cutaneous
opening.
I ought to say parenthetically that, in
spite of everything, in general our
wounded soldiers on arrival at the hos-
pital with the clinical history which ac-
companies them, the dressings perfected,
the fractured joints immobilized, often
with plaster on which is written clearly
the diagnosis and the facts, attest a calm,
an order, a solid scientific preparation in
our field physicians which are truly ad-
mirable.
II.
[Translated for Current History Magazine
from a recent article in Revue de Chirurgie,
Paris, by Andre Clialier and Roger Glenard.
These two men made a military hospital out
of a Summer hotel in the high valley of the
Moselle, near one of the most frequented
passes of the Vosges.]
The wounded were brought to us from
the firing line, distant some 20 to 25
kilometers, in French, English, or Amer-
ican automobiles. They came to us either
directly or after having passed through
a division ambulance located in front of
us, in relay fashion. We have received
many wounded barely a few hours after
they were put hors de combat, but the
majority have come to us quite late, after
one or several days of waiting, the delay
being accounted for by the difficulties
encountered in picking them up and by
the length of the transport in the moun-
tainous regions where our soldiers were
fighting.
Thus, for example, an infantryman re-
ceives a ball in the chest at 3 P. M. He
loses blood by the mouth, and, very much
oppressed, does 300 meters on foot in or-
der to gain the relief station; in trav-
ersing this distance he has to rest him-
self three times. He remains at the re-
lief station until 9 P. M., then the stretch-
er bearers carry him for two hours, until
he reaches a shelter for sappers, where
he rests for three hours, and continues to
spit much blood. The next day, at 2
A. M., he is placed on a mule, which car-
ries him for three hours across the moun-
tain, only to put him down by the edge of
the road at 5 A. M. There a cart picks
him up at 7 A. M., and puts him down
at 10 A. M. at a point where finally
horse-drawn vehicles arrive, which con-
duct him to the division ambulance.
Another infantryman, wounded at 10
130
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
A. M., also in the chest, at first remains
there, where an individual dressing is
applied for him. At 7 P. M. he leaves
on foot and walks in the darkness until
midnight; then he stretches himself out
on the ground in a bit of woods and
sleeps, covered by the beautiful stars.
At the first trace of dawn he begins to
walk again, and reaches the relay of
stretcher bearers. These take him at 5
A. M., and at 8 A. M. they place him in a
vehicle which bears him to the ambulance
of the first line. He remains there some
hours, and is finally brought to us in an
automobile; he reaches us at 10 P. M., or
thirty-six hours after receiving his
wound.
Quite recently, in an action where a
surrounded company was delivered only
at the end of four days, certain wounded,
their dressings done only in the most
summary manner, were obliged to re-
main all this time on the ground.
In general, we have kept our wounded
the least time possible, so as to reserve
the largest number of places in our hos-
pital ready for emergency use. How-
ever, as far as major wounds are con-
cerned, particularly those of the extremi-
ties, we have made it a point not to dis-
charge them before the seventh or eighth
day after the time of wounding, for it is
during this first week that ordinarily
the worst infectious accidents supervene
if they are to occur. Likewise, we have
kept at least two weeks the cases of
trephining, of amputation, of serious
wounds of the chest, of the abdomen,
and of the joints.
III.
[Translated from Espana Medica, Madrid,
for Current History Magazine.]
The following episode was overheard
in the corridor of a hospital and was told
by a Spaniard who enlisted in the French
Army and was wounded:
" The good Lalane, the merriest com-
rade of the region, has made an ugly
death. Toward evening we had repulsed
an attack of the ' boches '; we had leaped
out of the trench, which was turned up-
side down by the artillery; then we had
regained our posts. Seventeen men were
missing, and among these was Lalane.
When the cannonading and the fusillade
had ceased we heard the usual torment-
ing cries of our wounded, fallen on the
ground between our trench and that of
the enemy. * Help, mercy, mamma!'
pleaded the poor wretches.
" Uselessly we tried to aid them. Our
self-denial cost us two men, because the
enemies made a terrible fire every time
that we repeated the attempt.
" At the dawn of day the cries had
stopped; only one of our men continued
to shriek tremendously. We recognized
the voice of Lalane, who was roaring
with pain and with anger. The unfortu-
nate man was the prey of delirium; he
pretended that nasty rats were gnawing
him and that he could not free himself
from them. Two days and three nights
the torture of our unfortunate friend
lasted. They were two days and three
nights during which we did not sleep in
the trench. We were obsessed. Little
Cazan cried like a baby.
" In the end there was silence, which
said clearly that Lalane was dead. There
was a sigh of relief for all. ' Poor devil!'
I proposed by all means to go after the
corpse of our friend as soon as a favor-
able chance presented itself, in order to
prevent it from being torn up by a flock
of ravens roosting in the grove near by.
The chance did not keep us waiting long;
the thickest sort of a morning fog per-
mitted Cazan to betake himself to the
spot and to tie a small rope to one of his
feet; pulling and pulling, we succeeded
in dragging him along up to the trench.
A cry 6f horror leaped from our throats!
The eyes, empty; the nose, the ears, the
lips, gnawed; all the body stripped, torn
asunder, devoured — the bones could be
seen here and there. Of his clothes there
remained intact only his leather belt and
shoes. The unhappy man had a slight
wound in the spine, which had paralyzed
and immobilized him; hence he could not
defend himself against the trench rats,
which had devoured him alive!"
At this point the narrator was inter-
rupted by the protests of his comrades,
who wished to sleep. That night I slept
badly; I dreamed of struggling with all
the monsters of the Apocalypse.
A Darkened Church in the War Zone
An Irish Officer's Word Picture
AT a certain point at the front there
is a village where the troops
come from time to time to rest,
and there the church each evening is
crowded with the soldiers. Lights of a
brilliant kind are not allowed in this
village, as it is so near the line, and it
is urgent at night to give no sign which
might make the place a target for the
long-range guns of the enemy. There-
fore the church is never lighted in the
evening, and it is by the flames of a
few candles alone on the altar of Our
Lady of Dolores that the rosary is re-
cited.
It is a strange scene in this church at
night. Entering it, all is dark save for
the few fluttering candles on the altar
before which the priest kneels to say
the prayers. It is only when the men
join in that one becomes aware that the
church is really full, and it is solemn
and appealing beyond words to describe
when up from the darkness rise the
great chords from hundreds of voices in
the prayers. The darkness seems to add
impressiveness to the prayers, and from
the outside are heard the rumble and
roar of the guns which, not so very
far away, are dealing out death and
agony to the comrades of the men who
pray. Sometimes the church is mo-
mentarily illuminated by the flashes of
the guns and the windows are lighted
up as though by lightning.
The writer of these lines has seen
many an impressive spectacle of large
congregations at prayer in great and
spacious churches in many lands, but
nothing more truly touching, impressive,
and moving has ever been witnessed than
the darkened church behind the lines,
thronged with troops fervently invoking
the intercession of the Mother of God
under almost the very shadow of the
wings of the Angel of Death! In France
and Belgium the Catholic troops are
fortunate in having at hand so many
churches of their own faith, and this
makes it easier for the devoted chaplains
to get their flocks together. For so
many days the battalions are in the
trenches, and for so many days in the
comparative safety of the camps in the
little villages somewhere back from the
firing line. The day and night before a
battalion goes to the trenches the chap-
lains are busy in the churches, for the
men throng to confession, and it is a won-
derful and most faith-inspiring sight to
see them in hundreds approaching the
altar before marching off to danger, and
in many cases to death itself.
When the turn in the trenches is over
and the men resume their rosary in the
darkened church in the evenings there
are always some absent ones who were
there the week before. For this very rea-
son, perhaps, because of the comrades
who will never kneel by their side again,
the men pray all the more fervently and
with ever-increasing earnestness say,
" May the souls of the faithful departed
through the mercy of God rest in peace! "
While some of the chaplains attend
the men who are resting in the back
villages, others follow the men into the
line, and there, in some ruined house
close by or in a shelter or dugout in
the trench itself, they are always at
hand to minister to the suffering and
the dying. Who can measure the con-
solation they bring, or who can describe
the comfort and happiness of the soldier
whose eyes, before they close forever,
rest upon the face of the priest of his
own faith? If the priest in peace is the
ever-sought comforter of the afflicted
and dying, how much more so is the
priest in time of war and in the battle
line! The writer has met at the front
many chaplains, and the dominant feel-
ing of one and all is thankfulness that
they were able to go out with the men
and share their lot.
Of all the actors in the great tragedy
of the war none stand out more heroically
than the chaplains, none fill a greater
place in what has come to be called the
theatre of war. No wonder so many of
132
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
them have received decorations, and no
wonder the men highly value the pres-
ence and the consolation and the en-
couragement of the " padre," as the
officers call the minister of religion. To
the Catholic soldiers, however, the priest
remains " father," and it is good to see
them smile as he approaches and to hear
the sound ring of the old faith in their
voices as they reply to his salutation and
address him always as " father."
Mass has been said in the very trenches,
and the writer has attended mass in
many a ruined church and many a shell-
wrecked shelter. And ever and always
the men are the same, devoted and earn-
est, and the more wretched their sur-
roundings the more eager they are.
Nothing is more noticeable than the
way the Catholic soldier holds by his
beads. The writer has seen men who
were killed in the line. Their little per-
sonal belongings are carefully collected
by comrades and safely kept to be sent
home, but the rosary when found in the
pocket is often, usually indeed, reverent-
ly placed round the dead man's neck
before he is wrapped in his blanket for
burial. " I put his beads about his neck,
Sir," is the report often given by the
stretcher bearer to the chaplain or other
officer, as a man is given to the grave.
How many Catholic soldiers lie in their
lonely graves today in the war zone
with their beads about their necks!
How very, very many! And so, indeed,
one feels sure would they wish to be
buried.
The Great Work of the Belgian
Relief Commission
THE breaking off of diplomatic re-
lations between the United States
and Germany threatened to in-
terrupt, if not entirely end, the
valuable work of the American Commis-
sion for Relief in Belgium, which has be-
come equally well known by its initials,
" C. R. B." When the German invasion
cut off the 80 per cent, of Belgium's food
imported from over the seas, nearly ten
million people, including those in the in-
vaded part of France, were in danger of
starving to death. Something had to be
done to help the Belgians, and somebody
had to do it.
The emergency produced the man, Her-
bert C. Hoover, an American mining en-
gineer and business organizer resident in
London, and the head of industrial un-
dertakings employing 125,000 men. Mr.
Hoover marshaled a small legion of fel-
low-Americans— business men, sanitary
experts, doctors, social workers — who as
unpaid volunteers set about the great
task of feeding the people of Belgium
and Northern France. Today the C. R.
B., which Mr. Hoover and his colleagues
have built up, is a great institution, rec-
ognized by all Governments, receiving
contributions from all parts of the earth,
with its own ships in every great port,
and in the eyes of the Belgians and
French who receive their daily bread
through its agency a monument of what
Americans can do in social organization
and business efficiency, for Americans
have furnished the entire personnel of
the commission from the beginning.
The initial negotiations with the vari-
ous belligerent Governments in 1914 were
conducted on behalf of the commission
by the American Ambassadors and Min-
isters in London, Brussels, and Berlin.
Mr. Hoover, early recognizing the pos-
sibility that the United States might be-
come involved in the war, obtained the
patronage of the Spanish and Dutch Am-
bassadors and Ministers in London, Ber-
lin, and Brussels, and at every crisis
which has threatened America in the war
the commission has had the support of
the Spanish and Dutch diplomats, who
have been ready, if necessary, to find a
new staff to replace the American per-
sonnel. The commission is a distinct or-
ganization from the Belgian National
GREAT WORK OF BELGIAN RELIEF COMMISSION
133
Committee, through and with which it
works in Belgium itself. Its functions
are those of direction, supervision, and
all matters that have to be dealt with
outside Belgium. In the occupied terri-
tories it has the help of thousands of
Belgian and French workers, many of
them women.
The commission does not depend upon
any one of its American members for
leadership, since, as Mr. Hoover says,
any one of them could at any time take
charge and carry on the work. " Hon-
nold, Poland, Gregory, Brown, Kellogg,
Lucey, White, Hunsiker, Connet, Young,
and many others who at various periods
have given of their great ability and ex-
perience in administration could do it."
At the same time it is admitted that the
commission would never have been so
successful if Belgium had not already
had in existence a well-developed com-
munal system. The base of the commis-
sion's organization is a committee in
every commune, or municipality. The
communal committees consist of repre-
sentatives of the trade unions, the com-
munal authorities, the medical profes-
sion, and the business or professional
class. Through their knowledge of
everybody in their communes and of local
conditions the committees are able to es-
timate exactly the extent of the relief
required.
" You can have no idea what a great
blessing it has been in Belgium and
Northern France to have the small and
intimate divisions which exist under the
communal system," says Mr. Hoover.
" It is the whole unit of life and a po-
litical entity much more developed than
in America. It has been not only the
basis of our relief organization, but the
salvation of the people." Altogether
there are 4,000 communal committees,
which are linked up in larger groups un-
der district and provincial committees,
which in turn come under the Belgian
National Committee.
Up to date the commission has spent
$250,000,000, most of which has been pro-
vided by the British and French Govern-
ments. The remainder has come from
the Belgians and French themselves, and
from contributions sent from all parts of
the world, including Madagascar, remote
places in China, the Solomon Islands,
Greenland, Liberia, and Tasmania. Tas-
mania, the smallest of the States of the
Australian Commonwealth, has the honor
of heading the per capita contributions,
with $6.53 subscribed for every inhab-
itant.
When Mr. Hoover and his fellow-
Americans began the work of saving Bel-
gium from starvation, they made their
first appeal to the people of the United
States. They considered that they were
working on behalf of America in the
name of humanity, and they felt that
they were in this way writing " a page of
true Americanism in Europe." But the
American response to the appeal for
contributions has thus far been sadly dis-
appointing. It has amounted to only
$9,000,000, less than 9 cents per capita,
while Canada has contributed 28 cents,
Australia $1.25, and New Zealand $1.98.
The miners of Johannesburg, South
Africa, gave 10 per cent, of their wages,
which was added to by a similar amount
from the owners of the mines.
During his stay in America in the
early part of 1917, Mr. Hoover more than
once expressed himself on the subject of
his own country's niggardliness, pointing
out at the same time that the chief prof-
its made out of providing food for Bel-
gium had gone into American pockets.
Out of the $250,000,000 spent by the C.
R. B., $150,000,000 had been used in the
United States to purchase supplies, and
on these orders America had made a war
profit of at least $30,000,000. Yet in
two years the American people had con-
tributed only $9,000,000. On these facts
Mr. Hoover based this indictment of his
fellow-countrymen :
Thousands of contributions have come to us
from devoted people all over the United
States, but the truth is that, with the ex-
ception of a few large gifts, American con-
tributions have been little rills of charity of
the poor toward the poor. Everywhere abroad
America has been getting the credit for keep-
ing alight the lamp of humanity, but what
are the facts? America's contributions have
been pitifully inadequate, and, do not forget
it, other peoples have begun to take stock of
us. We have been getting all the credit.
Have we deserved it? We lay claim to
idealism, to devotion to duty, and to great
benevolence; but now the acid test is being
m
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
applied to us. This has a wider import than
mere figures. Time and time again when
the door to Belgium threatened to close we
have defended its portals by the assertion
that this was an American enterprise, that
the sensibilities of the American people would
be wounded beyond measure, would be out-
raged, if this work were interfered with.
Our moral strength has been based upon this
assertion. I believe it is true, but it is diffi-
cult in the face of the figures to carry con-
viction, and in the last six or eight months
time and again we have felt our influence
slip from under us.
The result of the war will be that America
will be rich, prosperous, wealthy, and will
bave made untold millions out of the woe and
swelter of Europe. The justification of any
rich man in the community is his trusteeship
to the community for his wealth. The justi-
fication of America to the world-community
today is her trusteeship to the world-com-
munity for the property which she holds.
There is growing up and there has grown up
in Europe a note of bitterness which will
seriously affect our whole relations with
Europe for years to come. The only ameliora-
tion to this bitterness possible is for this
country to properly assume its burden toward
the helpless in Europe.
Speaking at Washington, D. C, on
Feb. 17, Mr. Hoover said it made him feel
.ashamed when he heard Belgian children
expressing their gratitude by singing
" The Star-Spangled Banner," and he
knew that the food they were eating had
not been paid for by Americans.
The commission's requirements have
grown to between $18,000,000 and $19,-
000,000 a month. Of this amount the
Allied Governments are contributing
$14,000,000, leaving between four and
five million dollars a month to be raised
by public charity. The Belgians resent
bitterly the very suggestion of charity,
and have continued to borrow heavily
with British and French support. Nev-
ertheless, they have had to leave 3,000,-
000 of their people, who are totally desti-
tute, as well as 1,250,000 adolescent chil-
dren, to depend upon the commission's
efforts. Mr. Hoover's mission during his
visit to America included a plan to get
the United States to undertake the pro-
vision of $1,250,000 a month for the
wants of the 1,250,000 adolescent chil-
dren. The commission has had to cope
with an alarming increase in tuberculo-
sis and other diseases among adolescents,
caused by the lower power of resistance
consequent upon inadequate diet. A dol-
lar a month for each one of these children
is needed to stop the gradual degenera-
tion of the youth of Belgium.
One of the first noteworthy results of
Mr. Hoover's criticism was that the
Rocky Mountain Club of New York,
whose members are mostly men inter-
ested in mining enterprises, decided to
turn over to the commission the $500,000
which they had raised for a new club-
house costing $1,000,000, and voted that
every one of their 1,200 members should
go to work to get contributions. In other
directions Mr. Hoover made his presence
felt, and there was an improvement in
American subscriptions to the funds of
the commission.
The statement that the Germans have
taken food intended for the Belgians was
disposed of by Mr. Hoover in a speech in
New York City on Feb. 13. "We are
satisfied," he said, " that the German
Army has never eaten one-tenth of 1 per
cent, of the food provided. The Allied
Governments never would have supplied
us with $200,000,000 if we were supply-
ing the German Army. If the Germans
had absorbed any considerable quantity
of this food, the population of Belgium
would not be alive today."
When the break came between the
United States and Germany, it was stat-
ed that the feeding of the people of Bel-
gium and Northern France would go on,
because the C. R. B. had become a unique
international society, supported by con-
tributions from both belligerents and
neutrals, and represented by American
citizens in the occupied territories. If
America became involved in the war, the
citizens of some other neutral country,
such as Spain or Holland, would carry
on the work.
Immunity from blockade measures for
the commission's steamers was secured
by Mr. Hoover after negotiation with
Germany and Great Britain. At the out-
break of the war foodstuffs were not
contraband, and the commission was free
to transport its supplies in neutral ships
to Holland. But sufficient neutral ships
could not be obtained, and belligerent
vessels had also to be chartered. The
German Government agreed to consider
immune from attack all ships flying the
GREAT WORK OF BELGIAN RELIEF COMMISSION
135
flag of the commission and carrying
passes from the German Ambassadors at
the neutral capitals. The Captains of
the commission's ships were pledged not
to engage in belligerent practices, and
the commission not to send anything but
food and clothing for the Belgian popu-
lation.
When Great Britain declared food-
stuffs contraband, the commission's
ships were exempted from the Order in
Council. It was provided that they
should be specially marked with the let-
ters " C. R. B." At the beginning of the
submarine warfare around the British
Isles in February, 1915, the German Gov-
ernment agreed that the commission's
steamers should go through the war zone
immune from attack.
On President Wilson's announcement
of the diplomatic break, the commission
ordered all its ships in America, Argen-
tina, India, and Europe to remain in port
till further notice. But fifteen ships
were either in or approaching the war
zone, and could not be reached by wire-
less. Two of them were sunk. It was
said that the German Government would
no longer respect the commission's flag
unless the ships took a course entirely to
the north of the newly established war
zone on their way to Holland. The Ger-
man Government gave assurances that it
had no intention of interfering with the
work of feeding the civil populations of
Belgium and Northern France.
Despite the diplomatic break, the com-
mission decided at first not to withdraw
its representatives from Belgium, but on
Feb. 12, after a German order had been
issued for all Americans to withdraw
from the occupied territories, leaving in
Brussels only a few of their representa-
tives, headed by Brand Whitlock, the
American Minister to Belgium, the com-
mission notified the German authorities
that the Americans would cease to par-
ticipate in the relief work in Belgium
and Northern France. However, after a
conference on Feb. 15 between the Ger-
man Civil Governor of Brussels, the
American and Spanish Ministers, and
representatives of the commission and
the Belgian National Committee, permis-
} sion was given by the German authori-
ties for the commission to continue its
work, and it was decided not to with-
draw. The German action in ordering
Americans to leave the occupied territo-
ries was so promptly reversed that the
continuity of the work was not inter-
rupted.
In regard to immunity from attack by
submarines, it was announced on Feb. 24
that the sailing of the commission's ships
had been resumed as the result of ar-
rangements with the British and German
Governments whereby a route between
North American ports and Rotterdam
had been agreed upon. Meanwhile, how-
ever, many of the commission's vessels
had accumulated in British ports, and
were held there. Concerning these Sir
Maurice de Bunsen, British Under Secre-
tary of Foreign Affairs, made the fol*
lowing statement on March 5:
In declaring the war zone, Germany ex-
plicitly canceled all her safe conducts, giving
only a few hours for the relief ships then
in United Kingdom ports to clear for Rotter-
dam. It was impossible to get them away
in time. It was also impossible to communi-
cate with the ships on the high seas, as they
were not provided with wireless.
Since then the Germans have alleged that
they accorded to these and to other neutral
ships a further period of grace. Nobody ever
heard of this until the Germans announced
that the period had expired. All that the
commission or the world knew was that the
Germans had opened their submarine cam-
paign by sinking two Belgian relief ships.
There has thus been a steady accumulation
of relief ships in the United Kingdom ports.
Their cargoes have been deteriorating, valua-
ble anchorages have been taken up, and the
whole of this tonnage, which urgently is re-
quired to take additional relief cargoes from
American ports, has been held in suspense
for a month.
The commission immediately opened nego-
tiations with the Germans through the Span-
ish, Dutch, and Swiss Governments, and the
Entente Governments strongly supported their
representations. The only reply which the
Germans vouchsafed regarding the ships in
the ports of the United Kingdom is that they
will reserve any question as to the giving of
guarantees for such ships until they have
received a detailed list of their names and
of the reports where they now are. This re-
quest was received virtually simultaneously
with the sinking of Dutch liners in the
English Channel.
His Majesty's Government have replied
that, in view of that occurrence, to give any
such information to the Germans before the
latter have guaranteed absolute immunity to
all these ships, would be to lay them open
136
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
to attack and invite treachery. In view of
the evident intention of Germany to hold up
tli is tonnage for the longest possible period,
and in view of the urgent need of these ships
to take further cargoes to the starving popu-
lations In Belgium' and Northern France, his
Majesty's Government have agreed with the
commission to discharge these cargoes in the
United Kingdom and provide storage for
them until the Germans either have given
the necessary guarantees to relief ships from
the United Kingdom ports passing Rotterdam
or have shown even more clearly than at
present that they do not intend to give such
guarantees.
.Moan while a regular supply of foodstuffs
for Belgium and Northern France will go on
In ships passing under German safe conducts
from American ports to Rotterdam. The
position therefore is as follows : His
Majesty's Government have respected and
will respect property of the commission in
these cargoes. All that they have done is
to provide storage room for foodstuffs which
the Germans are apparently anxious to hinder
reaching Belgium and Northern France.
On the other hand, the Germans already
twice have broken their safe conducts and
destroyed property of the commission. By
this act of faithlessness they have struck one
blow at the work of relief. They now invite
his Majesty's Government to assist them in
destroying more relief ships by informing
them where the ships are and consequently
how they can best be attacked when the
ships set sail. To satisfy the German de-
mands would be to become accomplices in
their crimes.
Secret Journalism in Belgium
Story of La Libre Belgique
I A LIBRE BELGIQUE, the secret
J newspaper whose tenacity of life
exasperates the German authorities
in the occupied provinces of Belgium, re-
cently celebrated the second anniversary
of its birth. At the end of January, 1915,
appeared the first number of this unique
organ, which describes itself as " regu-
larly irregular," and which states under
its title that its office is in an " automo-
bile cellar." Naturally, this indomitable
organ of patriotic propaganda, which
circulates mysteriously in every Belgian
town under the German yoke, celebrated
the anniversary by coming out yet again
and evading the frantic efforts of Baron
von Bissing's police to suppress it.
La Libre Belgique (Free Belgium) is
irrepressible. The Germans have ar-
rested numerous persons suspected of
being connected with it, but they have
never succeeded in preventing or even
retarding its publication. Neither the
promise of a large reward for any one
who will betray it, nor the threat of
heavier punishments, nor yet the implac-
able attempt to hunt down all who carry
or read the paper — nothing has been able
to ruin the audacious enterprise. In its
first issue of last December, when the
forced deportation of civilians was in
full swing, La Libre Belgique published
on its front page an article depicting
this modern slavery in its most odious
light, concluding with these words:
" Belgians, do you desire that when
our brave soldiers return from the front
they shall say to you, ■ You dug the
trenches which we had to fight for '?
Take flight, or, if you cannot do that,
resist; if necessary, even die, but die
free!"
Baron von Bissing, the Governor Gen-
eral, finds the little sheet in his mail
every week, and he will probably be the
only person after the war, says a writer
in the Paris Temps, " to possess a com-
plete file of this publication, which mocks
the German Emperor in the midst of
Prussian terrorism, and which, in spite
of all the censors, calls a cat a cat, Beth-
mann Hollweg a liar, and William II. a
knave."
The only result obtained by the op-
pressor is an extraordinary development
of clandestine printing in the occupied
districts. The success of La Libre Bel-
gique has caused other journals to spring
up, edited by no one knows who, printed
no one knows where, circulated no one
knows by what means. There exists in
downtrodden Belgium a Weekly Review
of the French Press which has passed its
sixtieth number and which reproduces
for Belgian readers the chief articles in
the Paris newspapers and magazines;
SECRET JOURNALISM IN BELGIUM
137
there is Le Motus, a satirical sheet, full
of a biting, something cruel, irony; there
is Patrie! which competes with La Libre
Belgique — for there is competition even
there — and indulges in the perilous
luxury of reproducing the most striking
cartoons of Louis Raemaekers, notably
the famous " En Route to Calais," which
shows the corpses of German soldiers
floating in the flood of the inundated
region along the Yser.
How do these newspapers live? How
can they get together their "copy"?
How do they get their type set, or make
the plates for their pictures, or procure
the necessary paper, or recruit their
salesmen, or deliver the printed copies to
their subscribers? There is a series of
complex problems, when one recalls that
the German authorities have thousands
of spies at their command, that every
house is watched^ and that a man cannot
move from one town to another without
a special permit from the " kom-
mandatur." And yet all this is accom-
plished regularly; hundreds of patriotic
persons risk prison and deportation every
week to devote themselves to this task.
It is their way of fighting the Germans
on the ground where these pretend to
be absolute masters.
Later, when everything can be told,
the story of the adventures of clandestine
newspapers in the occupied regions will
constitute one of the most curious chap-
ters in the history of the war. The Ger-
mans will be astonished at the simplicity
of the means used to circumvent them.
The Belgian, a protester by nature, with
rare tenacity in anything he undertakes,
at once bold in conception and prudent
in execution, was admirably fitted for
a struggle of this sort. The writer above
quoted remarks that the Germans under-
stand nothing of the Belgian tempera-
ment, and do not even suspect the rival-
ries and complicities which are always
to be found alike in Flanders and in
Wallonia, for the most incredible tasks
that involve circumventing the police.
No letter can enter Belgium or leave
it without passing under the eyes of the
German censors, and yet at Brussels, at
Antwerp, at Liege, the people know
exactly what the Paris papers of four or
five days ago contained. La Libre
Belgique in June, 1916, reproduced in
extenso a speech by M. Briand that had
appeared in Le Temps on May 19. At
no moment since the beginning of the
German occupation have the leading
French papers ceased to circulate in Bel-
gium. There is a well-known system
which consists in obtaining for two or
three francs the regular reading of this
or that journal for half an hour. Another
form of " subscription " is more curious,
and more expensive: every day one re-
ceives two or three mimeographed sheets
summing up the news and reproducing
the essential passages from the latest
Paris and London papers. What sort
of an organization handles this service?
Nobody knows; the Belgians themselves
do not know. They read and reread the
sheets, fixing the details in the memory,
then carefully burn them. When the
Germans afterward wish to impose on
them with a false version of events, they
have the laugh on their oppressors, for
even in the remotest and smallest towns
the people know the truth.
" The rapidity with which the news
circulates in the invaded regions," says
a French writer, " has been one of the
essential factors in maintaining the ad-
mirable morale of the Belgian people.
The clandestine press, with its discon-
certing phenomena, has kept the popula-
tion in touch with the outer world and
played an important role in the nation's
passive resistance to its oppressors.
These little leaves, printed no matter
how, in the chance of the hour, have
demonstrated the fallibility of Prussian
terrorism, for they sum up for a whole
people its passion of patriotism and its
inflexible will not to die."
Serbia and the War's Beginning
By Woislav M. Petrovitch
Former attache" of the Royal Serbian Legation at the Court of St. James's; author of
"Serbia: Her People, History, and Aspirations."
THE defeat of the Sultan's forces
by the Balkan allies in 1912-13
had been a tremendous blow to
Austria-Hungary and especially
to Germany, whose officers had reorgan-
ized and trained the Ottoman Army, and
who, for the success of her schemes of
expansion in Asia Minor and Mesopo-
tamia, depended on her ascendency in
Constantinople. The
utter debacle of Bul-
garia, inflicf.ed upon
her by the Serbians in
the memorable battle
of the Bregalnitsa, in
July of 1913, the Greek
occupation of Saloniki,
and the rise in power
and prestige of Ser-
bia, the friend of Rus-
sia and the apostle of
the Jugoslav, or South-
ern Slav, emancipa-
tion, constituted for
the powers north of
the Danube a still
greater catastrophe.
The high road to Sa-
loniki, by the valleys
of the Serbian rivers,
Morava and the Var-
dar, was definitely closed to Austria,
and Germany was cut off from Turkey,
whose army was to act in conjunction
with the Teutonic hosts in the event of a
European war.
Only prompt action could retrieve such
a miscarrying of the Austro-German
plans, and it is not surprising to hear
that as early as the Summer of 1913 the
Dual Monarchy was bent on declaring
war on Serbia, and endeavored to secure
the support of Italy. As this help was
not forthcoming, action was deferred for
the moment, and a huge army bill was
promulgated in Germany to redress the
balance of power and make ready for
any eventuality.
WOISLAV M. PETROVITCH
Such was the position when, on June
28, 1914, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand,
heir to the Hapsburg throne, and his
consort were murdered in the streets of
Serajevo, the capital of Bosnia. " There
are many mysterious features about that
tragedy. His death certainly did not
serve any Southern Slav interests, for,
however great and dangerous his ambi-
tions, he is known to
have been quite out of
sympathy with the
short-sighted policy of
repression which had
hitherto found favor
in Vienna and in Pesth,
where, for various rea-
sons, he had many ene-
mies in extremely in-
fluential quarters. The
absence of all the most
elementary precau-
tions for his safety
during the visit to
Serajevo, though, ac-
cording to the Aus-
trians themselves, the
whole of Bosnia was
honeycombed with se-
dition, is an awkward
fact which has not
hitherto been explained."*
On the morrow of the crime the
Austro-Hungarian press started a violent
campaign against Serbia, openly putting
upon the Serbian Government the re-
sponsibility for the outrage. It availed
nothing to point out that a country still
bleeding from the wounds of two des-
perate wars, and whose most urgent
need was a period of quiet and of in-
ternal consolidation, could not have
chosen so unfavorable a moment to in-
volve itself in new difficulties with a
powerful neighbor; still less was consid-
ered the fact that the young miscreants
♦Sir Valentine Chirol,
Serbs," Oxford, 1914.
" Serbia and th<
SERBIA AND THE WAR'S BEGINNING
139
were Austrian subjects, and that
" Bosnia, Dalmatia, and Croatia are a
seething pot which needs no stirring
from the outside;* the Viennese press
set itself deliberately to spread the idea
that the misdeed had been organized in
and by official Serbia. Although the
Bosnian Serbs, who constitute the bulk
of the population of that province, are
always referred to in Austria by such
names as " die Bosniaken " or " die Orth-
odoxen aus Bosnian," the assassins were
referred to invariably as " Serben," and
in such a manner as to create the im-
pression that they were Serbs from the
Kingdom of Serbia.
On July 3, when the remains of the
Archduke and his consort were brought
from Serajevo to Vienna, the Serbian
flag was very properly half-masted at
the Serbian Legation in Vienna; noisy
demonstrations took place in front of the
legation, and the incident was referred
to the next day under the heading:
" Provocation by the Serbian Minister."
The " Case " Against Serbia
In the meantime a " case " against
Serbia, resting upon a secret investiga-
tion in the prison of Serajevo, was in
course of preparation; it had been in-
trusted to Austria's professional forger,
Count Forgach, notorious especially by
the Fried jung trial, who now fittingly
occupied the post of permanent Under
Secretary at the Foreign Office, and
who, in the early days of July, provided
the Hungarian correspondence bureau
with a plentiful supply of falsehoods. On
July 3 the following communication was
issued to the press:
The inquiries made up to the present prove
conclusively that the outrage is the work
of a conspiracy. Besides the two perpetra-
tors, a considerable number of persons have
been arrested, mostly young men, who are
also, like the perpetrators, proved to have
been employed by the Belgrade Narodna
Odbrana (National Defense) in order to com-
mit the outrage, and who were supplied in
Belgrade with bombs and revolvers.
The Foreign Office in Vienna, how-
ever, probably realized that zeal was
outrunning discretion, for on the same
*R. W. Seaton- Watson, "The War and
Democracy," London, 1915.
date, late at night, the newspapers re-
ceived the following request:
We beg the editor not to publish the re-
port relating to the Serajevo outrage, which
appeared in our evening's bulletin.
From this moment profound silence
fell upon the inquiry at Serajevo and
upon the proceedings at the Foreign
Office. The attempt to trace the crime
to any responsible quarters in Serbia
was evidently beyond the power of even
Count Forgach. Count Berchtold dis-
continued the usual weekly receptions at
the Ballplatz; he refused to discuss the
Serajevo outrage with the representa-
tives of foreign countries, or, if discus-
sion did arise, care was taken to dispel
all apprehension and suspicion that
Austria-Hungary was meditating any
serious action against Serbia. Petro-
grad was assured that the step to be
taken at Belgrade would be of a concilia-
tory character; the French Ambassador
was told that only such demands would
be put forward as Serbia would be able
to accept without difficulty. The press
campaign, nevertheless, continued un-
abated and took its tone from the utter-
ance of the inspired Neue Freie Presse:
" We have to settle matters with Serbia
by war * * * and if we must come
to war later, then it is better to see the
matter through now."
On July 20, 1914, Mr. JovanoVitch, then
Serbian Minister in Vienna, ciphered to
Mr. Pashitch, the Premier:
It is very difficult, almost impossible, to
discover here anything positive as to the real
intentions of Austro-Hungary. The mot
d'ordre is to maintain absolute secrecy about
everything that is being done. Judging by
the articles in our newspapers, Belgrade is
taking an optimistic view of the question
pending with Austria-Hungary. There is,
however, no place for optimism. That which
is chiefly to be feared and is highly probable
is that Austria is preparing for war against
Serbia. The general conviction that prevails
here is that it would be nothing less than
suicide if Austria-Hungary once more failed
to take advantage of the opportunity to act
against Serbia. It is believed that the two
opportunities previously missed— annexation of
Bosnia and the Balkan war— have been ex-
tremely harmful to Austria-Hungary. In ad-
dition to this, there is the still more deeply
rooted opinion that Serbia, after her two
wars, is completely exhausted, and that a
war against Serbia would in fact merely
140
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
mean a military expedition to be concluded by
■ ly occupation. It is also believed that
such a war could be brought to an end before
Europe could intervene.
The Austrian Note
It was at 6 P. M. on July 23 that the
Austro-Hungarian Minister in Belgrade
handed to the Minister of Foreign Af-
fairs the note embodying the demands
of Austria, and insisting on a reply
within forty-eight hours.
The Serbian Government was charged
with fomenting a revolutionary propa-
ganda having for its object the detach-
ment of part of the territories of Austria-
Hungary from the monarchy. It was
asserted, though no proof was given, and
dossier communicated, that the Serajevo
assassinations were planned and the
murderers equipped in Belgrade.
The following demands were included
in the note:
The Royal Serbian Government will publish
in the Journal Officiel of July 26, and as an
army order, a condemnation of the anti-
Austrian propaganda and of all officers and
officials who have taken part in it.
The Royal Serbian Government will under-
take besides :
1. To suppress all publications inciting to
hatred or contempt of the Austro-Hungarian
Monarchy, and the tendency of wh)ch is di-
rected against that power's territorial in-
tegrity.
2. To dissolve immediately the Narodna
Odbrana and all other societies or affiliations
which foster an anti-Austrian propaganda.
:>. To eliminate without delay from the
Serbian schools any members of the staffs
or vehicles of instruction with anti-Austrian
tendencies.
4. To remove from the army and the civil
service a number of officers and officials
guilty of anti-Austrian propaganda, whose
names will be communicated by the Austrian
Government.
5. To accept the collaboration in Serbia of
agents appointed by the Austro-Hungarian
Government, for the suppression of the sub-
versive movement.
0. To institute a judicial inquiry with re-
gard to the accomplices to the plot of June
28, residing in Serbian territory ; Austro-
Hungarian delegates to take part in this in-
vestigation.
7. To arrest at once Major Tankositch and
Milan Ciganovitch, both of whom are impli-
cated in the assassination.
s. To prevent the illicit trade in arms and
explosives across the frontier, and to punish
those who assisted the murderers to cross the
frontier.
9. To furnish explanations regarding the
hostile and unjustifiable utterances of high
Serbian functionaries at home and abroad
since the outrage of June 28.
10. To notify the Austro-Hungarian Govern-
ment without delay that the measures* enu-
merated above have been duly carried out.
A reply is expected at the latest on Satur-
day, July 25, at 6 I". M.
So secret had the contents of the note
been kept from the representatives of the
powers — except the German Ambassador
Tschirschky, who was understood to have
co-operated in drafting it — that when its
contents were published on the 24th all
of them were dumfounded. The French
and British Ambassadors and the Russian
Charge d'Affaires held the view that the
step taken by Austria-Hungary must be
considered not as a note but as an ulti-
matum. They expressed indignation at
its form, its contents, and the time limit,
and they also declared it to be inaccept-
able.
It was not intended to be accepted, and
all Vienna went wild with jubilation at
the certainty of war, a short war and a
merry one, or rather an " execution,"* to
be rushed to a termination before the
powers of the Entente had time to decide
on a course of action; for Austria-Hun-
gary had been assured by Herr von
Tschirschky that the conflict would be
localized, that Germany would keep the
ring and that Russia must remain pas-
sive.
It was indeed a fact that neither Serbia
nor Russia wanted war, and before the
expiration of the time limit Serbia handed
in a reply to the note, in which she ex-
ceeded all expectations in the direction
of conciliation. The Serbian Government
unreservedly accepted all the demands of
Austria-Hungary, except Nos. 5 and 6,
and promised to revise those articles of
the Constitution (e. g., Article 22 on the
liberty of the press) which stood in the
way of these demands.
With regard to Nos. 5 and 6, further
explanations were requested; the par-
ticipation in the inquiries and investiga-
tions of Austrian functionaries could
only be accepted in so far as it should
♦On July 25, in a conversation with the
Russian Charge d'Affaires, Herr von Jagow
said that what Vienna intended against Serbia
was not a war, but an " execution."
SERBIA AND THE WAR'S BEGINNING
141
conform with international equity and
with the maintenance of friendly rela-
tions as between State and State.
Furthermore, if the manner of carry-
ing out the different clauses enumer-
ated above were not entirely satisfactory
to Austria-Hungary, the Serbian Gov-
ernment was ready to refer any point
either to The Hague Tribunal or the
powers who had taken a part in the set-
tlement of March 21, 1909.
Declaration of War
A conciliatory answer was neither ex-
pected nor wanted, however; that very
evening the reply was rejected and the
Austrian Minister instructed to leave
Belgrade; on the 28th Austria declared
war on Serbia.
Within the next two days Austria
awoke to the startling fact that Russia
was beginning to move. In spite of the
(German Ambassador's assurances that
the Czar would not and could not fight,
he had decided to intervene! A bully
likes a fight best when his opponent is
much smaller than himself; at this ap-
pearance of a full-grown adversary
Vienna pulled a very long face, and on
July 21 the Ballplatz suddenly consented
to eliminate from the ultimatum those
demands which involved a violation of
the sovereignty of Serbia, to discuss cer-
tain others, and, in short, to reopen the
question. It was too late. Germany,
having jockeyed Austria into a position
from which there was no escape, declared
war on Russia the next day.
The " Punitive Expeditions "
When on the evening of July 25 the
Crown Prince Alexander, acting as
Prince Regent, signed the order for
mobilization, Serbia was as entirely un-
prepared for war in every respect, save
actual experience of warfare, as any
country that has ever been summoned to
take the field in self-defense. Little or
none of the recent wastage had as yet
been made good. The orders placed
abroad for cannon, rifles, ammunition,
clothing, and stores had not yet been
carried out; heavy guns, automobiles,
flying machines were lacking. During
the campaign which followed, it fre-
quently happened that a regiment went
into the firing line with one rifle for
every two men, those who were unarmed
taking both the place and the weapons
of those who fell.
The declaration of war on the 28th
was followed by a desultory bombard-
ment of the unfortified Serbian capital
from batteries on the opposite shore and
monitors on the river. This, however,
was the only action taken during the first
few days, and Austria's failure to strike
while Belgrade lay defenseless and open
to easy occupation is significant testi-
mony to her alarm at the European situa-
tion and anxiety to compromise.
It was impossible for the Serbian
armies to line the Austro-Serbian fron-
tier, which extends to 340 miles, espe-
cially as in Summer the Save and the
Drina are easily forded at numerous
points. Voyvoda (Field Marshal) Putnik
therefore fell back upon the traditional
lines of defense, and, while the Govern-
ment withdrew from Belgrade to Nish,
he grouped the main armies in the
Shumadija on the line Palanka-Arand-
jelovats-Lazarevts, whence they could
rapidly move either north or west.
Strong detachments were posted at Val-
yevo and Uzhitse, and outposts stationed
at every important point on the frontier,
after which all the General Staff could
do was to wait till the enemy's plan of
invasion materialized.
The First Invasion
At the beginning of August, Belgrade,
Semendria, and Gradishte were subjected
to vigorous bombardment, and a number
of attempts to cross the Danube were
made and repulsed with heavy losses, one
Austrian regiment having been practi-
cally wiped out. The Serbian staff knew,
however, that several army corps were
stationed in Bosnia, and refused to be
misled by these feints on the Danube.
Attempts followed to cross the Drina at
Lubovia and Ratsha, and the Save at
Shabats, and these were looked upon as
more significant. Desultory fighting
round places as far apart as Obrenovats
and Vishegrad continued until Aug. 12,
when the first penetration of Austrian
troops into Serbia was signaled from
142
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Losnitsa. At that town and at Leshnitsa
the Thirteenth Army Corps effected a
crossing, while on the same day the
Fourth Army Corps crossed the Save to
the north of Shabats, and other troops
the Drina at Zvornik and Lubovia. By
the 14th, over a front of about one
hundred miles, six great columns had
crossed the rivers and were converging
on Valyevo.
The great bulk of the invaders had
entered by the valley of the Jadar; the
Third Serbian Army and part of the
Second Army now advanced with all pos-
sible speed to meet them ; meanwhile the
remainder of the Second Army was or-
dered to block the advance from Shabats.
The Austrian plan was obviously to iso-
late and overwhelm the Second and Third
Serbian Armies in the wedge of land be-
tween the Save, the Drina, and the
Jadar; this object once attained, the road
to Valyevo and Kraguyevats lay open,
and Serbia was at the mercy of the
invader.
On the 14th the Austrians were
brought to a temporary halt by the Ser-
bian detachments retreating, from Los-
nitsa, who dug themselves in across the
Jadar Valley at Jarebitsa, and gave the
main armies time to hasten westward by
forced marches; but the first real shock
of battle came on the 16th when the
Austrian column of almost 80,000 men,
advancing from Leshnitsa to the north
of the Tzer Mountains, was heavily de-
feated and routed at Belikamen, two regi-
ments having been annihilated. Pursuing
their advantage, the Serbians drove in a
wedge between the Austrian forces ad-
vancing from Shabats and those operat-
ing south of the Tzer Mountains along
the Jadar. From this moment the
Shabats and the Jadar campaign became
distinct operations.
At the same time, south of the Tzer, a
violent and indecisive action had taken
place, and the Serbians were at length
compelled to evacuate Jarebitsa on find-
ing their left wing threatened by a force
advancing, in hitherto unsuspected
strength, from Krupani. The retirement
was completed by the morning of the
17th.
On Aug. 18 the Crown Prince Alexan-
der, having thrown the Austrians back
upon Shabats and brought up reinforce-
ments south of the Tzer, deployed his
army on a front of thirty-five miles, ex-
tending from Leshnitsa to the neighbor-
hood of Lubovia. Inspired with memories
of I^umanovo and Prilip, the Serbians
gradually forced their way westward,
along the Tzer and Iverak ranges, and
down each bank of the Jadar, throwing
the enemy back upon Leshnitsa and
Losnitsa.
Aug. 19 was the decisive day of the
struggle; the Austrians gave way at
every point; their retreat along the
valleys was shelled by the Serbian guns
advancing along the intervening heights,
and gradually converted into a rout, in
which rifle and bayonet completed the
work of the guns. By the 23d the Ser-
bian armies, after taking quantities of
prisoners and artillery, had hurled what
was left of the Austrians back across the
Drina. Thus ended the five days' en-
gagement which will be known as the
battle of the Jadar.
In the meantime strong Serbian forces
had crossed the Dobrava Valley and ad-
vanced on Shabats, round which the
Austrians had fortified a wide circle.
Violent fighting took place on the 21st
and 22d, on which day the Serbian troops
worked their way round to the western
approaches of the town. They tightened
their cordon on the 23d, and during the
night brought up siege artillery. When
the bombardment had begun on the
morning of the 24th, it was discovered
that the Austrians had decamped, after
murdering in cold blood fifty-eight
prisoners from the Thirteenth and Four-
teenth Serbian Regiments, whose bodies
were found piled up in three rows in a
private house. By 4 P. M. the Serbians
had reached the banks of the Save, and
the first invasion of Serbia was at an
end. The Austrians' explanation of their
retreat, after the " successful accom-
plishment " of their incursion into the
enemy's territory, on account of " more
important operations at other points,"
is still fresh in public memory.
As a result of their attempt to " exe-
cute " Serbia, the Austrians had lost
8,000 dead, 4,000 prisoners, and about
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SERBIA AND THE WAR'S BEGINNING
143
30,000 wounded; forty-six cannon, thirty-
machine guns, and 140 ammunition
wagons, besides an enormous mass of
stores and transport. The Serbian troops
had lost 3,000 dead and 15,000 wounded.
Treatment of Civilians
'* Toward such a population there is room
for no humanity or generosity."
As for the civilians of the districts
invaded, they were treated with a disre-
gard of every law of civilized warfare,
and a fiendish refinement of cruelty and
malice, probably without parallel in
modern history. The instructions issued
to the Austrian troops, in the form of
leaflets, began with the words: "You
are going into a hostile country, the
population of which is animated by
fanatical hatred, and %in which murder
is rife in all classes of society. ■ * * *
Toward such a population there is room
for no feeling of humanity or generos-
ity." The procedure adopted was, on
entering any town or village, to shoot
out of hand either the Mayor or a number
of selected inhabitants, (amounting to
fifty at Leshnitsa,) in order to " inspire
terror "; to secure hostages among those
that remained, and to take prisoners and
remove to Austria the youths under
military age, " in order that King Peter
might remain without soldiers for some
years."
At the same time the troops were given
to understand that the campaign was an
execution, and that they might not only
loot and burn and ruin, but murder,
violate and torture at will, " because
these people were Serbians." The pent-
up hatred and natural instinct of the
Magyar found expression in deeds which
could not, without offense, be described
here; as a mild example we may cite the
case of a man who in the village of
Dvorska was tied to a mill-wheel; knifing
him as he was whirled round was then
engaged in by the soldiers as a game
of skill.
Extortion of money from a woman by
the threat to kill her babe was common,
and generally followed by the murder of
both; wanton mutilation was commoner
still; all this during the invasion. The
record of the Austrian retreat is probably
one of the blackest chapters in the history
of mankind; whole families were burned
alive, or systematically bayonetted and
laid out in rows by the roadside; the
treatment of the female population can
only be hinted at; in their case the final
act of murder must be looked on as a
crowning mercy.
In the track of the army that fell back
on Losnitsa followed a small group of
doctors, officials, and engineers of Ser-
bian, Dutch, and Swiss nationality, who
reported circumstantially, and photo-
graphed, what they found. A day will
come when the indictment thus consti-
tuted must be met by the Magyar race at
the bar of public opinion.
It was not to be expected that Austria
would accept as definite the blow inflicted
on her military prestige at the battle of
the Jadar. Having made good the losses
in men and equipment, the enemy re-
turned to the attack in September, and
made a fresh attempt to invade the
Matshva district and to occupy the left
bank of the Jadar.
They were brought to an early halt,
and again flung back across the Drina
and the Save, retaining possession only
of some of the heights of the Gutshevo
and Boranya Mountains, with the terri-
tory to the immediate west, and of a small
tract of land in the Matshva plain which
was commanded by the guns of the river
monitors. For six weeks they were held
in these positions by the Serbian armies,
who defended a line of close on a hun-
dred miles of trenches with a totally in-
adequate force and supplies, and under
a strain which no troops could long en-
dure.
The Second Invasion
By the beginning of November a re-
tirement to a shorter and stronger line
of defense became imperative, and the
staff decided to move right back to the
Kolubara River. The Austrians imme-
diately advanced in overwhelming num-
bers, and five columns totaling 250 bat-
talions of infantry with their artillery
and cavalry streamed into the north-
western territory. After fierce fighting
they gained command of the Suvobor
Mountains, the key to the whole district;
this catastrophe made it impossible to
144
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
hold the Kolubara line, Belgrade was
evacuated, and preparations were made
to abandon, if need be, Kraguyevats and
the arsenal. By the end of November
the Austrians had extended on a line
reaching from Tshavtshak to Belgrade,
and were preparing to swing round, with
the Suvobor Mountains as a pivot, on
the Mladenovats to the northeast, and
toward Kraguyevats to the southeast, an
enveloping movement which must have
ended in the capture of the whole Ser-
bian Army.
The weak resistance hitherto opposed
to the Austrian invasion was not due,
however, to lack of stamina or a
deterioration of morale among the Ser-
bian troops, fatigued and worn though
they certainly were. Retreat was made
imperative by an almost total lack of
ammunition, either for rifles or for the
artillery. The bulk of the Serbian field
SERBIA AND THE WAR'S BEGINNING
145
ordnance is of French manufacture, and
the French were themselves too hard
pressed to make regular delivery of
these. Whole batteries of guns were re-
duced to six rounds apiece, which were
held in reserve against an extreme
emergency. At the same time the re-
treat was in part deliberate and care-
fully planned, for when later Voyvoda
Putnik was asked how he had effected
the crushing defeat of the Austro-Hun-
garian troops, he answered laconically:
" All my strategy consisted in placing
between the enemy's fighting line and
their impedimenta the Serbian national
mud."
By the end of November new guns and
large supplies of ammunition from the
British ordnance factories had been land-
ed and were being conveyed into Serbia
with all possible dispatch. At some points
of the line of battle the position was
almost desperate, and it may not be
without interest to repeat here an in-
cident which occurred at this time and
which was related to the present writer
by King Peter's cousin, Price Alexis
Karageorgevitch, on the occasion of the
latter's recent visit to London. The aged
ruler of Serbia mounted his charger and
rode up to the trenches, where his brave
peasants crouched with bayonets fixed
to empty rifles, and exclaimed : " My
dear brothers, you have sworn allegiance
to your country and to your King: from
this latter oath I release you. You are
at liberty to return to your homes; your
aged King has come to take your place,
for you must be more than worn out."
With these words he dashed forward, his
drawn sword in his right hand and a
Browning pistol in his left. His peasants
followed with a cheer and made a bayonet
charge which caused a panic in the
enemy's lines.
The Austrian Debacle
In the meantime the long-expected am-
munition had arrived, and on Dec. 3, to
the Austrians' amazement, the whole of
their front was subjected to a sudden
and violent offensive. On the 4th Suvo-
bor was stormed, the Austrian centre was
pierced, and the right wing scattered in
headlong flight along the road to Val-
yevo. By the 7th the Serbians were back
on a line extending from Lazarevats to
Valyevo, and thence to Uzhitse, and the
enemy fleeing toward the Drina, which
they crossed in disorder two days later.
The Austrians' right clung to their
positions for a few days to the north and
west of Maldenovats, and on the 7th and
8th made determined efforts to break
through. They were repulsed with fear-
ful losses and compelled to give ground,
though they fought with the greatest
obstinacy at every step of their retreat;
on the 12th they were compelled to fall
back upon Belgrade. The heights to the
south of the capital had been fortified
with extensive earthworks and gun em-
placements and formed positions of
great strength, but the Austrian troops
were by now too demoralized to hold
them and gave way on the 14th. They
were still fleeing across the Save when,
on the morning of the 15th, some Serbian
batteries unlimbered on the surrounding
heights and shelled the pontoon bridge,
rendering further escape impossible.
The Austrians left behind them over
40,000 prisoners and hundreds of guns,
with the transport and stores of a vast
army.
So extraordinary was the Serbian
rally, and so overwhelming the catas-
trophe that had befallen the Austrian
arms, that for some days Europe re-
fused to credit the news from Belgrade.
As its full import was grasped, the
Allies also realized their indebtedness to
their Balkan ally; nor, we may well be-
lieve, will it, on the day of reckoning, be
forgotten.
Crucifixion of a People
Almost a whole year passed in relative
quiet; the Austro-Hungarians had ob-
viously enough of their chastising of
Serbia. Count Tisza, then Prime Minis-
ter of the Monarchy, declared that the
Hapsburg forces were " not a match "
for the Serbian experienced warriors.
Simultaneously with his admission the
oldest and most patriotic German news-
paper, Die Vossische Zeitung, in its edi-
torial columns, suggested that a sepa-
rate peace should be made with Serbia,
guaranteeing the absolute integrity of
110
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
her kingdom and granting her, as com-
pensation, the " nobody's land " of Alba-
nia, from which its comical 'mpret had
fled long since.
But Serbia continued her preparations
for an eventual new foe, who, on the
east and south of the kingdom, was
sharpening his sword and fortifying his
frontiers. The credulous Sir Edward
Grey and his " wait and see " colleague
were too deaf to the voice of the Serbian
sage, Mr. Pashitch, who, in early June,
1915, informed the British Government
that Prince Bulow had brought to Sofia
a draft of the Treaty of Alliance and a
military convention between the Central
Powers and the Kingdom of Bulgaria.
What Mr. Pashitch required was a
sanction, on the part of the Allies, of
Serbia's timely action against isolated
Bulgaria, in order to prevent the latter's
intervention at a moment when the
troops of King Peter would be too
busily engaged in resisting a fresh at-
tempt from the north. But the British
Secretary for Foreign Affairs was still
nursing the hope that a Balkan league
could be renewed. This futile course of
action — or, to be less incorrect, inac-
tion— gave ample opportunity for Bul-
garia to make good the wastage
suffered in her disaster in the battle of
Bregalnitsa in July of the previous year.
According to her well-established tradi-
tion she awaited the moment when the
fourth punitive expedition — this time
composed chiefly of the best German
Imperial Armies and of what was still
left of the Austro-Hungarian forces —
under the ingenious leadership of Gen-
eral Mackensen, penetrated far into the
desolated Serbian land, to stab in the
back the heroically resisting Serbian
armies.
It is impossible to ascertain at this
juncture the exact strength of the Teu-
tonic forces advancing through Serbia.
Certain writers assert that the Serbian
armies — or what was still left of them —
were outnumbered as ten to one by the
combined forces of General Mackensen
and those of King Ferdinand of Bulgaria.
The Serbians fought desperately on both
fronts, and, while the army officers were
renewing their oath at Stalatch (in Cen-
tral Serbia) either to stop the invaders
or to perish to the last man, suddenly
came from France and Great Britain, not
the long expected and officially promised
help, but the wise advice: " Sauve qui
peut! " The advice was good indeed, for,
had the Serbians not followed it, they
would have lost not only their land but
also every one of their men. And after
almost three years of continuous triumph
of the Serbian arms over the Turks, the
treacherous Bulgarians and the Babel-
like Austro-Hungarian " punitive expedi-
tions," a proud people, not a defeated
army, had to retreat! But where? Surely
not to Greece, Serbia's ally!
Horrors of the Exodus
Before the general exodus of the Ser-
bian people had begun, the German Im-
perial Government, in chivalrous recogni-
tion of Serbian bravery, offered to the
Nish Government a comparatively liberal
peace, by which, so we are informed, the
integrity of the Serbian territory was
guaranteed. Moreover, if the Serbian
armies would only simulate a resistance,
but in truth leave a free passage to
Salonki for the combined Austro-German
forces, not only Albania but also so much
of the Serbian-populated provinces in
Austria-Hungary would be yielded as the
dignity of the Dual Monarchy would per-
mit. Although the Serbian Government
had no specific treaties of alliance with
either of the Entente Powers — the only
one that had been concluded being that
with Greece — and despite the imminent
cataclysm which threatened from all the
cardinal points, the Serbian Skupshtina,
after a spirited and memorable speech
delivered by Mr. Pashitch in which he ac-
centuated that " it were better to die in
beauty than to live in shame," unani-
mously decided to offer a stubborn
resistance to the invaders, while the
noncombatants were ordered to retreat
through the rocky fastnesses of Albania
to Durazzo, where British ships waited to
transport them further.
More than one volume could be written
on the horrors of that exodus, which
stands unique in the history of mankind.
The scenes from Dante's " Inferno " are
but pallid shadows in comparison with
SERBIA AND THE WAR'S BEGINNING
147
those in which a nation of hard-striving
and honest soil-tillers played in reality
to the amusement of the powers of dark-
ness. Tens of thousands were dying in
silence on the roadsides, afflicted by
diseases, utter exhaustion, and hunger.
The improvised graves gave up their
dwellers, and corpses of domestic animals
in a strange conjunction were inter-
mingled with those of fathers and
mothers of families, peasants and Sena-
tors, beggars and the wealthiest mem-
bers of an old society. The bitter frost
prevented the survivors from digging out
the roots of young firs and pines, the
only vegetation yet possible in the deso-
late Albanian mountains, and many
were found frozen in the act of securing
that last remnant of food. The exhaust-
ed women, once happy maidens, brides or
mothers, either staggered, with bound-
up eyes, over the narrow trails, on both
sides of which yawned bottomless gulfs,
or, in utter exhaustion, crawled on their
knees, clutching convulsively at the
rocks with their still rosy nails. Now
and then one could see a mother stand-
ing knee-deep in snow, erect as a statue,
pressing to her bosom a sleeping babe,
and fixing with her glassy eye every
passer-by; and if some one, who had
still a remnant of compassion or was not
as yet maddened with his own fate,
warned her to move, he would discover
that she had long been dead. Or a volun-
teer, crouching on one knee and clutch-
ing his rifle, ready to fire at enemy or
friend, would remain in that position
until some Arnaout, puzzled by the
irony, should come to him, and, cutting
the weapon out of his frozen fingers,
thrust the body back to its icy grave.
Such was the soundless death of a
once happy people.
The Serbian State may eventually be
restored, but there will be no Serbians
to people it again. They have not been
" punished "; that is what one does to
naughty children; but one of the oldest
Slav races has been exterminated —
crucified — never to be resurrected.
The Torpedoing of the Westminster
The British Admiralty has published the following note :
The degree of savagery to which the Germans have attained in their sub-
marine policy of sinking merchant ships at sight would appear to have reached
its climax in the sinking of the British steamship Westminster, proceeding in
ballast from Torre Annunziata to Port Said.
On Dec. 14 this vessel was attacked by a German submarine without
warning, when 180 miles from the nearest land, and was struck by two torpedoes
in quick succession, which killed four men. She sank in four minutes.
This ruthless disregard of the rules of international law was followed by
a deliberate attempt to murder the survivors. The officers and crew, while
effecting their escape from the sinking ship in boats, were shelled by the sub-
marine at a range of 3,000 yards. The master and chief engineer were killed
outright, and their boat sunk. The second and third engineers and three of the
crew were not picked up, and are presumed to have been drowned.
Great Britain, together with all other civilized nations, regards the sinking
without warning of merchant ships with detestation, but seeing the avowed
policy of the German Government, and the refusal to consider the protests
of neutrals, it is recognized that mere protests are unavailing.
The Captain of the German submarine must, however, have been satisfied
with the effectiveness of his two torpedoes, and yet he proceeded to carry out
in cold blood an act of murder which cannot possibly be justified by any urgency
of war, and can only be regarded in the eyes of the world as a further proof of
the degradation of German honor.
The Sufferings of Neutral Greece
By Adamantios Th. Polyzoides
Greek- American Journalist
GREECE neutral— why? Is not
Turkey fighting, and Bulgaria,
too, and is not the warfare of
these two traditional enemies a
sufficient inducement for the Hellenic
people to join forces with those who
battle to reduce German and Austrian
power, Turkish barbarism, and Bulgarian
greed, to a state in which they will no
more be dangerous to mankind? What
does Greece expect at the close of the
war, when, in case of Entente victory,
she will find herself without friends,
while, should Germany win, Turkey and
Bulgaria will crush every hope of a
greater Hellas?
These questions and many others are
persistently asked by the friends of
Greece, who cannot explain an attitude
condemned from every side as treacher-
ous, faithless, cowardly, ungrateful, and
generally out of keeping with the best
traditions of the Greek people.
Greece has vainly tried to defend her
course to the world. She has been pre-
vented from so doing by a number of
causes, chief of which is the denial of
free speech and free intercourse with
the outside world. In addition to that,
Greece, besides giving explanations to
the world at large, is forced to defend
her actions even against a turbulent
minority at home, which, notwithstand-
ing the general Greek desire for peace,
has persistently labored for war while
the inducements offered therefor are
continually lessening.
This minority is known both in and
out of Greece as the Venizelist Party;
and this party is first, last, and always
a one-man party, existing only by the
activity and the strength of its leader,
Eleutherios K. Venizelos. This leader,
however, has been clever enough to tie
up his followers to the fortunes of the
Entente, thus monopolizing for himself
and his party the sympathies and good-
will with which all Greece follows the
struggle of Great Britain and France.
•Between the average Greek, however,
and the regular Venizelist this difference
exists: the former does not push his
affection for the Entente to the extent
of going to war for it; and this attitude
is due to fear that Greece, by entering
the European war, would be destroyed, as
Belgium, Serbia, Montenegro, and Ru-
mania were destroyed. In other words,
we of Greece love the Entente, but not
to the extent of committing suicide, espe-
cially when it is apparent that our sacri-
fice would not in the least affect the
fortunes of the European war.
The Venizelist Greek, on the other
hand, is loud in his sympathies for the
Entente, and, besides that, he wants
rather to commit suicide at the side of
Great Britain and France than emerge
living and disgraced from the great
struggle.
Error of the Venizelhts
Since the beginning of the war Veni-
zelos has aligned himself with the En-
tente Powers and assumed the leadership
of the so-called war party. He thought
at that time — and in his opinion he had
a large majority of people agreeing with
him — that the European war would end
shortly in an overwhelming victory of
the Entente, and insisted that Greece
ought to enter the struggle and secure
those advantages which would be denied
her if she stood out of the fray; con-
trary to this view, all the Greek military
factors, including King Constantine and
the Hellenic General Staff, were con-
vinced that the war would last longer
than any politician imagined; that the
bloody game was being played on too
large a scale to allow small participants
any chance of success. Events subse-
quently justified this latter view against
the Venizelos idealism. One after the
other, all the little nationalities entering
the war were knocked out in a few
rounds; Greece succeeded in preserving
her life despite tremendous pressure
THE SUFFERINGS OF NEUTRAL GREECE
149
brought to bear by Venizelos and the
Entente Governments, and it is on that
account that she has had to suffer, in
addition to other indignities, an internal
revolution in Saloniki and a rigorous
blockade, which has continued since Dec.
1 of last year.
And yet the sufferings of Greece are
the result of circumstances rather than
of her mistakes. Could a little country
like Greece do anything to affect the
final result of the European war? The
question is one to be answered with a
smile by those who have an intimate
knowledge of what the European con-
flict means. Yet the belligerent coali-
tions actually seem to have assumed that
the side which had the assistance of
Greece would be the victor in the gigan-
tic conflict. Only under this assumption
can we justify the intensity of the activ-
ity of both the Entente and the Teuton
allies in Athens, which activity is re-
sponsible for all the troubles of Greece
in the last months.
To go back over the history of the
elapsed twelvemonth would be to repeat
those things which are known to almost
every reader of the daily press. The
period may be recapitulated by saying
that Greece was united in a policy of neu-
trality up to March, 1915, when Venizelos
came out as the champion of immediate
participation in the Dardanelles cam-
paign. King Constantine and the Greek
General Staff rejected his advice on
grounds of military inexpediency, and
subsequent events justified them. Veni-
zelos resigned, but at the same time de-
clared that should Greece enter the war
at that time she was to secure important
territorial concessions in Asia Minor;
provided, however, she offered Greek
Eastern Macedonia to Bulgaria.
The Gounaris Ministry, assuming pow-
er after Venizelos resigned, offered to co-
operate with the Entente forces, but he
asked, as a sine qua non condition, a
written guarantee from the Entente to
the effect that Greek territorial integ-
rity on the Balkan Peninsula would be
safeguarded against any covetous attack
from Bulgaria at the time when the
Greek troops would be fighting overseas
in Asia Minor. This guarantee the En-
tente could not give, as it was trying to
secure Bulgarian intervention also at the
expense of Greece.
Following the dissolution of the Greek
Chamber, an election was held on May
31, (June 13,) 1915, in which Venizelos
won 180 seats out of a total of -316. The
Entente hailed that result as a victory
of the Greek war party; but Venizelos
had avoided the issue in his campaign,
and the people, although expressing their
confidence in him, did not vote for war.
The Treaty with Serbia
In the first days of October, 1915, the
great Teuton drive against Serbia began,
and almost simultaneously Bulgaria at-
tacked the Serbs from the rear; Veni-
zelos, working on the assumption that the
treaty with Serbia obliged Greece to at-
tack Bulgaria, ordered a general mobili-
zation of the Greek forces, a measure ap-
proved by the King, who wanted to fore-
stall a possible attack from Bulgaria.
King Constantine and the majority of the
Greek people knew that the Serbian
treaty was Balkan in its character, and
was contracted at a time when the possi-
bility of a European conflict did not
enter the minds of at least the Greek
delegates who signed it.
Greece was willing to stand by Serbia
had she been attacked by a Balkan State;
but Serbia was attacked by Germany,
Austria, and Turkey, as well as Bulgaria;
and meantime she was assisted in her
struggle by such powerful allies as Rus-
sia, Great Britain, France, and Italy.
Nevertheless, the Greek military com-
mand had good reason to expect an irre-
sistible Teuton avalanche in the Balkans;
it knew beforehand that the Serbian cam-
paign was doomed, and also knew that if
Greece attacked the Central Empires a
small addition to the Teuton and Bulgar
forces would crush her as surely and as
effectively as they did Belgium and
Serbia.
That King Constantine and the Greek
military chiefs were right in their calcu-
lations is shown from this simple fact:
In October, 1915, Germany had not suf-
fered the losses of the Verdun campaign,
which started in February, 1916; she had
not suffered the losses of the Galician
150
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
campaign under General Brusiloff, which
started later in May of the same year,
and she had not suffered the losses inci-
dental to the Anglo-French offensive on
the Somme, which took place late in the
Summer of last year. Now, the German
losses in the Verdun, Galicia, and Somme
campaigns must have been above one
million men, if we take the lowest esti-
mate of both sides. Yet, notwithstanding
these losses, Germany was able to crush
Rumania in three months. Does any one
imagine that had Greece entered the war
before Germany lost that million men,
she could have saved herself from de-
struction ?
But when we speak of Greek destruc-
tion we also have to face this naive
objection: Greece is an island kingdom,
and Great Britain rules the seas. Un-
doubtedly this is true to a certain extent;
but Greece has two million Greek popu-
lation in Asia Minor, and has another
three million Greeks in the lands which
would have been invaded, not by the Ger-
mans and Austrians, but by the Bulgars
and the Turks, who would have made a
short job of the extermination of Hellen-
ism in the peninsula and in Asia Minor.
The fate of the Armenians points clearly
enough to what the Greeks in Asia Minor
could expect at the hands of the Turk;
and as for Bulgarian sympathy toward
the Greek, the less said the better.
All this goes to show that Greece was
right when she followed the advice of her
King to stay out of the war, and to adopt
a program of " safety first."
Venizelos Evaded Issue
Venizelos resigned a second time in the
same year, when his advice for interven-
tion was rejected. And as no Govern-
ment in Greece is constitutional without
a Parliamentary majority behind it, the
King ordered a new election to be held on
Dec. 6-19, 1916, in order to have the peo-
ple decide for war or peace. Venizelos
in this instance not only dodged the issue
put squarely before him, but in addition
stayed away from the polls with his
whole party, and gave proof of an un-
timely weakness when he clamored that
the entire population was with him in a
program of immediate entrance into war.
When one takes into account that in De-
cember, 1915, the German and Bulgar
armies had cleared Serbia of the Serbian
troops, one can easily infer the actual
extent of the alleged Greek belligerency
on which the Venizelist program was
based.
From October, 1915, to June, 1916,
Greece, although neutral and benevolent
to the Entente, suffered all the trials of
a belligerent country.
Venizelos just before his first resig-
nation in March, 1915, had offered the
Entente the islands of Lemnos and Tene-
dos to be used as naval bases against the
Dardanelles; following the landing of the
Anglo-French troops in Saloniki, which
was effected through an invitation by
Venizelos, and in violation of Article 99
of the Hellenic Constitution, General Sar-
rail took over the Greek forts of Kara-
bournou in Saloniki, and about the same
time a French fleet secured possession of
Corfu, where the broken and sick Serbian
Army gathered to reorganize. Railway
communication between Saloniki and
Eastern Macedonia was severed following
the blowing up of the great Demir Hissar
Bridge by the Allies, and the Dova Tepe
fort on the Bulgarian border passed un-
der allied control shortly afterward; then
naval bases were established by the En-
tente in the islands of Milo and Castel-
lorizo, and the Teuton Consuls in Salon-
iki, instead of being ordered away, were
arrested by the French forces. Subse-
quently the allied control was extended to
the islands of Chios, Mitylene, Zante,
Cefallonia, Crete, and Thassos.
Under suspicion that Greece was send-
ing food to Bulgaria, the whole country
was put under a rigid control as far as
imports of foodstuffs were concerned,
and the people experienced the first taste
of a blockade when the wheat and coal
ships from America to Piraeus began to
be detained for days and weeks in the
allied ports of Gibraltar, Algiers, and
Malta.
Surrender of Fort Rupel
In the first days of June, 1916, a
mixed German-Bulgarian force appeared
before the Greek fort of Rupel in East-
ern Macedonia and demanded immediate
THE SUFFERINGS OF NEUTRAL GREECE
151
possession. Had Greece decided to at-
tack the invaders she would have proved,
first, that her neutrality was one-sided,
and in the second place she would have
had to enter the war, not only against
Bulgaria, but against the entire com-
bination of the Teuton Powers. In the
face of such a contingency Greece, wish-
ing above all to remain neutral, turned
over the fort and withdrew her troops.
The Allies, once more disappointed in
their hopes to see Greece enter the war,
immediately declared martial law all
over Macedonia, placed an embargo on
Greek shipping, and presented the
ultimatum of June 21 with the following
demands:
1. Immediate resignation of the Skouloudis
Government,, which, after Zaimis, took
Venizelos's place following- the latter's resig-
nation in October, 1915.
2. Appointment of a new Government of a
nonpolitical and nonpartisan character.
3. Immediate demobilization of the army.
4. Dissolution of the Chamber, and the
holding of a general election, immediately
following general demobilization.
5. Substitution of certain police officials
suspected of anti-Entente leanings.
King Constantine forthwith complied
with the demands of the Entente. Thus
the Skouloudis Ministry resigned, Zaimis
again came to power, the army was de-
mobilized in record time, and the police
officials were succeeded by others who
were acceptable to the Entente.
Greece was getting ready to hold the
general election, in accordance with the
last demand of the ultimatum, when
Venizelos, apprehending disaster at the
polls, induced the Entente to hold back
its ultimate demand.
This happened because the Greek
Army, when demobilized, became the
strongest anti-Venizelist factor, and
through the organization known as the
Reservist League threatened to make
any Venizelos victory in the election im-
possible.
In their eagerness to shift Greek at-
tention to other matters, and with the
assurance that Rumania and Italy were
to declare war on Germany, the Allies
started on their great Balkan offensive in
the last days of August, 1916; in order to
try once more to get Greece on their side
the troops of General Sarrail left the en-
tire East Macedonian frontier unprotect-
ed, and when the few Greek troops sta-
tioned there attacked the Bulgarian in-
vader, and a number of sanguinary
clashes ensued, it was affirmed positively
in every Entente capital that Greece was
getting in. In order to make Greek par-
ticipation sure, the Entente dispatched a
fleet to Piraeus, had the Teuton Ministers
arrested, and took over the Greek fleet
in order " to protect it."
The Venizelos Revolt
Greece once more refused to enter the
war of destruction. And it was thus that
Venizelos, despairing of coming into
power" as a war leader, or as chief of the
Parliamentary majority, left Athens, and
after a short cruise in the Aegean, touch-
ing Crete and Mitylene, settled down at
Saloniki and established his so-called
" Provisional Government." His was
assumed to be a patriotic movement
directed against the Bulgar invader, and
for that reason succeeded in having im-
mediately the support of a large number
of patriotic Greeks, eager to fight the
Bulgar; when, however, these people
assembled in Saloniki, they received the
impression that the Provisional Govern-
ment was nothing else than an organized
plot of Venizelos to drive King Constan-
tine out of Greece and become himself
the dictator of the country. This ac-
complished, Venizelos thought, there
would be no difficulty in having the en-
tire Greek people thrown into the war
on the side of the Entente.
Venizelos claimed that he had the
Greek people with him, and that the mo-
ment he became master in Athens Greece
would take the field against the Teutons.
The Entente believed the Cretan poli-
tician, and gave him every assistance in
order that he might succeed in his effort.
The Ionian Bank was ordered to place at
the disposal of the "Provisional Govern-
ment " an amount of funds approximat-
ing $5,000,000; a number of officers were
assigned to train the Venizelist volun-
teers, and numerous emissaries to the
Entente capitals and other cities were
sent to preach the gospel of Venizelism
against Constantine, the neutralist King.
Venizelos counted on fifty thousand
152
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Greeks leaving the United States to place
themselves in his army, and on substan-
tial financial support from those who
would not volunteer to serve with the
troops.
In order to arm his troops Venizelos
suggested that the Entente force the
Athens Government to turn over its artil-
lery and ammunition to the revolu-
tionists; of course the arms would be
used apparently against the Bulgar foe,
and as Greece was not willing to fight,
the Entente ought to secure those guns
and hand them to the Venizelos men.
The Clash in Athens
The Entente with the usual eagerness
acceded to the Venizelos demand, and
through Admiral Fournet, commanding
the allied fleet in Greek waters, demand-
ed peremptorily that the Hellenic Gov-
ernment hand over its arms to the allied
forces. The Royal Government, having
information that the arms thus demanded
were to be used against the established
Hellenic regime, refused to comply with
the Admiral's ultimatum, and when on
Dec. 1 an allied force landed in Athens
to take possession of the arms by force,
the Greek troops in the capital offered a
most stubborn resistance, succeeded in
isolating Admiral Fournet, and almost
made him a prisoner. They finally drove
the invader out, after inflicting and suf-
fering serious losses in the encounter.
It then became apparent that the Veni-
zelist element in Athens had everything
ready for a revolution to overthrow the
Government and the King, and to estab-
lish the rule of the " Provisional Govern-
ment " in the capital of Greece. The
Venizelists were well armed for this pur-
pose, and counted chiefly on the support
that the allied troops would afford them
in engaging the Greek troops. When Ad-
miral du Fournet became aware that the
entire population of Athens was for the
King and against Venizelos, he immedi-
ately withdrew, and subsequently was
punished by his Government.
It was following this " treacherous
assault " on the Entente troops by the
Greek Army that a new ultimatum was
presented to Greece, asking reparation
and the transfer of the Greek military
forces to the Peloponnesus; in addition
the demand for the handing over of the
weapons was again repeated. Greece
complied with all the other desires of the
Entente, but refused to hand over the
guns. Thereupon the Entente established
a new blockade, which is continuing still.
During well-nigh four months not a
single ship was allowed to take any food
to Greece; immense misery, starvation,
sickness, and a diversity of epidemics
have ensued; in vain the Royal Govern-
ment protested against this inhuman
treatment, which is costing scores of lives
daily. Every Greek steamer has sus-
pended sailings, and Greece is completely
cut off from communication with the
outside world.
Venizelos Movement a Failure
Venizelos at the same time is unable
to go ahead with his movement. After
having spent the $5,000,000 given him by
the Entente he has scarcely succeeded in
assembling in Saloniki more than 5,000
volunteers; he is today despised by the
majority of the Greek people; he is con-
sidered as the man who has split his
country in two at a time when Hellas
ought to present a united front. The
Venizelos movement is a failure, and is
maintained- simply because it has behind
it the prestige and the support of the
Entente. Tomorrow, should the Entente
abandon Saloniki, Venizelos would have
to flee for his life.
What profit, therefore, do the Allies
expect from a man and a party which
cannot count on the sympathy of the ma-
jority of the Greek people?
This blockade, this misery, this suffer-
ing, of the Greek nation were expected to
strengthen the Venizelist movement; but
Greece starving and dying will not fol-
low him. The Venizelos movement has
ceased to thrill the nation. The Veni-
zelist emissaries in Europe and America
may continue their efforts, but neither
a volunteer nor a dollar will be lured to
Saloniki.
Greece has ceased to be a factor in the
European war. Venizelos has ceased to
be the powerful leader who could wrest
his country frpm the King of the Hel-
lenes. The Entente were deceived, and
THE SUFFERINGS OF NEUTRAL GREECE
153
are today pushing the Hellenic people
into the arms of their traditional ene-
mies. And the question arises: Is it
Venizelos or Greece that the Allies care
for? If it is the former, then let them
continue the tactics which alienate them
from the Greek people. But if it is the
latter, then for God's sake don't push
that country's sufferings and despair any
further. Because the Greek people have
done no harm to any one, and history
will place the plight of Greece beside
that of martyred Belgium when the hour
of reckoning comes; and it would be a
pity to besmirch the noble struggle of
the Allies with such a record, of bru-
tality and inhumanity as the Entente is
today guilty of in Greece.
King Constantine's Statement of the Wrongs
of Greece
KING CONSTANTINE of Greece
gave The Associated Press corre-
spondent at Athens a detailed
statement on Jan. 14, in which he said
that it had been impossible to get the
truth about Greece into the newspapers
of the Entente countries. After citing
false reports in the French press regard-
ing the events of the attempted Venizelos
revolution on Dec. 1 and 2, 1916, the
King continued:
After all, all we ask is fair play. But it
seems almost hopeless to try to get the truth
put of Greece to the rest of the world under
present circumstances. We have been sorely
tried these last two years and we don't pre-
tend to have always been angels under the
constant irritation of the ever-increasing al-
lied control of every little thing in our own
private life— letters, telegrams, police, every-
thing. Why, do you know that my sister-in-
law, Princess Alice of Battenberg, was only
permitted to receive a telegram of Christmas
greetings from her mother in England by
courtesy of the British Legation here?
Moreover, by taking an active hand in our
own internal politics, England and France
especially have succeeded in alienating an
admiration, a sympathy, and a devotion to-
ward them on the part of the Greek people
that, at the beginning of the war, was virtu-
ally a unanimous tradition. I am a soldier
myself and I know nothing about politics,
but it seems to me that when you start with
almost the whole of a country passionately
in your favor and end with it almost unani-
mously against you, you haven't succeeded
very well. And I quite understand how those
responsible for such a result seek to excuse
themselves by exaggerating the difficulties
they have had to contend with in Greece—
by talking about Greek treachery^ and the
immense sinister organization of German
propaganda that has foiled them at every
turn, and so on.
The only trouble with that is that they
make us pay for the errors of their policy.
The people of Greece are paying for them
now in suffering and death from exposure
and hunger, while France and England
starve us out because they have made the
mistake of assuming that their man Venizelos
could deliver the Greek Army and the Greek
people to the Entente Powers whenever they
wanted to use Greece for their advantage,
regardless of the interests of Greece as an
independent nation.
There are just two things about our des-
perate struggle to save ourselves from de-
struction that I am going to ask The As-
sociate Press to try to make clear to the people
of America. The rest will have to come out
some day— all the blockades and censorships
in the world cannot keep the truth down
forever. Understand, I am not presuming to
sit in judgment on the Entente Powers. I
appreciate that they have got other things
to think about besides Greece. What I say
is meant to help them do justice to them-
selves and to us, a small nation.
The first point is this : We have two prob-
lems on our hands here in Greece— an internal
one and an external one. The Entente
Powers have made the fundamental mistake
of considering them both as one. They said
to themselves: "Venizelos is the strongest
man in Greece and he is heart and soul with
us. He can deliver the Greeks whenever he
wants to. Let us back Venizelos, therefore,
and when we need the Greek Army he will
turn it over to us."
Well, they were wrong, as I think you have
seen for yourself since you have been here.
Venizelos was perhaps the strongest man in
Greece, as they thought. But the moment
he tried to turn over th« Greek Army to the
Entente, as if we were a lot of mercenaries,
he became the weakest man in Greece and
the most despised. For in Greece no man
delivers the Greeks. They decide their own
destinies as a free people, and not England,
France, and Russia together can change
154
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
them, neither by force of arms nor by starva-
tion. And they have tried both. As for
Venizelos himself— you had a man once in
your country, a very great man, who had
even been Vice President of the United
States, who planned to split the country in
t\Vo and set himself up as a ruler in the part
he separated from the rest. I refer to Aaron
Burr. But he only plotted to do a thing
which he never accomplished. Venizelos,
with the assistance of the allied powers—
and he never could have done it without
them— has succeeded for the time being in
the same kind of a seditious enterprise. Tou
called Aaron Burr a traitor. Well, that's
what the Greek people call Venizelos.
The impression has been spread broadcast
that Venizelos stands in Greece for liberalism
and his opponents for absolutism and mili-
tarism. It is just the other way around.
Venizelos stands for whatever suits his own
personal book. His idea of government is an
absolute dictatorship — a sort of Mexican gov-
ernment, I take it. When he was Premier
he broke every man who dared to disagree
With him in his own party. He never sought
to express the will of the people ; he imposed
his will on the people. The Greek people
will not stand that. They demand a con-
stitutional Government in which there is
room for two parties— Liberals and Conserva-
tives—each with a definite program, as in the
United States or England or any other civil-
ized country, not a personal Government,
where the only party division is into Veni-
zelists and anti-Venizelists.
The other thing I wanted to say is about
the effect of the so-called German propagan-
da in Greece. The Entente Powers seem to
have adopted the attitude that everybody who
is not willing to fight on their side must be
a pro-German. Nothing could be falser in
respect of Greece. The present resentment
against the Allies in Greece — and there is a
good deal of it, especially since the blockade
— is due to the Allies themselves and not to
any German propaganda. The proof of it is
that when the so-called German propaganda
was at its height there was little or no hos-
tility in Greece toward the Allies. It has
only been since the diplomatic representatives
of all the Central Empires and everybody else
whom the Anglo-French secret p slice indi-
cated as inimical to the Entente have been
expelled from Greece, and any German prop-
aganda rendered virtually impossible, that
there has grown up any popular feeling
against the Entente.
Part of this is due to the Entente's identi-
fication of its greater cause with the personal
ambitions of Venizelos, but a great deal has
also been due to the very unfortunate hand-
ling of the allied control in Greece. When
you write a personal letter of no possible
international significance to a friend or rela-
tive here in Athens, and post it in Athens,
and it is held a week, opened, and half its
contents blacked out, it makes you pretty
cross — not because it is unspeakable tyranny
in a free country at peace with all the world,
but because it is so silly. For, after all, if
you want to plot with a man living in the
same town you don't write him a letter. You
put on your hat and go to see him. Half
the people in Greece have been continually
exasperated by just this sort of unintelligent
corttrol, which has irritated the Greek people
beyond any telling. But to say that they
are pro-Germans because they dislike having
their private letters opened or their homes
entered without any legal authority what-
soever is childish. It's a vicious circle. The
Entente takes exceptionally severe measures
because it alleges the Greeks are pro-German.
The Greeks very naturally resent the meas-
ures thus taken, as would the Americans or
anybody else. The Entente then turns around
and says : " You see, that proves that the
Greeks are pro-German, as we suspected."
The fact of the matter is that there is
even now less pro-German feeling in Greece
than in the United States, Holland, or any of
the Scandinavian countries. And there is
far less anti-Entente propaganda in Greece
even now than there is anti-Hellenic prop-
aganda in England, France, and Russia. The
whole feeling of the Greek people toward the
Entente Powers today is one of sorrow and
disillusionment. They had heard so much of
this " war for the defense of little nations "
that it had been a very great shock to them
to be treated, as they feel, very badly, even
cruelly, for no reason and to nobody's profit.
And more than anything else, after all the
Greek Government and Greek people have
done to help the Entente Powers since the
very outbreak of the war, they deeply resent
being called pro-German because they have
not been willing to see their own country
destroyed as Serbia and Rumania have been
destroyed.
.1 have done everything I could to dissipate
the mistrust of the powers, I have given
every possible assurance and guarantee.
Many of the military measures that have
been demanded I myself suggested with a
view to tranquilizing the Allies, and myself
voluntarily offered to execute. My army,
which any soldier knows could never con-
ceivably have constituted a danger to the
allied forces in Macedonia, has been virtually
put in jail in the Peloponnesus. My people
have been disarmed, and are today powerless,
even against revolution, and they know from
bitter experience that revolution is a possi-
bility so long as the Entente Powers continue
to finance the openly declared revolutionary
party of Venizelos. There isn't enough food
letf in Greece to last a fortnight. Not the
Belgians themselves under German rule have
been rendered more helpless than are we in
Greece today.
Isn't it, therefore, time calmly to look at
conditions in Greece as they are, to give over
a policy dictated by panic, and to display
a little of that high quality of faith which
alone is the foundation of friendship?
The Story of Saloniki
By James B. Macdonald
NINETY years ago, when the Hel-
lenes were fruitlessly fighting
for their independence, George
Canning, the British Foreign
Secretary, induced France and Russia to
join his country in freeing them. The
allied fleet destroyed that of Egypt at
Navarino, and Greece again became a
political entity in 1832 under the pro-
tection of Britain, France, and Russia.
The guaranteeing powers agreed to
assist the new kingdom financially, to
contribute toward the maintenance of a
sovereign in suitable state, and that what-
ever ruler was chosen should not be a
member of the British, French, or Rus-
sian royal familes. They also agreed
that none of the contracting powers
should send troops into Greece without
the consent of the other guarantors.
Otto, the first King — a son of King
Louis I. of Bavaria — was deposed by a
national assembly, following a military
revolt in 1862. A plebiscite of the people
elected Prince Alfred of Great Britain,
better known as the Duke of Edinburgh,
but the British Government refused to
sanction it as being contrary to the agree-
ment with their co-guarantors. The
throne was next offered to the Earl of
Derby, grandfather of the present War
Minister, but declined by him. The
British Government then suggested the
Danish Prince, William George of Schles-
wig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Gliicksburg, and
this nomination was approved by a
National Assembly and ratified by the
guaranteeing powers.
The new sovereign, George I., was the
father of the present King Constantine.
As a special mark of good-will, Britain
ceded Corfu and the other Ionian Islands
to Greece. In 1864 the King accepted a
new democratic Constitution drawn up
by the National Assembly, and this is
the one still in force.
Meanwhile, the relationship between
the guaranteeing powers and their ward
had not always been harmonious, and
coercive measures have had to be re-
sorted to on several occasions. A French
army occupied Greece during the Crimean
war to prevent the Greeks from making
war on Turkey and threatening the allied
communications. Toward the close of the
Russo-Turkish war of 1877-78 the Hel-
lenes invaded Thessaly, but their claim
of territory was set aside in the Treaty
of San Stefano. At the instance of Lord
Salisbury, two Greek delegates were per-
mitted to address the Berlin Conference,
and they obtained a rectification of the
frontier.
In 1893 Greece defaulted in her na-
tional obligations, and four years later
entered upon an unprovoked and ag-
gressive war against Turkey. The Greek
Army, under Crown Prince Constantine,
was decisively beaten, and the capital
lay at the mercy of the victorious Turks
when the King telegraphed to the Czar
to save Greece. The Czar made personal
representations to the Sultan, and peace
was arranged. Greece agreed to pay
about $15,000,000 for her escapade.
Smarting from disappointment, the
military forces in 1909 set aside all con-
stitutional government and substituted
the Military League. They expelled
Crown Prince Constantine and his
brother from the army and threatened
the Crown itself. Later the army and
navy quarreled, and Venizelos, who at
this time came into prominence, per-
suaded the Military League to dissolve
and permit the re-establishment of con-
stitutional government.
In 1912-13 came the first and second
Balkan wars, the assassination of King
George at Saloniki, and the crowning of
King Constantine.
A French military mission had re-
organized the Greek Army and equipped
it with the latest pattern mountain guns
and light howitzers.
In the first war the Bulgars broke
the main Turkish resistance at Kirk
Kilisse and Lule Burgas, the Serbians
156
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
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REGION OF ALLIED OPERATIONS IN MACEDONIA.
broke their western armies at Kumanova
and Monastir, and King Constantine,
after the fight at Yanitza, had a walk-
over to Saloniki, where the demoralized
Turks surrendered without resistance.
In the second war the Bulgarian ob-
jective was to seize Saloniki and to
destroy the Greek and Serbian Armies
in detail. King Constantine, with a
superior Greek Army, fought his first
real battle between Saloniki and Seres,
and, after a struggle of five days, forced
the Bulgars to retire. The King pursued
the enemy energetically to the Rhodope
Mountains, where the Bulgarians counter-
attacked and enveloped both his wings,
but the timely intervention of the Ru-
manians compelled the Bulgars to seek
an armistice. This alone saved Con-
stantine's army from discomfiture. The
war closed with the Greek Army un-
beaten and its morale good.
The Repudiated Treaty
Upon the outbreak of the great war
the Serbian Army repulsed the Austrian
incursion, and in the following year de-
cisively routed the second army of in-
vasion. During the Summer the atti-
tude of Bulgaria had been uncertain and
suspicious, and the Greek Government
decided it was time to arm. Greece
mobilized on Sept. 24, 1915, and three
weeks later Bulgaria declared war on
Serbia.
Both Greece and Serbia at the close
of the second Balkan war expected that
Bulgaria would sooner or later seek re-
venge, and to insure against this con-
tingency they entered into a secret treaty
providing that each would assist the
other. Serbia, being attacked in the rear
by Bulgaria while confronting Austria-
Hungary, called on the Hellenes to assist
THE STORY OF SALONIKI
157
them in terms of their mutual agreement.
The Venizelos Government acknowledged
the obligation and proceeded to fulfill it.
As in duty bound, the Greek Govern-
ment represented the situation to the
three great powers who were guarantee-
ing the independence of Greece. It so
happened that these powers were also
allied to Serbia and engaged at the mo-
ment in war with the Teutonic States.
The Greek Government stated inter
alia: that they desired to assist Serbia;
that their resources were insufficient to
make their intervention effective, as they
could muster only 200,000 first-line
troops with adequate reserves, and that
if Britain and France would assist them
with an additional 150,000 men they
would take the field against Bulgaria.
The western powers agreed, and the
matter was arranged. Thirteen thousand
Anglo-French troops landed at Saloniki
on Oct. 6, 1915, as a first installment,
whereupon the political situation changed
at Athens.
King Constantine rightly diagnosed
the political situation: that the " drive
eastward through the Balkans to Turkey
was the Alpha and Omega of the war
so far as his brother-in-law the German
Emperor was concerned; that the Aus-
trians were taking the same road, bent
upon seizing Albania and Saloniki, and
that the invasion of Belgium, France,
and Russia was merely side play to en-
gage and hold off the opponents to this
eastern adventure. He also inferred that
the Asquith Government had mistaken
the real political direction of the war.
The Teutons were opportunists — gam-
blers, if you will — in the west, but their
heart was in the east.
Constantine erred, however, in sup-
posing that thevwestern powers did not
appreciate the political importance of
holding Saloniki and Valona (or Av-
lona) until the end of the war, and that
they had no other means of countering
the drive to the east than by a major
campaign in the Balkans or at the Dar-
danelles. He concluded that there
might be profit for himself in favoring
his brother-in-law's ambition and danger
to himself in opposing it. King Con-
stantine thereupon reconsidered his pre-
vious concurrence in the pourparlers
of his Government with the guaranteeing
powers, decided that Greece, in the cir-
cumstances of a general European war,
was not bound by the treaty with Serbia,
and accordingly dismissed Venizelos.
The latter obtained the suffrage of the
electors with an increased majority, but
was again dismissed by his sovereign.
Since then the King has reigned as an
absolute monarch, and his present Min-
istry professes to be nothing more than
the mouthpiece of the King and the
army. -
New Greece and the Islands have risen
in revolt under Venizelos, who has es-
tablished a Provisional Government at
Saloniki, while Old Greece supports the
King at Athens. The situation resembles
that in England before the civil war in
the reign of Charles I. The guaranteeing
powers, however, have asserted their
authority, have curbed the power of the
King, and will no doubt restore the Con-
stitution at a more convenient period.
All the Greeks believe that Constantine
is a great military genius, and, while
one party would gladly accept him as
a constitutional monarch, the other hails
him as the successor of Alexander the
Great — above all laws, for " himself he
is the State." Venizelos, however, re-
minds Constantine that his father was
elected of the people, and that his own
title as King is no better than that of
his father. Briefly, one party favors
the autocracy of Alexander the Great
and believes it has found his successor
in Constantine, while the other perfers
the democracy of the ancient Greek re-
publics, but associated with the heredi-
tary prestige of a constitutional sov-
ereign.
Bulgaria's Military Strength
The population of Bulgaria, according
to the census of 1906, comprised: Bul-
garia proper, 2,853,704; Eastern Ru-
melia, 1,174,535; total, 4,028,239. Allow-
ing for territory and extra population
gained through the Balkan wars, natural
increase of population, and war losses
in 1912-13, the pre-war total may be set
down as under 5,000,000.
Carried away by the Teutonic successes
158
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
in Poland, the British reverse at the
Dardanelles, and their own ambition to
attain the abortive terms of the Treaty
of San Stefano, the Bulgars embarked
upon the world war in the belief that it
would be a brief one once they threw
their weight in the scales. They imme-
diately mobilized every available mr.n
down to the youngest class and enrolled
about 750,000 men, leaving the women
and old men to work the farms. It was
essential to their success that the war
be brief, because only about 35,000 youths
mature every year, and they had no
other reserves.
Their attack on the Serbian rear at-
tained its object and made possible the
Austrian advance under General von
Mackensen. So far their losses had not
been great, because their strength had
not been tested out in a pitched battle
with a well-equipped foe. They had,
moreover, proved themselves good fight-
ing material, and were well-backed up
by heavy artillery lent by their northern
allies.
The Retreat from Serbia
Meanwhile, at Saloniki, the French had
landed a division under General Sarrail,
the renowned defender of Verdun, and the
British had disembarked the heroic rem-
nants of the Tenth Irish Division under
Sir Bryan Mahon, who had led the flying
column to the relief of Mafeking during
the Boer war. There was no Commander
in Chief to co-ordinate the movements
of the allied forces, who now moved up
country, where the French took station
on the left around Krivolak and the
British on the right around Doiran. Gen-
eral Sarrail endeavored to extend his
left flank to get in touch with some
5,000 Serbians who were retreating from
Uskub, and were at the moment holding
the Babuna Pass, north of Prilip. Owing
to the weakness of his force he did not
succeed, although his manoeuvre diverted
the attention of the Bulgars and enabled
the Serbians to escape into Albania.
The allied commanders themselves now
had to think about retreating, but were
hampered by the Greeks in their rear
wrecking trains and endeavoring to pre-
vent stores and ammunition reaching the
allied forces from the base at Saloniki.
The Government at Athens announced
that if the Anglo-French army came
back into Greek territory they would in-
tern it. The protecting powers responded
with an ultimatum threatening to block-
ade Greece, whereupon Athens gave way
with a bad grace. .
In November, 1915, large allied re-
inforcements arrived at Saloniki, but
were not sent up country, partly owing
to the threatening attitude of the Greek
Army and partly because a retreat from
the front had already been decided on.
They consisted of one French corps, and
two British corps — of which two di-
visions were veterans from the old
regular standing army.
General Sarrail retreated to Ghevgeli
with small loss and saved his stores, but
on Dec. 7, 1915, he was attacked in force
and retired without advising his colleague
on the right of his change of position.
The British on the right still held their
ground in ignorance of the French with-
drawal, and were suddenly overwhelmed
by a Bulgarian army several times their
number. They were only saved from
annihilation through the Bulgars not
venturing to follow them into Greek
territory. The Tenth Irish and a portion
of the Twenty-second British Division in
support were lost for days in the mount-
ain mists, and some of the sentries were
frozen to death in the hills.
The Allies fell back on Saloniki with
the Greek Army all around them, trucu-
lent and obstructive, and with the Greek
guns trained upon the allied camp.
Fortified Camp at Saloniki
General Sarrail was appointed Com-
mander in Chief and instructed to fortify
Saloniki, while the guaranteeing powers
compelled the Greek King to withdraw
his main army from Macedonia and re-
tire it to Old Greece, or the kingdom as
it existed prior to the Balkan war of
1912. General Mahon was given a high
command in Egypt, and afterward suc-
ceeded General Maxwell in command of
the troops in Ireland, he himself being
an Irishman. General Milne of the
Royal Artillery was appointed to the
vacancy.
THE STORY OF SAL0NIK1
159
The position at the base was still
highly unsatisfactory, mainly due to the
Greek King having appointed pro-German
sympathizers to all the chief posts
throughout Greece. This organization
became a network of spying and report-
ing in the German interest. The inade-
quate transportation service was further
depleted by Greek officials'
sending railway cars across
the frontier to the Bulga-
rians, until, the British blew
up the Demir-Hissar bridge
in February and so stopped
it.
In Saloniki itself the
Greek division stationed
there claimed the best land-
ing facilities for them-
selves, and permitted Fort
Kara-Burram to be used as
a base of supplies for Ger-
man submarines. When
the position became intoler-
able, General Sarrail deported the enemy
Consuls and ousted the Greek garrison
from the fort and quay.
The military considerations which dic-
tated the holding of Saloniki were not
less important than the political. They
are comparable to those which determined
the Duke of Wellington to establish the
succession of impregnable lines at
Torres-Vedras to cover the Port of
Lisbon during his operations in the Pe-
ninsula in 1809. These not only provided
him with a safe retreat, but kept open
his entry into the Peninsula until such
time as his army could be suitably
augmented, and had the additional merit
of lying across the enemys' line of action.
So with Sarrail at Saloniki. He found
that nature had provided him with such
a camp, and that, with little alteration,
it could be made impregnable against
assault by the whole Bulgarian Army
of 750,000.
Sarrail's garrison now consisted of
three French and five British divisions,
with supplementary detachments — in all
about 170,000 troops; but the great camp
in Egypt was only three days distant
and could be drawn upon for assistance
if required. When General de Castelnau
arrived at Christmas, 1915, from head-
quarters in France, he was eminently
satisfied with' the position at Saloniki.
Extending the Lines
The Royal Engineers and the Genie
Francais were directed to prepare for an
extension of the lines beyond the in-
trenched camp, as at that time there
75 Ntsh . Belgrade »
GrAustro- German "Sises
INNER DEFENSES OF SALONIKI
were only two roads available — one to
Monastir and the other to Seres. Since
then they have constructed over 5,000
miles of new roadways, besides building
railways and improving the landing
facilities at the port.
The outposts were then advanced about
thirty miles, to just within the Greek
frontier, from Karasuli to Kilindir. The
British occupied the right with three
divisions, the French the left with two
divisions, and the remaining three di-
visions held Saloniki and the line of com-
munications. The Greeks still had 12,000
troops in Saloniki and 38,000 in Eastern
Macedonia, as well as other troops in
Western Macedonia.
The major portion of the Serbian
Army arrived in April and May, 1916,
after leaving a division behind at Corfu.
It consisted of 110,000 young hardy
veterans, the survival of the fittest in
the retreat through Albania; but they
had still to be armed, equipped, and re-
organized.
The Bulgars held the Midji Mountains
on the west and the Belashitza Mount-
ains on the east. They had encroached
on the Monastir plain to within a short
distance of Fiorina, then held by the
French, and at the Vardar Pass they
160
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
had again come within Greek territory.
Otherwise they adhered to their own
frontier. This line was held by six Bul-
garian divisions of 30,000 men each,
under General Teodoroff, to whose com-
mand some German gunners and engi-
neers were attached.
In Western Macedonia the Greeks were
undisturbed. In Albania the Italians had
occupied Valona (or Avlona) as a pre-
cautionary measure shortly after Austria
entered the Balkan area. Their strong
force at Valona, however, was not in
touch with Sarrail's army at Saloniki
until after the capture of Monastir.
The prompt action of the Italians in
seizing Valona defeated one of the politi-
cal objects Austria had in initiating the
war, and the Anglo-French occupation
of Saloniki completed the discomfiture
of the Dual Kingdom.
The Bulgars Invade Greece
Satisfactory assurances having appar-
ently been obtained by the Teutonic
powers from the Greek King, the Bul-
garian forces crossed the frontier on
May 26, 1916. A German officer led
the vanguard and demanded the surren-
der of Fort Rupel, the Hellenic key to
the Struma River Pass. When the com-
mander refused he was requested to
telephone Athens, and, on doing so, was
directed by the War Office to yield up
the fort. The same procedure followed
with the other forts guarding the passes
into Eastern Macedonia.
The Central Powers were now in pos-
session of all the strategic sites of value
without Saloniki. The Greek Govern-
ment had refused to permit the powers
who were protectors of their kingdom to
occupy these vantage points and so pre-
vent such a denouement.
General Sarrail immediately pro-
claimed martial law in Saloniki, seized
all the means of communication, and
expelled the Greek civil authorities. The
British, on the right, left their in-
trenched lines and advanced to the
Struma, while the Bulgars dug them-
selves in on the further bank.
King Constantine adopted the well-
understood Levantine attitude of simulat-
ing compliance, but was hampered by his
own evanescent Government creations.
Early in September, 1916, the whole
Greek army corps in Eastern Macedonia
declined to accept passage to Old Greece
and voluntarily surrendered to the Ger-
mans with all their artillery and the
stores which Sarrail had sent to them by
motor transport from Saloniki.
This placed the seaport of Kavalla,
the inland towns of Drama and Seres,
and the Oriental railway from Greece to
Constantinople in the hands of the Bul-
garians. It also enabled them to bring
in Turkish troops from Adrianople.
The protecting powers thereupon
seized the Island of Thasos, which domi-
nates Kavalla.
The Summer of 19 J 6
Coincident with the arrival of the
Serbian Army at Saloniki, the enemy
had been reinforced by two Bulgarian
divisions, or 60,000 troops. The military
position now was that the Anglo-French
army had about 120,000 rifles, 500 field
guns, and some 200 heavy guns. The
Serbians were being rearmed with about
80,000 rifles, and their organization had
been taken in hand, as their primitive
formations were unsuited for co-ordina-
tion with their allies. Their guns and
horses had not yet come to hand. Until
the Serbians were ready, Sarrail was
unable to move, because the Bulgars
were possessed of 150,000 rifles and 700
guns, including heavy artillery.
Throughout the Summer the British
troops holding the line on the Struma
marshes were afflicted with malarial
fever, and half their number were on the
sick list. The Bulgars were not so af-
fected because, besides being acclima-
tized, their local knowledge of climatic
conditions had warned them to keep to
the higher ground which they were al-
ready in possession of.
The equipment of the British force,
while admirable for defending the in-
trenched camp at Saloniki, was unsuited
for taking the offensive in mountain
warfare in a country where there were
no cart roads. Pack mules must replace
their motor transport and light railways,
and mountain guns take the place of
their garrison artillery.
THE STORY OF SAL0NIK1
161
The Asquith Government had their
eyes on the great battle on the Somme,
and, after their misadventures at the
Dardanelles and Mesopotamia, were not
sympathetic to a vigorous prosecution
of the war in the East. For this they
were later turned out of office. Con-
trary to press reports, there was no
serious intention at this time
of attempting to cut the
Balkan railway.
The political object of foil-
ing Austria had been attained
by occupying Saloniki and
Valona in force.
In August two more divis-
ions arrived to reinforce the
Bulgarian Army, and the
latter now attacked the
Serbians, whom Sarrail had
placed on the left wing. The
Serbs yielded Fiorina at the
first onslaught and fell back
behind Lake Ostrova, where
they checked the Bulgar ad-
vance. Here they were
strengthened on their extreme
left by the arrival of a
division of Russian infantry,
together with French troops,
who had been set free from
the right wing by the timely
arrival of Italian troops.
The latter were inset in
the British lines between
Lake Doiran and Lake Butkova, or, in
other words, at the base of the Belashitza
Mountains. The Italians were bett'er
equipped for the hill fighting than the
British, and this determined the task
assigned to them.
Until the Bulgars are driven out of
the Belashitza Mountains the railway
to Seres cannot be used. With a view to
the coming offensive, General Milne took
over the greater part of the allied centre
in addition to holding the right wing.
Autumn Campaign of 1916
If the Entente General Staff contem-
plated an attack on the Sophia-Adrian-
ople railway at the moment when Ru-
mania entered the war, then it seems
clear from subsequent events that neither
Sarrail's force nor the Rumanian Army
was designed to play the leading role.
The only other striking force available
was the Russian strategic reserve, but
we know now that the Russians were
not prepared for a move in this direction
at that time. The inference, therefore,
is that the press correspondents mis-
interpreted the situation.
REGION COVERED IN THE CAPTURE OF MONASTIR
The Autumn campaign opened with
Sarrail's army aligned in the following
disposition:
On the right wing, three British di-
visions held the line of the Struma and
the Italians held the base of the Bela-
shitza Mountains. In the centre, the
Vardar front was held by two British
divisions on the east side of the river
and by French forces on the west side.
On the left wing, the second Serbian
army held the line of the Nidji Mount-
ains, and their first army, supplemented
by French and Russian detachments,
held the country on either side of Lake
Ostrova. The position of the Entente
army was concentric, with its communi-
cations arranged accordingly.
The Bulgarian Army, augmented by
162
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Austrian, German, and Turkish troops,
was strung out along the hills in concave
formation, and suffered from the absence
of lateral communications.
Both sides in the early Autumn were
jockeying for position, with the Bulgars
uncertain whether the attack would come
from the British on the right or from
the French on the left. On Sept. 11,
1916, the British forded the Struma on
a wide front, and during the next few
days carried several villages. Simulta-
neously, artillery preparation commenced
on the Vardar front. Sept. 29 and 30
the attack was renewed in force on the
Struma front. These, however, were
only feints while the mass of the French
artillery and troops engaged the enemy's
right.
The Capture of Monastir
The real fightimg took place on Sar-
r ail's left wing, and this was quite a
brilliant affair, in which the Serbians
gained great honor.
The plain of Monastir is the dry bed
of an ancient lake and one of the few
level stretches in this war theatre. It
lies in a north and south direction and,
therefore, appeared to General Sarrail
an inviting entrance to outflank and turn
all the Bulgar positions west of the Var-
dar. The Bulgarian flank was secure on
that wing because the terjjain was im-
possible. The eastern side of the valley
is also protected by hills, but of a less
formidable nature, and round this
mountain mass the Cerna River bends
back on its own course.
The Bulgars had constructed a series
of intrenchments across the southern en-
trance of the valley near the town of
Kenali and stretching from the eastern
mountains to those on the west. Be-
tween these lines and the Serbian front
at Lake Ostrova lay a ridge of hills cul-
minating in the high peak of Kaymak-
chalan. They were situated astride Sar-
.rail's line of advance and were held in
by force by the enemy.
On Sept. 14 the Serbian outposts were
heavily reinforced and counterattacked
the Bulgars opposed to them. Mean-
time, a Franco-Russian column was out-
flanking the western end of the ridge,
and next day the Serbian advance
captured the main position with thirty-
two field and heavy guns. The Bulgars
fought a rear-guard action at the River
Brod, but failed to hold their pursuers,
and on the 18th the French and Serbians
entered Fiorina.
On the 19th the Serbs carried by as-
sault the high peak of Kaymakchalan
and repelled successive counterattacks to
recover it during the next week. An-
other fortnight passed in carrying for-
ward the railway, bringing up the heavy
guns and accumulating a sufficiency of
shells. On Oct. 14 and 15 a frontal as-
sault on the Kenali lines failed.
General Sarrail now changed his
tactics and directed the artillery against
the positions on the eastern hills. The
next month was occupied by the French
artillery and Serbian infantry in clear-
ing ridge after ridge from which they
enfiladed the Kenali lines, and, in co-
operation with a Franco-Russian frontal
assault, compelled the Bulgars to evacu-
ate them on Nov. 14. The latter were
unable to make a further stand in front
of Monastir, and on Nov. 19 General Sar-
rail's troops entered the city.
[For a Greek view of the acts of Greece see Page 1 18]
British Operations at Saloniki
Official Report of General Milne
[See Map on Page 156]
SINCE the conference at Rome the
situation in Macedonia has been
radically changed. The weakness
of General Sarrail's position lay
in the fact that neither England nor
France felt free to send from the critical
western front the large reinforcements of
men which the situation north of Saloniki
called for. Italy had the men, but was
unwilling to send them and to incur the
heavy additional expense of maintaining
them in Macedonia. The conference at
Rome, in which Premier Lloyd George
was the dominant figure, overcame that
reluctance, probably promising Italy
parts of fhe Turkish Empire that had
been earlier assigned tentatively to
Greece and guaranteeing the cost of che
new expedition. The result has been im-
mediate and of the highest importance.
Rome dispatches indicate that Italy has
sent, or is sending, a force of not less
than 300,000 men; that these troops, to
avoid the danger of submarines, are being
dispatched, not to Saloniki, but to Avlona,
which is within forty miles of the Italian
coast; and, finally, these Italian forces
have not only built an excellent highway
through the Albanian mountains but
have already joined forces with General
Sarrail's right wing at Monastir. All
these facts indicate early activity in the
Macedonian sector.
This glimpse of present conditions will
serve to introduce the following report
of General G. F. Milne, commanding the
British Saloniki Army in Macedonia, on
last Summer's operations in that sector.
His report, submitted to the British War
Office early in December, 1916, covered
the army's operations from May 9 to
Oct. 8. The official text of the report is
here reproduced, with a few minor omis-
sions :
I have the honor to submit the following
report on the operations carried out -by the
British Saloniki army since I asumed com-
mand on May 9, in accordance with instruc-
tions received from the General Officer Com-
manding in Chief, Egyptian Expeditionary
Force.
On that date the greater part of the army
was concentrated within the fortified lines
of Saloniki, extending from Stavros on the
east to near the Galiko River on the west;
a mixed force, consisting of a mounted bri-
gade and a division, had been pushed for-
ward to the north of Kukush in order to
support the French Army which had ad-
vanced and was watching the right bank of
the Struma River and the northern frontier
of Greece. Further moves in this direction
were contemplated, but, in order to keep the
army concentrated, I entered into an agree-
ment with General .Sarrail by which the
British forces should become responsible for
that portion of the allied front which cov-
ered Saloniki from the east and northeast.
By this arrangement a definite and independ-
ent area was allotted to the army under my
command. On June 8 the troops commenced
to occupy advanced positions along the right
bank of the River Struma and its tributary,
the River Butkova, from Lake Tachinos to
Lozista village. By the end of July, on the
demobilization of the Greek Army, this occu-
pation had extended to the sea at Chai
Aghizi. Along the whole front the construc-
tion of a line of resistance was begun ; work
on trenches, entanglements, bridgeheads, and
supporting points was commenced ; for ad-
ministrative purposes the reconstruction of
the Saloniki-Seres road was undertaken and
the cutting of wagon tracks through the
mountainous country was pushed forward.
On July 20, in accordance with the policy
laid down in my instructions, and in order to
release French troops for employment else-
where, I began to take over the line south
and west of Lake Doiran, and commenced
preparations for a joint offensive on this
front. This move was completed by Aug. 2,
and on the 10th of that month an offensive
was commenced against the Bulgarian de-
fenses south of the line Doiran-Hill 535. The
French captured Hills 227 and La Tortue,
while the British occupied in succession those
features of the main 535 ridge now known as
Kidney Hill and Horseshoe Hill, and, pushing
forward, established a series of advanced
posts on the line Doldzeli-Reselli. The cap-
ture of Horseshoe Hill was successfully car-
ried out on the night of Aug. 17-18 by the
Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light In-
fantry at the point of the bayonet in the face
of stubborn opposition. The enemy's coun-
terattacks were repulsed with heavy loss.
As a result of these operations it became
possible to shorten considerably the allied
104
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
line between Doiran Lake and the River Var-
dar, and on Aug. 29, in agreement with Gen-
eral Sarrail, I extended my front as far as
the left bank of that river so as to set free
more troops for his offensive operations.
This relief was completed by Aug. 31, the
position then held extending from Hill 420
to the Vardar River just north of Smol. In
the Struma Valley a French mounted detach-
ment was at the same time pushed forward
to Seres.
Bulgarian Invasion of Macedonia
On Aug. 17 the Bulgarians, who, at the end
of May, had entered Greek territory by the
Struma Valley and moved down as far as
Demir Hissar, continued their advance into
Greek Macedonia. Columns of all arms ad-
vanced from seven different points, between
Sarisaban, on the Mesta, and Demir Hissar.
The four eastern columns converged on the
country about Drama and Kavala, while the
remainder moved southward on to the line
of the Struma from Demir Hissar toward
Orfano. On Aug. 19 a mounted brigade with
one battery carried out a strong reconnois-
sance, and found the enemy in some force
on the line Prosenik-Barakli Djuma ; on the
following day, after being reinforced by a
battalion, this brigade again advanced in con-
junction with the French detachment. These
attacking troops, after encountering the
enemy in force on the line Kalendra-Prosenik-
Haznatar, withdrew after dark to the right
bank of the Struma. The French detach-
ment was subsequently placed under the
orders of the General Officer Commanding
British troops on this front, and received in-
structions to co-operate in the defense of the
river line.
On Aug. 21 the railway bridge near Angista
Station was demolished by a detachment from
the Neohori garrison, and three days later
two road bridges over the Angista River were
destroyed. Both these operations were well
carried out by yeomanry, engineers, and
cyclists in the face of hostile opposition.
The Bulgarians continued their advance
into Eastern Macedonia unopposed by the
Greek garrison, and it was estimated that by
the end of August the enemy's forces, extend-
ing from Demir Hissar southward in the
Seres sector of the Struma front, comprised
the complete Seventh Bulgarian Division,
with two or three regiments of the Eleventh
Macedonian Division, which had moved east-
ward from their positions on the Beles
Mountain to act as a reserve to the Seventh
Division, and at the same time to occupy the
defenses from Vetrina-Pujovo northward.
Opposite the Lower Struma was a brigade of
the Second Division, with a brigade of the
Tenth Division, in occupation of the coast and
the zone of country between Orfano and the
Drama-Kavala road. This brigade of the
Tenth Division was supported by another
brigade in the Drama-Kavala area. As a re-
sult of this advance and of a similar move
in the west General Sarrail decided to intrust
to the British Army the task of maintaining
the greater portion of the right and ee
Of the allied line.
Struma Crossed in Six Places
Oti Sept. 10 detachments crossed the river
above Lake Tachinos at five places between
Bajraktar Mah and Dragos, while a sixth de-
tachment crossed lower down at Neohori.
The villages of Oraoman and Kato Gudeli
were occupied, and the Northumberland Fu-
siliers gallantly captured Nevolien, taking
thirty prisoners and driving the enemy out of
the village. The latter lost heavily during
their retirement and in their subsequent coun-
terattack. They also suffered severely from
our artillery fire in attempting to follow our
prearranged movements to regain the right
bank of the river.
On the 15th similar ..operations were under-
taken, six small columns crossing the river
between Lake Tachinos and Orljak bridge.
The villages of Kato Gudeli, Dzami Mah,
Agomah, and Komarjan were burned and
twenty-seven prisoners were taken. The ene-
my's counterattacks completely broke down
under the accurate fire of our guns on the
right bank of the river. On the 23d a similar
scheme was put into action, but a sudden rise
of three feet in the Struma interfered with
the bridging operations. Nevertheless, the
enemy's trenches at Yenimah were captured,
fourteen prisoners taken, and three other
villages raided. Considerable help was given
on each occasion by the French detachment
under Colonel Bescoins, and much informa-
tion was obtained which proved to be of conr
siderable value during subsequent operations.
On the Doiran-River Vardar front there re-
mained as before the whole of the Bulgarian
Ninth Division, less one regiment; a brigade
of the Second Division, and at least two-
thirds of the German 101st Division, which
had intrenched the salient north of Machu-
kovo on the usual German system. To assist
the general offensive by the Allies I ordered
this salient to be attacked at the same time
as the allied operations in the Fiorina area
commenced. With this object in view the
whole of the enemy's intrenched position was
subjected to a heavy bombardment from
Sept. 11 to 13, the southwest corner of the
salient known as the Piton des Mitrailleuses
being specially selected for destruction. The
enemy's position was occupied during the
night 13th-14th, after a skillfully planned and
gallant assault, in which the King's Liverpool
Regiment and Lancashire Fusiliers specially
distinguished themselves. Over 200 Germans
were killed in the work, chiefly by bombing,
and seventy-one prisoners were brought in.
During the 14th the enemy concentrated from
three directions a very heavy artillery fire,
and delivered several counterattacks, which
were for the most part broken up under the
fire of our guns. Some of the enemy, how-
ever, succeeded in forcing an entrance into
the work, and severe fighting followed. As
hostile reinforcements were increasing in
BRITISH OPERATIONS AT SALONIKI
165
numbers, and as the rocky nature of the
ground rendered rapid consolidation difficult,
the troops were withdrawn in the evening to
their original line, the object of the attack
having been accomplished. This withdrawal
was conducted with little loss, thanks to the
very effective fire of the artillery. During
the bombardment and subsequent counter-
attack the enemy's losses must have been
considerable. On the same front on the night
of the 20th-21st, after bombarding the hostile
positions on the Crete des Tentes, a strong
detachment raided and bombed the trenches
and dugouts, retiring quickly with little loss.
A similar raid was carried out northeast of
Doldzeli.
In addition to these operations and raids,
constant combats took place between patrols,
many prisoners being captured, and several
bombing raids were carried out by the Royal
Flying Corps.
Holding the Bulgarians
In order further to assist the progress of
our allies toward Monastir by maintaining
such a continuous offensive as would insure
no transference of Bulgarian troops from the
Struma front to the west, I now issued in-
structions for operations on a more extensive
scale than those already reported. In accord-
ance with these the General Officer Com-
manding on that front commenced operations
by seizing and holding certain villages on the
left bank of the river with a view to enlarg-
ing the bridgehead opposite Orljak, whence he
would be in a position ^to threaten a further
movement either on Seres or on Demir
Hissar. The high ground on the right bank
of the river enabled full use to be made of
our superiority in artillery, which contributed
greatly to the success of these operations.
The river itself formed a potential danger,
owing to the rapidity with which its waters
rise after heavy rain in the mountains, but
by the night of Sept. 29 sufficient bridges
had been constructed by the Royal Engineers
for the passage of all arms. During the
night of Sept. 29-30 the attacking infantry
crossed below Orljak bridge and formed up
on the left bank.
At dawn on the following morning the
Gloucesters and the Cameron Highlanders
advanced under cover of an artillery bom-
bardment, and by 8 A. M. had seized the vil-
lage of Karadjakoi Bala. Shortly after the
occupation of the village the enemy opened
a heavy and accurate artillery fire, but the
remaining two battalions of the brigade, the
Royal Scots and Argyll and Sutherland High-
landers, though suffering severely from en-
filade fire, pushed on against Karadjakoi
Zir. By 5:30 P. M. that village also was
occupied, in spite of the stubborn resistance
of the enemy. Attempts to bring forward
hostile reinforcements were frustrated during
the day by our artillery, but during the- night
the Bulgarians launched several strong coun-
terattacks, which were repulsed with heavy
loss.
During the following night determined
counterattacks of the enemy were again re-
pulsed, and by the evening of Oct. 2 the
position had been fully consolidated. Prepara-
tions were at once made to extend the posi-
tion by the capture of Yenikoi, an important
village on the main Seres road. This opera-
tion was successfully carried out by an in-
fantry brigade, composed of the Royal
Munster and Royal Dublin Fusiliers, on the
morning of Oct. 3, after bombardment by
our artillery. By 7 A. M. the village was in
our hands. During the day the enemy
launched three heavy counterattacks. The
first two were stopped by artillery fire,
which caused severe loss. At 4 P. M. the
village, the ground in the rear, and the
bridges were subjected to an unexpectedly
heavy bombardment from several heavy bat-
teries which had hitherto not disclosed their
positions. Following on the bombardment
was the heaviest counterattack of the day,
six or seven battalions advancing from the
direction of Homondos, Kalendra, and
Topalova with a view to enveloping our
positions. This attack was carried forward
with great determination, and some detach-
ments succeeded in entering the northern
portion of Yenikoi, where hard fighting con-
tinued all night, until fresh reinforcements
succeeded in clearing out such enemy as
survived. During the following day the con-
solidation of our new line was continued
under artillery fire. On the 5th, after a
bombardment, the village of Nevolien was
occupied, the Bulgarian garrison retiring on
the approach of our infantry. By the fol-
lowing evening the front extended from
Komarjan on the right via Yenikoi to Elisan
on the left. On the 7th a strong reconnois-
sance by mounted troops located the enemy
on the Demir Hissar-Seres railway, with
advanced posts approximately on the line of
the Belica stream and a strong garrison in
Barakli Djuma. On Oct. 8 our troops had
reached the line Agomah-Homondos-Elisan-
Ormanli, with the mounted troops on the
line Kispeki-Kalendra. The enemy's casual-
ties during these few days were heavy, over
1,500 corpses being counted in the immediate
front of the captured localities. Three hun-
dred and seventy-five prisoners and three
machine guns were taken.
I consider that the success of these opera-
tions was due to the skill and decision with
which they were conducted by Lieut. Gen.
C. J. Briggs, C. B., and to the excellent co-
operation of all arms, which was greatly as-
sisted by the exceptional facilities for obser-
vation of artillery fire. The Royal Flying
Corps, in spite of the difficulties which they
had to overcome and the great strain on their
resources, rendered valuable assistance.
Armored motor cars were used with ef-
fect. * * *
On the enforcement of martial law the man-
agement of the three lines of railway radiat-
ing from Saloniki had to be undertaken by
the Allies ; one line, the Junction-Saloniki-
166
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Constantinople, is now entirely administered
by the British Army; this, together with
the additional railway traffic involved by the
arrival of the Serbian Army, as well as the
Russian and Italian troops, has thrown a
considerable strain on the railway directo-
rate, which, however, has successfully risen
to the occasion and has worked harmonious-
ly and smoothly with the French military
and Greek civil officials.
Medical Services and Malaria
I desire specially to acknowledge the excel-
lent work rendered by Surgeon Gen. H. R
Whitehead, C. B., and all ranks of the medi-
cal services under his command during a
period in which sickness was prevalent. All
branches of the Royal Army Medical Corps
and the Canadian Army Medical Corps de-
serve the greatest commendation and have
fully maintained their high traditions of effi-
ciency.
The medical services have been called upon
to face problems of great difficulty. It can
be easily realized that in a climate varying
from severe cold to intense damp heat, and
in a mountainous country deficient in water,
poorly supplied with roads, without local re-
sources, and where dysentery and malaria
are rife, the duties and responsibilities of
these services must necessarily be heavy.
Experiments as to the most efficacious types
of mountain ambulance transport had been
conducted in the Winter and Spring, and as a
result tiavois, mule litters, and cacolets now
form integral portions of each field ambu-
lance.
During the same period exhaustive meas-
ures were taken for an anti-malarial cam-
paign. Officers with special knowledge were
appointed to supervise anti-malarial work;
swampy areas were drained and the defen-
• sive lines then held carefully surveyed with
a view to only the most healthy portions
being held. Although malaria has still been
the prevailing disease, yet I feel certain that
these careful precautionary measures have
been greatly instrumental in lessening its in-
tensity. The move to the valley of the
Struma in June tested all the preparations
made and severely tried the medical re-
sources. The area occupied was found to be
highly malarious, the heat intense and damp,
and the single road from the base long, hilly,
and of uneven surface. The organization of
this line of evacuation and the arrangement
of halting places and refilling points was,
however, successfully undertaken. * * *
On the declaration of martial law at
Saloniki on June 3, certain administrative
functions * had necessarily to be taken over
from the Greeks by the Allies ; among these
was the control of the customs, which is now
administered by a Greek director working
under the supervision of a commission com-
posed of British and French officers directed
by French Headquarters. The administra-
tion of this important office has been con-
ducted with discretion and common sense.
"The Mad Dog of Europe"
T. P. O'Connor, writing in The London Chronicle a few days after the
breaking of America's diplomatic relations with Germany, offered this striking
parable:
A mad dog rushes into the streets early in the morning when few people
are about. Most of the citizens are still in bed. For horrible moments it has
full and unchecked run; it bites here, there, everywhere. It catches the early
postman and chambermaid and jumps at the baby in arms until the whole town
is at last aroused and, pellmell, everybody rushes after the mad dog until at
last its brains are dashed out by truncheon or rifle and the unclean and Wicked
thing lies on the ground with the poisonous foam still oozing from its dead and
impotent lips.
This is a parable. It sums up and symbolizes to my imagination the story
of Germany in this war. For years, as Lloyd George puts it in one of his great
passages, she plotted to murder Europe in her sleep. Meantime she prepared
herself for the devil's work by poisoning her mind and the mind of all her peo-
ples with the devil's gospel that might alone constituted right; that war was not
merely the means but the end; that the human conscience, free will, and the
existence of nations should lie at the mercy of the biggest battalions and the best
machine guns, and when the appropriate time was supposed to have come she
burst on sleeping and unarmed Europe, foaming at the mouth with the fury of
madness.
At first the mad dog was able to bite and to infect everybody and every-
where until at last the whole world woke up to the universal peril, and today the
whole world, or almost the whole world, is in full pursuit of the noxious beast
and its end is near at hand. America has come in to give the coup de grace —
for it is quite certain America's intervention is the coup de grace.
Blame. for the Dardanelles Failure
The Report of the Special Com-
mission Headed by Lord Cromer
THERE was issued in London,
March 8, 1917, a comprehensive
report by the special commission
appointed by Parliament to in-
vestigate the ill-fated Dardanelles cam-
paign. The report is an ad interim one,
dealing exclusively with the origin and
inception of the attack on the Darda-
nelles. It is signed by the late Lord
Cromer, who was Chairman of the com-
mission; Andrew Fisher, representing
Australia; Thomas McKenzie, represent-
ing New Zealand; Sir Frederick Cawley,
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster;
James A. Clyde, Lord Advocate; Stephen
L. Gwynn, Nationalist Member of the
House of Commons; Rear Admiral Sir
William H. May, Field Marshal Baron
Nicholson, and Justice Pickford.
There were two minority reports — a
dissent by Andrew Fisher, Australian
High Commissioner, on one of the find-
ings, and by Thomas McKenzie, New
Zealand High Commissioner, on the
same; and a separate report by Walter
Roch, Liberal Member of the House of
Commons from Pembrokeshire.
The signing of the report was the last
act performed by Lord Cromer; his death
followed a few days later. There has
been some discussion as to why a docu-
ment revealing the inner history of an
ill-fated campaign should be published
by the Government in time of war, and
it is charged that it was done for political
effect to discredit the Asquith Adminis-
tration; in fact, in the discussion in the
House of Parliament a few days after it
was made public, the findings of the
commission were quoted as a direct re-
flection on the Asquith Cabinet. Some
influential English newspapers have
gone so far as to demand proceedings
against Asquith and other members of
the Cabinet responsible for the cam-
paign.
The report is remarkable for its
candor. It blames in frank terms the
late Earl Kitchener, Secretary of War;
Winston Spencer Churchill, then First
Lord of the Admiralty; Lord Fisher,
then First Sea Lord; Prime Minis-
ter Asquith, and other members of the
War Council,
Kitchener a Dominant Force
The report begins with a general
synopsis of the organization of the War
Cabinet calling attention to the fact that
the management in November, 1914, de-
volved upon a War Council of the
Cabinet, consisting of Premier Asquith,
Earl Kitchener, and Mr. Churchill, with
Sir Edward Grey, Mr. Lloyd George, and
the Marquis of Crewe, then heads of the
Foreign, Treasury, and India Offices,
participating, but with comparatively
inactive advisory functions. Sea Lords
Fisher and Wilson were with Mr.
Churchill, and Chief of Staff General
Murray with Earl Kitchener, theoretic-
ally as technical advisers, but in practice,
according to the report, usually playing
silent parts. The commission was
" struck with the atmosphere of vague-
ness and want of precision which seems
to have characterized the proceedings of
the War Council."
Mr. Churchill testified that Mr. As-
quith and Earl Kitchener " settled mat-
ters," although he had the same author-
ity. The commission thought his view
was overmodest. The Cabinet as a body
placed all responsibility on the council,
sometimes requesting that it was not to
be told of occurrences on the ground
that the fewer who knew of them the
better.
Earl Kitchener's dominating influence
pervades the testimony. The commission
says he would not impart full informa-
tion of his plans, even to the War Coun-
cil. His action in holding troops back
for three weeks without consulting the
Admiralty greatly compromised the
probability of success. . Mr. Churchill de-
168
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
scribed him as " all powerful, imper-
turbable, and reserved," adding, " he
dominated absolutely our councils at this
time. The belief that he had plans deep-
er and wider than any we could see
silenced misgivings."
The report discusses the political as-
pects of the campaign, saying it was
also designed to influence Bulgaria and
Italy, then neutrals, and relieve pressure
on Russia. General Hamilton said Earl
Kitchener thought the operation would
be successful in staving off Bulgaria's
entrance into the war, in occupying 300,-
000 Turks for nine months, and in heart-
ening Russia.
Designed to Defeat Egypt
The report summarizes the conclusions
reached as follows:
The question of attacking the Dardenelles
was, on the initiative of Mr. Churchill,
brought under the consideration of the War
Council on Nov. 25, 1914, as the ideal method
of defending Egypt. It may reasonably be
assumed that inasmuch as all the authorities
concerned were prima facie in favor of a
joint military rather than a purely naval at-
tack, such an attack, if undertaken at all,
would have been of the former rather than
of the latter character had not other cir-
cumstances led to a modification of the pro-
gram. A communication from the Russian
Government of Jan. 2 introduced a fresh
element into the case. The British Govern-
ment considered that something must be
done in response to it, and in this connection
the question of attacking the Dardanelles
was again raised.
The Secretary of State for War declared
that there were no troops immediately avail-
able for operations in the East, and his
statement was accepted by the War Council,
who took no steps to satisfy themselves by
reports of estimates as to what troops were
available then or in the near future. Had
this been done the Commissioners think it
would have been ascertained that sufficient
troops would be available for a joint military
and naval operation at an earlier date than
supposed, but this matter was not adequately
investigated by the War Council. Thus the
question before the War Council on Jan. 13
was whether no action of any kind should
for the time being be undertaken or whether
action should be taken by the fleet alone,
the navy being held to be the only force
available.
Political arguments, which were adduced
to the War Council in favor of a prompt and
effective action if such were practicable,
were valid and of the highest importance, but
the practicability of whatever action was
proposed was of equal importance. Mr.
Churchill appears to have advocated an at-
tack by ships alone before the War Council,
on a certain amount of half-hearted and
hesitating expert opinion which favored a
tentative or progressive scheme, beginning
with an attack upon the outer forts. This at-
tack, if sucessful, was to be followed by
further operations against the main defenses
of the Narrows. There does not appear to
have* been direct support or direct opposition
from the responsible naval and military ad-
visers, Lord Fisher and Sir James Wolfe
Murray, as to the practicability of carrying
on the operations as approved by the War
Council, viz., to bombard and take the Gal-
lipoli Peninsula, with Constantinople as the
objective.
Fisher Made No Objection
The First Sea Lord and Sir Arthur Wilson,
who was the only naval adviser present at
the War Council, expressed no dissent. Lord
Kitchener, who occupied a commanding posi-
tion at the time the decision was taken, was
in favor of the project. Both Lord Fisher
and Sir Arthur Wilson would have preferred
a joint naval and military attack, but they
did not express to the War Council and were
not asked to express any opinion on the sub-
ject, and offered no objection to naval opera-
tions, as they considered them experimental
and such as could be discontinued if the first
results obtained were not satisfactory.
The Commissioners think that there was an
obligation, first on the First Lord, secondly
on the Prime Minister, thirdly on one other
member of the War Council, to see that the
views of the naval advisers were clearly put
before the council, and that the naval ad-
visers should have expressed their views to
the council, whether asked or not, if they
considered the project which the council was
about to adopt was impracticable from a
naval point of view.
Looking at the position which existed on
Jan. 13, 1915, the Commissioners do not think
the War Council was justified in coming to
the decision without much fuller investiga-
tion of the proposition which had been sug-
gested to them. The Commissioners hold
that the possibility of making a surprise
amphibious attack on Gallipoli offered such
great military and political advantage that
it was mistaken and ill-advised to sacrifice
this possibility by deciding to undertake a
purely naval attack, which from its nature
could not obtain completely the object set
out in the terms of the decision.
The decision taken on the 16th to mass
troops in the neighborhood of the Dardanelles
marked a very critical stage of the whole
operation. It ought to have been clear that
when this was once done, even if troops
were not actually landed, it would be ap-
parent to the world that a serious attack
was intended, and a withdrawal could no
longer be effected without running serious
risk of loss of prestige. At that moment, as
time was all important, no compromise was
possible between making an immediate and
BLAME FOR THE DARDANELLES FAILURE
169
vigorous effort to insure success at the Dar-
danelles by joint naval and military occupa-
tion and falling back on the original inten-
tion of desisting from a naval attack if the
experiences gained during the bombardment
were unsatisfactory.
Troops Delayed by Kitchener
On Feb. 20 Lord Kitchener decided that
the Twenty-ninth Division, part of the troops
which by the decision of Feb. 16 were to be
sent to the East, should not be sent at that
time, and Colonel Fitzgerald instructed the
Director of Naval Transport that transports
for that division and the rest of the expedi-
tionary force would not be required. This was
done without informing the First Lord, and
the dispatch of troops was thus delayed three
weeks. This delay greatly compromised the
probability of success of the original attack
by land forces and materially increased the
difficulties encountered in the final attack
some months later.
We consider that in view of the opinions
expressed by the naval and military authori-
ties on the spot the decision to abandon the
naval attack after the bombardment of March
18 was inevitable. There was no meeting of
the War Council between March 19 and May
14. Meanwhile important land operations
were undertaken. We think that before such
operations were commenced the War Council
should have carefully reconsidered the whole
position.
In our opinion the Prime Minister ought
to have summoned a meeting of the War
Council for that purpose and, if not sum-
moned, other members of the War Council
should have pressed for such a meeting. We
think this was a serious omission. We con-
sider that the responsibility of those mem-
bers of the Cabinet who did not attend the
meetings of the War Council was limited to
the fact that they delegated their authority
to their colleagues who attended those meet-
ings.
We are of the opinion that Lord Kitchener
did not sufficiently avail himself of the
services of his General Staff, with the . result
that more work was undertaken by him than
it was possible for one man to do, and con-
fusion and want of efficiency resulted.
We are unable to concur in the view set
forth by Lord Fisher that it was his duty,
if he differed from the chief of his depart-
ment, to maintain silence at the council or
to resign. We think that the adoption of
any such principle generally would impair
the efficiency of public service.
We think that although the main object was
not attained, certain important political ad-
vantages, upon the nature of which we have
already dwelt, were secured by the Darda-
nelles expedition. Whether those advantages
were worth the loss of life and treasure in-
volved is and must always remain a matter
of opinion.
The report says that Lord Kitchen-
er's premature death and the death of
his secretary, Major Fitzgerald, render
it impossible to state with the same con-
fidence as in the case of living witnesses
the opinions and aims of Lord Kitchener
at different periods of the proceedings.
The commission does not believe, how-
ever, that even deference to the memory
of the illustrious dead justified it in ab-
staining from complete revelations of
his course. The report adds : " It is nec-
essary to do justice to the living as well
as to the dead."
Colonel Churchill testified that Lord
Kitchener's personal qualities and po-
sition played a very great part in the de-
cision of events, the report says. It con-
tinues: " He was the sole mouthpiece of
War Office opinion in the War Council.
When he gave a decision it was invari-
ably accepted as final. He was never
overruled by the War Council or Cabinet
in any matter, great or small. Scarcely
any one ever ventured to argue with him
in the council."
Major Gen. Charles E. Callwell, who
was Director of Military Operations at
the War Office at the time of the Dar-
danelles expedition, testified that the
General Staff virtually ceased to exist,
because it was not consulted.
The principle of centralization was
pushed to the extreme point by Lord
Kitchener. It proved successful in the
minor operations in the Sudan, but in
larger operations it threw on one man
more work that any individual could
cope with.
Australian Commissioner Dissents
Andrew Fisher, Australian High Com-
missioner in London, in a note issued
with the Dardanelles report dissented
from the findings of the majority — that
the naval advisers should have expressed
their views at the War Council; and from
the opinion of the majority — that Lord
Fisher was not justified in remaining
silent. Mr. Fisher says:
I dissent in the strongest terms from any
suggestion that departmental advisers of a
Minister, in his company at council meetings,
should express any views at all other than
to the Minister and through him, unless spe-
cifically invited to do so. I am of the opinion
170
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
that it would seal the fate of responsible
government if servants of the State were to
share the responsibility of Ministers to Par-
liament and to the people on matters of
public policy. The Minister has command of
the opinions and views of all the officers of
the department he administers on matters of
public policy. Good stewardship demands
from Ministers of the Crown frank, fair, and
full statements of all opinions of trusted
and experienced officials to their colleagues
when they have direct reference to matters
of high policy.
Thomas McKenzie, High Commissioner
of New Zealand in London, took a sim-
ilar stand regarding Lord Fisher and
the naval advisers. Mr. McKenzie also
expressed the opinion that the commis-
sion was not yet justified in coming to
a decision as to the results of the enter-
prise. To do so, he said, it would be nec-
essary to investigate the conduct of the
offensive on the Gallipoli Peninsula and
of the subsidiary operations.
A separate report was presented also
by Walter F. Roch, Liberal member, of
the House of Commons from Pembroke-
shire. Mr. Roch made an exhaustive ex-
position of the attitude of Lord Fisher,
who, he said, vigorously opposed the
Dardanelles enterprise and on Jan. 28
actually left the council table declaring
he would resign his office.
" Lord Kitchener," he continued,
"took Lord Fisher aside and urged him
that his duty to the country was to con-
tinue in office. Lord Fisher reluctantly
yielded to Lord Kitchener's entreaty and
resumed his seat."
Lord Fisher, continues the Roch re-
port, in his evidence before the Commis-
sioners said he had " taken every step to
show his dislike of the proposed opera-
tions," and replying to a question as to
why he had made no formal protests at
the meetings of the War Council, told
the Commissioners: " Mr. Churchill knew
my opposition. I didn't think it would
tend toward good relations between him
and myself, nor to smooth working at the
Admiralty, to raise an objection in the
War Council's discussions."
Lord Fisher's Point of View
After the decision of the War
Council had been taken and the expedi-
tion begun, Lord Fisher, the report con-
tinues, did everything in his power to
assist. His whole theory of the use of
the British sea power in the war, Mr.
Roch states, was embodied in a memo-
randum submitted to Premier Asquith
in January, as follows:
The Germans have already endeavored,
without success, to scatter our naval strength
by attacks on our trade and by submarines
and mines. The pressure of sea power is a
slow process and requires great patience. In
time it will almost certainly compel the
enemy to seek a decision at sea. This is one
reason for husbanding our resources. Another
reason is that the prolongation of war at sea
tends to raise up fresh enemies for the
dominant naval power, owing to the exaspera-
tion of neutrals. This tendency is only
checked by the conviction that an overwhelm-
ing naval supremacy is behind the nation
exercising the sea power.
The sole justification of bombardments and
attacks by the fleet on fortified places, such
as the Dardanelles, is to force a decision at
sea. As long as the German High Sea Fleet
possesses its present strength and splendid
gunnery efficiency, so long is it imperative
that no operation be undertaken by the Brit-
ish fleet calculated to impair its superiority,
which is none too great in view of the heavy
losses already experienced in ships and men,
which latter cannot be filled in the period of
^the war, in which the navy differs material-
ly from the army. Even the older ships
should not be risked, for they cannot be lost
without losing men, and they form the only
reserve behind the great fleet.
THE EUROPEAN WAR AS
SEEN BY CARTOONISTS
Note.— Owing to the seizure of all German periodicals by the British blockade patrols, Chr-
rent History Magazine has been unable to obtain for this issue a full representation of recent
German cartoons.
[Swiss Cartoon]
Dying Europe
Europe: "Help!"
America : " Pay ! "
—From Nebelspalter, Zurich.
171
[Spanish Cartoon]
Steady Pounding
—From Iberia, Barcelona.
Attila-Wilhelm : " The more I tremble the harder the Briton hammers at
the door!"
172
[German Cartoon]
The Sacrifice for Fame
— © Jugend, Berlin.
Since France has no coal, she throws her 17-year-olds into the fire.
173
[Italian Cartoon]
• Deporting the Belgians
*• '
—From L'Asino, Rome.
The Boche: "By going into Germany you will acquire our Kultur better."
171
[English Cartoon]
A Ball You Don't Punch Twice
—From The London Telegram.
Wait for the return journey and see what happens.
[French Cartoon]
German Remorse
—From La Victoire, Paris.
What an awful war ! I would give Belgium for a mess of sauerkraut ! "
175
[Swiss Cartoons]
Among the Neutrals
Brother Jonathan : " Come on the ice with me !
Spain : " No ! Thank you ! "
From Nebelspalter, Zurich.
The Latest Stunt in the White House
—From Nebelspalter, Zurich.
" While I Still in Angel Garb "—comedy skit in the popular show by W. Wilson.
[Published at the time of President Wilson's peace notes.]
176
[English Cartoons]
The Two Eagles
—From The Westminster Gazette.
Notice to quit.
The New Shark
—From The Westminster Gazette.
Neptune : " Now, then, clear out of here, you murdering villain ! Aren't
there sharks enough in the sea without you? "
177
[Italian Cartoon]
Civilizing Armenia
In Armenia two trenches of murdered Armenians were discovered."— Cable dispatch.
—From I J }20, Florence.
Under the protection of German " Kultur " the Turk is making every effort to
civilize the Armenian people.
178
[Australian Cartoon]
The Pacific President
—From The Sydney Bulletin.
Bull: "Mean to say you attach the same weight to both cases? Haven't the
German outrages made your blood boil? "
Wilson: " Brother, if I HAD any blood, it would NEVER boil."
179
[French Cartoon]
Reply of the Entente
L. ;, A<v
J&tiw
—From La Baionnette, Paris.
A German peace? We will sit on it!
180
[Dutch Cartoon]
Peace Threatens
—From Be Nieuwe Amsterdammer, Amsterdam.
Mars and Death: " If we cant drive her away we are lost! "
181
[English Cartoon]
The Fool and His Folly
" There is no God but me! " cries Bill,
In tones of blood and thunder;
" On all the world I'll work my will,
Or split the earth asunder! "
— From John Bull, London.
But Bill — blaspheming fool! — will learn
He's made a fatal blunder,
For soon the world will " take a turn,"
And Bill will then go under.
182
[English Cartoon]
The Awakening
ft*T7%*»*A~ir
—From London Opinion.
Uncle Sam : " And I always thought until now it was a man ! "
8:;
[Swiss Cartoon]
The Latest Victim
[Spanish Cartoon]
German w Humanity "
—From NebeJspalter, Zurich.
The Entente has taken a prisoner.
[English Cartoon]
Ending in a "Draw"
—From Iberia, Barcelona.
Peace — in the name of humanity!
[English Cartoon]
Barred Sea Zones
y?m
\%Z*
*4lcf*^
—From The Evening Neivs, London.
President Wilson says the war must
end in a " draw." If meant in the sense
depicted above we entirely agree with
him.
-From The London Evening News.
The Limit!
184
[American Cartoons]
The Temptation
—From The Dallas Morning News.
German money for a Mexican invasion
of the United States.
The Watchdog Uncle Sam
Is Looking For
»=>«•_■> O SfeittSv—
—From The Knickerbocker Press.
Seeing Is Believing
In German Headquarters
WHO 15 THIS
FELLOW -^
UNCLE 5AM?
-From The Boston Journal. —From The Spokesman-Review, Spokane.
The Kaiser's friendly hand. The- threat without an army back of it.
185
[American Cartoons]
Too Proud to Bite An Untenable Position
IfflseOgggsi
•From The Knickerbocker Press.
—From The Portland Oregonian.
Unpreparedness is a rotten limb to de-
pend on in an emergency.
The Submarine Blockade
Who is Pulling the Strings?
-From The San Francisco Chronicle
—From The New York Times.
" Damn the torpedoes ! Go ahead ! " —
Admiral Farragut.
186
[American Cartoons]
Crucified Awaiting an " Overt Act
-From The St. Louis Republic. ~From The st- Louis Post-Dispatch.
The rights of humanity on the cross of
military necessity. Patience that has ceased to be a virtue.
What's He Smoking?
Lying in Wait
—From The Ohio State Journal.
The Kaiser's pipe dreams.
—From The Telegram, New York.
187
188
189
[American Cartoon]
The Rebellious Pupil
"From The New York Times.
Teacher: "Maybe you'll feel more like playing when I'm through with you.
190
w
P.kWFZ^
^y^.w
AMERICA'S DECLARATION OF WAR
5. J. Re.. i.<PuBL«; RESOLUTION ...NO. / ~ ...teth CONGRESS.)
$ixtg-ffitJ! Congress of % SBnitco Stabs of America;
Sit the ghst Session,
beld « the City ot Washington on Monday, the secood day of April,
one thomand nine bundled and seventeen.
JOINT RESOLUTION
Declaring that a state of war exists between the Imperial German Government
and the Government and the people of the United States and making
provision to prosecute the same.
Whereas the Imperial German Government has committed repeated acts of
war against the Government and the people of the United States of
America: Therefore be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives o$ the United States
of America in Congress assembled, That the state of war between the United
States and the Imperial German Government which has thus been thrust upon
the United States is hereby formally declared ; and that the President be, and
he is hereby, authorized and directed to employ the entile naval and military
forces of the United States and the resources of the Government to carry on war
against the Imperial Gorman Government; and to bring the conflict to a
successful termination all of the resources of the country are hereby pledged by
the Congress of the United States.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.
Official Photograph of the Resolution Which, When Signed
by the President, Began Our War with Germany.
(Photo Harrit d Ewing)
^<^J^
PRESIDENT DELIVERING HIS WAR MESSAGE
President Wilson Reading the Historic Address of April 2, PS
Which Led to a Formal Declaration of a State of War
<l> nan by VMor Perard. © 1017 by New York Timet Co.)
^ -v-._ •
<zte£}£Bm
THE WAR MESSAGE
Delivered by President Woodrow Wilson Before
the United States Congress on April 2, 1917
Text of the address read by the President at 8:30 P. M., April 2, 1917, at the Joint
Session of Congress, convened by special call at noon of that day.
Gentlemen of the Congress:
I HAVE called the Congress into extraordinary session because there
are serious, very serious, choices of policy to be made, and made
immediately, which it was neither right nor constitutionally
permissible that I should assume the responsibility of making.
On the 3d of February last I officially laid before you the ex-
traordinary announcement of the Imperial German Government that
on and after the first day of February it was its purpose to put aside
all restraints of law or of humanity and use its submarines to sink every
vessel that sought to approach either the ports of Great Britain and
Ireland or the western coasts of Europe or any of the ports controlled
by the enemies of Germany within the Mediterranean. That had seemed
to be the object of the German submarine warfare earlier in the war,
but since April of last year the Imperial Government had somewhat re-
strained the commanders of its undersea craft, in conformity with its
promise, then given to us, that passenger boats should not be sunk and
that due warning would be given to all other vessels which its subma-
rines might seek to destroy, when no resistance was offered or escape
attempted, and care taken that their crews were given at least a fair
chance to save their lives in their open boats. The precautions taken
were meagre and haphazard enough, as was proved in distressing
instance after instance in the progress of the cruel and unmanly busi-
ness, but a certain degree of restraint was observed.
The new policy has swept every restriction aside. Vessels of every
kind, whatever their flag, their character, their cargo, their destination,
their errand, have been ruthlessly sent to the bottom without warning
and without thought of help or mercy for those on board, the vessels of
friendly neutrals along with those of belligerents. Even hospital ships
and ships carrying relief to the sorely bereaved and stricken people of
Belgium, though the latter were provided with safe conduct through the
proscribed areas by the German Government itself and were distin-
guished by unmistakable marks of identity, have been sunk with the
same reckless lack of compassion or of principle.
I was for a little while unable to believe that such things would in
fact be done by any Government that had hitherto subscribed to humane
practices of civilized nations.' International law had its origin in the
attempt to set up some law which would be respected and observed upon
the seas, where no nation had right of dominion and where lay the free
1M THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
highways of the world. By painful stage after stage has that law been
built up, with meagre enough results, indeed, after all was accomplished
that could be accomplished, but always with a clear view, at least, of
what the heart and conscience of mankind demanded.
Ruthless Destruction of Life
This minimum of right the German Government has swept aside,
under the plea of retaliation and necessity and because it had no weapons
which it could use at sea except these, which it is impossible to employ,
as it is employing them, without throwing to the wind all scruples of
humanity or of respect for the understandings that were supposed to
underlie the intercourse of the world.
I am not now thinking of the loss of property involved, immense
and serious as that is, but only of the wanton and wholesale destruction
of the lives of noncombatants, men, women, and children, engaged in
pursuits which have always, even in the darkest periods of modern his-
tory, been deemed innocent and legitimate. Property can be paid for;
the lives of peaceful and innocent people cannot be. The present German
submarine warfare against commerce is a warfare against mankind.
It is a war against all nations. American ships have been sunk,
American lives taken, in ways which it has stirred us very deeply to learn
of, but the ships and people of other neutral and friendly nations have
been sunk and overwhelmed in the waters in the same way. There has
been no discrimination.
The challenge is to all minkind. Each nation must decide for itself
how it will meet it. The choice we make for ourselves must be made with
a moderation of counsel and a temperateness of judgment befitting our
character and our motives as a nation. We must put excited feeling
away. Our motive will not be revenge or the victorious assertion of the
physical might of the nation, but only the vindication of right, of human
right, of which we are only a single champion.
When I addressed the Congress on the 26th of February last I
thought that it would suffice to assert our neutral rights with arms, our
right to use the seas against unlawful interference, our right to keep our
people safe against unlawful violence. But armed neutrality, it now
appears, is impracticable. Because submarines are in effect outlaws,
when used as the German submarines have been used against merchant
shipping, it is impossible to defend ships against their attacks, as the
law of nations has assumed that merchantmen would defend themselves
against privateers or cruisers, visible craft giving chase upon the open
sea. It is common prudence in such circumstances, grim necessity
indeed, to endeavor to destroy them before they have shown their own
intention. They must be dealt with upon sight, if dealt with at all.
The German Government denies the right of neutrals to use arms
at all within the areas of the sea which it has proscribed, even in the
THE PRESIDENTS WAR MESSAGE 193
defense of rights which no modern publicist has ever before questioned
their right to defend. The intimation is conveyed that the armed guards
which we have placed on our merchant ships will be treated as beyond
the pale of law and subject to be dealt with as pirates would be. Armed
neutrality is ineffectual enough at best; in such circumstances and in
the face of such pretensions it is worse than ineffectual ; it is likely only
to produce what it was meant to prevent ; it is practically certain to draw
us into the war without either the rights or the effectiveness of bellig-
erents. There is one choice we cannot make, we are incapable of making ;
we will not choose the path of submission and suffer the most sacred
rights of our nation and our people to be ignored or violated. The wrongs
against which we now array ourselves are no common wrongs; they
cut to the very roots of human life.
Stale of War Recognized
With a profound sense of the solemn and even tragical character of
the step I am taking and of the grave responsibilities which it involves,
but in unhesitating obedience to what I deem my constitutional duty, I
advise that the Congress declare the recent course of the Imperial Ger-
man Government to be in fact nothing less than war against the Gov-
ernment and people of the United States; that it formally accept the
status of belligerent which has thus been thrust upon it ; and that it take
immediate steps not only to put the country in a more thorough state of
defense, but also to exert all its power and employ all its resources to
bring the Government of the German Empire to terms and end the war.
What this will involve is clear. It will involve the utmost practicable
co-operation in counsel and action with the Governments now at war
with Germany, and, as incident to that, the extension to those Govern-
ments of the most liberal financial credits, in order that our resources
may so far as possible be added to theirs.
It will involve the organization and mobilization of all the material
resources of the country to supply the materials of war and serve the
incidental needs of the nation in the most abundant and yet the most
economical and efficient way possible.
, It will involve the immediate full equipment of the navy in all
respects, but particularly in supplying it with the best means of dealing
with the enemy's submarines.
It will involve the immediate addition to the armed forces of the
United States, already provided for by law in case of war, of at least
500,000 men, who should, in my opinion, be chosen upon the principle
of universal liability to service, and also the authorization of subsequent
additional increments of equal force so soon as they may be needed and
can be handled in training.
It will involve also, of course, the granting of adequate credits to the
Government, sustained, I hope, so far as they can equitably be sustained
by the present generation, by well-conceived taxation.
194 THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
I say sustained so far as may be equitable by taxation, because it
seems to me that it would be most unwise to base the credits, which will
now be necessary, entirely on money borrowed. It is our duty, I most
respectfully urge, to protect our people, so far as we may, against the
very serious hardships and evils which would be likely to arise out of the
inflation which would be produced by .vast loans.
In carrying out the measures by which these things are to be accom-
plished we should keep constantly in mind the wisdom of interfering as
little as possible in our own preparation and in the equipment of our
own military forces with the duty — for it will be a very practical duty —
of supplying the nations already at war with Germany with the ma-
terials which they can obtain only from us or by our assistance. They
are in the field, and we should help them in every way to be effective
there.
I shall take the liberty of suggesting, through the several executive
departments of the Government, for the consideration of your com-
mittees, measures for the accomplishment of the several objects I have
mentioned. I hope that it will be your pleasure to deal with them as
having been framed after very careful thought by the branch of the
Government upon whom the responsibility of conducting the war and
safeguarding the nation will most directly fall.
While we do these things, these deeply momentous things, let us be
very clear, and make very clear to all the world, what our motives and
our objects are. My own thought has not been driven from its habitual
and normal course by the unhappy events of the last two months, and
I do not believe that the thought of the nation has been altered or clouded
by them. I have exactly the same things in mind now that I had in mind
when I addressed the Senate on the 22d of January last ; the same that
I had in mind when I addressed the Congress on the 3d of February and
on the 26th of February. Our object now, as then, is to vindicate the
principles of peace and justice in the life of the world as against selfish
and autocratic power, and to set up among the really free and self-
governed peoples of the world such a concert of purpose and of action
as will henceforth insure the observance of those principles.
The Menace of Autocracy
Neutrality is no longer feasible or desirable where the peace of the
world is involved and the freedom of its peoples, and the menace to that
peace and freedom lies in the existence of autocratic Governments,
backed by organized force which is controlled wholly by their will, not
by the will of their people. We have seen the last of neutrality in such
circumstances. We are at the beginning of an age in which it will be
insisted that the same standards of conduct and of responsibility for
wrong done shall be observed among nations and their Governments
that are observed among the individual citizens of civilized States.
We have no quarrel with the German people. We have no feeling
THE PRESIDENTS WAR MESSAGE 195
toward them but one of sympathy and friendship. It was not upon. their
impulse that their Government acted in entering this war. It was not
with their previous knowledge or approval. It was a war determined
upon as wars used to be determined upon in tne old, unhappy days, when
peoples were nowhere consulted by their rulers and wars were provoked
and waged in the interest of dynasties or of little groups of ambitious
men who were accustomed to use their fellow-men as pawns and tools.
Self -governed nations do not fill their neighbor States with spies or
set the course of intrigue to bring about some critical posture of affairs
which will give them an opportunity to strike and make conquest. Such
designs can be successfully worked out only under cover and where no
one has the right to ask questions. Cunningly contrived plans of decep-
tion or aggression, carried, it may be, from generation to generation,
can be worked out and kept from the light only within the privacy of
courts or behind the carefully guarded confidences of a narrow and priv-
ileged class. They are happily impossible where public opinion commands
and insists upon full information concerning all the nation's affairs.
The Only Basis for Peace
A steadfast concert for peace can never be maintained except by a
partnership of democratic nations. No autocratic Government could
be trusted to keep faith within it or observe its covenants. It must be a
league of honor, a partnership of opinion. Intrigue would eat its vitals
away; the plottings of inner circles who could plan what they would
and render account to no one would be a corruption seated at its very
heart. Only free peoples can hold their purpose and their honor steady
to a common end and prefer the interests of mankind to any narrow
interest of their own.
Does not every American feel that assurance has been added to our
hope for the future peace of the world by the wonderful and heartening
things that have been happening within the last few weeks in Russia?
Russia was known by those who knew her best to have been always in
fact democratic at heart in all the vital habits of her thought, in all the
intimate relationships of her people that spoke their natural instinct,
their habitual attitude toward life. The autocracy that crowned the
summit of her political structure, long as it had stood and terrible as was
the reality of its power, was not in fact Russian in origin, character, or
purpose ; and now it has been shaken off and the great, generous Russian
people have been added, in all their naive majesty and might, to the
forces that are fighting for freedom in the world, for justice, and for
peace. Here is a fit partner for a League of Honor.
One of the things that have served to convince us that the Prussian
autocracy was not and could never be our friend is that from the very
outset of the present war it has filled our unsuspecting communities, and
even our offices of government, with spies and set criminal intrigues
everywhere afoot against our national unity of counsel, our peace within
IOC THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
and without, our industries and our commerce. Indeed, it is now evident
that its spies were here even before the war began ; and it is unhappily
not a matter of conjecture, but a fact proved in our courts of justice,
that the intrigues which have more than once come perilously near to
disturbing the peace and dislocating the industries of the country, have
been carried on at the instigation, with the support, and even under the
personal direction of official agents of the Imperial Government accred-
ited to the Government of the United States.
Even in checking these things and trying to extirpate them we have
sought to put the most generous interpretation possible upon them be-
cause we knew that their source lay, not in any hostile feeling or purpose
of the German people toward us, (who were, no doubt, as ignorant of
them as we ourselves were,) but only in the selfish designs of a Gov-
ernment that did what it pleased and told its people nothing. But they
have played their part in serving to convince us at last that that Govern-
ment entertains no real friendship for us, and means to act against our
peace and security at its convenience. That it means to stir up enemies
against us at our very doors the intercepted note to the German Minister
at Mexico City is eloquent evidence.
We are accepting this challenge of hostile purpose because we know
that in such a Government, following such methods, we can never have a
friend ; and that in the presence of its organized power, always lying in
wait to accomplish we know not what purpose, there can be no assured
security for the democratic Governments of the world. We are now about
to accept the gage of battle with this natural foe to liberty and shall, if
necessary, spend the whole force of the nation to check and nullify its
pretensions and its power. We are glad, now that we see the facts with
no veil of false pretense about them, to fight thus for the ultimate peace
of the world and for the liberation of its peoples, the German peoples
included ; for the rights of nations, great and small, and the privilege of
men everywhere to choose their way of life and of obedience.
A World Safe for Democracy
The world must be made safe for democracy. Its peace must be
planted upon the tested foundations of political liberty. We have no
selfish ends to serve. We desire no conquest, no dominion. We seek no
indemnities for ourselves, no material compensation for the sacrifices
we shall freely make. We are but one of the champions of the rights of
mankind. We shall be satisfied when those rights have been made as
secure as the faith and the freedom of nations can make them.
Just because we fight without rancor and without selfish object,
seeking nothing for ourselves but what we shall wish to share with all
free peoples, we shall, I feel confident, conduct our operations as bellig-
erents without passion and ourselves observe with proud punctilio the
principles of right and of fair play we profess to be fighting for.
I have said nothing of the Governments allied with the Imperial
THE PRESIDENT'S WAR MESSAGE 197
Government of Germany because they have not made war upon us or
challenged us to defend our right and our honor. The Austro-Hungarian
Government has, indeed, avowed its unqualified indorsement and accept-
ance of the reckless and lawless submarine warfare, adopted now without
disguise by the Imperial German Government, and it has therefore not
been possible for this Government to receive Count Tarnowski, the
Ambassador recently accredited to this Government by the Imperial and
Royal Government of Austria-Hungary; but that Government has not
actually engaged in warfare against citizens of the United States on the
seas, and I take the liberty, for the present at least, of postponing a dis-
cussion of our relations with the authorities at Vienna. We enter this
war only where we are clearly forced into it because there are no other
means of defending our rights.
It will be all the easier for us to conduct ourselves as belligerents
in a high spirit of right and fairness because we act without animus, not
with enmity toward a people or with the desire to bring any injury or
disadvantage upon them, but only in armed opposition to an irresponsible
Government which has thrown aside all considerations of humanity and
of right and is running amuck.
Friends of the German People
We are, let me say again, the sincere friends of the German people,
and shall desire nothing so much as the early re-establishment of inti-
mate relations of mutual advantage between us, however hard it may be
for them for the time being to believe that this is spoken from our
hearts. We have borne with their present Government through all these
bitter months because of that friendship, exercising a patience and for-
bearance which would otherwise have been impossible.
We shall happily still have an opportunity to prove that friendship
in our daily attitude and actions toward the millions of men and women
of German birth and native sympathy who live among us and share our
life, and we shall be proud to prove it toward all who are in fact loyal to
their neighbors and to the Government in the hour of test. They are
most of them as true and loyal Americans as if they had never known any
other fealty or allegiance. They will be prompt to stand with us in re-
buking and restraining the few who may be of a different mind and pur-
pose. If there should be disloyalty, it will be dealt with with a firm hand
of stern repression ; but, if it lifts its head at all, it will lift it only here
and there and without countenance except from a lawless and ma-
lignant few.
It is a distressing and oppressive duty, gentlemen of the Congress,
which I have performed in thus addressing you. There are, it may be,
many months of fiery trial and sacrifice ahead of us. It is a fearful
thing to lead this great, peaceful people into war, into the most terrible
and disastrous of all wars, civilization itself seeming to be in the balance.
But the right is more precious than peace, and we shall fight for the
198 THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
things which we have always carried nearest our hearts — for democracy,
for the right of those who submit to authority to have a voice in their
own Governments, for the rights and liberties of small nations, for a
universal dominion of right by such a concert of free peoples as shall
bring peace and safety to all nations and make the world itself at
last free.
To such a task we can dedicate our lives and our fortunes, every-
thing that we are and everything that we have, with the pride of those
who know that the day has come when America is privileged to spend
her blood and her might for the principles that gave her birth and hap-
piness and the peace which she has treasured.
God helping her, she can do no other.
Text of the Declaration of War
Joint Resolution Passed by the United States Senate
and House of Representatives
[Effective April 6, 1917, at 1:18 P. M.]
Whereas, The Imperial German Government has committed repeated acts of war
against the Government and the people of the United States of America; there-
fore, be it
Resolved, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of
America in Congress assembled, That the state of war between the United States
and the Imperial German Government, which has thus been thrust upon the United
States, is hereby formally declared; and
That the President be, and he is hereby, authorized and directed to employ the
entire naval and military forces of the United States and the resources of the Gov-
ernment to carry on war against the Imperial German Government; and to bring
the conflict to a successful termination all the resources of the country are hereby
pledged by the Congress of the United States.
Proclamation to the American People
Text of President Wilson's Formal Announcement of a State of War
[Issued on April 6, 1917.]
Whereas, The Congress of the United States, in the exercise of the constitutional
authority vested in them, have resolved by joint resolution of the Senate and House
of Representatives, bearing date this day, " that a state of war between the United
States and the Imperial German Government which has been thrust upon the United
States is hereby formally declared ";
Whereas, It is provided by Section 4,067 of the Revised Statutes as follows :
" Whenever there is declared a war between the United States and any foreign
nation or Government or any invasion or predatory incursion is perpetrated,
attempted, or threatened against the territory of the United States by any foreign
nation or Government, and the President makes public proclamation of the event, all
native citizens, denizens, or subjects of a hostile nation or Government being male
of the age of 14 years and upward, who shall be within the United States and not
THE PRESIDENT'S WAR PROCLAMATION 199
actually naturalized, shall be liable to be apprehended, restrained, secured, and
removed as alien enemies. The President is authorized in any such event by his
proclamation thereof, or other public acts, to direct the conduct to be observed on the
part of the United States toward the aliens who become so liable; the manner and
degree of the restraint to which they shall be subject and in what cases and upon
what security their residence shall be permitted, and to provide for the removal of
those who, not being permitted to reside within the United States, refuse or neglect
to depart therefrom; and to establish any such regulations which are found necessary
in the premises and for the public safety."
Whereas, By Sections 4,068, 4,069, and 4,070 of the Revised Statutes, further
provision is made relative to alien enemies;
Now, therefore, I, Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States of America,
do hereby proclaim, to all whom it may concern, that a state of war exists between
the United States and the Imperial German Government, and I do specially direct all
officers, civil or military, of the United States that they exercise vigilance and zeal in
the discharge of the duties incident to such a state of war, and I do, moreover,
earnestly appeal to all American citizens that they, in loyal devotion to their coun-
try, dedicated from its foundation to the principles of liberty and justice, uphold the
laws of the land, and give undivided and willing support to those measures which
may be adopted by the constitutional authorities in prosecuting the war to a success-
ful issue and in obtaining a secure and just peace;
And, acting under and by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Con-
stitution of the United States and the said sections of the Revised Statutes,
I do hereby further proclaim and direct that the conduct to be observed on
the part of the United States toward all natives, citizens, denizens, or subjects of
Germany, being male of the age of 14 years and upward, who shall be within the
United States and not actually naturalized, who for the purpose of this proclamation
and under such sections of the Revised Statutes are termed alien enemies, shall be
as follows:
All alien enemies are enjoined to preserve the peace toward the United States
and to refrain from crime against the public safety and from violating the laws of
the United States and of the States and Territories thereof, and to refrain from
actual hostility or giving information, aid, or comfort to the enemies of the United
States and to comply strictly with the regulations which are hereby, or which may
be from time to time promulgated by the President, and so long as they shall conduct
themselves in accordance with law they shall be undisturbed in the peaceful pursuit
of their lives and occupations, and be accorded the consideration due to all peaceful
and law-abiding persons, except so far as restrictions may be necessary for their
own protection and for the safety of the United States, and toward such alien
enemies as conduct themselves in accordance with law all citizens of the United
States are enjoined to preserve the peace and to treat them with all such friendliness
as may be compatible with loyalty and allegiance to the United States.
And all alien enemies who fail to conduct themselves as so enjoined, in addition
to alL other penalties prescribed by law, shall be liable to restraint or to give security
or to remove and depart from the United States, in the manner prescribed by Sections
4,069 and 4,070 of the Revised Statutes and as prescribed in the regulations duly pro-
mulgated by the President.
And pursuant to the authority vested in me, I hereby declare and establish the
following regulations, which 1 find necessary in the premises and for the public
safety:
1. An alien enemy shall not have in his possession at any time or place any firearms,
weapons, or implements of war, or .component parts thereof, ammunition, Maxim or other
silencer, arms, or explosives or material used in the manufacture of explosives ;
2. An alien enemy shall not have in his possession at any time or place, or use or
operate, any aircraft or wireless apparatus, or any form of signaling device or any form
200 THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
of cipher code or any paper, document, or book written or printed in cipher or in which
there may be invisible writing;
3. All property found in the possession of an alien enemy in violation of the foregoing
regulations shall be subject to seizure by the United States ;
4. An alien enemy shall not approach or be found within one-half of a mile of any
Federal or State fort, camp, arsenal, aircraft station, Government or naval vessel, navy
yard, factory, or workshop for the manufacture of munitions of war or of any products
for the use of the army or navy ;
5. An alien enemy shall not write, print, or, publish any attack or threat against the
Government or Congress of the United States, or either branch thereof, or against the
measures or policy of the United States, or against the persons or property of any person
in the military, naval, or civil service of the United States, or of the States or Territories,
or of the District of Columbia, or of the municipal governments therein ;
G. An alien enemy shall not commit or abet any hostile acts against the United States
or give information, aid, or comfort to its enemies ;
7. An alien enemy shall not reside in or continue to reside in, to remain in, or enter any
locality which the President may from time to time designate by an Executive order as a
prohibitive area, in which residence by an alien enemy shall be found by him to constitute
a danger to the public peace and safety of the United States, except by permit from the
President and except under such limitations or restrictions as the President may prescribe ;
8. An alien enemy whom the President shall have reasonable cause to believe to be
aiding or about to aid the enemy or to be at large to the danger of the public peace or safety
of the United States, or to have violated or to be about to violate any of these regulations,
shall remove to any location designated by the President by Executive order, and shall not
remove therefrom without permit, or shall depart from the United States if so required
by the President;
9. No alien enemy shall depart from the United States until he shall have received such
permit as the President shall prescribe, or except under order of a court, Judge, or Justice,
under Sections 4,0G9 and 4,070 of the Revised Statutes ;
10. No alien enemy shall land in or enter the United States except under such restric-
tions and at such places as the President may prescribe;
11. If necessary to prevent violation of the regulations, all alien enemies will be obliged
to register;
12. An alien enemy whom there may be reasonable cause to believe to be aiding or about
to aid the enemy, or who may be at large to the danger of the public peace or safety, or who
violates or who attempts to violate or of whom there is reasonable grounds to believe
that he is about to violate, any regulation to be promulgated by the President or any
criminal law of the United States, or of the States or Territories thereof, will be subject
to summary arrest by the United States Marshal, or his Deputy, or such other officers as
the President shall designate, and to confinement in such penitentiary, prison, jail, military
camp, or other place of detention as may be directed by the President.
This proclamation and the regulations herein contained shall extend and apply-
to all land and water, continental or insular, in any way within the jurisdiction of
the United States.
The President's War Economies Proclamation
THE WHITE HOUSE, April 15, 1917.
Mp Fellow-Countrymen:
THE entrance of our own beloved country into the grim and terrible war for
democracy and human rights which has shaken the world creates so many
problems of national life and action which call for immediate consideration
and settlement that I hope you will permit me to address to you a few words
of earnest counsel and appeal with regard to them.
We are rapidly putting our navy upon an effective war footing, and are about
to create and equip a great army, but these are the simplest parts of the great task
to which we have addressed ourselves. There is not a single selfish element, so far
as I can see, in the cause we are fighting for. We are fighting for what we believe
and wish to be the rights of mankind and for the future peace and security of the
world. To do this great thing worthily and successfully we must devote ourselves
THE PRESIDENT'S WAR PROCLAMATION 201
to the service without regard to profit or material advantage and with an energy
and intelligence that will rise to the level of the enterprise itself. We must realize
to the full how great the task is and how many things, how many kinds and elements
of capacity and service and self-sacrifice it involves.
These, then, are the things we must do, and do well, besides fighting — the
things without which mere fighting would be fruitless:
We must supply abundant food for ourselves and for our armies and our sea-
men, not only, but also for a large part of the nations with whom we have now
made common cause, in whose support and by whose sides we shall be fighting.
We must supply ships by the hundreds out of our shipyards to carry to the
other side of the sea, submarines or no submarines, what will every day be needed
there, and abundant materials out of our fields and our mines and our factories
with which not only to clothe and equip our own forces on land and sea, but also to
clothe and support our people, for whom the gallant fellows under arms can no
longer work; to help clothe and equip the armies with which we are co-operating in
Europe, and to keep the looms and manufactories there in raw material; coal to
keep the fires going in ships at sea and in the furnaces of hundreds of factories
across the sea; steel out of which to make arms and ammunition both here and
there; rails for wornout railways back of the fighting fronts; locomotives and roll-
ing stock to take the place of those every day going to pieces; mules, horses, cattle
for labor and for military service; everything with which the people of England and
France and Italy and Russia have usually supplied themselves, but cannot now
afford the men, the materials, or the machinery to make.
It is evident to every thinking man that our industries, on the farms, in the
shipyards, in the mines, in the factories, must be made more prolific and more
efficient than ever, and that they must be more economically managed and better
adapted to the particular requirements of our task than they have been; and what
I want to say is that the men and the women who devote their thought and their
energy to these things will be serving the country and conducting the fight for
peace and freedom just as truly and just as effectively as the men on the battlefield
or in the trenches. The industrial forces of the country, men <and women alike, will
be a great national, a great international service army— a notable and honored host
engaged in the service of the nation and the world, the efficient friends and saviors
of free men everywhere. Thousands, nay, hundreds of thousands, of men otherwise
liable to military service will of right and of necessity be excused from that service
and assigned to the fundamental, sustaining work of the fields and factories and
mines, and they will be as much part of the great patriotic forces of the nation as
the men under fire.
I take the liberty, therefore, of addressing this word to the farmers of the
country and to all who work on the farms: The supreme need of our own nation and
of the nations with which we are co-operating is an abundance of supplies, and
especially of foodstuffs. The importance of an adequate food supply, especially
for the present year, is superlative. Without abundant food, alike for the armies
and the peoples now at war, the whole great enterprise upon which we have em-
barked will break down and fail. The world's food reserves are low. Not only
during the present emergency, but for some time after peace shall have come, both
our own people and a large proportion of the people of Europe must rely upon the
harvests in America.
Upon the farmers of this country, therefore, in large measure rests the fate of
the war and the fate of the nations. May the nation not count upon them to omit
no step that will increase the production of their land or that will bring about the
most effectual co-operation in the sale and distribution of their products? The
time is short. It is of the most imperative importance that everything possible be
done, and done immediately, to make sure of large harvests. I call upon young men
and old alike and upon the able-bodied boys of the land to accept and act upon this
202 THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
duty — to turn in hosts to the farms and make certain that no pains and no labor is
lacking in this great matter.
I particularly appeal to the farmers of the South to plant abundant foodstuffs,
as well as cotton. They can show their patriotism in no better or more convincing
way than by resisting the great temptation of the present price of cotton and help-
ing, helping upon a great scale, to feed the nation and the peoples everywhere who
are fighting for their liberties and for our own. The variety of their crops will be
the visible measure of their comprehension oi" their national duty.
The Government of the United States and the Governments of the several
States stand ready to co-operate. They will do everything possible to assist farmers
in securing an adequate supply of seed, an adequate force of laborers when they are
most needed, at harvest time, and the means of expediting shipments of fertilizers
and farm machinery, as well as of the crops themselves when harvested. The course
of trade shall be as unhampered as it is possible to make it, and there shall be no
unwarranted manipulation of the nation's food supply by those who handle it on its
way to the consumer. This is our opportunity to demonstrate the efficiency of a
great democracy, and we shall not fall short of it!
This let me say to the middlemen of every sort, whether they are handling our
foodstuffs or our raw materials of manufacture or the products of our mills and
factories: The eyes of the country will be especially upon you. This is your oppor-
tunity for signal service, efficient and disinterested. The country expects you, as
it expects all others, to forego unusual profits, to organize and expedite shipments
of supplies of every kind, but especially of food, with an eye to the service you are
rendering and in the spirit of those who enlist in the ranks, for their people, not for
themselves. I shall confidently expect you to deserve and win the confidence of
people of every sort and station.
To the men who run the railways of the country, whether they be managers or
operative employes, let me say that the railways are the arteries of the nation's
life and that upon them rests the immense responsbility of seeing to it that those
arteries suffer no obstruction of any kind, no inefficiency or slackened power. To
the merchant let me s.uggest the motto, " Small profits and quick service," and to
the shipbuilder the thought that the life of the war depends upon him. The food
and the war supplies must be carried across the seas, no matter how many ships are
sent to the bottom. The places of those that go down must be supplied, and sup-
plied at once. To the miner let me say that he stands where the farmer does: the
work of the world waits on him. If he slackens or fails, armies and statesmen are
helpless. He also is enlisted in the great Service Army. The manufacturer does
not need to be told, I hope, that the nation looks to him to speed and perfect every
process; and I want only to remind his employes that their service is absolutely
indispensable and is counted on by every man who loves the country and its liberties.
Let me suggest, also, that every one who creates or cultivates a garden helps,
and helps greatly, to solve the problem of the feeding of the nations; and that every
housewife who practices strict economy puts herself in the ranks of those who
serve the nation. This is the time for America to correct her unpardonable fault
of wastefulness and extravagance. Let every man and every woman assume the
duty of careful, provident use and expenditure as a public duty, as a dictate of
patriotism which no one can now expect ever to be excused or forgiven for ignoring.
In the hope that this statement of the needs of the nation and of the world in this hour of
supreme crisis may stimulate those to whom it comes and remind all who need reminder of
the solemn duties of a time such as the world has never seen before, I beg that all editors and
publishers everywhere will give as prominent publication and as wide circulation as possible
to this appeal. I venture to suggest, also, to all advertising agencies that they would perhaps
render a very substantial and timely service to the country if they would give it widespread
repetition. And I hope that clergymen will not think the theme of it an unworthy or inappro-
priate subject of comment and homily from their pulpits.
The supreme test of the nation has come. We must all speak, act, and serve together !
WOODROW WILSON.
UNITED STATES DECLARES WAR
Narrative of Events Before and After the
Nation's Entrance Into War Against Germany
THE United States and the Imperial
German Government were offi-
cially proclaimed to be at war on
Friday, April 6, 1917, when the.
President of the United States signed a
joint resolution passed in both houses of
Congress by overwhelming majorities,
formally declaring a state of war be-
tween the two Governments.
On March 9 President Wilson, after
the Senate had modified its rules so that
debate could be limited, called Congress
to meet in extra session on April 16, " to
receive such communications as may be
made by the Executive." This call was
contemporaneous with the President's de-
cision that he would authorize the arm-
ing of merchant ships and the detail of
naval gun crews to man them as a pro-
tection against unrestricted German sub-
marines. It was construed as practically
a war measure in that the President de-
sired Congress to be at hand to give sup-
port to the Government in its defense of
merchant shipping.
On March 12 Secretary Lansing gave
the following formal notice of the action
of the United States:
In view of the announcement of the Impe-
rial German Government on Jan. 31, 1917,
that all ships, those of neutrals included, met
within certain zones of the high seas, would
be sunk without any precaution taken for
the safety of the persons on board, and with-
out the exercise of visit and search, the Gov-
ernment of the United States has determined
to place upon all American merchant vessels
sailing through the barred areas an armed
guard for the protection of the vessels and
the lives of the persons on board.
On March 14 the news came that
the American steamship Algonquin,
bound from New York for London with a
cargo of foodstuffs, had been attacked
without warning on March 2, and had
been sunk by a German submarine with
shell fire and bombs; the crew had es-
caped, and after twenty-seven hours in
open boats had been rescued. This news
created a disagreeable impression
throughout the country. Public opinion
at length burst into intense excitement
on Monday, March 19, when it was an-
nounced that within the preceding
twenty-four hours three American ships,
the City of Memphis, the Illinois, and the
Vigilancia, had been sunk by German
submarines near the English coast, and
that fifteen members of the Vigilancia's
crew were lost. The City of Memphis,
some of whose men were then miss-
ing, had left Cardiff in ballast for New
York the day before; she was overhauled
Saturday at 5 P. M. by a German sub-
marine and the Captain was given fifteen
minutes to get his crew into boats. The
American flag was flying from the mast,
but the ship was shelled, torpedoed, and
sunk within twenty minutes. The Vigi-
lancia was torpedoed without warning;
she was in ballast. The Illinois was a
tank steamship and was bound from
Texas for London with a cargo of. oil val-
ued at $1,000,000. The City of Memphis
was of 5,252 gross tonnage; the Vigilan-
cia 4,115, the Illinois 5,220 tons; all bore
the American flag and were conspicu-
ously marked as American ships.
The news of the sinking of these ves-
sels created deep indignation. It was
apparent that Germany had determined
to defy the American people to do their
worst, and the issue of peace or war was
no longer in doubt.
The day following the receipt of the
news President Wilson had a long con-
ference with Secretary of the Navy Dan-
iels, and as a result orders were issued
for speeding up work on -warships under
construction; also for the issue of bonds
to obtain money for this purpose. The
eight-hour day for Government naval
construction was suspended; two classes
of midshipmen were ordered to be gradu-
ated ahead of time, and all other prepa-
rations for war were hurried. The coun-
try was in tense expectation of some mo-
mentous step.
The Cabinet was summoned by the
£04
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
President on the afternoon of the 20th,
and the session lasted more than two
hours. No formal announcement of the
decision was made, but it was given out
that it was the unanimous opinion of the
President's advisers that a state of war
was in fact existing between the United
States and Germany, and that the special
session of Congress should be summoned
to meet at an earlier date than April 16,
the time originally set.
On Wednesday, March 21, the Presi-
dent reached his momentous decision, and
forthwith issued a proclamation summon-
ing Congress in extra session on April 2,
" to receive a communication by the Ex-
ecutive on grave questions of national pol-
icy, which should be immediately taken
under consideration "
Nations War Sentiment
This action was recognized everywhere
as the preliminary step to declaring a
state of war. Europe regarded it as the
definite plunge of the United States into
the world conflict. Meanwhile all war
preparations were actively proceeding,
and the war policy of the country was
taking shape.
The news from America was. received
in Germany without excitement and pro-
duced no alteration whatever in her sub-
marine policy. During the night of
March 22 the American tank steamer
Healdton, proceeding with a cargo of pe-
troleum from Philadelphia to Rotterdam,
was sunk without warning in the North
Sea, and seven of her crew were lost.
Mass meetings were held in many parts
of the United States, pledging loyalty to
the country, approving the severance of
relations with Germany, and demanding
war. Typical of these were the resolu-
tions passed at a mass meeting of 12,000
people in Madison Square Garden, New
York, on March 22. Addresses were de-
livered by former Secretary of State
Root, a stanch Republican; former Sec-
retary of the Treasury Fairchild, a
strong Democrat, and Mayor Mitchel of
New York. A letter from former Presi-
dent Roosevelt was read, in which he as-
serted that Germany was at war with
the United States and demanded that we
accept the gage of battle. The resolu-
tions adopted were as follows:
Whereas, Germany has destroyed our ships,
murdered our citizens, restricted our com-
merce by illegal submarine warfare, and at-
tempted to array against us the friendly
powers Japan and Mexico in a plot to dis-
member our nation ; and
Whereas, By these and other hostile acta
Germany is now virtually making war
against the United States ;
Resolved, That we approve the action of the
President in severing diplomatic relations
with Germany, in deciding to arm American
vessels, and in calling Congress in extra ses-
sion ;
Resolved, That we call upon our Govern-
ment for prompt, vigorous, and courageous
leadership in the immediate mobilizing of the
entire naval, military, and industrial strength
of the nation, including the augmenting of
our army and navy for the effective protection
of American rights and the faithful dis-
charge of America's duties in the present
crisis ;
Resolved, That we urge upon Congress the
immediate enactment of a Universal Military
Training bill providing for a permanent na-
tional defense based on the duty of every
able-bodied citizen to share in the protection
of his country and in the maintenance of its
high ideals ;
Resolved, That we declare our deep con-
viction that the principles of national conduct
governing Germany's actions in the present
war are inconsistent with the principles of
democracy and with the purposes and aspi-
rations of this Republic ; and we hold that the
time has now come when it is the duty of
this nation to take part in the common task
of defending civilization and human liberty
against German military aggression ; and
Whereas, Our Government in severing dip-
lomatic relations with Germany gave notice
that further overt acts of war would be
forcibly resisted ; and said overt acts have
been committed in the sinking of the Laconia,
the City of Memphis, the Illinois, the Vigi-
lancia, and other vessels, with the loss of
American lives ; therefore, be it
Resolved, That we call upon Congress as
soon as assembled to declare that by the acts
of Germany a state of war does now exist be-
tween that country and the United States.
Activities of Pacifists
On the other hand, a group of prom-
inent men were strongly opposed to our
entry into the war. They instituted a
nation-wide publicity propaganda to
bring public pressure upon Congress and
the President to keep us out of war. A
mass meeting was held in New York on
the night of March 24 at Madison Square
Garden, and resolutions were passed op-
posing war and demanding a general
referendum on the subject. All over the
^g^gFj^TO
IS OF WAR COUNCIL AT WASH
RENE VIVIANI
French Minister of Justice
MARSHAL JOFFRE
Victor of the Marne
1
p»
WWst '
V
IM
MAJ. GEN. G. T. M. BRIDGES
Of British War Office
(© International News)
ARTHUR J. BALFOUR
British Foreign Minister
^.(Central News Service)
E^strnt^mM
^p^^Fv^:
^r^-^i
COMMANDERS OF ARMY DEPARTMENTS
MAJ. GEN. J. FRANKLIN
BELL
Eastern Department
(Photo Bain)
BRIG. GEN. CLARENCE R.
EDWARDS
Northeastern Department
(Harris d Ewing)
MAJ. GEN. HUNTER
LIGGETT
Western Department
(© Harris & EiOinp)
MAJ. GEN. THOS. H. BARRY
Central Department
( j'uif' > ,r,>nit d Underwood)
.•.•.jEvJs^-i
I
I
J
UNITED STATES DECLARES WAR
205
country, however, there were evidences
that the prevailing sentiment was over-
whelmingly for war. Many States took
steps toward defense and appropriated
large sums to provide the measures.
Preliminary Call for Men
On March 25 President Wilson signed
an order authorizing an increase in the
enlisted strength of the navy to 87,000
men, being an addition of 26,000, and the
War Department issued orders calling
out units of the National Guard in nine
Eastern States and the District of Co-
lumbia for police purposes. The order
was regarded as indicating extensive
precautions to forestall any outbreak by
enemy agents upon the expected declara-
tion of a state of war. Munitions plants,
bridges, railroads, and all other impor-
tant public property which might be in
danger of attack upon the outbreak of
war were to be carefully guarded.
The first call affected 13,000 men; on
March 26 units from eighteen Western
States, affecting 25,000 additional men,
were called, and this was followed by
other calls, so that by April 12 60,000
National Guardsmen had been called out.
Policy Toward Germans
To allay unrest and apprehension of
Germans residing in the United States,
it was announced at Washington on the
20th that there would be no general in-
ternment of German citizens or German
reservists resident in this country in the
event of war between the United States
and Germany. Secretary of War Baker
authorized the formal statement that
" everybody of every nationality who
conducts himself in accordance with
American law will be free from official
molestation, both now and in the future."
He declared that rumors that the depart-
ment had plans for the internment of
resident aliens had no foundation in fact.
It was during this period of excite-
ment that the arrival was announced of
the first armed American steamship at a
European port. The American liner St.
Louis left New York March 17, with two
guns forward and one aft and with a de-
tail of crack marksmen of the United
States Navy; she reached Liverpool with-
out encountering any hostile submarines,
on Monday, March 26. During the same
period merchantmen of various other
lines were equipped with guns and de-
parted daily from various American
ports.
The period between the President's
call and the assembling of Congress was
full of excitement throughout the coun-
try. Every department of the Govern-
ment was keyed up to the highest pitch
of energetic preparation for war. The
mustering out of National Guardsmen
who had been on duty on the Mexican
border was stopped, and 22,000 guards-
men who were about to be relieved were
retained in the ranks. The navy intensi-
fied its recruiting work and the Cabinet
held daily sessions to discuss questions
of war policy and of ways and means.
German Chancellor's Speech
The first official word that came from
Germany after it was clear that Presi-
dent Wilson had decided to ask Congress
to declare war was made public March
30 in the form of a dispatch from Ber-
lin, transmitted by the semi-official news
agency, giving the text of a speech de-
livered in the German Reichstag March
29 by Chancellor von Bethmann Holl-
weg. He proceeded to review the causes
which led up to the unrestricted use of
submarines by Germany as a matter,
he said, of self-defense. Then he added:
"Within the next few days the directors of
the American Nation will be convened by
President Wilson for an extraordinary session
of Congress in order to decide the question of
war or peace between the American and Ger-
man Nations.
Germany never had the slightest intention
of attacking the United States of America,
and does not have such intention now. It
never desired war against the United States
of America and does not desire it today.
How did these things develop? More than
once we told the United States that we made
unrestricted use of the submarine weapon,
expecting that England could be made to ob-
serve, in her policy of blockade, the laws of
humanity and of international agreements.
This blockade policy (this I expressly recall)
has been called illegal and indefensible (the
Imperial Chancellor here used the English
words) by President Wilson and Secretary of
State Lansing.
Our expectations, which we maintained dur-
ing eight months, have been disappointed
completely. England not only did not give up
206
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
her illegal and indefensible policy of blockade,
but uninterruptedly intensified it. England,
together with her allies, arrogantly rejected
the peace offers made by us and our allies
and proclaimed her war aims, which aim at
our annihilation and that of our allies.
Then we took unrestricted submarine war-
fare' into our hands ; then we had to for our
defense.
If the American Nation considers this a
cause for which to declare war against the
German Nation with which it has lived in
peace for more than 100 years, if this action
warrants an increase of bloodshed, we shall
not have to bear the responsibility for it.
The German Nation, which feels neither
hatred nor hostility against the United States
of America, shall also bear and overcome this.
Among the speeches of party leaders
commenting on the Chancellor's address
those of Dr. Gustav Stresemann, Na-
tional Liberal, and Count von Westarp,
Conservative, were the most important.
Herr Stresemann remarked:
" A declaration of war by America will
be possible only because American public
opinion has been misled."
Count von Westarp alluded briefly to
America, saying:
" We can await the decision of Amer-
ica with complete calm, and the execu-
tion of our operations in the barred zone
will not be changed thereby."
Lord CeciVs Bitter Reply
This declaration of the Imperial Chan-
cellor was bitterly attacked the next day
by Lord Robert Cecil, the British Block-
ade Minister, in the following formal
statement:
The German Chancellor claims that Ger-
many in the past renounced the unrestricted
use of her submarine weapon in the expecta-
tion that Great Britain could be made to ob-
serve in her blockade policy the laws of hu-
manity and international agreements. It is
difficult to say whether this statement is
the more remarkable for its hypocrisy or for
its falseness. It would hardly seem that
Germany is in a position to speak of hu-
manity or international agreements, since
she began this war by deliberately violating
the international agreement guaranteeing the
neutrality of Belgium, and has continued it
by violating all the dictates of humanity.
Has the Chancellor forgotten that the Ger-
man forces have been guilty of excesses 'n
Belgium, unparalleled in history, culminating
in the attempted enslavement of a dauntless
people, of poisoning wells, of bombarding
open towns, torpedoing hospital ships and
sinking other vessels with total disregard for
the safety of noncombatants on board, with
the result that many hundreds of innocent
victims, including both women and children,
have lost their lives?
The latest manifestation of this policy is to
be seen in the devastation and deportations
carried out by the Germans in their forced
retreat on the western front.
The Chancellor states that it is because the
Allies have not abandoned their blockade and
have refused the so-called peace offer of Ger-
many that unrestricted submarine warfare is
now decided on. As to this I will do no more
than quote what the Chancellor himself said
in the Reichstag, when announcing the adop-
tion of unrestricted submarine war.
He said that as soon as he himself, in agree-
ment with the supreme army command,
reached the conviction that ruthless U-boat
warfare would bring Germany nearer to a
victorious peace, then the U-boat warfare
would be started. He continued :
" This moment has now arrived. Last
Autumn the time was not ripe, but today the
moment has come when, with the greatest
prospect of success, we can undertake this
enterprise. We must not wait any longer.
Where has there been a change? In the first
place, the most important fact of all is that
the number of our submarines has been very
considerably increased as compared with last
Spring, and thereby a firm basis has been
created for success."
Does not this prove conclusively that it
was not any scruple or any respect for in-
ternational law or neutral rights that pre-
vented unrestricted warfare from being
adopted earlier, but merely a lack of means
to carry it out?
I think it may be useful once again to point
out that the illegal and inhuman attack on
shipping by the Germans cannot be justified
as a reprisal for the action of Great Britain
In attempting to cut off from Germany all
Imports.
The submarine campaign was clearly con-
templated as far back as December, 1914,
when Admiral von Tirpitz gave an indication
to an American correspondent in Berlin of
the projected plan.
As for the plea that the Allies are aiming
at the annihilation of Germany and her allies
and that ruthless warfare is, therefore, justi-
fied, it is sufficient in order to refute this
to quote the following passage from the
Allies' reply of Jan. 10, 1917, to President
Wilson's note :
" There is no need to say that if the Allies
desire to liberate Europe from the brutal
covetousness of Prussian militarism, the ex-
termination and political disappearance of
the German people have never, as has been
pretended, formed a part of their design."
Patriotic Rallies
A notable patriotic rally occurred
March 31 at Independence Square, Phila-
delphia, when resolutions were adopted
pledging loyal support to the President in
UNITED STATES DECLARES WAR
207
any action he might take for the protec-
tion of American rights on land and sea;
it was one of the largest and most en-
thusiastic that ever assembled at Inde-
pendence Square. Enthusiastic mass
meetings with tumultuous ardor were also
held in Chicago, Pittsburgh, Boston, Mil-
waukee, St. Louis, San Francisco, and in
nearly all the important cities of the
country.
The pacifist propagandists, however,
were busy and were issuing appeals and
urging united action to bring influences
on Congress to avert a declaration of
war. General calls were issued by both
pacifists and war patriots to meet at
Washington when Congress assembled,
and there were acrimonious debates at
various meetings between the contend-
ing parties, sometimes attended with
violence.
Washington was a seething city on
April 1, the day before Congress con-
vened; delegations of both pacifists and
war patriots came from all parts of the
country, though the number of pacifists
fell considerably short of expectations. It
was intended by both to hold conventions
and - parades, but in order to avoid
possible trouble all parades in Washing-
ton were forbidden. The day Congress
assembled there were few outward signs
to indicate that the United States was
about to enter into the greatest war- in
history. The only difference in the normal
aspect of Washington was in the some-
what larger crowds in the streets and the
fact that National Guardsmen and
regular troops were on guard at strategic
points, that the new iron gates of the
White House grounds were closed and
guarded, and that admittance to some
of the Government departments was ob-
tainable only on identification.
Historic Joint Session of Congress
THE new Congress, the Sixty-fifth,
which had been chosen in the preced-
ing November, met in response to the
President's special call at noon on April
2. The members in assembling had to
crowd their way through swarms of paci-
fists who had assembled on the Capitol
steps to use what influence they could
against war. • The House of Representa-
tives had resolved on acting in a patriotic
spirit and determined to show no spirit
of partisanship in organizing.
The blind Chaplain, the Rev. Dr. Henry
M. Couden, offered a prayer in which he
said:
God of the Ages, our father's God and our
God, whose holy influence has shaped and
guided the destiny of our Republic from its
inception, we wait upon that influence to
guide us in the present crisis which has been
thrust upon us.
Diplomacy has failed ; moral suasion has
failed ; every appeal to reason and justice
has been swept aside. We abhor war and
love peace. But if war has been, or shall be,
forced upon us, we pray that the heart of
every American citizen shall throb with pa-
triotic zeal ; that a united people may rally
around our President to hold up his hands in
every measure that shall be deemed necessary
to protect American lives and safeguard our
inherent rights.
Let Thy blessings, we beseech Thee, attend
the Congress now convened in extraordinary
session under extraordinary conditions which
call for extraordinary thought, wise counsel,
calm and deliberate legislation ; that its re-
solves and all its enactments may spring
spontaneously from loyal and patriotic
hearts ; that our defenders on land and sea
may be amply supplied with the things which
make for strength and efficiency.
And, O God, our Heavenly Father, let
Thy strong right arm uphold, sustain, and
guide us in a just and righteous cause; for
Thine is the kingdom, the power, and glory,
forever, amen.
The roll was then called, amid the
usual confusion; but when Montana was
reached the Clerk rapped for order, and
in the stillness that finally followed he
called the name of Miss Rankin, the first
woman ever elected to Congress. Both
sides of the House burst out in applause,
and Miss Rankin blushed and smiled, but
they wanted her to stand up, arid they
cheered until she did, bowing first to the
Republican side, then to the Democratic.
Champ Clark as Speaker
Champ Clark was placed in nomination
for his fourth term as Speaker by Mr.
Schall of Minnesota, a man elected as a
Progressive in a district which, he told
208
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
the House, contains 43,000 voters, of
whom 32,000 are Republicans. Mr. Schall
is a blind man. He spoke from the front
of the House, leaning on a cane. The
pith of Mr. Schall's speech was that
both parties should sink partisanship and
co-operate with the President, and that
the best way to do it was to give him a
Congress controlled by his own party.
" I, with my sightless eyes," he said,
" would be of little use to my country
on the field of battle, but I can cast my
vote to help it. I know of" no better way
to stand by the President than to return
his party to the control of the House."
James R. Mann was nominated by the
Republicans. The vote stood: Clark,
217; Mann, 205; six Republicans declined
to vote for Mr. Mann. The organization
of the House was completed by 5 o'clock
and adjournment was then taken until
8:30 to meet in joint session with the
Senate to receive the President's ad-
dress.
President Wilson came to the Capitol
escorted by a squadron of cavalry.
The House an hour before had taken
a recess. When it met again it was in a
scene that the hall had never presented
before. Directly in front of the Speaker
and facing him sat the members of the
Supreme Court without their gowns.
Over at one side sat the members of the
Diplomatic Corps in evening dress. It
was the first time any one could remem-
ber when the foreign envoys had ever
sat together officially in the Hall of Rep-
resentatives.
Then the doors opened, and in came the
Senators, headed by Vice President Mar-
shall, each man wearing or carrying a
small American flag. There were three
or four exceptions, including Senators La
Follette and Vardaman, but one had to
look hard to find them, and Senator Stone
was no exception. It was at 8:32 that
they came in, and five minutes later the
Speaker announced:
" The President of the United States."
President Delivers Address
As he walked in and ascended the
speakers' platform he got such a recep-
tion as Congress had never given him
before in any of his visits to it. The
Supreme Court Justices rose from their
chairs, facing the place where he stood,
and led the applause, while Representa-
tives and Senators not only cheered, but
yelled. It was two minutes before he
could begin his address.
When he did begin it, he stood with
his manuscript before him typewritten
on sheets of note paper. He held it in
both hands, resting his arm on the green
baize covered desk, and at first he read
without looking up, but after a while
he would glance occasionally to the right
or the left as he made a point, not as if
he were trying to see the effect but
more as a sort of gesture — the only one
he employed.
Congress listened intently and without
any sort of interruption while he recited
the German crimes against humanity,
his own and his country's effort to be-
lieve that the German rulers had not
wholly cut themselves off from the path
which civilized nations follow, and how
the truth has been forced upon unwill-
ing minds. Congress was waiting for
his conclusions, and there was no ap-
plause or demonstration of any kind for
the recital.
But when he finished his story of our
efforts to avoid war and came to the
sentence " armed neutrality, it now ap-
pears, is impracticable because sub-
marines are in fact outlaws when used
as the German submarines are used,"
the close attention deepened into a
breathless silence, so painfully intense
that it seemed almost audible.
The President ended at 9:11, having
spoken thirty-six minutes. Then the
great scene which had been enacted at
his entrance was repeated. The diplo-
mats, Supreme Court, the galleries, the
House and Senate, Republicans and
Democrats alike, stood in their places
and the Senators waved flags they had
brought in with them. Those who were
wearing, not carrying, flags tore them
from their lapels or their sleeves and
waved with the rest, and they all cheered
wildly.
Senator Robert Marion La Follette,
however, stood motionless with his arms
folded tight and high on his chest, so
HISTORIC JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS
209
that nobody could have any excuse for
mistaking His attitude, and there he
stood, chewing gum with a sardonic
smile.
The President walked rapidly out of
the hall, and when he had gone the
Senators and the Supreme Court and the
diplomats went their ways.
[The address of the President appears
in preceding pages.]
After the departure of the President
both houses of Congress were assembled
and resolutions were introduced in each
house embodying the President's recom-
mendations that the state of war with
Germany be declared. The resolutions
were introduced in the House by Chair-
man Flood of the Foreign Relations
Committee, and in the Senate by Senator
Martin, both of Virginia, and at once
referred to the respective committees,
and the two houses thereupon adjourned.
[The text of the joint resolution is
printed on page 198.]
Debate in the Senate
The war resolution was passed by the
Senate at 11:11 P. M. Wednesday, April
4, after thirteen .hours' debate, by a vote
of 82 to 6, eight Senators being unavoid-
ably absent — all the absentees favored
the resolution, hence the true sentiment
of the Senate was 90 to 6. The six Sen-
ators who voted nay were La Follette of
Wisconsin, Gronna of North Dakota,
Norris of Nebraska, Stone of Missouri,
Lane of Oregon, and Vardaman of Mis-
sissippi, the first three being Re-
publicans, the last three Democrats.
The opening speech was delivered by
Senator Hitchcock of Nebraska, who was
in charge of the resolution in substitution
for Chairman Stone of the Foreign Re-
lations Committee, who was in opposition.
In his address the Senator said that
Germany's resumption of submarine
activity was not a violation of her word,
but a revocation of it, a step taken in
desperation.
It was not intended to provoke war with
us, but it was followed by acts of war upon
us. They were not made for the deliberate
purpose of injuring us but rather to starve
the English people. The effect, however, was
the same. We were ordered off the high seas.
We could not submit ; no great nation could
remain great and independent, if it did so.
No great nation could maintain its place in
history if it permitted another to order it off
the sea, if it permitted another to bottle up
its commerce, if it permitted another to dic-
tate to it in the exercise of its unquestioned
right and to impose the penalty of murder of
its citizens in case of refusal.
Words of Senator Lodge
Senator Lodge of Massachusetts, who
had been precipitated into a personal af-
fray in the Senate corridor the day be-
fore by a committee of pacifists and had
knocked down one who attacked him, in
the course of his remarks, said:
We have never been a military nation. We
are not prepared for war in the modern
sense ; but we have vast resources and un-
bounded energies and the day when war is
declared we should devote ourselves to call-
ing out those resources and organizing those
energies so that they can be used with the
utmost effect in hastening the complete vic-
tory. The worst of all wars is a feeble war.
War is too awful to be entered upon half-
heartedly. If we fight at all, we must fight
for all we are worth. It must be no weak,
hesitating war. The most merciful war is
that which is most vigorously waged and
which comes most quickly to an end.
But there are, in my opinion, some things
worse for a nation than war. National de-
generacy is worse ; national cowardice is
worse. The division of our people into race
groups, striving to direct the course of the
United States in the interest of some other
country when we should have but one al-
legiance, one hope, and one tradition— all
these dangers have been gathering about us
and darkening the horizon during the last
three years. Whatever suffering and misery
war may bring, it will at least sweep these
foul things away. It will unify us into one
nation.
This war is a war against barbarism,
panoplied in all the devices for destruction of
human life which science, beneficent science,
can bring forth. We are resisting an effort
to thrust mankind back to forms of govern-
ment, to political creeds, and methods of con-
quest which we had hoped had disappeared
forever from the world. We are fighting
against a nation which, in the fashion of cen-
turies ago, drags the inhabitants of conquered
lands into slavery ; which carries off women
and girls for even worse purposes ; which in
its mad desire to conquer mankind and
trample them under foot has stopped at no
wrong, has regarded no treaty.
The work that we are called upon to do
when we enter this war is to preserve the
principles of human liberty, the principles of
democracy, and the light of modern civil-
ization ; all that we most love, all that we
hold dearer than life itself. We wish only
to preserve our own peace and our own secur-
ity, to uphold the great doctrine which
210
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
guards the American Hemisphere, and to see
the disappearance of all wars or rumors of
wars from the East, if any dangers there
exist.
What we want most of all by this victory,
which we shall help to win, is to secure the
world's peace, based on freedom and democ-
racy, a world not controlled by a Prus-
sian military autocracy, but by the will of •
the free people of the earth. We shall achieve
this result, and when we achieve it we shall
be able to say that we have helped to confer
a great blessing upon mankind, and that we
have not fought in vain.
Senator Norris, in his opposition, said:
We are going into war upon command of
gold. We are about to do the bidding of
wealth's terrible mandate and make millions
of our countrymen suffer and untold gen-
erations bear burdens and shed their life
blood, all because we want to preserve our
commercial right to deliver munitions to the
belligerents. I feel that we are about to put
the dollar sign on the American flag.
Senator Reed, Democrat, of Missouri,
replied to Senator Norris by declaring
that his charge that the war resolution
was placing the dollar sign on the Ameri-
can flag was " almost treason." The as-
sertion that the nation was going to war
on the demand of gold was " an indict-
ment of the President of the United
States, an indictment of Congress, of the
American people, and of the truth."
"It is not the truth!" shouted the
Missouri Senator.
Opposition by La Follette
Senator La Follette of Wisconsin de-
livered the principal speech against the
resolution. He read a number of tele-
grams reporting straw votes, postcard,
and other polls in various communities in
the Central West, where the sentiment
was overwhelmingly against war. He
asserted that, of 15,000 or 20,000 letters
and telegrams he had received regarding
his vote on the armed ship bill, 80 to 90
per cent, had approved his stand. He
referred to the President's statement that
Germany had violated her submarine
pledges, and continued:
Her promise, so called, was conditional
upon England being brought to obedience of
international law. Was it quite fair to lay
before the country the statement that Ger-
many made an unconditional promise and
had deliberately violated it?
It was England, not Germany, who re-
fused to obey the Declaration of London,
containing the most humane ideas of naval
warfare which could be framed by the civil-
ized world up to that time. \Keep that in
mind.
If this is war upon all mankind, Is it not
peculiar that the United States is the only
nation of all neutrals which regards it as
necessary to declare war upon Germany?
All have refused to join in a combination
against Germany. Some may have a clearer*
view than we. This suspicion of a desire for
war profits does not attach to them.
Senator La Follette said that the
United States had not the confidence of
the other American republics because of
its war policies. He predicted that en-
trance of the United States would not
shorten the conflict, " but will vastly ex-
tend it by drawing other nations in." It
is idle, the Senator went on, to talk of a
war on the German Government and not
on the German people.
We are leagued, (he continued,) or are
about to be, according to the President's
speech, with the hereditary enemies of the
German people. Words are not strong enough
to protest against a combination with the En-
tente Allies which would have us indorse the
violations of international law by Great Brit-
ain and her purpose to wreak vengeance on
the German people. We do not know what is
in the minds of those who made the compacts
in which we are to share.
Reverting to the President's assertion
that the German people were thrown
into war without an opportunity to say
anything about it, the Senator asked:
" Will the supporters of this war bill
have a vote on it before it goes into ef-
fect? Unless they do that, it ill becomes
us to speak of Germany.^ Submit this
question to the people. By a vote of ten
to one they would register their decla-
ration against war."
The German people, he asserted, were
more solidly behind their Government
than the people of the United States
would be behind the President in waging
war on Germany.
" The Espionage bill and the Military
bill that have been drawn by the war
machine in this country," he said, " are
complete proof that those responsible
know that it has not popular support.
The armies, necessary to be raised to aid
the Entente Allies, cannot be raised by
voluntary enlistment."
Praising the character and services of
German-Americans in this country, Sen-
ator La Follette said that they were
HISTORIC JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS
2:1
being " dogged " by Secret Service men.
He denied that any one Government was
responsible for the war, saying that it
was caused by European secret diplo-
macy. He cited the Anglo-French
Moroccan secret treaty as " the most
reprehensible, dishonest, and perjured on
record."
" England first began the ruthless
naval warfare," he asserted, " by re-
pudiating the declaration of London."
Senator Knox, Republican, of Pennsyl-
vania, interrupted to suggest that Eng-
land did not ratify the declaration. Sena-
tor La Follette replied that British repre-
sentatives signed it, and Senator Stone
said England had not actually rejected it.
" It has pleased those who have been
conducting this campaign (for war)
through the press to make a jumble of
issues," Senator La Follette continued,
" until now it is impossible to get an
intelligent answer regarding the real
issues. They say that Americans are
being killed by German submarines. We
haven't a leg to stand on in support of
this war declaration."
That the United States did not protest
more vigorously against the British mine
field blockade was the Administration's
great mistake, the Senator said, and the
real and primary cause of an American
war declaration. He added:
We have wallowed in the mire at the feet
of Great Britain and submitted in silence to
her dictation. Because we acquiesce we
have a legal and moral responsibility to Ger-
many. Thus we have been actively aiding
her enemy in starving German women, chil-
dren, and old men. Germany waited three
long months for this Government to protest.
In principle, therefore, Germany had the
right to destroy, blindly, ships by submarines
and mines, in her own blockade zone. Ger-
many is only doing what England is doing.
Germany has been patient with us, standing
strictly on her right to be accorded the same
treatment as England by us.
Reply of Senator Williams
Senator Williams of Mississippi, in
replying to Senator La Follette, said:
The Senator from Wisconsin labored to
establish an identity of purpose and action
in the violations of our neutral rights by
Great Britain and Germany. He proved
that he did not know the difference between
a prize court and a torpedo. Great Britain
has drowned none of our citizens.
I am a little tired of utterances like that
of the Senator from Wisconsin, denouncing
the Entente Allies. He endeavors to twist
the British lion's tail. Demagogues have
been doing that ever since the Revolution,
but it is a matter of history that most of
the people of England were against the war
on the colonies.
Which would you rather do, fight Ger-
many now with France and Great Britain
and Russia, or fight her alone later? You've
got to do one or the other. I tell you that
if Germany does win that fight on the Con-
tinent of Europe she will begin building and
getting ready to whip us, unless the English
fleet prevents it.
Referring to the Wisconsin Senator's
statement that the United States had
nothing to lose, no matter which side
won the war, Senator Williams said:
Let's see. Have we no honor? No regard
for the future sovereignty of our country?
No regard for our flag? Is sentiment rot?
Ts patriotism rot? Is there nothing precious
except money?
I'm getting tired of this talk that this is
a Wall Street war. That's a lie. Wall
Street did not sink the Lusitania, the
Arabic, the Sussex, and these other ships.
I'm tired of lies like that, and I think it is
the duty of the American Congress and peo-
ple to brand them as lies.
Senator Williams said that the resolu-
tion did not propose that the United
States enter the European war, but that
it go into an American war to protect
American rights and for the sake of
honor, justice, safety, liberty, and equal-
ity. Once at war, he added, the United
States should stay until it became
assured the houses of Hohenzollern and
Hapsburg would no longer reign in Ger-
many and Austria, and that the Turk
would be forced back into Asia.
Debate in the House
The resolution declaring war was re-
ported to the House of Representatives
after its passage by the Senate on Thurs-
day> April 5. In presenting the resolution
for passage the Committee on Foreign
Affairs submitted an exhaustive report,
in which the American indictment against
the German Government was reviewed.
The full text of this report is printed on
pages 214-222.
The resolution was discussed in the
House from 10 A. M. Thursday until 3:12
A. M. Friday, when it was passed by a
vote of 373 yeas and 50 nays, 9 not vot-
212
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
ing. Miss Rankin-, the woman member of
the House, voted " no " after being called
three times; she* prefaced her vote in a,
voice choked by emotion, with the words:
" I want to stand by my country — but I
cannot vote for war."
The first important speech against the^
resolution was made by Representative"
Cooper of Wisconsin of the Foreign Af-
fairs Committee. He maintained that
Germany had not violated her promise
regarding submarines; that she spe-
cifically reserved the right to withdraw
it unless the United States Government
would induce Great Britain to modify the
blockade regulations. He argued that
Great Britain had violated American
rights upon the seas, that America had
not been neutral. He 'defended German
militarism with the query:
What has overthrown Russia? The tremen-
dous struggle of the Central Powers. Now,
then, I ask you this question : If we were in
the situation of the German people and had
just across an imaginary boundary, say like
the Rio Grande River, a country of 120,000,000
or 130,000,000 or 140,000,000 people, hav-
ing the most absolute, tyrannical, corrupt
despotism of modern times, with an army of
1,300,000, what Would we have done to secure
our own safety and how long before this
would we have had universal military service?
He quoted from a speech of Lloyd
George delivered in Queen's Hall, London,
July 28, 1908, in which he justified Ger-
many's military preparedness, and quoted
Lloyd George as follows :
Here is Germany, in the middle of Europe,
with France and Russia on either side, and
with a combination of their armies greater
than hers. Suppose we had nere a possible
combination which would lay us open to in-
vasion—suppose Germany and France, or Ger-
many and Russia, or Germany and Austria
had fleets which in combination would be
stronger than ours.
Would not we be frightened ; would not we
build; would not we arm? Of course we
should. I want our friends, who think that
because Germany is a little frightened she
really means mischief to us, to remember that
she is frightened for a reason which would
frighten us under the same circumstances.
British Blockade Defended
Representative Harrison of Mississippi,
in replying, said regarding England's
blockade:
When she executed that order she said to
the United States, " We have mined certain
places in the North Sea, but if any of your
vessels wish to" go through we will furnish
you a diagram, so to speak ; we will furnish
you pilot boats, so that you may not run
against the mines." Did Germany do that?
No. Germany said, " Here is a zone 1,500
miles long and 1,100 miles wide your vessels
cannot enter except once a week, and then
only at a certain port and along a certain
path, and your vessel shall be painted a
certain color — like a barber's sign, so to
speak. "» And then they said, so far as the
Mediterranean is concerned, " You cannot
enter it except in a strip of twenty miles
wide." Can you not see the difference be-
tween the actions of Germany and the actions
of England? A man who cannot is unable
to see the difference between, as some one
has said, a torpedo and a prize court.
England's prize courts have awarded hun-
dreds of thousands of dollars for affecting
the property rights of the citizens of this
country. Their courts are open, and they
have said, " We will try the cases coming
before us, and award damages not upon the
orders in council but upon international
law." And on that principle hundreds of
our citizens have collected the full market
value of their cargoes taken. And yet men
say that we ought to go to war against
England for violating property rights and
excuse Germany for destroying the lives of
American citizens. By that argument you
say to me I shall not be permitted to choose
*.my assailant. If one comes into my home
and steals my pocketknife, he can be prose-
cuted for petit larceny. The penalty will
be light. But if he comes into my home
and kills some one who is dear to me, the
punishment will be death. * * *
For nearly three years we have tried every
avenue . of diplomacy commensurate with a
nation's honor to avoid war. So intense has
been our desire for peace that at home our
Government has been criticised and abroad
our patience and forbearance have been
marveled at.
Indictment by Mr. Foss
Representative Foss of Illinois de-
nounced Germany's attitude in these
terms :
German belief in German power has fat-
tened on the blood of innocents. She no
longer seeks to hide behind her broken
promise, but tells us she will sink on sight
any ship within a certain zone, save one poor
ship per week, and then only under condi-
tions which, to accept, was to surrender each
and all our dearly bought liberties.
At the same moment we caught her red-
handed in the basest act of international
treachery ever committed by a civilized na-
tion. She offers as barter a part of our sov-
ereign territory in exchange for an attack on
us by two friendly nations— Mexico and
Japan.
Now Germany has dropped her diplomatic
mask and stands revealed in all her naked
HISTORIC JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS
213
savagery. She will now kill on sight ; she has
run amuck on the seas ; she has how treach-
erously sought an alliance against our peace.
Throughout all this we have remained neu-
tral, and, as a reward for our neutrality,
what have we received at the hands of Will-
iam II.?
He has set the torch of the incendiary to
our factories, our workshops, our ships, and
our wharves.
He has laid the bomb of the assassin in our
munition plants and in the holds of our ships.
He has sought to corrupt our manhood with
a selfish dream of peace when there is no
peace.
He has willfully butchered our citizens on
the high seas.
He has destroyed our commerce.
He seeks to terrorize us with his devilish
policy of frightfulness.
He has violated every canon of international
decency and set at naught every solemn
treaty and every precept of international law.
He has plunged the world into the maddest
orgy of blood, rapine, and murder which his-
tory records.
He has intrigued against our peace at home
and abroad.
He seeks to destroy our civilization. Pa-
tience is no longer a virtue, further endur-
ance is cowardice, submission to Prussian
demands is slavery.
Kitchin s Opposition Speech
Representative Kitchin of North Garo-
lina, who is the Democratic floor leader,
opposed the resolution. In his address
he said:
Great Britain every day, every hour, for
two years has violated American rights on
the seas. We have persistently protested.
She has denied us not only entrance into the
ports of the Central Powers but has closed
to us by force the ports of neutrals. She
has unlawfully seized our ships and our
cargoes. She has rifled our mails. She has
declared a war zone sufficiently large to
cover all the ports of her enemy. She made
the entire North Sea a military area —
strewed it with hidden mines and told the
neutral nations of the world to stay out or
be blown up. We protested. No American
ships were sunk, no American life was de-
stroyed, because we submitted and did not
go in. We kept out of war. We sacrificed
no honor. We surrendered permanently no
essential rights. We knew that these acts
of Great Britain, though in plain violation
of international law and of our rights on
the seas, were not aimed at us. They were
directed at her enemy. They were inspired
by military necessity. Rather than plunge
this country into war, we were willing to
forego for the time our rights. I approved
that course then ; I approve it now-. Ger-
many declared a war zone sufficiently large
to cover the ports of her enemy. She in-
fests it with submarines and warns the neu-
tral world to stay out, though in plain vio-
lation of our rights and of international
law. We-know that these acts are aimed not
directly at us but intended to injure and
cripple her enemy, with which she is in a
death struggle.
We refuse to yield ; we refuse to forego our
rights for the time. We insist upon going in.
In my judgment, we could keep out of the
war with Germany, as we kept out of the
war with Great Britain, by keeping our
ships and our citizens out of the war zone
of Germany as we did out of the war zone
of Great Britain. And we would sacrifice
no more honor, surrender no more rights in
the one case than in the other. But we are
told that Germany has destroyed American
lives while Great Britain destroyed only
property. Great Britain destroyed no
American lives, because this nation kept her
ships and her citizens out of her war zone
which she infested with hidden mines. But
are we quite sure that the real reason for
war with Germany is the destruction of lives
as distinguished from property, that to
avenge the killing of innocent Americans and
to protect American lives war becomes a
duty?
Mr. Kitchin argued that Mexicans had
murdered American citizens, had in-
vaded American territory, and committed
acts of war against the United States;
arid that we had refrained from war on
that occasion without sacrificing our
honor. He continued:
Are we quite sure that in a war with
Germany or Japan, if our fleet was bottled
up, helpless, and our ships of commerce had
been swept from the seas, all our ports
closed by the enemy's fleet, imports of fuel
and food and clothing for our people and
ammunition for our soldiers were denied,
with our very life trembling in the balance,
we would not, in the last struggle for exist-
ence, strike our enemy with the only weapon
of the sea remaining and in a manner vio-
lative of the international law? Would one
contend that under the circumstances our
submarine commanders should permit the
landing at the ports of the enemy arms and
ammunition with which to shoot down our
brave American boys when they had it in
their power to prevent it? Would we de-
mand of our submarine commanders that
they give the benefit of the doubt to ques-
tions of international law rather than to the
safety of our country and the lives of our
own soldiers?
There were more than fifty speeches
delivered during the session.
The War Proclamation
The war resolution as passed by the
two houses of Congress was signed by
President Wilson at 1:18 P. M. Friday,
214
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
April 6, and by that act the United States
and Germany became officially at war.
At the same time the President issued a
proclamation to the American people an-
nouncing the existence of a state of war,
the text of which appears on Pages 198-
200. Formal notice was at the same time
flashed to every American war vessel,
naval station, fort, and army post; also
to American diplomatic and Consular rep-
resentatives abroad. Orders were like-
wise at once issued by the Navy Depart-
ment to mobilize the naval forces of the
United States and all branches of the
navy were placed upon a war footing.
Seizure of German Ships
The first act in recognition of a state
of war was the seizure by the United
States authorities of all German ships
that had taken re'fuge in American ports
at the commencement of the war. Prepa-
rations to this end were made by the Fed-
eral authorities at all ports, and when
the news was flashed from Washington
at dawn on Friday that the war resolu-
tion had been adopted by Congress a de-
tachment of port officials accompanied by
a detail of Federal 'troops instantly took
possession of the vessels.
There were in all 91 German-owned
vessels in American waters with a gross
tonnage of 594,696 ; twenty-seven of them
in the Harbor of New York, six at Bos-
ton, three at Baltimore, two at Wilming-
ton, N. C; two at Philadelphia, three at
San Francisco, two at Pensacola, two at
New Orleans, two at Astoria, Ore.; eight
at Honolulu, seventeen at Manila, three
at Zamboango, and three at Cebu, Philip-
pine Islands; one each at New London,
Newport News, Savannah, Charleston,
Jacksonville, Portland, Ore.; Seattle,
Winslow, Wash.; Hilo, Hawaii; San
Juan, P. R.; Pago Pago, Samoa. The
seizures were made without incident ex-
cept in one case, and the crews were in-
terned at the various immigrant stations,
where they were treated as newly arrived
immigrants. A German gunboat at Ma-
nila, the Cormoran, was blown up by its
officers before the Federal officials took
possession, and five members of the crew
perished; the remaining 353 men and
officers then peacefully accepted intern-
ment. The vessels seized were valued at
about $100,000,000. It was found that
the machinery had been disabled on each
of the ships, except the Vaterland, the
54,000-ton German liner at New York.
It was estimated that several weeks would
be required to make repairs.
The Government announced that the
ships were seized for the purpose of pro-
tecting them from further injury, and
that until a decision could be reached as
to their proper disposition Customs
guards had been placed on board. A few
days later a large numbers of machinists
were placed on the ships by Government
authorities, and the work of repairs was
vigorously begun.
Report of House Committee on Foreign Affairs
Reciting German Misdeeds
When the resolution declaring war was
reported for passage in the House of Rep-
resentatives on April 5, the Committee of
Foreign Affairs submitted the following
exhaustive report, reciting the long cata-
logue of unfriendly acts that would jus-
tify war on the part of the United States:
IT is with the deepest sense of respon-
sibility of the momentous results
which will follow the passage of this
resolution that your committee reports it
to the House, with the recommendation
that it be passed.
The conduct of the Imperial German
Government toward this Government, its
citizens, and its interests has been so dis-
courteous, unjust, cruel, barbarous, and
so lacking in honesty and fair dealing
that it has constituted a violation of the
course of conduct which should obtain
between friendly nations.
In addition to this, the German Govern-
ment is actually making war upon the
people and the commerce of this country,
and leaves no course open to this Govern-
ment but to accept its gage of battle, de-
BOUSE REPORT ON GERMAN MISDEEDS
215
clare that a state of war exists, and wage
that war vigorously.
On the 31st day of January, 1917, no-
tice was given by the Imperial German
Government to this Government that
after the following day—
* Germany will meet the illegal measures of
her enemies by forcibly preventing, in a zone
around Great Britain, France, Italy, and in
the Eastern Mediterranean, all navigation,
that of neutrals included, from and to Eng-
land and from and to France, &c. All ships
met within that zone will be sunk.
Since that day seven American ships
flying the American flag have been sunk
and between twenty-five and thirty
American lives have been lost as a result
of the prosecution of the submarine war-
fare in accordance with the above decla-
ration. This is war. War waged by the
Imperial German Government upon this
country and its people.
A brief review of some of the hostile
and illegal acts of the German Govern-
ment toward this Government and its of-
ficers and its people is herewith given.
Germany's Conduct at Sea
In the memorial of the Imperial Ger-
man Government accompanying its proc-
lamation of Feb. 4, 1915, in regard to
submarine warfare, that Government de-
clared : " The German Navy has received
instructions to abstain from all violence
against neutral vessels recognizable as
such." In the note of the German Gov-
ernment dated Feb. 16, 1915, in reply to
the American note of Feb. 10, it was de-
clared that " It is very far indeed from
the intention of the German Government
* * * ever to destroy neutral lives and
neutral property. * * * The com-
manders of German submarines have been
instructed, as was already stated in the
note of the 4th instant, to abstain from
violence to American merchant ships
when they are recognizable as such."
Nevertheless, the German Government
proceeded to carry out its plans of sub-
marine warfare and torpedoed the Brit-
ish passenger steamer Falaba on March
27, 1915, when one American life was
lost, attacked the American steamer
Cushing April 28 by airship, and, made
submarine attacks upon the American
tank steamer Gulflight May 1, the British
passenger steamer Lusitania May 7, when
114 American lives were lost, and the
American steamer Nebraskan on May 25,
in all of which over 125 citizens of the
United States lost their lives, not to men-
tion hundreds of noncombatants who
were lost and hundreds of Americans and
noncombatants whose lives were put in
jeopardy.
The British mule boat Armenian was
torpedoed on June 28, as a result of
which twenty Americans are reported
missing.
On July 8, 1915, in a note to Ambas-
sador Gerard, arguing in defense of its
method of warfare and particularly of
its submarine commander in the Lusi-
tania case, it is stated :
The Imperial Government therefore repeats
the assurances that American ships will not
be hindered in the prosecution of legitimate
shipping and the lives of American citizens on
neutral vessels shall not be placed in jeop-
ardy.
In order to exclude any unforeseen dangers
to American passenger steamers * * * the
German submarines will be instructed to per-
mit the free and safe passage of such passen-
ger steamers when made recognizable by spe-
cial markings and notified a reasonable time
in advance.
Subsequently the following vessels
carrying American citizens were attacked
by submarines: British liner Orduna,
July 9; Russian steamer Leo, July 9;
American steamer Leelanaw, July 25;
British passenger liner Arabic, Aug. 19;
British mule ship Nicosian, Aug. 19*
British steamer Hesperian, Sept. 4. In
these attacks twenty-three Americans
lost their lives, not to mention the large
number whose lives were placed in jeop-
ardy.
Following these events, conspicuous by
their wantonness and violation of every
rule of humanity and maritime warfare,
the German Ambassador, by instructions
from his Government, on Sept. 1 gave the
following assurances to the Government
of the United States :
Liners will not be sunk by our submarines
without warning and without safety of the
lives of noncombatants, provided that the
liners do not try to escape or offer resistance.
On Sept. 9, in a reply as to the subma-
rine attack on .the Orduna, the German
Government renewed these assurances in
the following language :
The first attack on the Orduna by a torpedo
216
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
was not in accordance with the existing in-
structions, which provide that large passen-
ger steamers are to be torpedoed only after
previous warning and after the rescuing of
passengers and crew. The failure to observe
the instructions was based on an error which
is at any rate comprehensible and the repeti-
tion of which appears to be out of the ques-
tion, in view of the more explicit instructions
issued in the meantime. Moreover, the com-
manders of the submarines have been re-
minded that it is their duty to exercise greater
care and to observe carefully the orders
issued.
The German Government could not
more clearly have stated that liners or
large passenger steamers would not be
torpedoed except upon previous warning
and after the passengers and crew had
been put in places of safety.
On Nov. 29 the German Government
states, in connection with the case of the
American vessel William P. Frye :
The German naval forces will sink only
such American vessels as are loaded with ab-
solute contraband, when the preconditions
provided by the Declaration of London are
present. In this the German Government
quite shares the view of the American Gov-
ernment that all possible care must be taken
for the security of the crew and passengers
of a vessel to be sunk. Consequently the per-
sons found on board of a vessel may not be
ordered into her lifeboats except when the
general conditions— that is to say, the weather,
the condition of the sea, and the neighbor-
hood of the coasts— afford absolute certainty
that the boats will reach the nearest port.
Following this accumulative series of
assurances, however, there seems to have
been no abatement in the rigor of sub-
marine warfare, for attacks were made
in the Mediterranean upon the American
steamer Communipaw on Dec. 3, the
American steamer Petrolite Dec. 5, the
Japanese liner Yasaka Maru Dec. 21, and
the passenger liner Persia Dec. 30. In
the sinking of the Persia out of a total of
some 500 passengers and crew only 165
were saved. Among those lost was an
American Consul traveling to his post.
On Jan. 7, eight days after the sinking
of the Persia, the German Government
notified the Government of the United
States through its Ambassador in Wash-
ington as follows:
1. German submarines in the Mediterranean
had, from the beginning, orders to conduct
cruiser warfare against enemy merchant ves-
sels only in accordance with the general prin-
ciples of international law, and in particular
measures of reprisal, as applied in the war
zone around the British Isles, were to be ex-
cluded.
2. German submarines are therefore per-
mitted to destroy enemy merchant vessels in
the Mediterranean, i. e., passenger as well as
freight ships as far as they do not try to es-
cape or offer resistance— only after passengers
and crews have been accorded safety. %
- German Promises Violated
Clearly the assurances of the German
Government that neutral and enemy mer-
chant vessels, passenger as well as freight
ships, should not be destroyed except
upon the passengers and crew being ac-
corded safety stood as the official posi-
tion of the Imperial German Govern-
ment.
On Feb. 16, 1916, the German Ambas-
sador communicated to the Department
of State an expression of regret for the
loss of American lives on the Lusitania,
and proposed to pay a suitable indemnity.
In the course of this note he said :
Germany has * * * limited her subma-
rine warfare because of her long-standing
friendship with the United States and be-
cause by the sinking of the Lusitania, which
caused the death of citizens of the United
States, the German retaliation affected neu-
trals, which was not the intention, as retalia-
tion should be confined to enemy subjects.
On March 1, 1916, the unarmed French
passenger steamer Patria, carrying a
number of American citizens, was at-
tacked without warning. On March 9
the Norwegian bark Silius, riding at
anchor in Havre Roads, was torpedoed
by an unseen submarine and one of the
seven Americans on board was injured.
On March 16 the Dutch passenger
steamer Tubantia was sunk in the North
Sea by a torpedo. On March 16 the Brit-
ish steamer Berwindale was torpedoed
without warning off Bantry Island with
four Americans on board. On March 24
the British unarmed steamer English-
man was, after a chase, torpedoed and
sunk by the submarine U-19, as a result
of which one American on board perished.
On March 24 the unarmed French cross-
Channel steamer Sussex was torpedoed
without warning, several of the twenty-
four American passengers being injured.
On March 27 the unarmed British liner
Manchester Engineer was sunk by an ex-
plosion without prior warning, with
Americans on board, and on March 28 the
British steamer Eagle Point, carrying a
HOUSE REPORT ON GERMAN MISDEEDS
217
Hotchkiss gun, which she did not use,
was chased, overtaken, and sunk by a tor-
pedo after the persons on board had
taken to the boats.
The American note of Feb. 10, 1915,
stated that should German vessels of war
" destroy on the high seas an American
vessel or the lives of American citizens it
would be difficult for the Government of
the United States to view the act in any
other light than an indefensible violation
of neutral rights which it would be very
hard, indeed, to reconcile with the friend-
ly relations so happily subsisting between
the two Governments," and that if such a
deplorable situation should arise, " the
Government of the United States would
be constrained to hold the Imperial Gov-
ernment to a strict accountability for
such acts of their naval authorities."
In the American note of May 13, 1915,
the Government stated:
The Imperial Government will not expect
the Government of the United States to omit
any word or act necessary to the performance
of its sacred duty of maintaining- the rights
of the United States and its citizens and in
safeguarding their free exercise and enjoy-
ment.
In the note of July 21, 1915, the United
States Government said that
Repetition by the commanders of German
naval vessels of acts in contravention of
those rights must he regarded by the Govern-
ment of the United States, when they affect
American citizens, as deliberately unfriendly.
In a communication of April 18, 1916,
the American Government said:
If it is still the purpose of the Imperial Gov-
ernment to prosecute relentless and indis-
criminate warfare against vessels of com-
merce by the use of submarines without re-
gard to what the Government of the United
States must consider the sacred and indis-
putable rules of international law and the
universally recognized dictates of humanity,
the Government of the United States is at
last forced to the conclusion that there is but
one course it can pursue. Unless the Impe-
rial Government should not immediately de-
clare and effect an abandonment of its pres-
ent methods of submarine warfare against
passenger and freight carrying vessels the
Government of the United States can have no
choice but to sever diplomatic relations with
the German Empire altogether.
The German Government replied to
this communication on May 4, 1916, giv-
ing definite assurances that new orders
had been issued to the German naval
forces " in accordance with the general
principles of visit and search and the de-
struction of merchant vessels recogni&ed
by international law." And this agree-
ment was substantially complied with for
many months, but finally, on Jan. 31,
1917, notice was given that after the fol-
lowing day
Germany will meet the illegal measures of
her enemies by forcibly preventing in a zone
around Great Britain, France, Italy, and in
the Eastern Mediterranean all navigation,
that of neutrals included, from and to Eng-
land and .from and to France, &c. All ships
met within that zone will 'be sunk.
In view of this Government's warning
of April 18, 1916, and the Imperial Ger-
man Government's pledge of May 4 of
the same year, the Government of the
United States, on Feb. 3, 1917, stated to
the Imperial German Government that
in view of this declaration, which with-
draws suddenly and without prior intimation
the solemn assurance given in the Imperial
Government's note of May 4, 191G, this Gov-
ernment has no alternative consistent with
the dignity and honor of the United States
but to take the course which it explicitly an-
nounced in its note of April 18, 1Q10, it would
take in the event that the Imperial Govern-
ment did not declare and effect an abandon-
ment of the methods of submarine warfare
then employed and to which the Imperial
Government now purposes again to resort.
The President has, therefore, directed me to
announce to your Excellency that all diplo-
matic relations between the United States and
the German Empire are severed, and that the
American Ambassador at Berlin will be im-
mediately withdrawn, and, in accordance
with such announcement, to deliver to your
Excellency your passports.
On Feb. 3 one American ship was sunk,
and since that date six American ships
flying the American flag have been tor-
pedoed, with a loss of about thirteen
American citizens. In addition, fifty or
more foreign vessels of both belligerent
and neutral nationality with Americans
on board have been torpedoed, in most
cases without warning, with a consequent
loss of several American citizens.
Intrigues in the United States
Since the beginning of the war German
officials in the United States have en-
gaged in many improper activities in vio-
lation of the laws of the United States
and of their obligations as officials in a
neutral country. Count von Bernstorff,
the German Ambassador, Captain von
218
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Papen, Military Attache of the embassy,
Captain Boy-Ed, Naval Attache, as well
as various Consular officers and other of-
ficials, were involved in these activities,
which were very widespread.
The following instances are chosen at
random from the cases which have come
to the knowledge of the Government :
I. By direct instructions received from
the Foreign Office in Berlin the German
Embassy in this country furnished funds
and issued orders to the Indian Indepen-
dence Committee of the Indian National-
ist Party in the United States. These
instructions were usually conveyed to the
committee by the military information
bureau in New York, (von Igel,) or by
the German Consulates in New York and
San Francisco.
Dr. Chakrabarty, recently arrested in
New York City, received, all in all, ac-
cording to his own admission, some $80,-
000 from von Igel. He claims that the
greater portion of this money was used
for defraying the expenses of the Indian
revolutionary propaganda in this country
and, as he says, for educational purposes.
While this is in itself true, it is not all
that was done by the revolutionists. They
have sent representatives to the Far East
to stir up trouble in India, and they have
attempted to ship arms and ammunition
to India. These expeditions have failed.
The German Embassy also employed
Ernest T. Euphrat to carry instructions
and information between Berlin and
Washington under an American pass-
port.
II. Officers of interned German war-
ships have violated their word of honor
and escaped. In one instance the Ger-
man Consul at Richmond furnished the
money to purchase a boat to enable six
warrant officers of the steamer Kron-
prinz Wilhelm to escape after breaking
their parole.
III. Under the supervision of Captain
von Papen and Wolf von Igel, Hans von
Wedell and, subsequently, Carl Ruroede
maintained a regular office for the pro-
curement of fraudulent passports for
German reservists. These operations
were directed and* financed in part by
Captain von Papen and Wolf von Igel.
Indictments were returned, Carl Ruroede
sentenced to the penitentiary, and a num-
ber of German officers fined. Von Wedell
escaped and has apparently been drowned
at sea. Von Wedell's operations were
also known to high officials in Germany.
When von Wedell became suspicious that
forgeries committed by him on a passport
amplication had become known, he con-
ferred with Captain von Papen and ob-
tained money from him wherewith to
make his escape.
IV. James J. F. Archibald, under cover
of an American passport and in the pay
of the German Government through Am-
bassador Bernstorff, carried dispatches
for Ambassador Dumba and otherwise
engaged in unneutral activities.
V. Albert 0. Sander, Charles Wunnen-
berg, and others, German agents in this
country, were engaged, among other ac-
tivities, in sending spies to England,
equipped with American passports, for
the purpose of securing military in-
formation. Several such men have been
sent. Sander and Wunnenberg have
pleaded guilty to indictments brought
against them in New York City, as has
George Voux Bacon, one of the men sent
abroad by them.
VI. American passports have been
counterfeited and counterfeits found on
German agents. Baron von Cupenberg,
a German agent, when arrested abroad,
bore a counterfeit of an American pass-
port issued to Gustav C. Roeder; Irving
Guy Ries received an American passport,
went to Germany, where the police re-
tained his passports for twenty-four
hours. Later a German spy named Carl
Paul Julius Hensel was arrested in
London with a counterfeit of the Ries
passport in his possession.
VII. Prominent officials of the Ham-
burg-American Line, who, under the di-
rection of Captain Boy-Ed, endeavored
to provide German warships at sea with
coal and other supplies in violation of the
statutes of the United States, have been
tried and convicted and sentenced to the
penitentiary. Some twelve or more
vessels were involved in this plan.
VIII. Under the direction of Captain
Boy-Ed and the German Consulate at
San Francisco, and in violation of our
law, the steamships Sacramento and
Mazatlan carried supplies from San
HOUSE REPORT ON GERMAN MISDEEDS
219
Francisco to German war vessels. The
Olsen and Mahoney, which was engaged
in a similar enterprise, was detained.
The money for these ventures was fur-
nished by Captain Boy^d. Indictments
have been returned in connection with
these matters against a large number of
persons.
IX. Werner Horn, a Lieutenant in the
German reserve, was furnished funds by
Captain' Franz von Papen and sent, with
dynamite, under orders to blow up the
International Bridge at Vanceboro, Me.
He was partially successful. He is now
under indictment for the unlawful trans-
portation of dynamite on passenger
trains and is in jail awaiting trial follow-
ing the dismissal of his appeal by the
Supreme Court.
X. Captain von Papen furnished funds
to Albert Kaltschmidt of Detroit, who is
involved in a plot to blow up a factory at
Walkerville, Canada, and the armory at
Windsor, Canada.
Bomb Plots Against Ships
XI. Robert Fay, Walter Scholtz, and
Paul Daeche have been convicted and
sentenced to the penitentiary and three
others are under indictment for con-
spiracy to prepare bombs and attach
them to allied ships leaving New York
Harbor. Fay, who was the principal in
this scheme, was a German soldier. He
testified that he received finances from
a German secret agent in Brussels, and
told Von Papen of his plans, who ad-
vised him that his device was not prac-
ticable, but that he should go ahead with
it, and if he could make it work he would
consider it.
XII. Under the direction of Captain
von Papen and Wolf von Igel, Dr. Walter
T. Scheele, Captain von Kleist, Captain
Wolpert of the Atlas Steamship Com-
pany, and Captain Rode of the Ham-
burg-American Line manufactured in-
cendiary bombs and placed them on
board allied vessels. The shells in which
the chemicals were placed were made on
board the steamship Friedrich der Grosse.
Scheele was furnished $1,000 by von Igel
wherewith to become a fugitive from jus-
tice.
XIII. Captain Franz Rintelen, a re-
serve officer in. the German Navy, came
to this country secretly for the purpose
of preventing the exportation of muni-
tions of war to the Allies and of getting
to Germany needed supplies. He or-
ganized and financed Labor's National
Peace Council in an effort to bring
about an. embargo on the shipment of
munitions of war, tried to bring about
strikes, &c.
XIV. Consul General Bopp, at ' San
Francisco, Vice Consul General von
Schaick, Baron George Wilhelm von
Brincken, (an employe of the consulate,)
Charles C. Crowley, and Mrs. Margaret
W. Cornell (secret agents of the Ger-
man Consulate at San Francisco) have
been convicted of conspiracy to send
agents into Canada to blow up railroad
tunnels and bridges, and to wreck vessels
sailing from Pacific Coast ports with
war material for Russia and Japan.
XV. Paul Koenig, head of the secret-
service work of the Hamburg-American
Line, by direction of his superior of-
ficers, largely augmented his organ-
ization and under the direction of Von
Papen, Boy-Ed, and Albert carried on
secret work for the German Govern-
ment. He secured and sent spies to
Canada to gather information concern-
ing the Weiland Canal, the movements
of Canadian troops to England, bribed
an employe of a bank for information
concerning shipments to the Allies, sent
spies to Europe on American passports
to secure military information, and was
involved with Captain von Papen in plans
to place bombs on ships of the Allies
leaving New York Harbor, &c. Von
Papen, Boy-Ed, and Albert had frequent
conferences with Koenig in his office, at
theirs, and at outside places. Koenig
and certain of his associates are under
indictment.
Weiland Canal Plot
XVI. Captain von Papen, Captain
Hans Tauscher, Wolf von Igel, and a
number of German reservists organized
an expedition to go into Canada, de-
stroy the Weiland Canal, and endeavor
to terrorize Canadians in order to delay
the sending of troops from Canada to
Europe. Indictments have been returned
220
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
against these persons. .Wolf von Igel
furnished Fritzen, one of the conspir-
ators in this case, money on which to
flee from New York City. Fritzen is
now in jail in New York City.
XVII. With money furnished by of-
ficial German representatives in this
country, a cargo of arms and ammunition
was purchased and shipped on board the
schooner Annie Larsen. Through the
activities of German official representa-
tives in this country and other Germans
a number of Indians were procured to
form an expedition to go on the steam-
ship Maverick, meet the Annie Larsen,
take over her cargo, and endeavor to
bring about a revolution in India. This
plan involved the sending of a German
officer to drill Indian recruits and the
entire plan was managed and directed
by Captain von Papen, Captain Hans
Tauscher, and other official German
representatives in this country.
XVIII. Gustav Stahl, a German re-
servist, made an affidavit which he ad-
mitted was false, regarding the arma-
ment of the Lusitania, which affidavit
was forwarded to the State Department
by Ambassador von Bernstorff. He plead
guilty to an indictment charging perjury,
and was sentenced to the penitentiary.
Koenig, herein mentioned, was active in
securing this affidavit.
XIX. The German Embassy organized,
directed, and financed the Hans Libau
Employment Agency, through which ex-
tended efforts were made to induce em-
ployes of manufacturers engaged in sup-
plying various kinds of material to the
Allies to give up their positions in an
effort to interfere with the output of
such manufacturers. Von Papen in-
dorsed this organization as a military
measure, and it was hoped through its
propaganda to cripple munition fac-
tories.
XX. The German Government has as-
sisted financially a number of news-
papers in this country in return for pro-
German propaganda.
XXI. Many facts have been secured
indicating that Germans have aided and
encouraged financially and otherwise the
activities of one or the other faction in
Mexico, the purpose being to keep the
United States occupied along its borders
and to prevent the exportation of muni-
tions of war to the Allies; see, in this
connection, the activities of Rintelen,
Stallforth, Kopf, l;he German Consul at
Chihuahua; Krum-Hellen, Felix Somer-
:feld, (Villa's representative at New
York,) Carl Heynen, Gustav Steinberg,
and many others.
Belgian Relief Ships, Sunk
When the Commission for Relief in
Belgium began its work in October, 1914,
it received from the German authorities,
through the various Governments con-
cerned, definite written assurances that
ships engaged in carrying cargoes for
the relief of the civil population of Bel-
gium and Northern France should be
immune from attack. In order that there
may be no room for attacks upon these
ships through misunderstanding, each
ship is given a safe conduct by the Ger-
man diplomatic representative in the
country from which it sails, and, in ad-
dition, bears conspicuously upon its
sides markings which have been agreed
upon with the German authorities; fur-
thermore, similar markings are painted
upon the decks of the^ ships in order
that they may be readily recognized by
airplanes.
Upon the rupture of relations with
Germany the commission was definitely
assured by the German Government that
its ships would be immune from attack
by following certain prescribed courses
and conforming to the arrangements
previously made.
Despite these solemn assurances there
have been several unwarranted attacks
upon ships under charter to the commis-
sion.
On March 7 or 8 the Norwegian ship
Storstad, carrying 10,000 tons of corn
from Buenos Aires to Rotterdam for the
commission was sunk in broad daylight
by a German submarine despite the con-
spicuous markings of the commission
which the submarine could not help ob-
serving. The Storstad was repeatedly
shelled without warning and finally tor-
pedoed.
On March 19 the steamships Tunisie
and Haelen, under charter to the com-
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HOUSE REPORT ON GERMAN MISDEEDS
221
mission, proceeding to' the United States
under safe conducts and guarantees from
the German Minister at The Hague and
bearing conspicuous • marking of the
commission, were attacked without
warning by a German submarine out-
side the danger zone, (56 degrees 15
minutes north, 5 degrees 32 minutes
east.) The ships were not sunk, but on
the Haelen seven men were killed, in-
cluding the first and third officers; a
port boat was sunk; a hole was made in
the port bunker above the water line;
and the ships sustained sundry damages
to decks and engines.
Indignities to Americans
Various Consular officers have suf-
fered indignities and humiliation at the
hands of German frontier authorities.
The following are illustrations:
Mr. Pike, Consul at St. Gall, Switzer-
land, on proceeding to his post with a
passport duly indorsed by German of-
ficials in New York and Copenhagen,
was on Nov. 26, 1916, subjected to great
indignities at Warnemunde on the Ger-
man frontier. Mr. Pike refused to sub-
mit to search of his person, the removal
of his clothing, or the seizure of his of =■
ficial reports and papers of a private
and confidential nature. He was there-
fore obliged to return to Copenhagen.
Mr. Murphy, the Consul General at
Sofia, and his wife, provided with pass-
ports from the German legations at The
Hague and Copenhagen, were on two
occasions stripped and searched and
subjected to great humiliation at the
same frontier station. No consideration
was given them because or their official
position.
Such has been the behavior on the part
of German officials notwithstanding that
Consular officials hold positions of dig-
nity and responsibility under their Gov-
ernment and that during the present war
Germany has been placed under deep
obligation to American Consular officers
by their efforts in the protection of
German interests.
The Yarrowdale Prisoners
On Jan. 19 Mr. Gerard telegraphed
that the evening papers contained a re-
port that the English steamer Yarrow-
dale had been brought to Swinemunde
as prize with 469 prisoners on board
taken from ships captured by German
auxiliary cruisers; that among these
prisoners were 103 neutrals; and that
such of these as had been taken on
board enemy ships and had accepted pay
on such ships would be held as prisoners
of war.
After repeated inquiries Mr. Gerard
learned that there were among the Yar-
rowdale prisoners seventy-two men
claiming American citizenship.
On Feb. 4 Mr. Gerard was informed
by Count Montgelas of the Foreign Of-
fice that the Americans taken on the
Yarrowdale would be released immedi-
ately on the ground that they could not
have known at the time of sailing that it
was Germany's intention to treat armed
merchantmen as ships of war.
Despite this assurance, the prisoners
were not released, but some time prior to
Feb. 17 the German Minister for For-
eign Affairs told the Spanish Am-
bassador that the American prisoners
from the Yarrowdale would be liberated
" in a very short time."
Upon receipt of this information a
formal demand was made through the
Spanish Ambassador at Berlin for the
immediate release of these men. The
message sent the Spanish Ambassador
was as follows:
If Yarrowdale prisoners have not been re-
leased, please make formal demand in the
name of the United States for their im-
mediate release. If they are not promptly-
released and allowed to cross the frontier
without further delay, please state to the
Foreign Minister that this policy of the Im-
perial Government, if continued, apparently
without the slightest justification, will oblige
the Government of the United States to
consider what measures it may be necessary
to take in order to obtain satisfaction for
the continued detention of these innocent
American citizens.
On Feb. 25 the American Ambassador
at Madrid was informed by the Spanish
Foreign Office that the Yarrowdale
prisoners had been released on the 16th
inst. The foregoing statement ap-
pears to have been based on erroneous
information. The men finally reached
Zurich, Switzerland, on the afternoon of
March 11.
222
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Official reports now in the possession
of the Department of State indicate that
these American sailors were from the
moment of their arrival in Germany, on
Jan. 3, subjected to the most cruel and
heartless treatment. Although the
weather was very cold, they were given
no suitable clothes, and many of them
stood about for hours barefoot in the
snow. The food supplied them was ut-
terly inadequate. After one cup of cof-
fee in the morning almost the only
article of food given them was boiled
frosted cabbage, with mush once a week
and beans once a week. One member of
the crew states that, without provocation,
ke was severely kicked in the abdomen
by a German officer. He appears still
to be suffering severely from this
assault. Another sailor is still suffering
from a wound caused by shrapnel fired
by the Germans at an open boat in which
he and his companions had taken refuge
after the sinking of the Georgic.
All of the men stated that their
treatment had been so inhuman that
should a submarine be sighted in the
course of their voyage home they would
prefer to be drowned rather than have
any further experience in German prison
camps.
It is significant that the inhuman
treatment accorded these American
sailors occurred a month before the
break in relations and while Germany
was on every occasion professing the
most cordial friendship for the United
States.
Other Unfriendly) Acts
After the suspension of diplomatic re-
lations the German authorities cut off
the telephone at the embassy at Berlin
and suppressed Mr. Gerard's communi-
cation by telegraph and post. Mr.
Gerard was not even permitted to send
to American Consular officers in Ger-
many the instructions he had received
for them from the Department of State.
•Neither was he allowed to receive his
mail. Just before he left Berlin the tele-
phonic communication at the embassy
was restored and some telegrams and
letters were delivered. No apologies
were offered, however.
The Government of the United States
is in possession of instructions addressed
by the German Minister for Foreign Af-
fairs to the German Minister to Mexico
concerning a proposed alliance of Ger-
many, Japan, and Mexico to make war
on the United States. The text of this
document is as follows:
Berlin, Jan. 19, 1917.
On the 1st of February we intend to be-
gin submarine warfare unrestricted. In spite
of this it is our intention to endeavor to keep
neutral the United States of America.
If this attempt is not successful, we pro-
pose an alliance on the following- basis with
Mexico : That we shall make war together
and together make peace. We shall give
general financial support, and it is under-
stood that Mexico is to reconquer the lost
territory in New Mexico, Texas, and Ari-
zona. The details are left to you for set-
tlement.
You are instructed to inform the President
of Mexico of the abov«.. in the greatest con-
fidence as soon as it is certain there will
be an outbreak of war with the United
States, and suggest that the President of
Mexico on his own initiative should com-
municate with Japan suggesting adherence
at once to this plan ; at the same time offer
to mediate between Germany and Japan.
Please call to the attention of the President
of Mexico that the employment of ruthless
submarine warfare now promises to compel
England to make peace in a few months.
(Signed) ZIMMERMANN.
Reception Accorded the President's War Message
PRESIDENT WILSON'S address to
Congress in behalf of " a world
safe for democracy," followed
quickly by the action of Congress in de-
claring a state of war between the Uni-
ted States and Germany, created a pro-
found sensation throughout the world. It
was received by the nations composing
the Entente Alliance with thrilling en-
thusiasm, being conceded by all to be the
pivotal point in the great war. In this
country there was no tumult or hysteria,
such as ordinarily accompanies a nation's
entrance into war, but there was wide-
spread, definite, and very earnest ap-
proval, coupled with ardent expressions of
RECEPTION OF PRESIDENTS WAR MESSAGE
223
loyalty from all sections and all classes.
The apprehension felt in some quarters
— so seriously regarded as to be scarcely
articulated in the most intimate circles —
that there might be disturbances and
riots, perhaps civil revolt, among the mil-
lions of citizens and alien residents of
Teutonic blood, was wholly dispelled with-
in a few hours. There was not a ripple
in any of the large German-American
centres, not even a protest. The decision
of Congress was accepted by the German
language press of the United States as
regrettable, but this expression in every
case was accompanied by a fervent
declaration of loyalty to this country.
There were arrests in New York, Chicago,
St. Louis, and some Western cities — less
than one hundred of such cases among
the 10,000,000 persons of Teutonic paren-
tage— the arrests in every instance be-
ing based on specific charges of un-
neutral acts and plottings committed
prior to the declaration of war.
European Congratulations
Telegrams of congratulation came to
President Wilson from the heads of the
Governments of the Entente nations,
from their leading Ministers, from
learned societies and universities; the
Mayors of Paris, London, and other large
cities in Great Britain, France, and Italy
sent telegrams of felicitation to Ameri-
can cities. Neutral nations in some in-
stances sent expressions of approval.
Definite action was taken by Cuba, Pan-
ama, and China; the latter nation broke
off relations with Germany following
this action by the United States. The
declaration of war by the United States
was followed by similar action by the
Republics of Cuba and Panama. Brazil
broke off relations with Germany a few
days later and on April 14 seized all
German ships in Brazilian ports. The
action of the various nations is given in
fuller detail elsewhere.
President of France
President Poincare of France sent the
following cablegram to President Wilson
on April 4:
At the moment when, under the generous
inspiration of yourself, the great American
Republic, faithful to its ideals and its tra-
ditions, is coming forward to defend with
the force of arms the cause of justice and of
liberty, the people of France are filled with
the deepest feelings of brotherly apprecia-
tion.
Permit me again to convey to you, Mr.
President, in this solemn and grave hour,
an assurance of the same sentiments of
which I recently gave you evidence, senti-
ments which, under the present circum-
stances, have grown in depth and warmth.
I am confident that I voice the thought
of all France in expressing to you and to
the American Nation the joy and the pride
which we feel today as our hearts once again
beat in unison with yours.
This war would not have reached its final
import had not the United States been led
by the enemy himself to take part in it. To
every impartial spirit it will be apparent,
in the future more than ever in the past,
that German imperialism, which desired,
prepared, and declared this war, had con-
ceived the mad dream of establishing its
hegemony throughout the world. It has suc-
ceeded only in bringing about a revolt of
the conscience of humanity.
In never-to-be-forgotten language you
have made yourself, before the universe, the
eloquent interpreter of outraged laws and a
menaced civilization.
Honor to you, Mr. President, and to your
noble country. I beg you to believe in my
devoted friendship.
RAYMOND POINCARE.
To this President Wilson replied as
follows :
In this trying hour, when the destinies of
civilized mankind are in the balance, it has
been a source of gratification and joy to me
to receive your congratulations upon the step
which my country has been constrained to
take in opposition to the relentless policy and
course of imperialistic Germany.
It is very delightful to us that France, who
stood shoulder to shoulder with us of the
Western world in our struggle for indepen-
dence, should now give us such a welcome
into the lists of battle as upholders of the
freedom and rights of humanity.
We stand as partners of the noble democ-
racies whose aims and acts make for the
perpetuation of the rights and freedom cf
man and for the safeguarding of the true
principles of human liberties. In the name
of the American people, I salute you and
your illustrious countrymen.
Address h\) Premier Ribot
Premier Ribot, in an address to the
Senators of France, referring to the
President's speech, said:
What particularly touches us is that the
United States has always kept alive that
friendship toward us which was sealed with
our blood. We recognize with joy that the
224
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
bond of sympathy between the peoples is in-
spired by ideals which can be cultivated In
the heart of democracy. The starry flag is
going to float beside the tricolor. Our hands
shall join and our hearts shall beat in unison.
President "Wilson makes it plain to all that
the conflict is truly one between the liberty
of modern society and the spirit of the dom-
ination of military despotism. It is this
which causes the President's message to stir
our hearts to their depths as a message of
deliverance to the whole world. The people
who in the eighteenth century made a dec-
laration of rights under the inspiration of
the writings of our philosophers, the people
who placed Washington and Lincoln among
the foremost of its heroes, the people who in
the last century liberated the slaves, is well
worthy to give the world such an exalted
example.
For us, after such death and ruin, such
heroic suffering, the words of the President
mean renewal of the sentiments which have
animated and sustained us throughout this
long trial. The powerful and decisive assist-
ance which the United States brings us will
be not material aid alone; it will be moral
aid, above all, a veritable consolation. As
we see the conscience of the whole world
stirred in mighty pi-otest against the atroc-
ities of which we are victims, we feel that
we are fighting not alone for ourselves and
our allies, but for something immortal ; that
we are striving to establish a new order of
things. And so our sacrifices have not been
in vain. The blood poured out so generous-
ly by the sons of France has been shed in
order to spread the ideals of liberty and
justice which are necessary for the estab-
lishment of concord among nations.
In the name of all the country, the Gov-
ernment of the French Republic addresses
to the Government and people of the United
States an expression of its gratitude, and
its most ardent greetings.
President Wilson's address was pla-
carded on all official billboards through-
out France by order of the War Cabinet.
Celebrations were held in all parts of the
French Republic, and at Paris many no-
table public functions, at which the
American Ambassador was the guest of
honor, were attended by the most dis-
tinguished men in literature and public
life.
The American flag was displayed
everywhere in Paris along with the tri-
color, and on the fighting line in France
the American aviators were allowed to
display their colors for the first time.
When the 1918 classes were called out
the boys buoyantly responded, wearing the
Stars and Stripes along with the French
colors.
In the famous attack and capture of
Vimy Ridge near Lens, by the Canadians
early in April, an American was in the
front ranks bearing an American flag,
and fell wounded.
Message from British Premier
Premier Lloyd George on April 6 sent
the following message to the American
people :
America has at one bound become a world
power in a sense she never was before. She
waited until she found a cause worthy of her
traditions. The American people held back
until they were fully convinced that the fight
was not a sordid scrimmage for power and
possessions, but an unselfish struggle to
overthrow a sinister conspiracy against hu-
man liberty and human rights.
Once that conviction was reached, the
great Republic of the West has leaped into
the arena, and she stands now side by side
with the European democracies who, bruised
and bleeding after three years of grim con-
flict, are still fighting the most savage foe
that ever menaced the freedom of the world.
The glowing phrases of the President's
noble deliverance illumine the horizon and
make clearer than ever the goal we are
striving to reach.
There are three phrases which will stand
out forever in the story of this crusade.
The first is that " The world must be safe
for democracy." The next, " The menace
to peace and freedom lies in the existence
of autocratic Governments backed by organ-
ized force which is controlled wholly by
their will and not by the will of their peo-
ple," and the crowning phrase is that in
which he declares that " A steadfast concert
for peace can never be maintained except by
the partnership of democratic nations."
These words represent the faith which in-
spires and sustains our people in the tre-
mendous sacrifices they have made and are
still making. They ale© believe that the
unity and peace of mankind can only rest
upon democracy, upon the right of those who
submit to authority to have a voice in their
own government; upon respect for the rights
and liberties of nations both great and small,
and upon the universal dominion of public
right.
To all of these the Prussian, military autoc-
racy is an implacable foe.
The Imperial War Cabinet, representative
of all the peoples of the British Empire, wish
me on their behalf to recognize the chivalry
and courage which call the people of the
United States to dedicate the whole of their
resources to the greatest cause that ever
engaged human endeavor.
Words of Mr. Asquith
Former Premier Asquith, in an address
to the American people, said:
The people of the United States have been
RECEPTION OF PRESIDENT'S WAR MESSAGE
225
forced, as the United Kingdom was forced,
into a struggle which, in neither case, was
of our own seeking. They have realized as
we have realized that the choice lay between
peace with humiliation and war with honor.
There was no middle course, for armed neu-
trality, as the President points out with
irresistible cogency, affords no secure or
powerful foothold.
The provocation offered in the two cases
was different, but in both the challenge was
one which neither nation could refuse to
take up without the sacrifice of its self-re-
spect and without a betrayal of the sacred
trust which is imposed upon all free peoples,
to uphold the defense of liberty and hu-
manity. Never had the fundamental issues
which are at stake been stated with more
precision or with a greater elevation of
thought and language than in the President's
address.
The present German warfare, he points
out, is a war against all nations, and the
animating motives of the Allies, by whose
side he invites his fellow-countrymen to
range themselves, are not vindictiveness,
but vindication — the vindication of those
human rights which are the common interest
and the natural bond of the whole family of
civilized societies.
To this great purpose the American people
now dedicate their lives and fortunes — as
we have already dedicated ours — conscious
that they are listening to and obeying one
of those supreme calls which come but rarely
in history, but which, when they come, sound
in the ears of a community of free men with
a note of imperious demand.
King George s Congratulations
King George V. on April 6 cabled Presi-
dent Wilson as follows:
I desire on behalf of the empire to offer my
heartfelt congratulations to you on the entry
of the United States of America into the war
for the great ideals so nobly set forth in
your speech to Congress. The moral not less
than the material results of this notable
declaration are incalculable, and civilization
itself will owe much to the decision at which,
in the greatest crisis of the world's history,
the people of the great Republic have arrived.
GEORGE, R. I.
April 6, 1917.
In reply to the message President Wil-
son cabled:
To His Majesty George V., King and Em-
peror :
Your eloquent message comes to me at this
critical moment of our national life as proof
of the community of sentiment among the
free peoples of the world, now striving to
defend their ideals, to maintain the blessings
of national independence, and to uphold the
rights of humanity.
In the name of the American people and
the Government to which they look for guid-
ance I thank you for your inspiring words.
WOODROW WILSON.
Washington, April 8.
Enthusiasm In Italy
At Rome there was great excitement
and enormous multitudes went to the
American Ambassador's home displaying
the Stars and Stripes and singing " The
Star-Spangled Banner." President Wil-
son received the following address from
former Premier Luzzatti and sixty-seven
other Italian Deputies at Rome:
Tour message, with its ideal beauty and
its political contents, brings us back to that
dawn of civilization when the United States,
inspired by Washington, gave to the op-
pressed peoples of Europe and of the two
Americas the fruitful example of their re-
demption. Your message is not addressed
to the United States alone but to all hu-
manity, and awakens the noblest instincts
among free nations. Your message is the
hymn of freedom.
Italy, who, by toilsome slavery, learned
to love a free and a national Government,
and who, having experienced the bitterness
of evil Governments, longs for the liberation
of all peoples groaning under despotic rulers,
thanks you and acclaims you and in you
acclaims the great Republic of the United
States.
The Belgian Premier and Minister of
War, Charles De Broqueville, sent the
following message by cable to President
Wilson :
The Belgian Government decided in August,
1914, to make an unprecedented application
to your Excellency. It was an act of faith
and hope in the moral grandeur of a repub-
lic friendly to Belgium. Our people, small
in number but strong in indomitable pur-
pose, had foreseen that in the American
people and in you, who are its noblest ex-
pression, it would find support for its honor
and an avenging arm for its martyrdom. It
has clearly distinguished between those
groups that have directed the assault against
the rights of peoples and those that have
deemed it necessary to follow them, moved
perhaps by a false understanding of soli-
darity that had been accepted for other ob-
jects than the gratuitous aggression of which
civilization was the victim in 1914.
The Royal Government has contracted an
unforgettable debt to the generosity of the
United States of America. As in 1914, it
counts upon her aid to those whose only
fault was to have thought like free and
honest men and acted rather as the servants
of honor than as traders in it. The Belgian
Government salutes with joy, emotion, and
respectful admiration the decisive act that,
through the intermediary of your Excellency,
honors the man, the nation, and humanity.
22G
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Praise From Petrograd
At Petrograd the news evoked great
enthusiasm and street manifestations oc-
curred throughout the city. Professor
Milukoff, the Foreign Minister, said:
11 The ideal side of the war is once more
emphasized by the intervention of Amer-
ica. For me it becomes still clearer
under these circumstances that without
victory there can be no peace."
"Michael Rodzianko, President of the
Duma, said: "America's intervention
on the side of the powers at war with
Germany is the best guarantee of an
early victory over the Germans."
Parliament Welcomes America's Action
RESOLUTIONS were adopted April'
18 in the House of Lords and House
of Commons, with only one dissent-
ing vote in the Commons, (an Indepen-
dent Irish Nationalist member who was
angered at the Speaker's ruling,) as fol-
lows:
This House desires to express to the Gov-
ernment and people of the United States of
America their profound appreciation of the
action of their Government in joining the
allied powers, and thus defending the high
cause of freedom and rights of humanity
against the gravest menace by which they
ever have been faced.
Bonar Law, in his address, said:
" This is not only the greatest event,
but, as I believe, the turning point of
the war. The New World has been
brought in, or has stepped in, to restore
the balance in the Old.
" Being in, the United States has al-
ready shown that her enemies must be-
ware of her, and despite the fact that
the path immediately before us is more
difficult than ever before, I venture to
express the hope and belief that a
change is coming — that the long night
of sorrow and anguish which has deso-
lated the world is drawing to a close.
" The United States," Mr. Bonar Law
continued, " possesses resources of all
kinds, resources which in the long run
are decisive in war, to a greater extent,
probably, than any other nation. The
quality of her people was shown nearly
sixty years ago in a struggle which, in
its essentials, was not dissimilar to that
which they have now entered. Since then
the American people have shown qualities
of resource, energy, and readiness to
adapt themselves to new situations in the
art of peace, and the same qualities will
now be directed in no half-hearted way
and with equal success to the art of war.
The entrance of the great Republic
is a fitting pendant to the revolution
which has brought the Russian people,
whose courage and endurance we have
so much admired and whose sufferings
have been so terrible, into the circle of
the freed nations of mankind.
" I read the other day a characteristic
extract from a German newspaper, in
which it was said America was going
into the war for nothing. From their
point of view the statement is true.
America, like the British Empire — I wish
to make that plain — is animated by no
love of conquest, no greed for territory,
no selfish ends. The aims and ideals to
which President Wilson has given noble
expression in his recent speech are our
aims, our ideals also."
Mr. AsquitKs Praise
Seconding Bonar Law's resolution, ex-
Premier Asquith said:
" It is only right and fitting that this
House, the chief representative body of
the British Empire, should at the earliest
possible opportunity give definite and
emphatic expression to the feelings
which throughout the length and breadth
of the empire have grown day by day in
volume and fervor since the memorable
decision of the President and Congress
of the United States.
" I doubt whether even now the world
realizes the full significance of the step
America has taken. I do not use lan-
guage of flattery or exaggeration when
I say it is one of the most disinterested
acts in history.
" Nor were American interests at home
or abroad directly imperiled, least of all
that greatest interest of a democratic
PARLIAMENT WELCOMES AMERICA'S ACTION
227
community, the maintenance of domestic
independence and liberty," Mr. Asquith
continued. " What then has enabled
the President — after waiting with the
patience which Pitt described as the first
virtue of statesmanship — to carry with
him a united nation into the hazards and
horrors of the greatest war in history?
It was the constraining force of con-
science and humanity.
"What was it that our kinsmen in
America realized as the issue in this
unexampled conflict? The very things
which, if we are worthy of our best tra-
ditions, we are bound to indicate — essen-
tial conditions of free and honorable de-
velopment of the nations of the world,
humanity, respect for law, consideration
for the weak and unprotected, chivalry
toward mankind, observance of good
faith — these things, which we used to
regard as commonplaces of international
decency, one after another have been
flouted, menaced, trodden under foot as
though they were effete superstitions of
a bygone creed.
" There was never in the minds of any
of us a fear that the moment the issue
became apparent and unmistakable the
voice of America would not be heard.
She has now dedicated herself without
hesitation or reserve, heart and soul and
strength, to the greatest of causes, to
which, stimulated and fortified by her
comradeship, we here renew our fealty
and devotion."
John Dillon extended greetings to the
United States in the name of the Irish
Nationalists.
" The Nationalists join most heartily
in the welcome to the United States,"
Mr. Dillon said. " The full meaning of
the entry of America into the struggle
is difficult to describe. It is not like
the entrance of the other allies, but has
a more mighty significance to the whole
civilized world.
" When the banner of the United States
was unfurled every man of Irish blood in
the United States was a loyal supporter
of the President. I venture to prophesy
that when the roll is called for battle
the Irish will be there. They will out-
number, in proportion to their popula-
tion, all other races among the soldiers
of the Republic.
" The presence of the United States at
the peace conference is a sign of hope and
an assurance of liberty. Her voice will be
heard when the settlement comes, and
Ireland knows that on that day she will
have a firm and sure friend who will not
desert Ireland. To America will fall the
blessed task of basing peace upon liberty."
Earl Curzoris Tribute
In opening his speech on the resolution
in the House of Lords, Earl Curson said:
" The case of America entering the
war is widely differentiated from that
of any of the other allied countries. All
of the latter had a direct personal inter-
est in the war, but America's interest is
secondary and remote. She had no am-
bition to gratify. Her people had a con-
stitutional aversion to war and a rooted
dislike to be involved in the secular am-
bitions or the quarrels of the Continent of
Europe. If a nation with these hereditary
instincts and traditions, after so long
a period of hesitation, is yet compelled
to draw the sword, there must be some
great, overwhelming reason. Yes, there
was a reason.
" The entry of America is a great
event in moral history for the human
race, and it stamps the character of the
struggle in which we are engaged. Amer-
ica will not pause or stay until the peace
of the world is built upon a sure founda-
tion."
Viscount Bryce said:
" We recognize in the action of the
American people their common devotion
with ourselves to the same lofty ideals
and their common loyalty to the time-
honored traditions dating from our and
their remote past. And we find their
loyal attachment to these ideals the
surest bond of unity between ourselves
and our kinsfolk beyond the ocean."
April 19 was made American day in
London. The Stars and Stripes were un-
furled from the Victoria tower of the
Houses of Parliament, being the first
time in history that any but the British
flag had flown there. The American
colors were shown and worn everywhere.
Action by Latin- American Nations
Brazil Breaks With Germany
THE entrance of the United States
into the war on the side of the Allies
changed the entire status of affairs
on this continent. The Western Hemi-
sphere, which up to that time, with the
exception of Canada, had held aloof from
the conflict, was suddenly plunged into
the maelstrom, and the various South and
Central American States in turn declared
themselves.
Brazil severed relations with Germany
April 10. The rupture was precipitated
by the sinking of the Brazilian steamship
Parana, torpedoed off the port of Cher-
bourg, France, by a German submarine
without warning. After the severance of
relations great excitement prevailed
throughout the country, and mass meet-
ings in many cities demanded a decla-
ration of war. All German ships in
Brazilian waters, 46 in number, were
seized by the Government. The vessels
aggregate 240,770 tons, ranging from the
Hamburg- American liner Bliicher, 12,350
tons, formerly in the American trans-
atlantic service, to a vessel of 1,103 tons.
At Rio de Janeiro there were 15 ves-
sels; at Pernambuco, 12; Santos, 5;
Bahia, 4; Paraiba, 3; Para, 2; Rio
Grande, 2, and at Santa Catharina, Pa-
ranagua, and Maranham, 1 each.
Thirty-three of the vessels are more
than 4,000 tons each.
Action of Argentina
On April 10 the Argentine Government
issued a declaration announcing that it
supported the position of the United
States in reference to Germany. The
declaration was made known to the public
through bulletins posted throughout
Buenos Aires, and caused a great sen-
sation. Enthusiastic crowds marched
through the streets, and the university
students organized pro-ally demonstra-
tions.
The declaration was followed by a
period of the most intense excitement
throughout the country. An influential
part of the population were strongly
pacifist and pro-German, but the great
majority were pro-American and pro-
ally. A serious riot occurred at Buenos
Aires on April 14, and the German Con-
sulate and several pro-German news-
paper offices were attacked; there were
several deaths before the mob was
quelled. The situation became more
acute when it was learned on the 13th
that an Argentine sailing ship, Monte
Protegido, had been sunk off the Euro-
pean coast by a German submarine, and
fresh outbreaks occurred at Buenos
Aires.
Chile and Bolivia
Chile issued an official statement on
April 10 that she would remain neutral.
Bolivia severed relations with Germany
on April 13, and the German Minister
and his staff were handed their passports
that day at La Paz. The note denounced
the attacks of German submarines on
neutral vessels as violations of interna-
tional law and of The Hague conventions.
It recalled that the Bolivian Minister to
Berlin was on board the Holland-Lloyd
liner Tubantia when that vessel was sunk
in neutral waters a year ago. The note
concluded :
" Your Excellency will understand
that, although we regret the breach of
diplomatic relations between Bolivia and
the German Empire, such relations have
become insupportable in existing circum-
stances. In consequence, your Excellency
will find herewith passports for yourself
and the members of your legation."
The note declared that German sub-
jects and property would enjoy all lib-
erties guaranteed by law, provided that
they did not commit any act of delin-
quency, either collectively or as indi-
viduals.
The Paraguayan Government, in reply
to the note of the United States, said that
it recognized profoundly that Germany's
military actions, which are opposed to
the principles of the right of neutrals,
forced the United States to resort to
ACTION BY LATIN AMERICAN NATIONS
229
arms to re-establish order and rehabili-
tate those rights.
• The Paraguayan Government ex-
pressed " its most sincere sympathy with
the Government and people of the United
States."
In its reply to the United States the
Uruguayan Government said that Uru-
guay did not recognize the right to wage
unrestricted submarine warfare, " be-
cause it is an attempt against justice,
violates neutral rights, and is an insult
to humanity. Uruguay recognizes that
the decision taken at Washington an-
swers the situation arising from the ac-
tion of Germany."
The note recalled that Uruguay in due
course protested to Germany against her
submarine methods, adding that the Gov-
ernment had decided to maintain neutral-
ity, but recognized that the attitude of
the United States was just, and ex-
pressed to it its sympathy and its senti-
ments of moral solidarity.
The Peruvian Government in its re-
ply said that Peru deplored the fact that
the United States had been compelled to
take such action and expressed the hope
of a speedy ending of the great war. No
reference was made to the neutrality of
Peru.
Attitude of Mexico
Mexico's attitude was announced by
President Carranza in his inaugural ad-
dress at Mexico City April 16. He de-
clared that Mexico would maintain "strict
and rigorous neutrality," but his message
contained no friendly references to the
United States; in fact, his attitude was
critical and plaintive with reference to
this country, and wholly lacking in
warmth or any evidence of friendship.
The impression it left at Washington
was irritating and displeasing.
Costa Rica and Panama were the two
Central American States that approved
the action of the United States. Costa
Rica announced that " it indorsed the
course of President Wilson " and " was
ready to prove it, if necessary."
Panamas War Declaration
The President of the Republic of Pan-
ama, Dr. Ramon Valdez, signed a procla-
mation April 7 committing Panama un-
reservedly to the assistance of the United
States in the defense of the Canal. The
President also canceled the exequaturs of
all the German Consuls in Panama. The
proclamation declares:
Our indisputable duty in this tremendous
hour of history is of a common ally, whoso
interests and existence as well are linked in-
dissolubly with the United States. As the
situation creates dangers for our country, it
is the duty of the Panaman people to co-
operate with all the energies and resources
they can command for the protection of the
canal and to safeguard national territory.
The attitude of the people was foreseen and
interpreted faithfully in a resolution unani-
mously approved by the National Assembly
on Feb. 24, and confirmed by later laws, and
the moment has arrived for the Executive to
act in accordance with the declarations of the
supreme body. I therefore declare that the
Panaman Nation will lend emphatic co-opera-
tion to the United States against enemies
who execute or attempt to execute hostile
acts against the territory of the canal, or in
any manner affect or tend to affect the com-
mon interests.
The Government will adopt adequate meas-
ures in accordance with the circumstances.
I consider it the patriotic duty of all Panaman
citizens to facilitate the military operations
which the forces of the United States under-
take within the limits of our country. For-
eigners, resident or transient, will be obliged
to submit to the conditions of this declaration.
It was announced that Germans resi-
dent in Panama would be interned if
they give any evidence of being involved
in plots.
The proclamation was issued after
President Valdez had sent a message to
President Wilson indorsing the Ameri-
can action in declaring a state of war
with Germany " after the United States
had given unequivocal proofs of its love
of peace and had made efforts to save
Western civilization from the horrors of
war, and had borne with patience a long
series of provocations as irritating as
they have been unjustifiable."
Cuba's Prompt Action
President Menocal, on the day that the
United States took action, sent a mes-
sage to Congress asking permission to
declare war, declaring that the debt Cuba
owes to the United States as well as the
principles of justice and humanity de-
manded that such action be taken.
An- extraordinary session of Congress
230
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
was held the next afternoon when the
following bill was presented :
Reasons of gratitude to the powerful Amer-
ican Nation impose upon us the duty to ally
ourselves to it in its patriotic purpose to crush
the militarism that has carried such disaster
to the whole universe, and we ought not to
waste a single moment in taking such action
which will exalt us, offering everything that
may be necessary to the Star and Stripes,
seconded by our own lone star banner, to
maintain not only in this continent, but also
in the Old World, the practices of liberty,
right, and justice.
Whatever effort Cuba shall make to assist
the United States of America will be looked
upon as the generous action of a grateful
people and of a friend who can never forget
the sacrifice and effort made by the United
States to co-operate in our struggle for inde-
pendence. Therefore the undersigned repre-
sentatives present for the consideration of
this legislative body this bill :
Article I.— The Executive is authorized to or-
ganize and place at the disposition of the
United States of America a contingent of
10,<mw) men, to the end of aiding in its military
purposes the said nation in the present Euro-
pean conflict.
Article II.— The Congress of the republic
grants in accordance with the provisions of
Paragraph 5 of Article XLVII. of the Con-
stitution to Colonel Jos6 Estrames y Vega of
the liberating army and Congressman Ofer
of Havana and to other citizens of the re-
public who may enlist permission to absent
themselves from the territory of the republic
and serve in the army of Cuba, to be placed
at the disposition of the War Department of
the United States of America.
President Menocal in his message
said :
Cuba cannot remain neutral in this supreme
conflict because the declaration of neutrality
would oblige her to treat all the belligerents
equally, refusing them with equal rigor any
access to her ports and imposing on them
the same restrictions and prohibitions, which
would be in the present case contrary to
public sentiment, to the essence of the pacts
and moral obligations, moral rather than
legal, which bind us to the United States ;
and would result, lastly, because of our geo-
graphical location, in being the cause of in-
numerable conflicts, the consequences of
which it is easy to predict for a friendly and
allied nation, and which would prove an in-
excusable weakness and condescension for
the attitude of implacable aggression uncon-
ditionally proclaimed by the Imperial Ger-
man Government against the rights of all
neutral peoples and against the principles of
humanity and justice, which constitute the
highest note of modern civilization.
The Congress met on April 7 and the
declaration of war was passed by both
houses without a dissenting vote, amid
scenes of gravity and intense feeling.
The war resolution as passed follows :
Article I. Resolved, That from today a state
of war is formally declared between the Re-
public ftf Cuba and the Imperial Government
of Germany, and the President of the Re-
public is authorized and directed by this
resolution to employ all the forces of the
nation and the resources of our Government
to make war against the Imperial German
Government with the object of maintaining
our rights, guarding our territory and pro-
viding for our security, prevent any acts
which may be attempted against us, and de-
fend the navigation of the seas, the liberty
of commerce, and the rights of neutrals and
international justice.
Article II. The President of the Republic is
hereby authorized to use all the land and
naval forces in the form he may deem neces-
sary, using existing foroes, reorganizing
them, or creating new ones, and to dispose
of the economic forces of the nation in any
way he may deem necessary.
Article III. The President will give account
to Congress of the measures adopted in ful-
fillment of this law, which will be in opera-
tion from the moment of its publication in
the Official Gazette.
The President immediately signed the
measure. On April 8 Count von Verdy du
Vernois, the German Minister, received
his passports. The German ships in Cuban
waters were seized on the night of the
7th ; all had been damaged.
On April 11 Speaker Clark laid before
the United States Congress, amid ap-
plause, a message from Miguel Coyula,
Speaker of the Cuban House of Repre-
sentatives, regarding the Cuban declara-
tion of v/ar against Germany. It read:
The House of Representatives of the Re-
public of Cuba, in declaring that a state of
war exists between this nation and the Ger-
man Empire, resolved, all members rising
to their feet and amid the greatest enthu-
siasm, to address a message of confraternity
to that body announcing the pride felt by the
people of Cuba in uniting their modest efforts
to those of the great nation contending for
the triumph of right and respect for the
liberity of small nationalities.
The House also resolved to express the
special gratification of the Cuban people in
uniting their flag side by side to that of the
glorious nation which in days of undying
memory sacrificed the blood of her sons to
help the people of Cuba to conquer their
liberty and independence.
Mobilizing the Army and Navy
MANY weeks before the present
crisis had reached the stage of
war the United States Govern-
ment was actively pushing all possible
preliminaries for the event. On March
25 President Wilson issued an executive
order increasing the enlisted strength of
the United States Navy to 87,000 men, in
accordance with the emergency author-
ity conferred upon him by the naval
service act of Aug. 29, 1916. The next
day Secretary Daniels sent a telegram
to 2,600 editors throughout the country,
stating that new ships and ships in re-
serve were being fully commissioned as
rapidly as possible, and asking that the
public be urged to furnish the naval re-
cruits imperatively needed to man these
vessels.
On March 26 President Wilson signed
an executive order increasing the author-
ized enlisted strength of the United
States Marine Corps to 17,400 men, an
increase of 2,419, the limit allowed under
the emergency act.
At the Naval Academy 183 new En-
signs were rushed into the navy three
months in advance of their time, and were
graduated on March 29, at once receiving
their assignments on various vessels.
Calling Navy Into Service
When the declaration of a state of
war became operative on April 6 Secre-
tary Daniels signed an order at 4:05
o'clock the same afternoon for the
mobilization of the navy. One hundred
code messages were sent by wireless and
telegraph from the office of Admiral W.
S. Benson, Chief of Naval Operations,
within a few minutes after the signing
of the order. The messages set in motion
the machinery by which the navy went
on a war basis with every ship and
shore station, and by which the Naval
Militia of all the States, as well as the
Naval Reserves and the Coast Guard
Service, passed into the control of the
Navy Department.
There were about 584 officers and 7,933
enlisted men in the Naval Militia, a total
force of 8,517. These assembled at desig-
nated points and were assigned to ships
to be used in the Coast Patrol Service
or on other naval duty. All ships in
active commission in the regular navy
were ready for duty when the order
came. But there were battleships in the
reserve fleets, reserve destroyers, and
other reserve units that had only
nucleus crews, which were now to be
fully manned and put into service. Other
vessels which had been out of commis-
sion were assigned to active duty as
rapidly as possible.
There were approximately 361 vessels
of the navy completed and fit for service,
including 12 first-line battleships, 25 sec-
ond-line battleships, 9 armored cruisers,
24 other cruisers, 7 monitors, 50 destroy-
ers, 16 coast torpedo vessels, 17 torpedo
boats, 44 submarines, 8 tenders to tor-
pedo boats, 28 gunboats, 4 transports, 4
supply ships, a hospital ship, 21 fuel
ships, 14 converted yachts, 49 tugs, and
28 minor units. The mobilization order
also called into active service about 70,000
enlisted men, as well as over 8,500 mem-
bers of the Naval Militia, a considerable
number of Naval Reserves, and the men
in the Coast Guard Service. It put into
the regular naval service all new units
in process of being purchased as well as
those which had been offered for the
power boat patrol by yachtsmen and
other patriotic citizens along with their
volunteer crews.
The total number of men required for
the proper mobilization of the navy as
it stands is 99,809 regulars and 45,870
reserves. It was estimated that 73,817
regulars and 25,219 reserves were needed
for the battleships, scouts, destroyers,
submarines, mine force, and training
ships. For the Coast Defense forces it
was estimated that 10,633 regulars and
17,195 reserves were needed, and for the
various shore stations 10*318 regulars and
2,080 reserves.
The order called out those retired offi-
cers who had been registered in the de-
partment as fit for duty in the event of
war to the Naval Reserve force, Naval
Militia, examining boards, and bureau
232
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
duties, where they in turn released of-
ficers on the active list, and enabled the
latter to go to sea for fighting duty.
Naval Recruiting Campaign
When the mobilization order came to
the navy it still lacked 35,000 men to
bring it up to the full authorized strength
of 87,000. Recruiting had been carried
on in the last few weeks with exceptional
energy, but the average daily gain was
only about twenty-five men. After the
declaration of a state of war the call be-
came more urgent, and large posters on
the highways and handbills stuck across
the front of taxicabs and other vehicles
re-echoed the appeal for men. An in-
crease of enlistments followed at once.
At the end of the first week of April
the Naval Reserve recruiting office in
New York City ,was crowded daily, and
the daily total of recruits in the country
was more than 700. Enlistments for the
navy and for the Marine Corps all con-
tinued to show marked gains. On April
17 the navy was enrolling nearly 1,000
men a day, and Secretary Daniels an-
nounced that he already had 71,696 of the
87,000 men thus far authorized.
Meanwhile the mobilization of a large
fleet of "mosquito craft" to patrol the
Atlantic Coast and fight U-boats if they
invaded American waters was in progress
under Secretary Daniels and Admiral
Benson, Chief of Naval Operations. Many
owners of private yachts donated the use
of their craft and crews for this purpose,
and other men of wealth began building
submarine chasers of a kind that had
proved successful in British waters.
More than fifty small boat builders
submitted proposals on March 31 for
the construction of chasers and patrol
boats of the 110-foot and 50-foot types,
indicating that the Navy Department
would be able to get all the small boats
it needed in a comparatively brief time.
On that date the coast patrol fleet was
organized on an official basis under the
Government, and Captain Henry B. Wil-
son was detached from his post as com-
mander of the superdreadnought Penn-
sylvania to take charge of the coast
" mosquito fleet."
Radio Stations Seized
Seizure of all wireless stations in the
United States and its possessions was
ordered by President Wilson on April 6,
and the enforcement of the order was
delegated to the Secretary of the Navy.
Accordingly the navy at once took pos-
session of the radio system throughout
the country, assuming control of all com-
mercial stations that might be useful to
the Government in war time, and sup-
pressing and dismantling the rest, in-
cluding thousands of amateur wireless
plants.
Defensive war zones, guarded by
patrol boats, were established around the
whole coast line of the United States
through an executive order issued by
President Wilson on April 5. To prevent
surprise attacks against New York and
other coast points by German submarines
or raiders, this order created a series of
local barred zones extending from two
to ten miles from the larger harbors in
American waters all the way from Maine
to California and the Philippine Islands.
All vessels are barred from entering
these harbors at night, and entrance or
exit in daytime must be in accordance
with certain rules of pilotage and other
matters which the patrol boats are under
orders to enforce. The ports at both
ends of the Panama Canal are closed
each night under the same order.
Contracts for the construction of twen-
ty-four destroyers of thirty-five-knot
speed were awarded by the Navy De-
partment on March 24. Ten will be built
at the Union Iron Works, San Francisco;
six by William Cramp & Sons, Philadel-
phia, and eight- by the Fore River Ship-
building Company, Quincy, Mass. The
contracts will be paid on the basis of
cost plus 10 per cent, profit. The aver-
age cost will be. in the neighborhood of
$1,400,000 for each vessel. The Navy
Department awarded the contracts on
the day the bids were opened, and Secre-
tary Daniels stated that he was ready to
award similar ones for fifty destroyers,
all urgently needed, and to pay for them
out of the $115,000,000 emergency fund;
but the shipbuilding plants of the coun-
try were so overcrowded with other naval
work that only three were able to do any-
MOBILIZING THE ARMY AND NAVY
233
thing in that direction at the present
time. Of the twenty-four destroyers in
question fifteen belong to the regular
1917 program and nine to the emergency
program. Including these new orders
the navy now has under construction a
total of fifty-two destroyers, eight of
which were authorized in 1914-15 and
twenty in 1916.
Secretary Daniels announced on April
11 that Charleston, ~W. Va., had been
selected as the site for the Govern-
ment armor plate plant, for the con-
struction of which Congress appropriated
$11,000,000.
National Cuard Mobilized
The preliminary steps toward mobiliz-
ing the National Guard also were well
under way before the assembling of Con-
gress in special session. The War De-
partment issued orders on March 25 call-
ing out fourteen National Guard units
" for police purposes " in New York,
Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut,
New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania,
Maryland, and Virginia, besides the Dis-
trict of Columbia. They were assigned
to protect railways, bridges, water
systems, and other strategic points. As
an example of the promptness with which
these State units got into active service
it may be noted that every man of the
Seventy-first New York Infantry Regi-
ment left New York City under secret
orders on April 1.
On March 26 President Wilson called
out twenty additional regiments and five
separate battalions of National Guard
units in eighteen different States, from
Ohio to the Pacific Coast. The follow-
ing day he suspended the muster out of
the 22,000 National Guardsmen that still
remained in the Federal service from the
Mexican border mobilization. Seven more
regiments were called into service in the
next two days, and by the beginning of
April the total under arms was more
than 60,000, or over one-third of the
150,000 men in all the National Guard
organizations in the country. Then a
temporary halt was called, owing to in-
ability to furnish supplies as fast as the
men were mustered in.
It was announced that twenty-six
training camps for the military training
of civilians would be maintained by the
War Department in various parts of the
country during the Summer months, with
facilities for drilling 25,000 men.
State Governments responded generally
to the needs of the hour. New York
promptly appropriated $1,000,000 for de-
fense, Massachusetts the same, New
Hampshire $500,000, and many other
States similar amounts. Mobilization of
National Guard units throughout New
England was especially prompt and
rapid. College men in all parts of the
country organized student regiments, and
in many cases a majority of the whole
undergraduate community began drilling.
Home defense leagues in cities and towns
sprang up from Maine to California, and
obtained professional military drill; in
New York City the body of this nature
created by Police Commissioner Woods
numbered nearly 10,000 men, the equiva-
lent of a United States Army division,
with a full military organization and a
large degree of effectiveness. Mayor
Mitchel of New York City organized a
Committee on National Defense, under
whose leadership nearly all the States of
the Union joined in making April 19 —
the anniversary of the battle of Lexing-
ton—a " Wake Up, America ! " day.
Patriotic enthusiasm was everywhere
in evidence, yet enlistments in the regular
army continued to come very slowly. Men
of military age awaited the action of
Congress, which was in process of de-
termining whether to depend once more
upon the volunteer system or to enact
a compulsory service law. President Wil-
son and the Army General Staff strongly
favored universal compulsory service for
young men, and two bills embodying such
a system were introduced in Congress,
but they met considerable opposition from
the outset. On April 18 the House Mili-
tary Committee, by a vote of 13 to 8,
finally agreed to report the Army Gen-
eral Staff bill with an amendment au-
thorizing the President first to try the
volunteer system for raising 500,000
men, and then to use the selective draft
if the volunteer method proved unsuc-
cessful. The matter rests there at the
present writing. Meanwhile Secretary
Baker has announced that men are en-
234
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
listing in the regular army at the aver-
age rate of 1,434 a day.
Many large banks and commercial
houses have undertaken to keep up the
from among their employes, as was done
at the time of the call to the Mexican
border, when one large telephone com-
pany alone paid $284,000 to absent em-
salaries of National Guardsmen recruited ployes.
Organizing for Economic Defense
A NATION-WIDE system of economic
war activities developed during the
month, nearly all centring about
the Council of National Defense, a body
consisting officially of the members of
the President's Cabinet and its civilian
Advisory Commission, a group of picked
business men and leaders of industries.
The members of the Advisory Commis-
sion are: Grosvenor B. Clarkson, Secre-
tary; Julius Rosenwald, Chairman of
Committee on Supplies; Bernard M. Ba-
ruch, in charge of raw materials; Daniel
Willard, transportation; Dr. F. H. Mar-
tin, medicine and sanitation; Dr. Hollis
Godfrey, science and research; Howard
Coffin, munitions, and W. S. Gifford, Di-
rector of the Council. Each is working
through a board of experts to organize
the war activities in his department.
Many of these boards were created in
April.
The important work of the Food Board
was placed under the management of
Herbert C. Hoover, the executive head of
the Belgian Relief Commission. The
task assigned to the Food Board is that
of coping with the problems of food
shortage, distribution, and waste; price
control, the mobilization of the agricul-
tural resources of the country, and the
formulating of all necessary measures to
keep up the stream of American food sup-
plies to the Allies.
Presidents of the leading railroads of
the country met at Washington on April
11 at the call of the Council of Defense
and named a board of five men to direct
the operations of American railways
throughout the war, with Fairfax Har-
rison of the Southern Railway as Chair-
man and Daniel Willard, President of
the Baltimore & Ohio and Chairman of
the Defense Council's Advisory Commis-
sion, as an ex-officio member.
The creation of a General Munitions
Board was announced on April 9, headed
by Frank A. Scott, a Cleveland manu-
facturer. This board is charged with
supplying the army and navy with muni-
tions and equipment. One of its chief
functions will be to decide between the
country's military and industrial needs
when recruiting invades the factories.
Twenty men, fifteen of them army or
navy officers, make up the board.
In like manner an Economy Board was
organized to mobilize the commercial
interests of the country and attend to
the equitable distribution of commodities
in war time and to keep prices down. Im-
portant pioneer work in the direction of
economy for the Government was
achieved by one of the members of
the Advisory Commission, Bernard M.
Baruch, who, as Chairman of the Com-
mittee on Raw Materials, arranged to get
copper, steel, and other metals for the
Government at about half the market
price, thus saving the nation many
millions. The insurance interests of the
country placed their valuable records at
the service of the Government and laid
plans to prevent the destruction of grain
and cotton by incendiary fires. A Gen-
eral Medical Board of the Council of Na-
tional Defense was organized on April
17 by leading physicians from all parts
of the country, with Dr. Franklin Mar-
tin of Chicago as Chairman, and a score
of eminent physicians as members of the
Executive Committee, to mobilize the
nation's medical resources during the
war.
General Goethalss NeV> Task
The Federal Shipping Board, which
embodies the Administration's program
for building a vast fleet of wooden cargo
ships to transport supplies to the Allies
and thus defeat the German submarine
ORGANIZING FOR ECONOMIC DEFENSE
235
campaign, was organized as a $50,000,000
corporation on April 16. Its avowed pur-
pose is to construct 1,000 ships of 3,000
to 5,000 tons burden within the shortest
possible time. Major Gen. George W.
Goethals, the engineer who built the
Panama Canal, was made General Man-
ager of the enterprise. Congress has
authorized the use of $50,000,000 for the
work of this board. Chairman Denman
announced that contracts had already
been let, and that, barring unforeseen ob-
stacles, by October the shipyards on the
Atlantic and Pacific would be turning
out the new vessels at the rate of two
or three a day, to be leased to private
shipping concerns.
Treatment of Germans
The history of America's entrance
into the world war would be incomplete
without reference to the attitude of the
United States Government toward the
unnaturalized and naturalized German
citizens in this country, the former hav-
ing become alien enemies by the declara-
tion of war. The war proclamation of
President Wilson was followed by procla-
mations to the same effect by the Mayors
of all American cities. Typical of the
spirit of these was the following by the
Mayor of New York:
TO THE CITIZENS OF NEW YORK
Upon just grounds and after long and pa-
tient forbearance, the President and the
Congress of the United States have declared
that by the act of the autocratic Government
which rules in the German Empire war exists
between the two countries, and the free peo-
ple of America are about entering into the
great world conflict. Millions of the people
of this city were born in the countries en-
gaged in this great war. No part of the
earth is without its representatives here.
I enjoin upon you all that you honor the
liberty which so many of you have sought
in this land and the free self-government
of the American democracy, in which we
all find our opportunity and individual free-
dom, by exercising kindly consideration, self-
control, and respect to each other and to all
others who dwell within our limits ; that you,
one and all, aid in the preservation of order
and in the exercise of calm and deliberate
judgment in this time of stress and tension.
There will be some exceptional cases of
malign influence and malicious purpose
among you, and as to them I advise you all
that full and timely preparation has been
made adequate to the exigency which exists
for the maintenance of order throughout the
City of New York, and for the warning of the
ill-disposed I quote the statute of the United
States, which is applicable to all residents en-
joying the protection of our laws whether
they be citizens or not:
"Whoever owing allegiance to the United
States levies war against them or adheres
to their enemies, giving them aid and
comfort within the United States or else-
where, is guilty of treason.
The punishment prescribed by law for the
crime of treason is death or, at the discretion
of the court, imprisonment for not less than
five years and a fine of not less than $10,000.
All officers of the police have been especially
instructed to give their prompt and effi-
cacious attention to the enforcement of this
law. JOHN PURROY MITCHEL,
Mayor.
Official proclamations were issued for-
bidding any " alien enemy " from re-
maining or residing " within half a mile
of any Governmental fort, factory, reser-
vation, base of supplies, or any land used
for war purposes." The enforcement of
this order, however, was left to the dis-
cretion of the United States Marshals,
and forbearance was shown. The enemy
aliens living or employed about the mili-
tary points around New York were given
six weeks to find new locations, and ex-
ceptions to the rule were made where
bond could be furnished. Hoboken, N. J.,
which is almost entirely populated by
Germans, being the site of the chief piers
of the two great German steamship lines,
the Hamburg-American and North Ger-
man Lloyd, was placed under military
guard in the pier districts on April 19;
the Mayor at the same time issued a
proclamation announcing that aliens re-
siding within half a mile of the piers
would not be disturbed if they obeyed the
laws.
Nowhere in the country were there re-
ports of any disturbances among the
Germans during the first two weeks fol-
lowing the declaration of war, and their
general attitude was one of unswerving
loyalty to the United States. The 750
officers and men of the German Navy
who sought refuge in American waters
on the cruisers Kronprinz Wilhelm and
Prinz Eitel Friedrich were taken to
Georgia on special trains March 27 and
placed for safe keeping in stockades at
Fort McPherson and Fort Oglethorpe,
under guard of the Seventeenth Infantry.
2.'56
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
The men from the Wilhelm, numbering
more than 400, were assigned to Fort
McPherson and those from the Eitel
Friedrich to Fort Oglethorpe.
The men were housed in barracks sur-
rounded by a barbed-wire stockade. They
were removed from the League Island
Navy Yard at Philadelphia, as their
presence at the country's chief navy
yard during the tense days preceding
our declaration of war was regarded as
perilous.
Dr. Zimmermann's Defense of His Mexican Plan
THE German Secretary of Foreign
Affairs, Dr. Alfred Zimmermann,
made a second statement on March
29 in attempted defense of his unsuccess-
ful plan to create a German-Mexican-
Japanese alliance against the United
States. His act was subjected to criticism
by Hugo Haase, leader of the Socialist
minority, who remarked in the Reichstag
that the affair had aggravated the situa-
tion in America. According to an Am-
sterdam Reuter dispatch, Dr. Zimmer-
mann replied:
I wrote no letter to General Carranza.
I was not so naive. I merely addressed, by
a route that appeared to me to be a safe
one, instructions to our representative in
Mexico. It is being investigated how these
instructions fell into the hands of the Amer-
ican authorities. I instructed the Minister
to Mexico, in the event of war with the
United States, to propose a German alli-
ance to Mexico, and simultaneously to sug-
gest that Japan join the alliance. I declared
expressly that, despite the submarine war,
we hoped that America would maintain
neutrality.
My instructions were to be carried out
only after the United States declared war
and a state of war supervened. I believe
the instructions were absolutely loyal as
regards the United States.
General Carranza would have heard noth-
ing of it up to the present if the United
States had not published the instructions
which came into its hands in a way which
was not unobjectionable. Our behavior con-
trasts considerably with the behavior of the
Washington Government.
President Wilson after our note of Jan.
31, 1917, which avoided all aggressiveness
in tone, deemed it proper immediately to
break off relations with extraordinary
roughness. Our Ambassador no longer had
the opportunity to explain or elucidate our
attitude orally. The United States Govern-
ment thus declined to negotiate with us.
On the other hand, it addressed itself im-
mediately to all the neutral powers to in-
duce them to join the United States and
break with us.
Every unprejudiced person must see in
this the hostile atttitude of the American
Government, which seemed to consider it
right, before being at war with us, to set
the entire world against us. It cannot
deny us the right to seek allies when it
has itself practically declared war on us.
Herr Haase says that it caused great in-
dignation in America. Of course, in the
first instance, the affair was employed as
an incitement against us. But the storm
abated slowly and the calm and sensible
politicians, and also the great mass of the
American people, saw that there was noth-
ing to object to in these instructions in
themselves. I refer especially to the state-
ments of Senator Underwood. Even at
times newspapers felt obliged to admit re-
gretfully that not so very much had been
made out of this affair.
The Government was reproached for
thinking just of Mexico and Japan. First
of all, Mexico was a neighboring State to
America. If we wanted allies against
America, Mexico would be the first to come
into consideration. The relations between
Mexico and ourselves since the time of
Porfirio Diaz have been extremely friendly
and trustful. The Mexicans, moreover, are
known as good and efficient soldiers.
It can hardly be said that the relations
between the United States and Mexico had
been friendly and trustful.
But the world knows that antagonism
exists between America and Japan. I main-
tain that these antagonisms are stronger
than those which, despite the war, exist be-
tween Germany and Japan.
When I also wished to persuade Carranza
that Japan should join the alliance there
was nothing extraordinary in this. The
relations between Japan and Mexico are
long existent. The Mexicans and Japanese
are of a like race and good relations exist,
between both countries.
When, further, the Entente press affirms
that it is shameless to take away allies,
such reproach must have a peculiar effect
coming from powers who, like our enemies,
made no scruple in taking away from us
two powers and peoples with whom we
were bound by treaties for more than thirty
years. The powers who desire to make
pliant an old European country of culture
like Greece by unparalleled and violent
means cannot raise such a reproach against.
us.
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DR. ZIMMERMANN'S DEFENSE OF HIS MEXICAN PLAN
237
When I thought of this alliance with Mex-
ico and Japan I allowed myself to be guided
by the consideration that our brave troops
already have to fight against a superior
force of enemies, and my duty is, as far
from them. That Mexico and Japan suited
that purpose even Herr Haase will not
deny.
Thus, I considered it a patriotic duty to
release those instructions, and I hold to the
as possible, to keep further enemies away standpoint that I acted rightly.
Austria-Hungary Breaks With United States
N April 8 the Government of Au-
0 stria-Hungary severed diplomatic
relations with the Government of
the United States. Baron Erich Zwie-
dinek, who had been Charge d'Affaires
of the Austrian Embassy ever since the
recall of Dr. Dumba, former Ambassador,
called at the State Department and de-
manded passports for himself, all his
embassy staff, including Ambassador-
designate Tarnowski, and all Austrian
Consular officers in the United States
and its possessions.
As soon as the announcement of the
break was received by the Administration
orders were given for taking possession
of the Austrian merchant vessels that
had been self-interned in this country.
Secretary Lansing said that this was
done as a precautionary measure. There
were fourteen ships with a gross tonnage
of 67,807. The largest was the Martha
Washington, 8,312 gross tons, at New
York, three others were self-interned at
New York, one at Boston, three at New
Orleans, one at Pensacola, two at Gal-
veston, one at Newport News, one at Phil-
adelphia, and one at Tampa. The ma-
chinery in most of them had been dam-
The following was the official note
handed to the American Charge d'Af-
faires at Vienna in the absence of Am-
bassador Penfield, who had left for
America a few days previously:
Since the United States of America has de-
clared that a state of war exists between it
and the Imperial German Government, Au-
stria-Hungary, ' as an ally of the German
Empire, has decided to break off diplomatic
relations with the United States, and the
Imperial and Royal Embassy at Washington,
has been instructed to inform the Depart-
ment of State to that effect.
While regretting under these circumstances
to see a termination of the personal relations
which he has had the honor to hold with the
Charge d'Affaires of the United States of
America, the undersigned does not fail to
place at the former's disposal herewith the
passport for the departure from Austria-
Hungary of himself and the other members
of the embassy.
At the same time the undersigned avails
himself of the opportunity to renew to the
Charge d'Affaires the expression of his most
perfect consideration.
(Signed) CZERNIN.
Belgian Relief Work Transferred
BRAND WHITLOCK, the American
Minister to Belgium, was ordered to
withdraw from Belgian soil by .Presi-
dent Wilson on March 24; the President
also ordered the departure of all American
Consular officers. The withdrawal of the
American members of the Belgian Relief
Commission, who had been directing the
feeding of several millions of destitute
Belgian and French civilians, also was
necessitated by the war situation. The
work of these Americans was taken up
by Dutch citizens under direction of the
Netherlands Government. Herbert C.
Hoover, the head of the relief commis-
sion, continued to direct the work from
Rotterdam, but after the American decla-
ration of war it was understood that he
would return to America to assume the
position of Food Director. In the offi-
cial announcement of the withdrawal the
State Department at Washington very
bluntly and sharply put the blame on the
Germans, as the following extract from
the official statement of March 24 shows:
" Immediately after the break in rela-
tions the German authorities in Brussels
withdrew from Mr. Whitlock the diplo-
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
matic privileges and immunities which
he had up to that time enjoyed. His
courier service to The Hague was
stopped. He was denied the privilege of
communicating with the Department of
State in cipher, and later even in plain
language. The members of the relief
commission were placed under great re-
strictions of movements and communica-
tions, which hampered the efficient per-
formance of their task.
" In spite of all these difficulties, the
Government and the commission were
determined to keep the work going till
the last possible moment. Now, however,
a more serious difficulty has arisen. In
the course of the last ten days several of
the commission's ships have been at-
tacked without warning by German sub-
marines, in flagrant violation of the
solemn engagements of the German Gov-
ernment. Protests addressed by this
Government to Berlin through the inter-
mediary of the Spanish Government
have not been answered.
" The German Government's disregard
of its written undertakings causes grave
concern as to the future of the relief
work. In any event, it is felt that the
American staff of the commission can no
longer serve with advantage in Belgium.
Although a verbal promise has been made
•that the members of the commission
would be permitted to leave if they de-
sire, the German Government's observ-
ance of its other undertakings has not
been such that the department would feel
warranted in accepting responsibility for
leaving these American citizens in Ger-
man occupied territory."
Four Belgian relief ships loaded with
food bound from America for Rotterdam
were sunk by German submarines be-
tween March 25 and April 10, and it was
feared that all relief measures must be
abandoned. On April 17, however, it
was announced that eight loaded relief
ships had reached Rotterdam between
April 6 and 15, indicating that the Ger-
mans had concluded to allow the relief
service to continue.
Vessels Sunk by Submarines
THE allied nations having ceased to
report the detailed results of the
German submarine warfare, only
general data can be obtained for the most
part for the months of March and April.
The Aztec was the chief American ship
reported sunk after the destruction of the
Memphis, Vigilancia, and Illinois, the
three American vessels whose loss
brought on the extra session of Con-
gress and the war declaration. The Aztec
was an armed merchantman; the sinking
was reported on April 2, the day the
President delivered his war message. She
was attacked by a submarine at night
near an island off Brest, without warn-
ing, and in a heavy sea. She was a slow-
moving freighter of 3,727 tons, loaded
with a cargo of foodstuffs, valued at
$500,000, belonging to the Oriental Navi-
gation Company. The vessel's guns were
in charge of a naval detachment consist-
ing of a Lieutenant and a crew of 11
gunners; 28 of the men on board, includ-
ing Boatswain's Mate Eopolucci of the
United States Naval Guard, perished.
The American Oil steamship Healdton
was sunk March 22 in the North Sea by
a German submarine, and 21 of her crew,
of whom 7 were Americans, perished.
The cargo was valued at $2,150,000; the
United States Government War Risk
Bureau lost $499,000 by the sinking of
the Healdton, bringing the total losses
of the bureau— including $250,000 on the
Illinois— to $1,583,924; but the premiums
in that period amounted to $3,167,997.
On March 23 the French cruiser Dan-
ton was reported as having been tor-
pedoed in the Mediteranean Sea; 296
men were lost, 806 saved. The vessel
displaced 18,028 tons.
The unarmed American steamer Mis-
sourian, which left Genoa April 4 with
32 Americans in her crew of 53 — net ton-
nage 4,981 — was sunk without warning
in the Mediterranean. The American
VESSELS SUNK BY SUBMARINES
239
steamer Seward, 3,390 tons, was sunk
in the Mediterranean April 7.
On April 5 there came news of the
sinking of two Belgian relief ships, the
Trevier from New York and the Feis-
tein; the latter was 2,991 tons, the
Trevier 3,001. On April 9 the loss of
the Belgian relief ship Camilla was sunk
with a cargo of foodstuffs, making four
relief ships destroyed in five weeks, with
17,000 tons of food.
On April 10 it was reported by the
State Department that up to April 3,
1917, German submarines had sunk dur-
ing the war 686 neutral vessels, includ-
ing 19 American, and attacked unsuc-
cessfully 79 others, including 8 Amer-
ican. Since the German war zone decree
went into effect on Feb. 1 more than
one-third of the vessels sunk were neu-
tral, and a large number of other neutral
vessels were terrorized into staying in
port. The neutral vessels sunk were as
follows :
Norwegian, 410; Swedish, 111; Dutch,
61; Greek, 50; Spanish, 33; American,
19; Peruvian, 1; Argentine, 1; Total, 686.
Neutral vessels attacked and escaped:
Norwegian, 32; Swedish, 9; Danish, 5;
Greek, 8; Spanish, 2; Argentine, 1; Bra-
zilian, 1; American, 8. Total, 79.
The British Admiralty reported sink-
ings in the five weeks ended April 1,
1917, to have been 80 vessels of over
1,600 tons each, 41 under 1,600 tons,
and 43 smaller vessels. During the week
ended April 8, 1917, the sinkings reported
by the British Admiralty were: Vessels
over 1,600 tons, 16; under 1,600 tons, 2;
vessels arriving and sailing from United
Kingdom in same period, 4,773. During
the week ended April 15 the Admiralty
reported the loss of 19 vessels of more
than 1,600 tons, 9 less than 1,600, also
12 fishing vessels.
The Wind of Freedom
By JOHN GALSWORTHY
A wind in the world! The dark departs,
The chains now rust that crushed men's flesh and bones;
Feet tread no more the mildewed prison stones,
And slavery is lifted from your hearts.
A wind in the world! O company
Of darkened Russia, watching long in vain,
Now shall you see the cloud of Russia's pain
Go shrinking out across a Summer sky.
A wind in the world — but God shall be
In all the future left no kingly doll,
Decked out with dreadful sceptre, steel, and stole,
But walk the earth, a man in charity.
A wind in the world — and doubts are blown
To dust along, and the old stars come forth,
Stars of a creed to Pilgrim Father's worth —
A field of broken spears and flowers strown.
A wind in the world ! Now truancy
From the true self is ended; to her part
Supreme again she moves and from her heart
A great America causes death to tyranny.
A wind in the world — and we have come
Together sea by sea in all the lands.
Vision doth move at last and freedom stands
With brightened wings and smiles and beckons home.
Holland in the Cross-Fire of
Submarine Controversy
HOLLAND, more than any other
neutral, has felt the effects of the
war's cross-fire of trade restric-
tion and destruction of shipping.
The little nation's geographical position
exposes it to interference by both war-
ring groups. The drastic means adopted
by Great Britain to prevent the Ger-
mans from importing foodstuffs and raw
material would alone have been sufficient
to cause privation, but when to this is
added the havoc wrought by the German
submarines at the expense of the Nether-
lands merchant marine the state of
affairs becomes still more distressful.
Even there the menace does not end.
Since the beginning of the war Holland
has had to be prepared to defend her
neutrality by guarding her land frontier
and by keeping the mouth of the Scheldt
closed against any attempt to make Ant-
werp a base of submarine and other
naval operations. In addition to the
large force concentrated at Antwerp the
Germans have recently had five army
corps massed on their Dutch frontier.
Nor has the problem of dealing with the
hundreds of thousands of Belgians who
fled into Holland from the invaders been
a light one.
In the circumstances it was not prac-
ticable or expedient for Holland to follow
the example set by the United States
when the new submarine campaign be-
gan. Nevertheless, while unable to break
off relations with Germany, the Nether-
lands Government lost no time in pro-
testing in the most vigorous manner, as
will be seen from the following note,
dated Feb. 7, 1917, which was addressed
by J. Loudon, the Minister of Foreign
Affairs, to the German Minister at The
Hague :
I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of
the note of Jan. 31 last, A 390, in which your
Excellency informed me that the Imperial
Government sees itself forced to abolish the
restrictions which it has applied until now to
its methods of warfare at sea.
This note was accompanied by a memoran-
dum containing details of the naval measures
to be adopted not only in the North Sea, the
Channel, and a part of the Atlantic Ocean,
but also in the Mediterranean. These meas-
ures are summed up in the establishment of
two vast maritime zones, in which trade
under any flag, neutral or enemy, will be
stopped by force of arms, and in which ships
will be exposed to destruction.
As far as the North Sea is concerned the
zone is outlined in such a way as to leave a
free passage for Dutch navigation, but on
the other hand in the eastern portion of the
Mediterranean the way is entirely barred
between Port Said and the track drawn
from Gibraltar to Greece, so that the route
to the East Indies, which is essential to Hol-
land as a colonial power, is cut.
The Queen's Government has in the course
of the war more than once explained how it
regards the arbitrary delimitation by the bel-
ligerent powers of a part of the sea as a
zone reserved for military operations, in
which commercial traffic is exposed to dan-
ger. Thus the Government protested, in a
note, dated Nov. 16, 1914, to the British Min-
ister, against the designation of the North
Sea as a military zone in which merchant
ships and fishing boats would be at least in
danger by observing strictly the indications
furnished by the British Admiralty.
Similarly, the Dutch Government protested
in a memorandum, dated Feb. 12, 1915,
against the proclamation by the German
Government of a large portion of the North
Sea and the Channel as a zone of war.
In these two cases the Queen's Government
pointed out that, according to the law of na-
tions, only the immediate sphere of action of
the belligerents' military operations consti-
tutes a military zone in which a belligerent's
police power can be exercised. A zone with
an area of the whole of the North Sea or of
a large part of this sea and the Channel
could not, in its opinion, be considered as an
immediate sphere of action for operations of
war; and in calling such areas military zones
a serious blow was struck at the fundamental
principle of the freedom of the seas.
That the Netherlands Government protest-
ed against both the above-mentioned cases is
only a reason more why it is obliged to pro-
test most energetically against the system
now instituted by your Excellency's Govern-
ment, a system which not only extends over
much vaster areas but which also suggests
premeditated attack on neutral vessels, what-
ever their cargo or destination, and without
distinction as to whether their presence in
the aforesaid areas is voluntary or due to
circumstances independent of their will.
Even if the Imperial Government had de-
HOLLAND IN THE SUBMARINE CONTROVERSY
241
scribed as a blockade the measures which it
had just adopted, the merciless destruction
of every neutral ship proceeding to or leav-
ing an enemy port would be contrary to the
law of nations, which recognizes only the
confiscation and not the destruction of ships
trying to break a blockade. Moreover, the
term " blockade," [" blocus '" in the French
original of this document,] which the Imperial
Government has rightly avoided using, could
evidently not be applied to the immense
stretch of sea covered by each of the two
zones of military operations indicated in the
memorandum which your Excellency has
transmitted to me ; much less so, since, from
the standpoint of international law, a block-
ade is directed solely against traffic to and
from an adversary's ports and in no case
against navigation directly between two
neutral countries. Now, in the aforesaid
zones the Imperial Navy has received orders
to destroy all ships it meets without making
the least distinction between those proceed-
ing to or leaving an enemy port and those
which are on the way between two neutral
ports without touching at an enemy port.
Faithful to the principle which it has con-
stantly upheld during this war, the Queen's
Government can see in the destruction of
neutral vessels by belligerents only a viola-
tion of the established law of nations, to say
nothing of the wrong against the laws of hu-
manity if such destruction is to take place
without any regard for the safety of the peo-
ple on board.
The responsibility for the destruction of
Dutch ships which may eventuate in the
zones under discussion and for the loss of
human lives which would be involved will
fall on the German Government. Its respon-
sibility will be particularly heavy in the
cases which are to be foreseen where vessels
are forced to enter the danger zone by war-
ships of an adversary exercising the right of
visit and search.
To this protest Germany paid no atten-
tion. On Feb. 22 seven Dutch steam-
ships sailing from Falmouth, England,
were attacked by a German submarine a
few hours after they left port. Six of
the vessels, the Noorderdijk, Zaandijk,
Jacatra, Bandoeng, Gaasterland, and
,Eemland, representing a total of over
30,000 tons, were sunk — without loss of
life. The seventh, the Menado, was
damaged, but towed back to port. Three,
in ballast, wore outward bound to Amer-
ica, and the others homeward bound with
cargoes consisting mainly of foodstuffs.
They had arrived at Falmouth on various
dates and had been released by the Brit-
ish authorities at the special request of
the Netherlands Government in the be-
lief that the German submarines would
leave the ships unmolested. A storm of
indignation swept through Holland, but
the German Government refused to ac-
cept the blame. Foreign Secretary Zim-
mermann, replying to a question in the
Reichstag on Feb. 28, said:
In the name of the Government I express
regret at the accident which occurred a few
days ago to Dutch boats. On our part, how-
ever, nothing was left undone to prevent it.
In no way is the Imperial Government blam-
able. The Dutch shipowners naturally desired
to get their ships out of English ports.
Doubtless they were not ready to sail on
Feb. 10, up to which date they could have
gone with full security.
Then we put before them the dates Feb. 22
and March 17, stating expressly and formal-
ly that on the previous date the ships would
have only relative security, while positive se-
curity could be guaranteed for March 17.
The reason for this was that the possibility
existed that on the earlier date submarines,
being already en route, they might not all
receive our message granting safe conduct
to the Dutch vessels,
When the Dutch owners, notwithstanding
our reiterated warnings, decided in favor of
the earlier date, the Minister of Marine did
everything in his power to communicate the
order to all submarines. But it appears he
was not successful, for, although a complete
report on the incident has not yet been re-
ceived, it appears established that the sink-
ings are attributable to a German submarine.
I can only repeat regrets of the Admiralty
that the Dutch merchant marine has lost
precious ships. The incident proves how
dangerous it is to navigate the prohibited
zones, and gives expression to our wish that
neutral navigators cease to cross the zone,
and remain in their ports. Thus they really
serve their own interests and contribute ef-
fectively to the desired end that freedom of
the seas be rapidly established.
The German Government also tried to
appease Dutch anger by offering to re-
place the seven ships with German
freighters. A Dutch Foreign Office
statement issued on March 23 explained
that the German Government on March
6 offered to pay an indemnity for the loss
of members of the crews and to help the
owners by facilitating the purchase of
German ships after the war. This offer
was made " on considerations of human-
ity and good neighborship." Further
steps led to a reconsideration of the offer
by Germany, who then suggested that
Holland rent German ships " on reason-
able conditions." The Dutch Govern-
ment rejected the offer, and the owners
of the ships that had been sunk in the
242
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
circumstances also refused to accept the
proposal of indemnification for the crews.
In Great Britain the view was held
that, despite the protests made by Hol-
land, that country was accepting " what-
ever Germany dictates " and was indors-
ing " Germany's ruthless action by ac- *
quiescing in illegal submarine warfare
on neutrals," and that, therefore, it was
out of the question for Holland to expect
facilities or consideration from Great
Britain. These words were used in a
statement issued in London on March 7
and were inspired by the fact that since
the new German submarine campaign
had begun Holland had held up practi-
cally all its shipping, thereby depriving
England of the food supplies normally
received from Holland.
The refusal of the authorities at Rot-
terdam to permit the British merchant
steamer Princess Melita to enter the har-
bor because it was armed provided an-
other bone of contention between the
British and Dutch Governments. On
March 9, however, when the Princess
Melita put in an appearance for the third
time after having thrown its armament
overboard, it was permitted to berth. It
was supposed that the Princess Melita
had been sent for the purpose of giving
the British Government the excuse to re-
open the whole question of armed mer-
chantmen. The Dutch Government, in
its Orange Book of October, 1915, had
defined its attitude as one prohibiting all
armed merchantmen from entering its
ports. The German military menace
on the eastern frontier and Great Brit-
ain's control of the sea easily accounted
for Holland's indecision. Germany
wanted armed merchantmen barred al-
together, while Great Britain demanded
that they should be admitted to Dutch
ports in return for the facilities extend-
ed to Dutch vessels in avoiding German
submarine dangers.
At the end of March the British Gov-
ernment insisted that a certain percent-
age of Dutch merchant tonnage should
carry cargoes to British destinations,
and on the Dutch Government refusing
it was reported that forty Dutch steam-
ers in British ports were to be confis-
cated, if they could not be acquired other-
wise. Many of these vessels had been
detained from six to eight weeks. The
holding back of the grain in their holds
intensified the food shortage in Holland,
where a rule reducing the bread ration
went into operation on April 2.
The situation created by Germany's
new submarine campaign had thus in the
course of a couple of months developed
several new issues, with the result that
there was also a growth of hostile feeling
against Great Britain. America's entry
into the war brought a change over the
whole aspect of things, but at this writ-
ing Holland's attitude is undefined.
Progress of the War
Recording Campaigns on All Fronts and Collateral Events
From March 19 Up to and Including April 18, 1917
GERMAN-AMERICAN RELATIONS
On March 21, a few days after the sinking- of
the American ships Vigilancia, City of
Memphis, and Illinois by German sub-
marines, President Wilson issued a proc-
lamation calling Congress in extra session
on April 2. On March 24 he ordered the
withdrawal from Belgium of Minister
Whitlock, all American Consular officials,
and American members of the Commission
for Relief in Belgium. Mr. Whitlock and
most of the relief workers left Brussels
for Switzerland on April 2, but a few
Americans who were working where the
German Army was in operation, by agree-
ment, remained two weeks to prevent mili-
tary disclosures.
The State Department formally refused Ger-
many's request to extend the Prussian-
American treaties of 1799 and 1828.
President Wilson addressed the Congress on
April 2, asking that body to declare that
Germany had been making war upon the
United States. A resolution recognizing
and declaring a state of war was passed
by both houses. President Wilson signed
it April 6 and at the same time issued a
proclamation notifying the world that war
PROGRESS OF THE WAR
243
had been begun and warning- alien enemies
to keep the peace.
Defensive war zones around the coasts of
the United States were announced in an
executive order.
A $7,000,000,000 war loan bill providing for a
loan of $3,000,000,000 to the Allies was
passed by Congress.
On April 15 President Wilson issued a proc-
lamation to the people setting forth the
necessity for the mobilization of all the
industrial forces of the nation to help win
the war. Another proclamation, issued
April 16, warned alien enemies against
committing treasonable acts.
The United States destroyer Smith reported
that she was attacked by a German sub-
marine on April 17 off the Atlantic Coast.
Several American ships were sunk by Ger-
man submarines.
SUBMARINE BLOCKADE
On March 23 Germany declared a submarine
blockade of the Arctic coast of Russia.
The British Admiralty announced that
twenty-four British steamers were sunk
in the war zone in the week ended March
18, nineteen in the . week ended April 8,
and nineteen in the week ended April
. 15. A dispatch from Berlin dated March
26 reported that twenty-five steamships,
fourteen sailing vessels, and thirty-seven
trawlers had been sunk within a few
days. An additional list of thirty-four
vessels sunk in March was given out
April 1. Seven Italian ships were sunk
without warning in the week ended April
15. The Norwegian Legation in London
announced that in February and March
105 Norwegian vessels of over 228,000
tons were sunk and 106 persons killed and
222 missing. An official tabulation given
out by the United States Government
showed 686 neutral vessels, including
18 American, sunk by German sub-
marines from the beginning of the war
up to April 3.
Two Danish steamers were sunk outside the
barred zone.
American losses for the month included the
armed steamer Aztec and the unarmed
ships Missourian and Seward. The
schooner Marguerite was captured and
presumably sunk.
Two British hospital ships, the Asturias and
the Gloucester Castle, were sunk. The
British steamer Alnwick Castle was tor-
pedoed 320 miles from land. Four boats
containing passengers reached Spain with
ten dead. Other British losses included
the horse transport Canadian and the
steamships Crispin, Eptafolos, and Snow-
don Range.
Three Belgian relief ships, the Camilla, the
Trevier, and the Feistein were sunk and
two others, the Tunisie and the Haelen,
were attacked.
Spain protested against the sinking of the
Spanish steamer San Fulgencio without
warning and demanded an indemnity.
Later the Spanish steamer Tom was sunk,
also without warning.
Brazil severed relations with Germany after
the sinking of the steamer Parana in
which three lives were lost, and seized all
German ships in Brazilian ports.
Argentina, on April 10, issued a declaration
announcing that the Government supported
the position of the United States with
reference to Germany. A few days later
two Argentine ships, the transport Pamra
and the sailing vessel Oriana, were sunk.
Germans were ordered from a suburb of
Buenos Aires, and German ships in Ar-
gentine waters, which were found to be
damaged, were placed under guard. Mobs
in Argentina destroyed much German
property.
Guatemala protested to Germany against the
blockade note of Feb. 1.
Cuba announced on April 7 that a state of
war existed with Germany, and German
ships in Havana Harbor were seized.
Panama announced her support of the United
States.
Costa Rica declared her approval of United
States course.
Mexico declared neutrality; also Chile;
Bolivia severed relations with Germany;
Paraguay and Uruguay declared neu-
trality.
CAMPAIGN IN EASTERN EUROPE
March 23— Russians regain positions near the
Beresina River east of Lida.
March 24— Russians prepare to meet huge
concentration of Germans on the northern
front.
March 27— Germans force Russians back by
gas attacks in the Baranovichi region.
April 1— Russians repel repeated Austrian at-
tacks near Kirlibaba.
April 4— Germans defeat the Russians and
cross the Stokhod River near Helenin ;
capture Toboly bridgehead.
April 6— Germans occupy part of Russian
trenches east of Plakanen, but are driven
out by counterattack.
April 14— Germans bombard Brody.
CAMPAIGN IN WESTERN EUROPE
March 19— Germans retreat over eighty-five-
mile front extending from south of Arras
to Soissons ; French take Ham, Guiscard,
and Chauny ; British advance slowly ; Ger-
mans make slight gains at Verdun be-
tween Avocourt and Dead Man Hill.
March 20— French occupy Tergnier and reach
the outskirts of Roupy; ruins of Coucy-
le-Chateau destroyed by Germans ; French
beat off German attacks on the left bank
of the Meuse.
March 21— Germans make a stand on the
Arras-Cambrai-St. Quentin-La F6re line;
French cross the Somme Canal at two
244
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
places, driving the Germans back to
Clastres and Montescourt ; British occupy
forty more villages south and southeast of
PSronne.
March 22— French cross the Ailette River at
several points.
March 23— French force Germans back two
miles between St. Quentin and La Fere;.
Germans inundate the district around La
Fere.
March 24— French take two forts protecting
La Fere on the west and drive Germans
toward St. Quentin ; British occupy Roisel.
March 25— French drive Germans back to the
outskirts of Folembray and Coucy.
March 26— British capture Lagnicourt, west of
Cambrai ; French push on in Coucy forest
and capture Folembray and La Feuillee.
March 27— French capture the forest of Coucy ;
British take Longavesnes, Lieramont, and
Equancourt.
March 28— British press on north of Roisel and
capture Villers-Faucon and the heights
crowned by Saulcourt ; Germans penetrate
French first-line trenches west of Maisons-
de-Champagne.
March 29— British capture Neuville Bour-
jonval.
March 30— British occupy Ruyalcourt, Fins,
and Sorel-le-Grand ; French recapture
first-line positions west of Maisons-de-
Champagne.
March 31— St. Quentin menaced on three sides
as British take Vermand and Marteville ;
British advance up the Cologne River to
within striking distance of the Scheldt,
capturing eight villages ; French push the
Germans back on the Vregny plateau.
April 1— British capture Savy and Epehy.
April 2— British drive a wedge into the Ger-
man positions on the ridge protecting St.
Quentin from the west, capturing Holnon,
Francilly, and Selency.
April 3— French storm the heights south and
southwest of St. Quentin and capture
Dallon, Giffecourt, and Cerizy, and
heights south of Urvillers ; British occupy
Maissemy on the eastern bank of the
Omignon River, Ronssoy Wood, and Henin
on the Cojeol River.
April 4— French occupy Grugies, Urvillers,
and Moy, south of St. Quentin; British
take Metz-en-Couture.
April 5— Germans attack the French west of
Rheims and force them over the Aisne
Canal at some places ; British capture
Ronssoy and Basse-Boulogne east of
P6ronne.
April 6— British capture Lempire and advance
toward Le Catelet ; French retake part of
positions lost north of Rheims.
April 8— British advance on a front of 3,000
yards north of the Bapaume-Cambrai
road ; Germans shell Rheims and French
Government orders the civil population to
evacuate the city.
April 9— British launch offensive on twelve-
mile front north and south of Arras, pene-
trating German positions to a depth of
from two to three miles, and capturing
many fortified points, including Vimy
Ridge.
April 10— British push forward as far as the
outskirts of Monchy-le-Preux and capture
Fampoux and its defenses on both sides
of the Scarpe River.
April 11— British capture Monchy-le-Preux
and heights dominating the country to-
ward Cambrai.
April 12— British take Wancourt and Haninel,
some positions north of the Scarpe River
and drive the Germans from their last
footing in the "Vimy Ridge; French ad-
vance between Coucy and Quincy-Basse.
April 13— British capture Ancres and the town
of Vimy, extending their line of advance
from the Scarpe River to Loos, and push
on west of Le Catelet ; French attack the
Germans south of St. Quentin.
April 14— British take Fayet, Gricourt, and
Lievin, the western suburb of Lens.
April 15— French guns shell St. Quentin; Bel-
gians penetrate Dixmude as far as the
second enemy line.
April 16— French launch an offensive on a
twenty-five-mile front between Soissons
and Rheims, capturing the German first-
line positions and taking over 10,000
prisoners and reach the second German
line at six points in Alsace ; Germans de-
stroy St. Quentin Canal.
April 17— French pierce new German line on
eleven-mile front from Prunay to Aub-
erive, capturing important heights and
support positions from Mount Carnillet to
Vaudesincourt.
April 18— French Again smash the Aisne line
and capture Chavonne, Chivy, Ostel, and
Braye-en-Laonnois, press forward north
of Ostel, reach the outskirts of Courtecon,
and take Vailly and Conde-sur- Aisne ;
British take Villers-Guislain, reporting
17,000 prisoners and much booty in three
days' fighting, threatening German lines
so as to make further withdrawals in
Rheims region inevitable.
BALKAN CAMPAIGN
March 20— French in Macedonia report the
capture of Rashtani, Hill 1248, and the
Snegoo monastery north of Monastir;
British take prisoners at Brest and Poroy,
east of Lake Doiran.
March 21 — French driven from heights north-
east of Tarnova and Anegovo.
March 24 — Germans take Rumanian frontier
ridge between the Solyomtar and Czo-
banos Valleys from the Russians.
April 2— Russians in Rumania repulsed on
four-mile front on both sides of the Oituz
Valley.
April 18 — Germans burn Braila and Foks-
hani.
ITALIAN CAMPAIGN
March 19 — Renewal of activity reported;
PROGRESS OF THE WAR
245
Austrian raids repulsed in the Giumella
"Valley and Lucati sector.
March 21 — Austrians repulsed on Costabella
Massif.
April 17 — Intense artillery fire reported on
the Julian front ; Italians bombard Callano
in the Lagarina Valley.
April 18— Italians shell Rovereto Station and
trains on the Sugana Valley Railway.
ASIA MINOR
March 19— Russians in Persia occupy Harun-
abad ; British cross the Diala River and
occupy Bahriz and part of Bakubah.
March 21— Turkish force near Aden isolated
from headquarters ; another Arabian
chieftain rises against the Turks ; Rus-
sians cross the Mesopotamian frontier
into Turkish territory to join the British.
March 23— Russians attack the Turks along
the Shirwan River.
March 26— Russians pursue the Turks into
Mosul Vilayet.
March 29— British rout a Turkish army of
20,000 in battle near Gaza.
March 31— British advance north of Bagdad
and occupy Kalaat Felujah, Sheraban,
Dely Abbas, and the areas of Deltawah
and Sindirjah.
April 2— Russians occupy Miatague Peitaht
and Serpoule and force the Turks toward
the Mesopotamian border.
April 5— Russians occupy Khaninkin and Kas-
richirln and get into touch with British
patrols.
April 7— Russians land on Turkish territory
on the Black Sea coast east of Samsoon.
April 12— British capture Turkish territory to
a depth of fifteen miles in the region of
Gaza.
April 14— Turks routed in battle north of
Bagdad.
April 16— British drive Turks back to their
positions on the Jebel Hamrin hills.
AERIAL RECORD
Italians bombarded the railway station at
Galliano and brought down two Austrian
airplanes.
Russian airplanes set Braila on fire April 1.
On April 7 large squadrons of British air-
planes were sent up over the new German
lines on the western front to photograph
enemy positions. The greatest air battle
of the war followed. Forty-eight German
airplanes and ten captive balloons were
brought down by the British, who lost
twenty-eight of their own machines, but
succeeded in taking 1,700 photographs.
Allied airplanes raided Freiburg April 14.
Eleven persons were killed and twenty-
seven wounded.
American Aviator Genet killed in France.
- NAVAL RECORD
The French warship Danton torpedoed in the
Mediterranean Sea March 19, and 296
sailors were drowned.
On March 22 Berlin announced that the Ger-
man raider Mowe had returned to her
home port from a second cruise in the
Atlantic in which she captured twenty-
seven vessels.
England announced an extension of the boun-
daries of the North Sea danger area, cut-
ting safety lanes off Holland and Den-
mark.
The French bark Cambronne arrived at Rio
Janeiro March 30 carrying the crews of
eleven steamers and sailing vessels sunk
by the German raider Seeadler in the
South Atlantic.
During the night of March 28-29 German
warships cruised in the barred zone off
the south coast of England and sank the
British patrol trawler Mascot.
One German destroyer was sunk and another
damaged off the Belgian coast April 8.
The American Line steamship New York
struck a mine near the coast of England
on April 10, but was only slightly damaged
and reached her dock unaided.
The British hospital ship Salta was sunk by
a mine in the English Channel.
A German submarine made an unsuccessful
attack on the U. S. destroyer Smith on
April 17, about 100 miles south of New
York.
RUSSIA
The former Czar and Czarina were taken to
Tsarskoe Selo. Other high dignitaries of
the old regime were imprisoned. The
United States extended partial recognition
to the new Government on March 21.
The Central Committee and Parliamentary
representatives of the Constitutional
Democratic Party at Petrograd voted in
favor of a republican form of govern-
ment. A committee was appointed to
settle the affairs of Poland and the Pro-
visional Government announced its wish
that Poland decide for itself the form of
government it desired. Religious free-
dom was proclaimed April 4 and many
other reforms are under consideration,
including woman suffrage.
MISCELLANEOUS
Austria-Hungary severed diplomatic rela-
tions with the United States on April 7.
Austrian ships in American ports were
seized.
The German Emperor ordered Chancellor von
Bethmann Hollweg to submit to him pro-
posals for the reform of the Prussian
electoral law. Strikes in Berlin followed
a reduction in bread rations. Thousands
of workers left the munitions plants.
Greece presented a note to Italy insisting
upon the withdrawal of Italian troops
from Epirus to Avlona.
Anew Cabinet was formed in France, headed
by Alexandre Ribot.
Chinese troops occupied without opposition
the German concessions at Tien-tsin and
Hankow.
Allied Successes in France
Period from March 18 to April 17, 1917
By J. B. W. Gardiner
Formerly Lieutenant Eleventh United States Cavalry
THE past month has seen the most
important developments in the
European war since the first
months of its progress. These
have been principally three, all distinct-
ly hurtful to Germany: The retreat on
the western front, which includes the
battle of Arras; the operations in the
Near East, and, finally, the entrance of
the United States on the side of the
Allies. All theatres other than those
mentioned have been extremely, ominous-
ly quiet. •
The great German retreat was well
under way as the review for April was
being written, but it had not progressed
to the point where any conclusions were
admitted. The German press at the out-
set confused the entire issue. Its state-
ments may then be ignored.
In the first place the German retreat
was not voluntary, but was forced. The
battle of the Somme, biting as it did deep
into the German lines, produced a wedge
which seriously threatened the Noyon
salient. Only a little more, and the
troops in this salient would have been
unable to retire. The Germans saw the
threat to this large body of men, so drew
back from the danger before it had an
opportunity actually to strike them. To
this extent the retreat was a strategical
move. That the movement was made
with a view to shortening the lines and
thereby strengthening them may be en-
tirely possible as a subsidiary thought,
but it was not the moving factor. The
theory that von Hindenburg simply
wished to draw the Allies out of the
trenches into the open and then defeat
them has also been exploded.
The matter of the withdrawal itself is
most interesting. It was assumed in
many quarters that the line on which the
Germans would stand was through Laon,
La Fere, St. Quentin, and Cambrai. This
was a perfectly logical conclusion, as it
had its basis in the existing railroads
connecting these places. In fact, but
little has happened since to give rise to
any doubt that the German intention was
different from that outlined. The dis-
tance from Noyon to the new line was
very much greater than that from the
Bapaume position to Cambrai. Never-
theless, it was the Bapaume line which
first gave way.
This would indicate that the German
retirement took place ahead of schedule
time because of the British pressure
along the Ancre, and the way in which
the Germans have since been handled by
both the British and the French would
seem to increase the probability that this
was the case. Nevertheless, the prepara-
tions for the retreat were thoroughly
made and the requisite transport was at
hand.
Rapid French Pursuit
The Germans, as they fell back, de-
stroyed all the railroad lines, blew up the
roads and roadbeds, and did all else that
could in any way hinder the pursuit of
the allied armies. That they went be-
yond this and, in a blind, ruthless orgy of
destruction, razed to the ground every
building however unadapted it might be
to military purposes is beside the point.
This is merely another interesting phase
of German psychology. But in spite of
the fact that the Germans were able to
get away with small loss, the French and
the British were apparently as prepared
to follow as the Germans were to fall
back. The French in particular did
brilliant work in this respect. The pur-
suit on the southern part of the line,
which was held by the French, was ex-
tremely rapid — much more rapid than
any one had anticipated.
Not for a moment, it seemed, was con-
ALLIED SUCCESSES IN FRANCE
247
BATTLE LINE IN FRANCE, APRIL 18, 1917. THE WHOLE REGION FROM BAPAUME, PERONNE
AND NESLE, AS FAR EAST AS THE BLACK LINE, WAS DEVASTATED BY THE GERMANS
IN THEIR RECENT RETREAT
tact lost. The French engineers fol-
lowed the Germans closely, reconstruct-
ing and rebuilding, and the French in-
fantry and artillery pressed the situation
closely. The pursuit evidently surprised
the Germans, who, before they had an
opportunity to stop and fight, found their
line interfered with, if not actually cut.
La Fere seemed to be the point at which
the French advance was directed. With-
out fighting any heavy engagements the
French reached and occupied the town
of Tergnier, within two miles of La Fere.
This completely eliminated the latter
town as a point of German vantage.
Further south, along the Aillette River,
the French came to their first stumbling
block. This river stands as a guard to
the great patches of wood south of the
La Fere position, and is known as the
lower and upper forests of Coucy and
the Woods of St. Gobain. This river
was crossed, however, after heavy fight-
ing, and, finally, pushing ahead on the
248
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
southern end of the line, the French took
the village of Coucy. The lower forests
of Coucy were occupied, bringing the
French to the edge of the forest of St.
Gobain. Here the French came to a
halt, as it was evident that they had
reached the main defenses of the Ger-
man line to which von Hindenburg had
intended to retreat.
Further north the Germans were not
so fortunate in checking the French.
From just east of Tergnier, the French
fought their way eastward, pivoting
their line on the Tergnier position, and
pressed the Germans back against the
Oise River as far north as the town of
Moy. This threw the French well to the
east of St. Quentin and in a position to
work their way, without meeting any
natural obstacles, in rear of the town.
This they did, driving due north from
Moy until they had reached a point just
south of Neuville. Their line then
swung westward near the suburbs of St.
Quentin, along all the high ground south
of the city. This was certainly not in
accordance with the German plan, as it
brought every means of exit from the
city directly under the fire even of the
smaller French artillery.
The British Advance
The British, on the other hand, had a
much more difficult road to travel. Be-
cause of the shorter distance which the
Germans had to pass over, their retreat,
after the line first began to give way,
was much slower, and the pursuit was
conducted with constant fighting, mostly
of heavy rear-guard character. The
British object was to prevent the use of
Cambrai in the same way as the French
had impaired if not destroyed the useful-
ness of St. Quentin.
The pivot of the German retreat in the
north was a point on the southern tip of
Vimy Ridge, a position before which so
many French had lost their lives, and
which was believed to be practically im-
pregnable. No effort was made against
it, the British expending all of their ef-
forts toward reaching the line of the
Scheldt River. Here the British gave
the best indication of their fighting
strength. Each day recorded a new ad-
vance of greater or less extent on the
entire front from the Vimy Ridge to St.
Quentin, where the British and French
joined. The result was more than satis-
factory to the British commander.
As this review is being written the
British have thrown a loop around St.
Quentin on the north and west which
brings their lines so near to those of the
French that it is impossible for the Ger-
mans to keep control or possession of the
city much longer. More important still,
the British are but a little over a mile
from the Scheldt River, with the Ger-
mans in between. It seems certain that
before these lines appear the Germans
will have fallen behind the river, from
which the British cannot force them ex-
cept by a flanking movement, to be made
at some time in the future.
While the fighting west of the
Scheldt was at its height the British,
after a terrific artillery preparation,
suddenly launched an attack against the
Vimy Ridge, the pivot of the German re-
tirement. Here was the first positive
indication that the Germans, in addition
to being outgunnued and outmunitioned,
outfed and outmanned, were also out-
generaled. The Germans gave out offi-
cially that by their retirement they had
completely upset the British plan for an
attack on the Somme and delayed any
other attack indefinitely because of the
necessity of reconstructing the transport
system. The probabilities were, how-
ever, that the British never intended to
attack on that section of the front af-
fected by the German retreat. On the
contrary, it now seems that the British
commander, undoubtedly acquainted with
the fact that a retreat was coming, had
laid his plans for an attack which would
produce the same result on the line north
of Arras as the Somme had produced in
the south.
In one day's fighting the Canadian
troops, who held the centre of the at-
tacking line, swept to the crest of Vimy
Ridge and well over it, forcing the Ger-
mans down the eastern slope. It was
here, too, that for the first time the
Germans gave indications of going to
pieces. There was a temporary de-
moralization in their ranks which mani-
fested itself in the fighting, for, almost
ALLIED SUCCESSES IN FRANCE
249
immediately following the first attack,
the British pushed this new wedge fully
five miles into the German lines.
Since these early days the advance has
been further extended, but the first blow
netted five miles. The Germans were
entirely unprepared for any such action
as this. The amount and character of
booty captured show how completely
swept off their feet they were. Nearly
200 guns, some of them of large calibre,
an enormous quantity of shell, 15,000
prisoners, loaded wagon trains and
transports, all of which there was suf-
ficient time to remove or destroy — these
are the things which tell the story much
more vividly than the official reports.
As this review is being written, (April
20,) the British are in the streets of the
great coal mining centre of Lens, in pos-
session of half of the town and fighting
desperately for the other half. The ad-
vantage now on this section of the front
all lies with the British. All of the high
ground overlooking the coal fields and
the great plain of Northern France now
stretches out before them. Douai, which
must now become a point on the new
line, is in plain sight, with the Germans
everywhere recoiling toward it. It may
well be, from the desperate character of
the fighting, that the battle of Europe
is now being fought.
Turkish Armies in Retreat
In the Near Eastern theatre matters
have gone very ill with the Turks. Beaten
in every engagement by the British, the
resistance offered to the Russians in
Persia suddenly gave way, and, without
any opposition, the Russians drove for-
ward past the Persian frontiers into
Mesopotamia and effected a junction
with the British, cutting off in the proc-
ess a considerable portion of the Turkish
Army. This junction means the down-
fall of the Turkish opposition. Nothing
approaching this in importance has hap-
pened in this theatre since the begin-
ning of the war. It has been a long time
coming, and has been most bitterly
fought for, but its importance cannot be
overestimated. Turkey is more than
weakened. She is in danger of dismem-
berment even before the war closes. A
successful revolution in Arabia, an up-
rising in Syria, defeats in the Holy Land,
the loss of almost all of Armenia, the
occupation of a great part of Meso-
potamia— all these disasters have shaken
Turkish rule in Asia to the very founda-
tions. It is questionable how much
longer the Sultan can hold out and keep
his followers and his army loyal.
Finally, to complete the list of German
disasters for the month, German bar-
baric cruelty and ruthlessness forced the
United States to the admission that a
state of war existed with the German
Empire. America has a potential force
of 15,000,000 men, can put up if need be
seventy-five billion of dollars, and has
the greatest resources for food -and
manufacturing of any nation in the
world. The navy is nearly as large in
itself as that of Germany, and if any
one factor were needed to give to the
world assurance of the solidity and per-
manence of democratic rule as opposed
to autocracy, the action of this, the most
pacific of great democracies, has fur-
nished it.
German Version of the Month's
Fighting
March 17 to April 17, 1917
FROM the official German stand-
point the events in the western
theatre of the war during April
differ from the allied reports. The
following summary of the month's fight-
ing was compiled exclusively from the
official reports issued by the War Office
in Berlin and other German sources.
The Germans assert that the retire-
ment at three different points on an
eighty-five-mile front from south of Arras
to Soissons on the Aisne, which was tak-
ing place in the middle of March and
leaving a large number of towns and vil-
lages in the hands of the British and
French, "was part of a definite plan."
These strategic movements had been
" prepared long ago and were carried out
without being disturbed by the enemy,
who followed in a hesitating manner."
The " protecting troops, by perspicacious
and energetic conduct, cast a veil over
the abandonment of the positions and the
departure of our troops." In the aban-
doned districts the means of communica-
tion useful to the enemy were destroyed.
The Berlin official report of March 22
said that spirited fighting in the district
on both sides of the Somme and the Oise
had " an issue favorable to us," and the
next day's report contained the follow-
ing:
" French troops, which on both sides of
St. Simon had crossed the Somme-Crozat
Canal, were repulsed by an attack against
and beyond those sectors. The enemy
suffered sanguinary losses and lost 230
prisoners, as well as several machine
guns and carts.
" Between the Oise and the Aisne dur-
ing the evening hours engagements de-
veloped west and south of Margival. At-
tacks by strong French forces were re-
pulsed with heavy losses under our fire
and by a counterattack."
German View of Retreat
An account of the German retirement
given by a correspondent of the Berliner
Tageblatt was as follows :
" Till the last moment the exploding
platoons remained in the towns and vil-
lages to finish the work of destruction,
and then fight their way back the best
they could. The general system of re-
treat was something marvelous. Every
detachment knew exactly which way to
turn. Every column had its way pre-
scribed, and, despite this gigantic move-
ment of man, beast, and truck, there were
no blockades, no congestion anywhere, all
arriving exactly at the prescribed hour.
Messengers rode about to notify the dif-
ferent commands of the time to start,
while at the same time gigantic motor
cars distributed enormous quantities of
explosives to the pioneer platoons.
" Wherever possible, without attract-
ing the special attention of the natives or
the Allies, houses were burned down days
before the evacuation. Walls that would
not fall were exploded wheh the Allies
were in the heat of an artillery fight,
suggesting the tremendous effect of their
fire. These preparations took many days,
but toward the end heavy fogs in the
mornings and cloudy atmosphere in the
afternoons permitted the burning of vil-
lages without concealment. And to think,
the Allies never had the slightest idea of
what was going on! They never inter-
fered with the German plans of destruc-
tion, and never thought of shelling the
German lines of communication, while
endless columns marched over them. The
last I saw was German machine-gun pla-
toons disappearing among the ruins and
German patrols taking what little part
was left to await the Allies. Slowly, with
enormous losses, the hostile hordes are
now feeling their way through the dan-,
gers lurking all about them."
Another correspondent's story contains
the following:
" The country behind the allied trenches
had been covered with a great network of
GERMAN VERSION OF THE MONTH'S FIGHTING
251
railways and roads for heavy mortars
which would enable them to move divi-
sions and army corps with lightning
speed and so concentrate unexpectedly on
any weak spot of the German line they
might discover while shamming a gen-
eral attack along the whole front. Day
after day German fliers watched the
mountains of ammunition and provisions
pile up at the British base, to which well-
metaled white roads reached out from the
trenches . like tentacles of some ghastly
monster to suck in the whole world for
slaughter and destruction. Billions of
dollars' worth of material, iron, wood,
and cement, and the labor of a vast army
was sunk in this ground between the
British trenches and the base. All these
gigantic preparations were conducted
with truly English naivete, for any other
nation would have told itself that fliers
watching them day by day would have
long ago supplied the German General
Staff with very exact data of what was
going on.
" Then all of a sudden mysterious
movements began on the German side.
Soldiers, taking with them their kits and
all other belongings, left the trenches and
dugouts. The mountains of munitions
grew rapidly less by the efforts of many
hundreds of huge mortar carriers, of
wagons drawn by eight horses, streaming
incessantly, day and night, over the
groundless roads which nobody now
thought of repairing any more.
" Whole villages disappeared over
night, their inhabitants being concen-
trated in a few singled-out towns and
places where they were comparatively
safe and from where they might easily
reach their own people when the time
would come. Of bush and trees, nothing
was left standing that might serve the
Allies as cover. Even the belongings
were removed from the houses before the
latter were leveled to the ground. Night
after night the artillery rolled back in
an endless chain, followed by regiment
after regiment of silent gray war lords.
" Small troops armed with machine
guns remained behind, however, and kept
up a sham of trench war. So well did
they succeed in deceiving the British
that they often drew the British heavy
guns to furious bombardments of what
was already a deserted strip of land.
Behind their new positions, ten to fifteen
kilometers back, the Germans chuckled
when they read in the British reports of
the explosions of German munition maga-
zines caused by the never-failing British
gunfire. They knew only too well that
another village had been leveled, another
bridge blown up by the astute German
pioneers.
" When finally the British hesitatingly
felt their way into what were once the
German lines, they discovered between
the Oise and Arras a lifeless chaos which
baffled all their zealous preparation of
many months for the deadly blow that
would now fall on the air."
A Successful Retirement
An official report on March 25 stated
that " the German rear guards engaged
with hostile forces near Beaumetz and
Roisel and east of the Crozat Canal fell
back after inflicting heavy losses, and
that a French attack northeast of Sois-
sons was repulsed." Again, on March
27, a French attack on the west bank of
the Oise, near La Fere, "failed with
heavy losses." " The German retirement
continued to be conducted with the great-
est success." On March 31, however,
" between the road from Peronne to Gou-
zeaucourt and the lowland of Omignon
Brook the English, in engagements in
which they suffered heavy losses, ad-
vanced their line for a distance of from
two to three kilometers."
Heavy fighting took place between
Arras and the Aisne on April 1 and 2,
" notably between the roads leading from
Bapaume to Croiselles and Bapaume to
Cambrai, as well as on both banks of
the Somme, west of St. Quentin. The
British and the French launched strong
forces, which, because of the effect of
our artillery fire, flowed back several
times, and^ which only after considerable
losses, which included fifty prisoners and
some machine guns, gained ground be-
cause of our troops giving way, as had
been ordered."
In the official report of April 9, de-
scribing the first day of the battle of
Arras, it was stated that the enemy had
forced his way into parts of the German
positions. On April 10 the report said:
252
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
" In stubbornly resisting the superiority
of the enemy two of our divisions suf-
fered considerable losses. The British
succeeded in penetrating our positions on
the roads radiating from Arras, but did
not break through."
The Frankfort Gazette stated positive-
ly that the German line had not been
broken east of Arras and that the attack
did not take the General Staff by sur-
prise, but had been provided for in its
plans. Heavy losses were admitted, but,
said that journal, " the defense of the
western front will cost us heavy sacri-
fices this year, but they will not be in
vain."
The impression sought to be created by
the German press was that the battle of
Arras was an event of " only local im-
portance, though lamentable in its results."
" It had, however, been soon brought
to a standstill and did not in any way
affect the strategic situation. It was
part of the plan of the Anglo-French
command, foiled in its intentions of de-
livering a shattering blow on the Somme
front, to roll up the new Hindenburg
line by assaults on both flanks, at Sois-
sons and Arras. Both attempts failed."
Field Marshal von Hindenburg, in an
interview, avowed his confidence in the
strength of the German fronts on the
west and east, and expressed a convic-
tion that the submarine campaign would
not fail.
" Unfounded " Excitement
The official reports continued to speak
of attacks repulsed with heavy losses
during the succeeding days of the battle
of Arras, but on April 13 the military
critic of the Berlin Vossische Zeitung
wrote that he had received many letters
which proved that " the nerves of many
readers are beginning to give way." He
dwelt on the " unfounded " excitement
which, he said, was spreading among
those at home, and he warned the public
not to judge the situation from single
events, but to take events as a whole into
consideration.
The German War Office report of April
15 stated:
" On the Arras battlefield, as the result
of the removal of our line north of the
Scarpe, only minor engagements occurred,
in which the enemy suffered heavy losses.
From the Scarpe lowlands to the Arras-
Cambrai railway violent fighting occurred
yesterday morning. British divisions
in heavy masses attacked repeatedly,
but were always repulsed with san-
guinary losses. In addition to these Brit-
ish sacrifices, a counterthrust by our
troops resulted in the capture of 300
prisoners and twenty machine guns."
That the fighting was no longer merely
of local importance was indicated in the
report issued at the end of the first day
of the new French offensive, April 16:
" On the Aisne a great French attempt
to break through, with a far-distant ob-
ject, has commenced after a ten days'
mass fire. A bitter fight is proceeding
on a forty-kilometer front around our
foremost positions."
Finally, the report of April 17 says
that " one of the greatest battles of the
mighty war, and, therefore, also in the
world's history, is in progress on the
River Aisne." The report continues :
" In the Champagne this morning
fighting between Prunay and Auberive
developed, the battle line thereby extend-
ing from the River Oise into the Cham-
pagne. Our troops anticipate with entire
confidence the coming heavy fighting.
" A great French attempt to break
through yesterday, the object of which
was. far-reaching, failed. The losses of
the enemy were very heavy. More than
2,100 prisoners remained in our hands.
Where the enemy at a few places pene-
trated into our line fighting still continues
and fresh enemy attacks are expected.
" On Monday afternoon the French
threw fresh masses into the fray and
carried out lateral attacks between the
Oise and Conde, on the Aisne. The
artillery fight which was continued to-
day leveled the positions and produced
wide, deep craters, rendering an obstinate
defense no longer possible.
" The fighting no longer is against a
line but over quite a deep and irregular
fortified zone. The battle sways back-
ward and forward around our foremost
positions, our object being, if the war
material is lost, to spare the lives of our
forces and to inflict heavy sanguinary
losses and thus decisively weaken the
enemy. This was achieved."
United States Rejects German Protocol
WHEN Ambassador Gerard was
about to depart from Berlin he
was placed under pressure by the
German Government to get him to sign
a document confirming and enlarging the
privileges of German citizens in the
United States in case of war between the
two countries, as defined in the half-
forgotten treaty made with Prussia in
1799. The protocol which Mr. Gerard
was asked to sign was an elaboration of
Article 23 of the old convention, amount-
ing practically to a new treaty, and re-
quiring not only the approval of the
State Department at Washington but
also the confirmation of the United States
Senate. Mr. Gerard protested against
the methods used to get his support for
this document, and emphatically declined
to have anything to do with it. After
Borne delay he was allowed to depart.
Text of German Protocol
The document was then forwarded by
the Berlin authorities — through the Swiss
Foreign Office at Berne— to the Swiss
Minister at Washington, Dr. Paul Ritter,
who handed it to Secretary of State
Lansing on Feb. 10, 1917. The text of
this communication, and of the agree-
ment which Germany was so anxious to
have the United States accept on the eve
of war, is as follows:
The American treaty of friendship and com-
merce of the 11th of July, 1799, provides
by Article 23 for the treatment of the subjects
or citizens of the two States and their
property in the event of war between the
two States. This article, which is without
question in full force as regards the relations
between the German Empire and the United
States, requires certain explanations and
additions on account of the development of
international law. The German Government,
therefore, proposes that a special arrange-
ment be now signed, of which the English
text is as follows :
Agreement between Germany and the United
States of America concerning the treatment
of each other's citizens and their private
property after the severance of diplomatic
relations.
Article One— After the severance- of diplo-
matic relations between Germany- and the
United States of America, and in the event
of the outbreak of war between the two
powers, the citizens of either party and their
private property in the territory of the other
party shall be treated according to Article
23 of the treaty of amity and commerce
between Prussia and the United States of
the 11th of July, 1799, with the following
explanatory and supplementary clauses :
Article Two— German merchants in the
United States and American merchants in
Germany shall, so far as the treatment of
their persons and property is concerned, be
held in every respect on a par with the other
persons mentioned in Article 23. They shall,
accordingly, even after the period provided
for in Article 23 has elapsed, be entitled to
remain and continue their profession in the
country of their residence. Merchants as
well as the other persons mentioned in Ar-
ticle 23 may be excluded from fortified places
or other places of military importance.
Article Three — Germans in the United States
and Americans in Germany shall be free to
leave the country of their residence within
the time and by the routes that shall be
assured to them by the proper authorities.
The persons departing shall be entitled to
take along their personal property, includ-
ing money, valuables, and bank accounts,
excepting such property the exportation of
which is prohibited according to general pro-
visions.
Article Four— The protection of Germans in
the United States and of Americans in Ger-
many and of their property shall be guar-
anteed in accordance with the laws existing
in the countries of either party. They shall
be under no other restrictions concerning
the enjoyment of their private rights and j
the judicial enforcement of their rights than
neutral residents. They may accordingly not
be transferred to concentration camps, nor
shall their private property be subject to
sequestration or liquidation or other com-
pulsory alienation except in cases that under
the existing laws apply also to neutrals. As
a general rule, German property in the United
States and American property in Germany
shall not be subject to sequestration or
liquidation or other compulsory alienation
under other conditions than neutral property.
Article Five— Patent rights or other pro-
tected rights held by Germans in the United
States or Americans in Germany shall not
be declared void, nor shall the exercise of
such rights be impeded, nor shall such rights
be transferred to others without the consent
of the person entitled thereto, provided that
regulations made exclusively in the interests
of the States shall apply.
Article Six— Contracts made between Ger-
mans and Americans, either before or after
the severance of diplomatic relations, also
obligations of all kinds between Germans and
Americans, shall not be declared canceled,
void, or in suspension except under provisions
applicable to neutrals. Likewise the citi-
zens ©f either party shall not be impeded
in fulfilling their liabilities arising from such
254
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
obligations, either by injunctions or by other
provisions, unless these apply to neutrals.
Article Seven— The provisions of the Sixth
Hague Convention relative to the treatment
of enemy merchant ships at the outbreak of
hostilities shall apply to the merchant vessels
of either party and their cargo. The afore-
said ships may not be forced to leave port
unless at the time they be given a pass
recognized as binding by all the enemy sea
powers to a home port or a port of an allied
country or to another port of the country in
which the ship happens to be.
Article Eight— The regulations of Chapter
3 of the Eleventh Hague Convention relative
to certain restrictions in the exercise of the
right of capture in maritime war shall apply
to the Captains, officers, and members of
the crews of merchant ships specified in
Article 7 and of such merchant ships as may
be captured in the course of a possible war.
Article Nine — This agreement shall apply
also to the colonies and other foreign pos-
sessions of either party.
Text of American Reply
The note in which the United States
rejected the foregoing proposition was
handed to the Swiss Minister at Wash-
ington on March 20, and is printed below
in full. It places the refusal on the
ground of Germany's own " flagrant
violations" of the original treaty, and
raises the question whether all the im-
munities granted by that treaty have not
in effect been abrogated by the German
sinkings of American merchant ships:
The Secretary of State to the Minister of
Switzerland in charge of German interests
in America.
Department of State,
Washington, March 20, 1917.
Sir : I beg to acknowledge the receipt of
your note of Feb. 10 presenting the proposals
of the German Government for an inter-
pretative and supplementary agreement as
to Article 23 of the Treaty of 1799.
After due consideration, I have to inform
you that the Government of the United States
is not disposed to look with favor upon the
proposed agreement to alter or supplement
the meaning of Article 23 of this treaty.
The position of the Government of the
United States, which might under other con-
ditions be different, is due to the repeated
violations by Germany of the Treaty of
1828, and the articles of the Treaties of 1785
and 1799 revised by the Treaty of 1828. It
is not necessary to narrate in detail these
violations, for the attention of the German
Government has been called to the circum-
stances of each instance of violation, but
I may here refer to certain of them briefly
and in general terms.
Since the sinking of the American ship
William P. Frye for the carriage of contra-
band, there have been perpetrated by the
German naval forces similar unwarranted
attacks upon and destruction of numerous
American vessels for the reason, as alleged,
that they were engaged in transportation of
articles of contraband, notwithstanding and
in disregard of Article 13 of the Treaty of
1799 that " no such articles (of contraband)
carried in the vessels or by the subjects or
citizens of either party to the enemies of the
other shall be deemed contraband so as to
induce confiscation or condemnation and a
loss of property to individuals." And that
in the case of a vessel stopped for articles
of contraband, if the master of the vessel
stopped will deliver out the goods supposed
to be of contraband nature, he shall be
admitted to do it, and the vessel shall not
in that case be carried into any port or
further detained, but shall be allowed to
proceed on her voyage.
In addition to the sinking of American
vessels, foreign merchant vessels carrying
American citizens and American property
have been sunk by German submarines with-
out warning and without any adequate
security for the safety of the persons on
board or compensation for the destruction
of the property by such action, notwith-
standing the solemn engagements of Article
15 of the Treaty of 1799, that " all persons
belonging to any vessels of war, public or
private, who shall molest or insult in any
manner whatever the people, vessel, or effects
of the other party, shall be responsible in
their persons and property for damages and
interests, sufficient security for which shall
be given by all commanders of private armed
vessels before they are commissioned," and
notwithstanding the further stipulation of
Article 12 of the Treaty of 1785 that " the
free intercourse and commerce of the sub-
jects or citizens of the party remaining neu-
tral with the belligerent powers shall not be
interrupted."
Disregarding these obligations, the German
Government has proclaimed certain zones of
the high seas in which it declared without
reservation that all ships, including those
of neutrals, will be sunk, and in those zones
German submarines have in fact, in accord-
ance with this declaration, ruthlessly sunk
merchant vessels and jeopardized or de-
stroyed the lives of American citizens on
board.
Moreover, since the severance of relations
between the United States and Germany cer-
tain American citizens in Germany have
been prevented from removing from the
country. While this is not a violation of
the terms of the treaties mentioned, it is a
disregard of the reciprocal liberty of inter-
course between the two countries in times
of peace and cannot be taken otherwise than
as an indication of the purpose on the part
of the German Government to disregard, in
the event of war, the similar liberty of
action provided for in Article 23 of the
Treaty of 179'9— the very article which it is
now proposed to interpret and supplement
almost wholly in the interests of the large
UNITED STATES REJECTS GERMAN PROTOCOL 255
number of German subjects residing in the nations in the treatment of innocent Amer-
United States and enjoying in their persons ican citizens in Germany, the Government
or property the protection of the United of the United States cannot perceive any
States Government. advantage which would flow from further
This article provides in effect that mer- engagements, even though they were merely
chants of either country residing in the other declaratory of international law, entered into
shall be allowed a stated time in which to with the Imperial German Government in
remain to settle all their affairs and to " de- regard to the meaning of any articles of
part freely, carrying off all their effects these treaties or as supplementary to them,
without molestation or hindrance," and In these circumstances, therefore, the Gov-
women and children, artisans and certain ernment of the United States declines to
others may continue their respective em- enter into the special protocol proposed by
ployments and shall not be molested in their the Imperial Government.
persons or property. It is now proposed by This Government is seriously considering
the Imperial Government to enlarge the scope whether or not the Treaty of 1828 and the
of this article so as to grant to German sub- revised articles of the Treaties of 1785 and
jects and German property remaining in the 1799 have not been in effect abrogated by
United States in time of war the same treat- the German Government's flagrant violations
ment in many respects as that enjoyed by of their provisions, for it would be manifestly
neutral subjects and neutral property in the unjust and inequitable to require one party
United States. to an agreement to observe its stipulations
In view of the clear violations by the Ger- and to permit the other party to disregard
man authorities of the plain terms of the them.
treaties in question, solemnly concluded on It would appear that the mutuality of the
the mutual understanding that the obliga- undertaking has been destroyed by the con-
tions thereunder would be faithfully kept ; duct of the German authorities.
in view further of the disregard of the canons Accept, &c,
of international courtesy and the comity of ROBERT LANSING.
Your Flag and My Flag
By WILBUR D. NESBIT
[A new national anthem that sprang into favor all over the country in the weeks preceding
the declaration of war.]
Your flag and my flag!
And how it flies today
In your land and my land
And half a world away!
Rose-red and blood-red
The stripes forever gleam;
Snow-white and soul-white —
The good forefathers' dream;
Sky-blue and true blue, with stars to gleam aright —
The gloried guidon of the day; a shelter through the night.
Your flag and my flag!
To every and star and stripe
The drums beat as hearts beat
And fifers shrilly pipe!
Your flag and my flag —
A blessing in the sky;
Your hope and mv* hope —
It never hid a lie!
Home land and far land and half the world around,
Old Glory hears our glad salute and ripples to the sound!
Your flag and my flag!
And oh, how much it holds —
Your land and my land —
Secure within its folds!
Your heart and my heart
Beat -quicker at the sight;
Sun-kissed and wind-tossed —
Red and blue and white.
The one flag— the great flag— the flag for me and you—
Glorified all else beside — the red and white and blue!
CURRENT HISTORY CHRONICLED
[Period Ended April 20, 1917]
War Council at Washington
THE heads of the French and British
missions to the United States, Arthur
James Balfour and Rene Viviani, are
distinguished among the statesmen of
their countries by the fact that both have
been Prime Ministers. M. Viviani was
Premier of France when the war broke
out, and was later Minister of Justice
under M. Briand. He was also a mem-
ber of the joint Anglo-French mission to
Russia in the weeks before the Russian
revolution. Mr. Balfour was Prime Min-
ister after the death of his distinguished
uncle, the Marquis of Salisbury, in 1902.
He has held office in the coalition War
Ministries of Mr. Asquith and Mr. Lloyd
George, as First Lord of the Admiralty,
and later as Secretary for Foreign Af-
fairs. Mr. Balfour is completely fa-
miliar with the two most vital Entente
problems, the international question and
the submarine question.
The hero of the joint mission is Mar-
shal Joffre, the victor of the Marne, but
for whose splendid work at the War Min-
istry France would have had no ade-
quate army to oppose the German inva-
sion; but for whose consummate strategy
General von Kluck would in all likelihood
have captured Paris and changed the his-
tory of the war. Marshal Joffre has been
a great traveler, serving in Tonking,
hard by the Philippines; in Western
Africa, where he built a section of the
railroad which joins the Senegal River
to the Upper Niger; in the Sahara, where
he first made a name by capturing Tim-
buktu; in Madagascar, where, under the
late General Gallieni, he fortified a great
harbor; but this is his first visit to the
New World.
* * *
The Seven Billion Dollar Loan
BOTH houses of Congress passed with-
out a single negative vote — the
House on April 14 by 389 to 0, the Senate
on April 17 by 84 to 0 — a bill to finance
the prosecution of the war against Ger-
many. The bill authorizes the issuance
of bonds to the amount of $5,000,000,000,
of which $3,000,000,000 will be loaned to
the nations comprising the Entente Al-
liance; also the issuance of Treasury cer-
tificates for $2,000,000,000 ultimately to
be met by increased taxation.
The proposed bond issue is the largest
in the history of the world. Both the
bonds and the certificates are to bear
SVz per cent, interest. Bonds heretofore
authorized, but not sold, for the acquisi-
tion of the Danish West Indies, the con-
struction of an armor plate and nitrate
plant, the Panama Canal, the speeding up
of the naval program, the Alaskan Rail-
road, and the Mexican mobilization, au-
thorized at an interest rate of 3 per cent.,
are convertible into SV2 per cent, bonds.
Under the terms of the bill the Presi-
dent and the Secretary of the Treasury
are unhampered in making a loan of $3,-
000,000,000 to the Allies. The securities
which the President shall purchase are
not stipulated. The President is only to
acquire " the obligations of foreign Gov-
ernments " in an amount not to exceed
$3,000,000,000. The obligations of the
foreign countries are to be taken at par.
Payment of the Treasury certificates
will be provided for by new stamp and
increased income taxes ; also by increased
taxes on profits and new customs duties
on imports now on the free list.
* * *
The Military Service Bill
THERE was some hesitancy manifested
in Congress over accepting the rec-
ommendation of the President for an
obligatory army service bill. The Mili-
tary Committee of the House at the first
test vote subordinated the selective draft
provision to a call for volunteers. Later,
however, the President and Secretary of
War renewed their arguments and with
such force that it was generally agreed
that the opposition had capitulated and
that Congress would pass a selective
draft bill, operative when the President
finds volunteering insufficient, as follows :
CURRENT HISTORY CHRONICLED
257
First call, eligible men between the ages
of 21 and 25; second call, 26 to 32;
third call, 33 to 40.
On April 17 it was announced that
army enlistments were averaging 1,434
men a day, and that the naval enlisted
strength had reached 71,696 of the au-
thorized strength of 87,500.
* * *
The Virgin Islands
ON March 31 the transfer of the
Danish West Indies to the United
States was finally completed after half
a century of effort. The Danish Min-
ister, Mr. Brun, received a Treasury war-
rant on that day for $25,000,000 and
wireless messages were sent to the
Danish and American authorities in the
islands to lower the Danish flag and
raise the Stars and Stripes. " By giving
you this warrant," Secretary Lansing is
reported to have said, " I will save you
the trouble of transporting forty-eight
tons of gold."
The area of the islands is 138 square
miles; the population in 1911 was 27,086,
of whom large numbers are free negroes
engaged in the cultivation of sugar cane.
The name, the Virgin Islands, of which
St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. John are
the chief, is neither new nor altogether
distinctive, since a group of contiguous
islets, of which Tortola, Virgin Gorda,
Anagada, and Jest-Van-Dykes are the
chief, have long borne, and still bear, the
title of the British Virgin Islands, while
Crab Island, one of the same group, al-
ready belongs to the United States.
Rear Admiral James H. Oliver, Chief of
Naval Intelligence at the Navy Depart-
ment, assumed the duties of Governor at
St. Thomas, having been appointed by
Secretary Daniels. He will serve until
a permanent Government has been de-
termined upon by Congress, and in the
meantime local laws will be administered.
It is noted as an interesting coincidence
that Alaska was purchased by the United
States from Russia just fifty years and
one day before the final transfer of the
Danish West Indies, the purchase price
having been $7,200,000, or less than a
third of what has now been paid for the
tiny Virgin Islands. Alaska has pro-
duced gold valued at more than $250,-
000,000, and has paid for itself a hun-
dredfold.
* * *
Religious Liberty in Russia
UNDER the imperial rule, with the
exception of restraints laid on the
Jews, all religions might be freely pro-
fessed within the Russian Empire, which
includes* 14,000,000 Mohammedans, about
450,000 Buddhists, and about 300,000
Pagans, largely in Northern Siberia.
There are also 11,500,000 Roman Catho-
lics, largely in Poland, and 3,500,000
Lutherans, in the Baltic Provinces. All
these confessions have hitherto enjoyed
freedom of profession and worship. On
two sections of the population restric-
tions have borne heavily: on the Jews,
numbering 5,200,000, and on Dissenters
from the Orthodox Church, who, it is
estimated, number more than 12,000,000.
The restrictions on the Jews were largely
a survival of the time when they were
subject to Poland; laws were passed -con-
fining them to the regions they then
occupied, and restricting the numbers
who might inhabit Russian towns, study
at Russian universities, practice profes-
sions, and so forth. All these restric-
tions have been removed.
A further measure of liberation ap-
plies to the Orthodox Church, which was
formerly subject to the control of the
Emperor. The Emperor, through the
Procurator of the Synod, appointed all
Archbishops and Bishops, though the
Bishops had the privilege of proposing
candidates. The new Government will
leave the appointment of all Church of-
ficials in the hands of the Church, which,
as a body, gave its formal adherence to
the new order in the opening days of the
revolution.
Those who will now enjoy greatly in-
creased religious liberty in Russia are,
therefore, in order of numbers, first
the Orthodox Church, which wins self-
government; next, the Dissenters from
the Orthodox Church; and, thirdly, the
Jews, to whom all positions and profes-
sions in the State are now open on equal
terms with all other Russians.
258
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
New Figures in Russian Life
THE first step in the Russian revolu-
tion was taken in 1905, when, on
Aug. 6, an elective body of represen-
tatives of the people was created, with
the name of the State's Duma. On Oct.
17 the Duma was given wider legis-
lative powers; inviolability of the person,
freedom of conscience, speech, assembly
and association were guaranteed, and the
Council of the Empire, transformed into
a Legislative Council, was associated with
the Duma as an upper house of the Legis-
lature. The First and Second Dumas
sat for only a few weeks each ; the Third
Duma completed its term of five years;
the Fourth Duma was elected in Novem-
ber, 1912. In the Third and Fourth
Dumas the men who accomplished the
Russian revolution gained their adminis-
trative training and at the same time
won the confidence of the Russian
people.
M. V. Rodzianko, now President of the
Duma, has attained high distinction as
a leader in the liberal movement. Paul
Milukoff, Secretary of Foreign Affairs,
is the parliamentary leader of the Consti-
tutional Democratic Party, which has
fifty-five representatives in the Fourth
Duma. He is widely knoWn in the United
States. Gutchkoff, the new Minister of
War, and Kerensky, the Minister of Jus-
tice, are also tested parliamentarians.
Prince Lvoff, the new Premier, was al-
ready widely known before the revolution
as the head of the National Union of
Zemstvos, which bear some resemblance
to American State Legislatures, and
which had formed a close organization
among themselves to provide food, cloth-
ing and, to a large degree, munitions,
for the active army. -In this way the
whole machinery of the new Russia was
already in existence, first in the Duma
and then in the Union of Zemstvos.
* * *
Release of the Siberian Exiles
H^HE return of thousands of political
exiles from Siberia was one of the
most dramatic aspects of the Russian
revolution. This great act of liberation
restored to Russia many of her ablest
and most devoted men and women, who
had worked, in their own way, for the
ends which the revolution accomplished.
Among these exiles, Catharine Bresh-
kovskaya, who has spent the greater
part of a long life in exile, and who has
recently been enthusiastically feted at
the capital, is, perhaps, the most pictur-
esque figure. Vera Zassulitch, whose ac-
tivities date back to the days of the Ter-
rorists who assassinated Alexander II.
on the eve of his granting Russia a Con-
stitution in 1881, is also universally
known, in part from the writings of
" Stepniak," the historian of the earlier
revolutionists, a close friend of William
Morris and of Prince Peter Kropotkin.
Kropotkin also has returned to Russia
after a long exile, passed for the most
part in England, but including visits to
the United States and France; as a philo-
sophical biologist he gained universal
recognition, laying particular stress on
the principle of co-operation throughout
nature.
* * *
Difficulties in Russia's Path
THAT serious obstacles lie in the path
of the new Government in Russia was
indicated by the imprisonment of the
editor of the Socialist newspaper Pravda,
" Truth," for lending himself to pro-
German intrigue, counseling the soldiers
to throw down their arms, to make peace
without delay, and to enter on the " social
revolution," which would bring them un-
imagined prosperity. The new intrigue
set on foot in April by Germany, of
which the German Socialist Deputy
Scheidemann is the instrument, to in-
volve Russian Socialists in peace nego-
tiations at Copenhagen, further shows
that the agents of the Kaiser, the instant
that they saw that intrigue through the
Russian Court was blocked by the revolu-
tion, turned their attention to the Rus-
sian Socialists. It is a second revelation
of the same danger of which the Pro-
visional Government is acutely conscious.
Peasant risings in Samara, demanding
immediate division of all land, are symp-
toms of a similar menace. A partial
satisfaction of this demand will be
reached by the distribution of the impe-
rial domain, consisting of more than a
million square miles, an area equal to the
United Kingdom, France, Spain, Holland,
CURRENT HISTORY CHRONICLED
259
Belgium, Denmark, Austria and Hun-
gary; but there will still remain the
menace of the Extremists, possibly re-
inforced by returned Siberian exiles,
many of whom are philosophical anarch-
ists.
* * *
The Kaiser and the German Empire
ACCORDING to the Constitution of
the German Empire, dated April 16,
1871, the supreme direction of the mili-
tary and political affairs of the empire
is vested in the King of Prussia, who,
as German Emperor, " represents the
empire internationally," and can declare
war if defensive, and make peace, as^well
as enter into treaties with other nations,
and appoint and receive Ambassadors.
But when war is not merely defensive the
Kaiser must have the consent of the
Bundesrat, or Federal Council. In this
Federal Council of sixty-one members
the Kingdom of Prussia has seventeen
members; the Kingdoms of Bavaria,
Saxony, and Wurttemberg have together
fourteen, six Grand Duchies have eleven,
five Duchies have six, seven Principalities
have seven, three free towns — Lubeck,
Bremen, Hamburg — have one each,
Alsace-Lorraine has three.
In the Reichstag, of 397 Deputies,
Prussia has 236. In sharp contrast with
the Prussian system, the Deputies are
elected by universal manhood suffrage,
with the result that, in the present Reichs-
tag, there are 107 Socialists, ninety-
one Centrists, ninety Liberals and Radi-
cals, forty-four Conservatives, twenty-
seven members of the German Party,
eighteen Poles, and twenty Independents.
In the army Prussia greatly outweighs
all the rest of the empire, providing six-
teen of the twenty-five army corps, as
against three for Bavaria, two for
Saxony, one for Wurttemberg, two for
Alsace-Lorraine, while there is also one
corps of Prussian Guards. Under the
Constitution of 1871, the whole of the
land forces of the empire form a united
army, under the orders of the Emperor,
whom all troops are bound by the Con-
stitution to obey conditionally. The
Emperor is, therefore, responsible for
every order given to any part of the
German Army.
The Constitution and Government op
Prussia
TZAISER WILHELM, as King of Prus-
"■ si a, has given an undertaking to re-
form the Prussian Constitution at the
end of the war. Under the present fun-
damental laws, the whole of the execu-
tive and much of the legislative authority
is vested in the King, who appoints all
Ministers by royal decree. The King's
power in the executive department is,
therefore, absolute. He also possesses
the power of veto over all legislation.
The Herrenhaus, the upper house of
the Legislature, is closely identified with
the King, since Princes of the royal fam-
ily and of two other branches of the
Hohenzollerns are members, as are the
heads of sixteen princely families and
of the nobility formed by the King, with
a number of life peers chosen by the
King, who may further nominate an un-
limited number of members for life, or
for shorter periods. The King thus has
it in his power to insure a majority for
any measure he may wish passed in the
Herrenhaus. The lower house has 443
members, elected indirectly, as follows:
The indirect electors are divided into
three classes: The first consists of all
electors who pay the highest taxes, to
the amount of one-third of the whole;
the second, of those who pay the next
highest amount, down to the limits of the
second one-third; the third, of all who
pay the lowest taxes. The indirect elec-
tors choose electors, who choose the rep-
resentatives.
Under this system, which secures con-
trol to a wealthy minority, there were
elected, in 1913, 202 Conservatives, 216
Centrists, Liberals and Progressives, 10
Socialists, and 15 others.
* * *
A World Shortage of Wheat
PRESIDENT WILSON, in his procla-
mation of April 16, drew attention to
the fact that the United States will in
the coming year be called upon not only
to feed its own people and army, but
also to make very large contributions to
the feeding of England, France, and
Italy; Russia, as a great wheat growing
country, being probably able to feed it-
self. It is estimated that, in part owing
260
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
to the' destruction by frost of large areas
of Winter wheat, the United States will
this year produce less wheat than in
average years by at least 26,000,000
bushels, though a part of this may be
made up by Spring sowing over the
frost-killed areas. The whole of Canada's
coming supply of wheat has already been
bought by the British Government, Can-
ada having produced in 1915 336,258,000
bushels of wheat, one-fifth of which came
into the United States.
Certain causes have contributed to
bring about this world-wide wheat short-
age, such as the large amount of wheat
and other foods destroyed by German
submarines, the lack of tonnage to bring
wheat to England from Australia, the
unwillingness of the Argentine Republic
to sell wheat to England, the closing of
the Black Sea route, by which Russia's
vast surplus normally reaches the rest of
the world, the destruction of immense
quantities of wheat during the devasta-
tion of Rumania. France faces a deficit
of 127,000,000 bushels' of wheat in the
coming year, in part due to the lack of
field labor, while the aggregate deficit
of the Entente Allies for the coming year
has been placed at from 190,000,000 to
216,000,000 bushels.
Two ways of meeting this deficit have
been suggested, besides wider cultiva-
tion— the saving of the large percentage
of wheat lost in turning it into white
flour, and the cessation of brewing and
distilling, thus turning millions of bushels
into bread instead of liquor.
* * *
Night Plowing in England
EXTRAORDINARY measures have
been adopted in England to meet the
threatened shortage of food resulting
from the submarine warfare on com-
merce. Two of the most picturesque of
these new methods are the universal ap-
plication of Sunday labor and the hasten-
ing of work on the farms by supplement-
ing day labor by night shifts. Powerful
motor tractors have taken the place of
the older steam plows, already largely
used in England; and these new motor-
tractor plows are provided with acetylene
headlights such as are used on automo-
biles at night. On one farm a motor
tractor working continuously for five
days and four nights plowed a tract of
forty-two acres, about equal to one-six-
teenth of a square mile. To cover the
same tract with a horse plow would, it
is* estimated, have taken fifty-six days,
more than ten times as long; while the
motor tractor plow, working only eight
hours a day, would have taken twelve
days to complete the work. On the dark-
est nights two acetylene lamps are used;
on moonlight nights no artificial light is
needed. The plow cuts four furrows at
once, like the American " gang plow,"
and the men work in five-hour shifts,
with an interval of an hour between two
shifts for oiling and adjusting the
tractor.
* * *
British War Pensions
rpHE schedule of the new War Pension
J- Grants of the British Government are
as follows, the rate being the maximum
weekly allowance:
Disabled soldier, including children's
allowance $18.75
Widow with children 9.37V6
Parent or guardian 3.75
Other dependents 1.25
It is estimated that the annual charge
on the pension account in 1918-19 will
be $125,000,000. The following are the
allowances for the children of a totally
disabled man:
First child $1.25
Second child 1.12y2
Third child 80
For each child after the third G2^
These payments are to be continued be-
yond the age of 16 in the case of ap-
prentices receiving not more than
nominal wages, or of children being edu-
cated at secondary schools, and may be
granted or continued between the ages
of 16 and 21 in the case of a child in-
capable through mental or physical in-
firmity of earning a living, provided the
infirmity existed before the child at-
tained the age of 16. Provision is also
made for an alternative compensation to
make up the deficit subject to a maxi-
mum of $12.50 a week, plus half of any
earnings prior to the war between $12.50
and $25 a week.
In the case of slight injuries a gratuity
averaging from $500 to $1,000 is granted
CURRENT HISTORY CHRONICLED
261
in place of a pension. Widows are to be
given half what would have been award-
ed to their deceased husbands had they
been disabled in the highest degree. In
the case of a private soldier this means
$3.87 a week. Allowances to widows are :
For the first child $1.25
For the second child 1.12^
For the third child 90
For each child after the third 62Mj
The widow of a private with 8 children
will get $9.80 a week. "Unmarried wives"
with dependent children are to get $2.50
a week and children's allowances. If the
unmarried wife has no dependent chil-
dren she is to get $2.50 a week for the
period of the war and twelve months
afterward. It is provided that a parent
shall receive up to the amount of pre-war
dependents of one or more sons within a
total of $3.75 a week.
* * *
German Rule in Rumania
A DISPATCH from Jassy, the tempo-
rary capital of Rumania, reveals the
first news of Rumanian affairs that has
been permitted to leak out since the oc-
cupation of that country by the Germans.
The dispatch is dated March 28, 1917,
and says that in all parts of Rumania
women, old and young, have been ar-
rested on the pretext of being related to
members of the Government. Elderly
magistrates and doctors are also among
those who have been seized and im-
prisoned. The majority are being sent
to Bulgaria and Turkey. Among those
arrested is the mother of the Prime Min-
ister. The situation in the country dis-
tricts, where the population is kept in a
state of terror by robberies, fires, and in-
cessant requisitions, systematically car-
ried out, is worse than that in the towns.
A dispatch from Zurich dated March
26 says that approximately 1,100 Ru-
manians of Transylvania have been
sentenced by Austro-Hungarian courts-
martial to terms of penal servitude vary-
ing from thirty years to three years. The
entire property of more than 600 Ru-
manians of Transylvania has been con-
fiscated by the Hungarian Government.
Practically all these victims of Hun-
garian persecution were Rumanians of
position and education.
Among those condemned to death and
executed was a priest, Father David
Pope; the former sub-prefect of Kron-
stadt, M. Constantine Bojta; M. Yovan
Koman, a professor; M. Romulus Kristel-
gan, headmaster of the school at Kron-
stadt; M. Pompilius Dan, a private tutor;
Dr. Zacharius Mountean, advocate; M.
Victor Pope, chemist; Father Koman
Baka, a priest, and Dr. Nicholas Hamzea,
physician — all of Kronstadt. Among
other victims condemned to death and
executed were practically all the prin-
cipal Rumanian Intellectuals of Klausen-
burg.
* * *
Vast Quantities of Supplies
TT W. FORSTER, official Secretary
•*-■*-• of the British War Office, in mov-
ing the war estimates made some inter-
esting statements to Parliament regard-
ing the prodigious operations in equip-
ping an army. As an illustration, he
said, at the beginning of the war it was
difficult to obtain horseshoes, which were
procured from Canada and the United
States, hence village blacksmiths were
organized to make hand-made shoes. This
output, at first, was 50,000 pairs a
month; it is now 1,500,000. To illustrate
the scale upon which supplies were re-
quired, he states that the War Office had
to provide:
Gas helmets 25,000,000
Sand bags for the Allies ...250,000,000
Khaki cloth, yards 105,000,000
Flannel, yards 115,000,000
The khaki cloth and flannel together
measured 111,000 miles, enough to go
four and a half times around the earth
at the Equator. Another interesting
statement was that the typhoid, fever
cases were fifteen times higher among
those who had not been inoculated- than
among the inoculated, and the death ratio
seventy times higher among those not
inoculated.
Fighting a Billion Enemies
OMITTING China, which is giving
every indication of an intention to
enter the war on the side of the Allies,
the Central Powers, with a population of
157,878,000, are at war with fourteen
nations totaling a population of 1,003,-
681,000. This vast number is divided as
follows :
262
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
ENTENTE-AMERICAN ALLIES
Area
Country. (Sq. Miles.) Population.
United States 3,027,557 101,740,000
Philippines 115,020 8,043,000
Great Britain 121,310 46,407,000
British possessions. .12,000,400 388,030,000
France 207,129 39,700,000
French colonies . . . 3,998,713 49,725,000
Russia 8,301,708 174,100,000
Finland 144,249 3,197,000
Italy 110,088 35,598,000
Italian colonies 458,102 1,450,000
Japan, including For-
mosa and Chosen... 245,041 72,818,000
Belgium 11,373 7,658,000
Belgian Congo 913,127 20,000,000
Portugal 35,499 5,958,000
Portuguese colonies. 808,107 9,280,000
Rumania 53,934 7,508,000
Serbia 33,107 4,022,000
Montenegro 5,475 435,000
Cuba 45,881 2,469,000
Panama 32,330 337,000
Brazil 3,292,000 24,000,000
Total 34,282,082 1,003,081,000
CENTRAL POWERS
Germany 209,793 68,059,000
German colonies 1,020,022 12,287,000
Austria-Hungary 201,023 51,505,000
Turkey 6S2.239 21,274,000
Bulgaria 44,056 4,753,000
Total 2,223,133 157,878,000
* * *
THE $5,000,000,000 bond issue author-
ized by Congress in April amounts to
about one-tenth of the national income of
the United States last year, as is shown
by the following statistics of the fi-
nancial strength of the country:
Annual national income $50,000,000,000
Total bank resources 35,000,000,000
Individual deposits 24,000,000,000
Cash held by the banks 2,500,000,000
Total gold stock in the country. 3,000,000,000
Available additional commer-
cial credits on basis of present
cash holdings 0,000,000,000
* * *
A British War Museum
A COMMITTEE has been formed by
"■ authority of Parliament to establish
a national war museum. The idea is to
reconstruct for future generations the
story of the British share in the war.
The chief categories of exhibits will be
relics and records. There will be sepa-
rate departments to illustrate the work of
the sailors, soldiers, and munition work-
ers. The nucleus of these collections is
already in the hands of the Admiralty,
the War Office, and the Ministry of
Munitions. The aim will be to include
examples of the following :
1. Material used by the British forces
— guns, rifles, bayonets, trench
weapons, tanks, submarines, &c.
2. Trophies captured from the enemy.
3. Souvenirs found on the battlefield.
4. New inventions employed in munition
works at home.
5. Literature of the war — books, trench
magazines, &c.
6. Maps of the war.
7. Music of the war — trench tunes,
marching songs, &c.
8. Art of the war, including trench
drawings.
9. Placards issued by the Government
for recruiting, economy, &c.
10. Medals and decorations.
11. Autograph letters by distinguished
actors in the war.
12. Civilian souvenirs, such as "flag-day"
relics.
♦ * *
THE effect of the entry of the United
States on the side of the Allies is
shown by the following changes in for-
eign exchanges as quoted on April 12:
Sterling, 4.76%, against 4.73 9-16 low in
1916, and 4.50 low in 1915; Francs^
5.70%, against 6.08 V2 low in 1916, 6.02
low in 1915. Italian lire rose 24 points
in the week ending April 12, 1917. Rubles
rose 20 points.
* * *
The Foreign-Born Population of the
United States
THE number of citizens of foreign
birth in the United States in 1917
is 14,500,000, while 20,500,000 native
Americans have either a foreign-born
father or a foreign-born mother, and
14,000,000 had both parents born abroad.
Of the total 100,000,000 population of the
United States 54,000,000 are of native
white ancestry. Since the foundation of
the Government the total immigration
to the United States from Great Britain
has been 4,000,000; from Germany,
6,000,000; from Ireland, 4,000,000; from
Scandinavia, 2,000,000. Up to 1890, be-
fore the heavy influx began from Rus-
sia and Italy, the total immigration to
the United States was 15,689,000, of
CURRENT HISTORY CHRONICLED
263
which one-third was German. After
1890, of the 17,000,000 immigrants only
1,023,000 were Germans.
The following tables compiled by the
Geographic Magazine convey an idea of
the distribution of the larger groups of
foreign-born citizens:
CANADIANS
Massachusetts 300,000
Michigan 190,000
New York 125,000
Maine 75,000
New Hampshire 55,000
Illinois 50,000
California 50,000
Total in United States 1,164,000
ITALIANS
New York 470,000
Pennsylvania 190,000
New Jersey r. 115,000
Massachusetts 90,000
Illinois 75,000
California 60,000
Connecticut 55,000
Ohio 40,000
Total in United States 1,335,000
AUSTROHUNGARIANS
Pennsylvania 375,000
New York 360,000
Illinois 200,000
Ohio 160,000
New Jersey 100,000
Wisconsin 40,000
Minnesota 38,000
Michigan 38,000
Connecticut 37,000
Total in United States 1,080,000
ENGLISH, SCOTCH, WELSH
New York 195,000
Pennsylvania 170,000
Massachusetts 125,000
Illinois 90,000
New Jersey 65,000
California 60,000
Ohio 60,000
Michigan 55,000
Total in United States 1,145,000
GERMANS
New York 430,000
Illinois 325,000
Wisconsin 235,000
Pennsylvania 210,000
Ohio 190,000
Michigan 125,000
New Jersey 115,000
Minnesota 95,000
Iowa 85,000
Missouri 80,000
California 75,000
Indiana 70,000
Nebraska " 70,000
Texas " 60,000
Maryland 50,000
Kansas 45,000
Total in United States.. 2,640,000
RUSSIANS AND FINNS
New York 560,000
Pennsylvania .". 260,000
Illinois 150,000
Massachusetts , 130,000
New Jersey 95,000
Michigan 70,000
Connecticut 55,000
Ohio 55,000
Minnesota 40,000
Wisconsin 35,000
North Dakota 35,000
Total in United States 1,669,000
IRISH
New York 370,000
Massachusetts 225,000
Pennsylvania 160,000
Illinois 90,000
New Jersey 85,000~
Connecticut 55,000
California 50,000
Ohio 40,000
Rhode Island 35,000'
Missouri - 30,000
Total in United States 1,330,000
SCANDINAVIANS
Minnesota 240,000
Illinois 165,000
Wisconsin 95,000
New York 90,000
Washington 70,000
Iowa 70,000
North Dakota 70,000
California 50,000
Massachusetts 50,000
Michigan 37,000
Nebraska ■ 37,000-
South Dakota 35,000
Total in United States 1,209,000
In the omitted States the number of
foreign-born citizens in the foregoing
classifications is fairly proportional,
ranging from 30,000 in the more
populous States to 4,000 or 5,000 in the
Southern and smaller States. The
foreign-born seem to prefer urban life,
as 23,000,000 out of 35,000,000 live in
cities. Only one-fifth of the population
of New York and Chicago is of native
white ancestry. Less than a third of the
populations of Boston, Cleveland, Pitts-
burgh, Detroit, Buffalo, San Francisco,
Milwaukee, Newark, Minneapolis, Jersey
City, Providence, St. Paul, Worcester,
Scranton, Paterson, Fall River, Lowell,
Cambridge, and Bridgeport are of native
ancestry.
Though the foreign-born constitute
one-seventh of the nation, nearly one-
fourth of the arm-bearing strength of
the country is represented in this class.
' The Battle of Arras
Scenes of Infernal Splendor on the First Day of the
New British Offensive
By Philip Gibbs
[Published by arrangement with The London Chronicle]
At dawn on Easter Monday, April 9,
1917, the British armies began a tremen-
dous offensive on a wide front between
Lens and St. Quentin, including Vimy
Ridge, that great, grim hill which dom-
inates the plain of Douai and the coal
fields of Lens and the German positions
around Arras. Philip Gibbs has depicted
the terrors of that first day's fighting in
the following memorable description:
TODAY began another titanic con-
flict which the world will hold its
breath to watch because of all that
hangs upon it. I have seen the fury
of this beginning and all the sky on fire
with it, the most tragic and frightful
sight that men have ever seen, with in-
fernal splendor beyond words. The bom-
bardment which went before the infantry
assault lasted several days, and reached
a great height yesterday. When coming
from the south I saw it for the first
time. Those of us who knew what would
happen today — the beginning of another
series of battles, greater perhaps than the
struggle of the Somme — found ourselves
yesterday filled with tense, restless emo-
tion. Some of us smiled with a kind of
tragic irony because it was Easter Sun-
day. In the little village behind the bat-
tle lines the bells of the French churches
were ringing gladly because the Lord
had risen, and on the altar steps priests
were reciting splendid words of faith —
" Resurrexi et adhuc et cum sum,
Alleluia."
The earth was glad yesterday. For the
first time this year the sun had a touch
of warmth in it — although patches of
snow still stayed white under the shelter
of banks — and the sky was blue and the
light glinted on wet tree trunks and in
furrows of new plowed earth.
As I went up the road to the battle
lines, I passed a battalion of British
troops, who are fighting today, standing
in a hollow square with bowed heads
while the chaplain conducted the Easter
service. It was Easter Sunday, but no
truce of God. I went to a field outside
Arras and looked into the ruins of the
cathedral city. The cathedral itself stood
clear in the sunlight, with a deep black
shadow where its roof and aisles had
been. Beyond was a ragged pinnacle of
stone, once the glorious Town Hall, and
the French barracks and all the broken
streets going out to the Cambrai road.
It was hell in Arras, though Easter Sun-
day. The enemy was flinging high ex-
plosives into the city, and clouds of
shrapnel burst above black and green.
All around the country, too, his shells
were exploding in a scattered, aimless
way. From the British side there was a
great bombardment all along Vimy
Ridge, above Neuville St. Vaast and
sweeping around St. Nicholas and Blan-
gy, two suburbs of Arras, and then
southwest of the city on the ridge above
the road to Cambrai. It was one con-
tinuous roar of death, and all the bat-
teries were firing steadily. I watched
the shells burst, and some of them were
monsters, rising in great, lingering clouds
above the German lines.
There was one figure in this landscape
of war who made some officers about me
laugh. He was a French plowman who
upholds the traditions of war. Zola saw
him in 1870. I have seen him on the edge
of another battlefield, and here he was
again, driving a pair of sturdy horses
and his plow across the sloping field, not
a furlong away from a village where
German shells were raising a rosy cloud
of brick dust. So he gave praise to the
Lord on Easter morning and prepared
for the harvests which shall be gathered
after the war.
THE BATTLE OF ARRAS
2G.1
Scenes Behind the Front
All behind the front of battle there
was great traffic. All that modern war-
fare means in organization and in prep-
aration for the enormous operation was
here in movement. I had just come from
the British outpost lines down south,
from the silence of that great desert
which the enemy has left in the wake of
his retreat east of Bapaume and Peronne,
and from that open warfare with village
fighting, where small bodies of British
infantry and cavalry have been clearing
the countryside of rearguard posts. Here
round about Arras was concentration for
the old form of battle, the attack upon
intrenched positions, fortified hills, and
great natural fortresses defended by
masses as before the battles of the
Somme.
For miles on the way in front were
great camps, great stores, and restless
activity. Everywhere supply columns of
food for men and guns moved forward in
an endless tide. Transport mules passed
in long trails, field batteries went up to
add to the mass of metal ready to pour
fire upon the German lines. It was a
vast circus of the world's great war, and
everything that belongs to the machinery
of killing streamed on and on; columns
of ambulances for the rescue, for that
other side of the business, came in pro-
cession, followed by an army of stretcher
bearers — more than I have ever seen be-
fore— marching cheerily as though in a
pageant. In some of the ambulances were
army nurses, and the men marching on
the roads waved their hands to them, and
they laughed and waved back. There
were greetings which made one's heart
go soft awhile. In the fields by the road-
side men were resting, lying on the wet
earth between two spells of long march-
ing, or encamped in rest — the same kind
of men whom I saw on July 1 of last
year, some of them the same men, clean
shaven, gray eyed, so young and so splen-
did to see. Some of them sat between
their stacked rifles writing letters home,
and the tide of traffic passed them and
flowed on to the edge of the battlefields
where today they are fighting.
I went up in the darkness, long before
light broke today, to see the opening of
the battle. The roads were quiet until I
drew near to Arras, and then onward
there was the traffic of marching men
going up to the fighting lines.
In the darkness there were hundreds of
little red lights, the glow of cigarette
ends. Outside one camp a battalion was
marching away, and on the bank above
them the band was playing them out with
fifes and drums. On each side of me as
I passed by the men were densely massed,
and they were whistling and singing and
calling out jests and gibes — wonderful
lads that they are. Away before them
were the fires of death, to which they
were going very steadily, with a tune on
their lips, carrying rifles and shovels and
iron rations, while the rain played a
tatoo on their steel hats.
I went to a place a little outside of
Arras on the west side. It was not quite
dark because there was a kind of suf-
fused light from the hidden moon so
I could see the black mass of the cathe-
dral city, the storm centre of this battle,
and away behind me, to the left, the tall
broken towers of Mount St. Eloi, white
and ghostly, looking across to Vimy
Ridge. The bombardment was now in
full blast. All the British batteries, too
many to count, were firing, a thousand
gun flashes winking and blinking from
hollows and hiding places.
All their shells were rushing through
the sky as though flocks of great birds
were in flight, and all were bursting over
the German positions with long flames
which rent the darkness and waved sword
blades of quivering light along the
ridges. The earth opened and great
pools of red fire gushed out. Star shells
burst magnificently, pouring down a
golden rain.
Mines were exploded east and west of
Arras and in the wide sweep from Vimy
Ridge to Blangy southward, and volumi-
nous clouds, all bright with the glory of
infernal fire, rolled up to the sky. The
wind blew strongly across, beating back
the noise of the guns, but the air was
all filled with the deep roar and slam-
ming knocks of single heavies and the
drumfire of the field guns.
The first attack was at 5:30. A few
2G6
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
minutes before 5:30 the guns almost
ceased fire, so that there was a strange,
solemn hush. We waited and our pulses
beat faster than the second hands.
" They're away!" said a voice by my
side. The bombardment broke out again
with new and enormous effects of fire
and sound. The enemy was shelling Ar-
ras heavily, and black shrapnel and
high explosives came over from his lines,
but the British gunfire was twenty times
as great.
Around the whole sweep of his lines
green lights rose. They were signals of
distress and his men were calling for
help. It was dawn now, but clouded and
stormswept. A few airmen came out
with the wind tearing at their wings,
but they could see nothing in the mist
and driven rain.
I went down to the outer ramparts of
Arras. The eastern suburb of Blangy
seemed already in British hands. On the
higher ground beyond the British were
fighting forward. I saw. two waves of
infantry advancing against the enemy's
trenches. Protected by the barrage of
field guns, they went in a slow, leisurely
way, not hurried, although the enemy's
shrapnel was searching for them.
" Grand fellows," said an officer lying
next to me on the wet slope. " Oh, top-
ping!"
Fifteen minutes afterward some men
came back. They were British wounded
and German prisoners. I met the first
of these walking wounded. Afterward
they were met on the roadside by medi-
cal officers who patched them up there
and then before they were taken to the
field hospitals in the ambulances.
From these men wounded by shrapnel
and machine gun bullets I heard the
first news of the progress. They were
bloody and exhausted, but they claimed
success. * * *
Advance of Four Miles
The British swept the Germans out of
Arras and went on stolidly through the
enemy's trench system to Feuchy, in the
marshes below the River Scarpe, four
miles east of Arras. The enemy was
afraid of an attack, and in the night had
withdrawn all but rearguard posts to
trenches further back, where he resisted
fiercely.
The enemy's trench system south of
Arras was enormously strong, but the
British bombardment had pounded it, and
the infantry went through without much
loss to the reserve support trench, and
then on to a chain of posts in front of
Harvest trench, which was strongly held,
and, after heavy fighting with bombs
and bayonets, to Observatory Ridge,
from which for two years and a half
the enemy looked down, directing the
fire of his batteries against the French
and British positions.
South of Tilloy there were two formid-
able positions, called the Harp and Tele-
graph Hill, the former being a fortress
of trenches shaped like an Irish harp,
the latter rising to a high mound. These
were taken with the help- of tanks, which
advanced upon them in their leisurely
way, climbed up the banks and over the
parapets, sitting for a while to rest, and
then waddling forward again, shaking
machine gun bullets from their steel
flanks and pouring a deadly fire into the
enemy's position, and so mastering the
ground.
North of the Scarpe — that is, north-
east of Arras — the whole system of
trenches was taken as far as the Maison
Blanche Wood, and north again along
Vimy Ridge the Canadians achieved a
heroic success by gaining this high, dom-
inating ground, which was the scene of
some of the fiercest French battles in the
first part of the war and which is a
great wall defending Douai.
It was reckoned up to noon today that
over 3,000 prisoners had been taken.
They were streaming down to the prison-
ers' camps and to the British who pass
them on the roads they are the best proof
of a victorious day. After the retreat
from Bapaume and Peronne, this news
should be a thunderbolt in Germany,
tearing the scales from the blind and
raising anew a cry for peace.
Seven Days* Fighting at Arras
THE well-kept secret of where the
British proposed to make a new
thrust in the Spring was suddenly
disclosed on the morning of Easter Mon-
day, April 9. It was an offensive along a
front of forty-five miles, having for its
immediate objective Lens at one end and
St. Quentin at the other. This is the
struggle which has become known as the
battle of Arras, although at the end of
seven days' fighting the scene has shifted
considerably to the east of the city
which has given its name to the battle.
The Hindenburg line, on which the Ger-
mans were relying when they fell back
from the Somme, was pierced within a
week, leaving them in the awkward posi-
tion of having to form a new defensive
line without adequate preparation.
The bombardment of the German posi-
tions during the four days preceding the
opening of the offensive on April 9 was
as intense and as sustained as the artil-
lery fire before and during the other
great, battles on the western front. Eye-
witnesses even declare that it has been
more concentrated and destructive than
at the Somme and Verdun. The British
guns were very numerous, of great cali-
bre, and supplied with such vast quanti-
ties of ammunition that their " curtains
of fire " were terrible realties.
Fierce Aerial Fighting
The battle of Arras has eclipsed all
previous battles in aerial operations.
During the four days before the battle
began British airplanes literally swarmed
in the sky, and the fighting in the air was
on far the largest scale up to date. The
German aviators were outnumbered
many times over. Throughout the battle
the British airplanes were constantly ac-
tive despite the most unfavorable
weather conditions, with snow, sleet, bit-
terly cold wind, and rain. The whole
week's fighting was carried out, not in
pleasant April sunshine, but in wintry
weather which added its own gloom to
the horrors of war.
The principal object of the aviators
was to photograph the enemy's new posi-
tions, and, incidentally, to bombard stra-
tegic points behind the German front.
Other squadrons, protecting those whose
business was reconnoitring and observa-
tion, also went up for fighting purposes
only. Duels, skirmishes, and engage-
ments of all kinds took place between the
British and German airplanes for the
mastery of the air. In the numerous
fights that ensued, the British, according
to their own reports, had twenty-eight
machines missing, most of them shot
down behind the enemy's lines. Accord-
ing to the German reports, the number
of British airplanes destroyed was forty-
four. On the other hand, the Germans
lost fifteen airplanes and ten balloons,
while the British drove to the ground
thirty-one additional machines, which,
according to Sir Douglas Haig's report
on April 7, " must have been totally de-
stroyed." That the British Flying Corps
achieved its purpose was indicated by the
statement that large tracts of the enemy's
country for many miles in the rear had
been photographed, over 1,700 photo-
graphs having been taken behind the
lines.
The bombarding squadrons also were
successful. Seventeen raids were car-
ried out, and over eight tons of bombs
were dropped on enemy aerodromes, am-
munition depots, and railroads. The air
fighting was wholly over enemy territory,
and in one instance the British airmen
penetrated fifty miles behind the Ger-
man lines. The British established be-
yond question their supremacy in the
air by reason of the much larger number
of machines at their disposal and the
greater dash and- resourcefulness of their
aviators.
Beginning of British Offensive
The British opened the battle on April
9 with a terrific offensive on a twelve-
mile front north and south of Arras,
penetrating the German positions to a
depth of from two to three miles and
capturing many important fortified
points, including the famous Vimy Ridge,
where the Canadians led the attack. In
this first onset nearly 6,000 prisoners,
mostly Bavarians, Wurttembergers, and
Hamburgers, were taken, as well as large
quantities of artillery and war material.
268
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
The line of advance extended from Gi-
venchy-en-Gohelle, southwest of Lens, to
Henin-sur-Cojeul, (the village of Henin
on the Cojeul River,) southeast of Arras.
All the fighting was against dominating
positions on high ground, some of which
had been held by the Germans for two
years and were protected by wide belts of
barbed wire.
The capture of Vimy Ridge was par-
ticularly important, because it protects
the French coal fields lying to the east-
ward. Along the greater part of the
front the advance of the British infantry
was strenuously opposed. Near Arras
the Germans made a determined stand.
The famous redoubt known as the Harp
was captured with virtually the whole
German battalion defending it. Several
" tanks " figured in this operation.
Along the railroad running through the
valley o^ the Scarpe the British made
good progress, while on the Lens branch
of the line they captured Maison Blanche
Wood.
The first day of the battle ended with
the British having accomplished their
most successful day's work on the west-
ern front since the beginning of the war.
The attack had hit the hinge of the re-
cent German retreat from Arras to the
Aisne and upset the plans of the German
General Stan*, who had expected the of-
fensive to be renewed in the valley of the
Somme. The capture of Vimy shifted
the pivot of the whole German retreat
and placed the enemy in a position of
danger.
The second day of the battle, April 10,
saw the British, despite heavy snow-
storms and bitterly cold weather, con-
tinuing their advance along the greater
part of the twelve-mile front from Given-
chy to Henin, capturing many more
prisoners and guns, with quantities of
all kinds of war material. The infantry
pushed forward as far as the outskirts
of Monchy-le-Preux, five miles east of
Arras, capturing a height protecting
Monchy and threatening the entire Ger-
man line south of the Arras-Cambrai
road. Monchy was for a while the cen-
tral poin,t of interest in the whole world
war.
Further north the British captured de-
fenses on both sides of the Scarpe River.
They also took the remaining positions
on the northern end of Vimy Ridge, thus
clearing it entirely of the enemy, and
progressed in the direction of Cambrai
and St. Quentin. The northern pivot of
the Hindenburg line was now turned.
•The artillery support for the British in-
fantry attacks was so thorough that
casualties were proportionately light.
The British artillery also made a record
for long-range firing. Aided by infor-
mation from the aviators, the gunners
were able to concentrate their fire on
German reinforcements ten miles away
and so prevent them from helping to
counterattack.
The prisoners, who numbered 11,000 at
the end of the second day, were penned
up behind barbed wire fences till they
could be sent rearward. British troops
waiting their turn to go up to the front
congregated outside the fences and
chatted amicably with those Germans
who could speak English, and gave them
chocolate and cigarettes. One observer
says that all animosity between the sol-
diers disappeared the moment they were
no longer trying to kill one another.
Unusually cold weather for the time of
year, with a heavy fall of snow, greatly
impeded operations on the third day,
April 11. Nevertheless, the British kept
on pushing forward and captured the
village and heights of Monchy-le-Preux
and the neighboring hamlet of La Ber-
gere. Cavalry and a " tank " contributed
to the capture of Monchy, one of the key
positions between the Scarpe and Sensee
Rivers, which the Germans had strongly
organized. Fierce fighting took place in
the village streets. The Germans fired
from the windows and rooftops of houses,
and made every effort to hold this vital
position. The British made satisfactory
progress at other points. They repelled
two vigorous counterattacks and pressed
forward down the eastern slopes of Vimy
Ridge. The chief result at the end of
the third day was that the British had
been able to consolidate their gains and
move forward their artillery.
Germans Beaten Off
On the fourth day of the battle, April
12, the British made substantial progress
east of Arras, capturing the villages of
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THE BATTLE OF ARRAS
289
Wancourt and Heninel to the southeast,
some positions north of the Scarpe River,
and driving the Germans from their last
foothold on Vimy Ridge to the northeast.
The work of straightening the new line
was continued by clearing the enemy out
of a number of " pockets." Monchy re-
mained the central point of the battle.
There the British attack and the German
defense converged. The German troops
were ordered to stop the British advance
at all costs, and it was not until large
numbers of British field batteries were
brought into play that the Germans were
definitely beaten off.
On the fifth day, April 13, a new turn
was given to the battle of Arras. By a
sudden sweep northward from their new
positions east of the city the British
drove the Germans back on a twelve-mile
front, capturing six villages and serious-
ly threatening the important coal-mining
centre of Lens. This new line of advance
extended from the Scarpe River to Loos,
north of Lens. The town of Vimy was
captured, as well as Ancre, which, with
Lieven, protects Lens from the southwest.
The depth of the advance was about a
mile. Sir Douglas Haig's bulletin at the
end of the day's fighting reported that
the number of guns captured during the
five days' operations had reached 166,
and the aggregate prisoners 13,000. But
the most significant statement by the
British Commander in Chief was that the
British were " astride " the Hindenburg
line, which the Germans had believed
impregnable.
The Germans were now forced to fall
back in the direction of an emergency
auxiliary line from Drocourt to Queant,
endeavoring at the same time to complete
the new defensive positions on which they
were compelled to rely once the Hinden-
burg line failed them. On April 13 the
British also attacked on a wide front
west of Le Catelet, from Metz-en-Cou-
ture, south of the Bapaume-Cambrai
railroad, to north of Hargicourt, a dis-
tance of about nine miles.
On the French section of the front
during the first five days of the battle
there was no attempt at an offensive, the
chief business of the French being to
keep the Germans occupied while the
British were making their great thrust
at the Hindenburg line between Lens and
St. Quentin. The French maintained a
constant artillery fire between the Somme
and the Aisne until the sixth day of the
British drive. Then they launched a
fierce offensive south of St. Quentin and,
despite the desperate resistance by the
Germans, succeeded in carrying several
lines of trenches between the Somme and
the railroad running from St. Quentin
to the Oise. This was followed by a
vigorous attack in co-operation with the
British, who were advancing on the city
from the northwest.
The battle of Arras had by the sixth
day, April 14, really become the battle of
Lens and St. Quentin. The Germans had
now brought up large reinforcements to
prevent the rolling up of the Hindenburg
line, but the British pushed forward un-
checked toward both Lens and St. Quen-
tin. In the morning the town of Lievin,
southwest of and adjoining Lens, was
captured, with considerable quantities of
war material. In the afternoon the Brit-
ish seized Cite St. Pierre, northwest of
Lens, and advanced along the whole front
from the Scarpe River to the south of
Loos, and reached points two to three
miles east of Vimy Ridge. South of the
Scarpe attacks and counterattacks alter-
nated all day. The British made further
progress on a wide front north and south
of the Bapaume-Cambrai road. At the
southern end of the front the British
fought their way forward south and east
to within a few hundred yards of St.
Quentin and carried the village of Fayet
at the point of the bayonet. The French
to the south of St. Quentin bombarded
the German positions in front of the city
and between the city and the Oise. At
the end of the day's fighting the fall of
both Lens and St. Quentin was imminent.
The battle raged with undiminished
fury throughout the night and all next
day, April 15, when between 4 and 5
in the morning the first British troops
entered Lens. The occupation of the dis-
trict around Lens marked the recovery
for France of the country's most valu-
able coal fields. At the other end of the
forty-five-mile line the British had prac-
tically won their way into the suburbs of
St. Quentin, with the Germans making a
stubborn last stand in the city itself.
The Canadians9 Achievement On Vimy Ridge
TO the Canadians was given the
honor of leading the attack on Vimy
Ridge, where last year the French
lost thousands of men in an attempt to
hold that dominating height. Once be-
fore the British gained the crest of the
ridge only to have to abandon it under
a tremendous concentration of German
guns. Throughout the Winter the
Canadians held a footing on the ridge
below the German lines, but early in the
first day of the battle of Arras the
Canadians were on top looking down on
the plain of Douai. They carried the
position with comparatively little fight-
ing and few casualties, pushing from
one line to the other in a rapid, method-
ical manner.
An observer who saw the Canadians
set off at dawn to attack the German
positions describes them as having gone
away cheering and laughing through the
mud, which made them look like scare-
crows. They followed closely and warily
the barrage of the British guns, the
most concentrated artillery fire ever
seen, and at the end of an hour had taken
the first German trenches, including the
whole front line system of defense above
Neuville St. Vaast, by La Folie Farm
and La Folie Wood, and up by Thelus,
where they began to encounter serious
resistance.
The Germans were intrenched in long,
deep tunnels, but when the Canadians
once reached the position With fixed
bayonets the Germans were glad to sur-
render and escape from the British ar-
tillery fire that had been directed on
them. Most of the Germans in the dug-
outs were made prisoner without even
a show of fight. On Vimy Ridge alone
the Canadians took more than 2,000
prisoners. By 3 o'clock in the afternoon
the Canadians had occupied the whole
of Vimy Ridge with the exception of a
strongly fortified elevation on the left
of Hill 145. Artillery fire which blew the
barbed wire entanglements to pieces
made the Canadian advance easier. One
report described the top of the ridge as
having been literally blown off by the
British big guns. Another dispatch, that
of The Associated Press staff corre-
spondent, dated April 10, says:
The Canadians did not for a moment un-
derestimate the seriousness of the task be-
fore them in taking Vimy. They knew that
the artillery had paved the way to success,
but were frankly surprised when they saw
what the guns had actually done. They
found hundreds of Germans holding up their
hands over the bodies of their fallen com-
rades and begging for something to eat.
These men said they had been cut off for
days from all supplies by the steadiness of
the artillery fire. They could not retire, and
no relief supply columns from the rear ever
reached the neighborhood of where the shells
had been falling in continuous showers.
Some of the stronger redoubts, manned
by machine-gun detachments, in which were
found men of the highest morale in the
German Army, resisted for several hours.
But, closing around them during the night,
the Canadians silenced all resistance.
According to The Toronto Mail and
Empire correspondent, Canadian ar-
tillery, as well as infantry, helped to take
Vimy Ridge. On April 10 he wrote:
The Canadian artillery has played the
strongest part which it has yet been called
upon to do. The full story will probably
show that the Canadian gunners, who have
frequently earned special commendation in
the final tests before proceeding to France,
paved and maintained the way for the
storming of the position, which, though
much coveted, has hitherto been regarded
as almost impregnable.
The military importance of this ridge has
made it the centre of fierce struggles dur-
ing the past two years, the Germans, the
French, and the British' all having heavy
casualties at various times. This time, how-
ever, there is reason to believe that the
Canadian losses will be moderate.
The capture of 2,000 prisoners by the
Canadians is not surprising, as the whole
ridge was honeycombed with dugouts, in
which the Germans sheltered themselves.
Up to the present moment- the great of-
fensive had been held up just at the point
below the Canadian lines, which fact
caused Vimy Ridge to be styled the " hinge "
of the enemy's retreat from the Somme, and
the Canadians have been very impatient for
the " hinge " to move. I also understand
that Canadian cavalry enjoyed more scope
in this action.
Anglo-Canadians are rejoicing at the good
news, and Sir Robert Borden has sent a
congratulatory message to General Byng,
who commands the Canadian forces. The
THE BATTLE OF ARRAS
271
entire press rings with the exploits of the
Canadians, as it did at the battle of Ypres,
but with more jubilation.
Further light is thrown on the work
of the Canadians by the London corre-
spondent of The Canadian Associated
Press:
••• Before midday one Canadian cage had
500 prisoners," said an informant reaching
London today. " One of the first things
which happened before daylight was the
blowing up of an enemy ammunition dump
on Vimy Ridge. The shock was momentarily
paralyzing locally, but was a mere incident
to what followed, The Canadians waited in
the dark, with a cold rain pelting 'and a
bitter 'wind driving over the desolate ground.
The artillery had been pounding away for
days, and every shell we sent over had its
own particular spot to fall on, for the
British airplanes had done wonderful scout-
ing work in preparation for this.
1 The scouting work and the artillery fire
which followed made possible the results al-
ready achieved by our infantry. Our heavy
guns were first brought there three days
after Christmas. They were put in position
in the morning and began firing the same
afternoon. They have gone on ever since,
so there is some idea of what is meant by
artillery preparation.
" There is not the least doubt the results
have given every satisfaction, not merely in
a spectacular sense, which the mere civilian
is able to appreciate, but in the more
technical military sense. Competent sober
estimates had reckoned that the Canadian
divisions could not advance without losing
a third of their strength, but this estimate
has been entirely falsified. The casualty
lists are heavy, but less heavy than any
competent estimate imagined. The air serv-
ice and artillery made this possible."
The Canadian press is able to vouch for
the interesting fact that General Byng in
the earlier stages of the war, and before he
assumed the Canadian command, was in
command of the, English troops who were
then holding the Vimy Ridge line.
At Vimy Ridge for the first time in
history the Stars and Stripes appeared on
a European battlefield. The story is told
in an unofficial dispatch received at Ot-
tawa from the Canadian Army Head-
quarters in Europe:
To a young Texan who came to Ontario to
enlist and who is now lying wounded in the
hospital belongs the honor of first carrying
the American flag into battle in the Euro-
pean war, into which the United States, as
a belligerent, has just entered. He went up
to the assault at Thelus carrying the Stars
and Stripes on his bayonet and fell thus.
As soon as King George learned of
the first day's, fighting he sent the fol-
lowing message to Sir Douglas Haig:
The whole empire will rejoice at the news
of yesterday's successful operations. Canada
will be proud that the taking- of the coveted
Vimy Ridge has fallen to the lot of her
troops. I heartily congratulate you and all
who have taken part in this splendid achieve-
ment.
Hill 145 was the only position that
gave the Canadians serious trouble. It
was an earthern fortress of the first im-
portance, with many underground gal-
leries and concrete emplacements for
machine guns. Although isolated on
three sides from the German lines, the
enemy was difficult to dislodge, and it
was not until the night that the
Canadians after heavy and costly fight-
ing succeeded in occupying it. The Ger-
mans hurried up reinforcements in an at-
tempt to recapture a hill known to the
British as the Pimple so as to have a
vantage point to retake Hill 145. But
the Canadians, on Thursday morning,
(April 12,) suddenly launched an attack,
and, in spite of fierce machine-gun fire
from the German positions, made them-
selves masters of the hill and occupied
the woods through which the Germans
delivered their counterattacks.
Thus already in the first week of the
great British offensive the Canadians
have established their place as an im-
portant factor in the battle of Arras,
which is still in progress. They took
nearly 4,000 prisoners and large quan-
tities of guns and material during their
exploits on Vimy Ridge, and have justi-
fied their choice for the vital task as-
signed to them. As the casualty lists
indicate, not a few of the men in the
Canadian regiments are citizens of the
United States who went to Canada to
enlist.
Great French Offensive Near Rheims
THE French on April 17 launched a new m
offensive which was regarded as the
beginning of the most important ad-
vance they had made since the war
began. For more than thirty months the
historic City of Rheims had been a target
for German guns, and the beautiful City
of Soissons had been likewise in serious
peril. The French line ran south from
Arras, where it joined the British, to a
along a front of nearly forty miles. The
advance on both sides of Rheims made
that city a salient full of danger for the
Germans, with a probability that they
would be forced to withdraw much
further from its neighborhood.
In the fighting, which was very bitter
along the whole front from Flanders to
Alsace, it was estimated that 4,000,000
men were engaged, 2,500,000 Allies and
MAP OF THE FRENCH LINE ON THE AISNE FRONT, APRIL 19, 1917
point on the River Oise near Compiegne,
and then ran eastward, passing Soissons,
Rheims, and Verdun, to a point almost
opposite Metz, and about forty miles
west of that famous German fortified
city; at that point it ran due south again
to St. Mihiel, and then due west, cross-
ing the Moselle near the German border.
The blow struck on April 17 was on an
eleven-mile stretch east of Rheims, and
on the front between Rheims and Sois-
sons. The French troops proved irre-
sistible, advancing from one to two miles
1,500,000 Germans. It was reported that
in the battles of April 14, 15, 16„ and 17
over 35,000 German prisoners had been
taken by British and French together,
and that the German casualties exceeded
150,000; more than 200 guns were cap-
tured and an immense amount of booty;
fully 800 square miles of French terri-
tory were released.
These events seemed on the 20th to
be only preliminary to even greater con-
flicts, perhaps the most critical of the
war.
Naval Power in the Present War
By Lieutenant Charles C. Gill
United States Navy
V — The Submarine
This article is the fifth in a series contributed to Current History Magazine by Lieutenant
Gill of the superdreadnought Oklahoma— with the sanction of the United States Naval De-
partment—for the purpose of deducing the lessons furnished by the naval events of the
European war.
SINCE the outbreak of hostilities the
submarine has been a conspicuous
naval weapon, and German science
has developed it with character-
istic energy, system, and thoroughness.
Early in the war the more powerful allied
navies practically swept the seas of all
enemy merchant ships and contained the
battle fleets of the Central Powers within
comparatively narrow limits. Beyond
these limits, except for a few raids on
commerce by surface cruisers, the naval
activities of both Germany and Austria
have been restricted to the use of sub-
marines.
Considering the disadvantages inherent
in underwater navigation, the results at-
tained have been truly astonishing. In
the first days of the war one small Ger-
man submarine sank three British
armored cruisers in less than one hour;
since then German and Austrian subma-
rines are estimated to have sunk 230,000
tons* of naval vessels and 3,600,000 tons*
of merchant shipping. On Oct. 7, 1916,
the U-53 appeared in Newport Harbor,
exchanged official calls, read the daily
papers, sent dispatches, and departed a
few hours after her arrival. The next
day a submarine destroyed off Nantucket
four British traders and one Dutch
trader. A few months ago peaceful
Funchal was suddenly bombarded by a
German submarine.
The underwater mine layer has be-
come an accomplished fact — it is dis-
turbing to think of this huge mechanical
fish secretly threading the ocean high-
*Even the approximate accuracy of these
figures is questionable, because of conflict-
ing reports and the difficulty in determining
whether a ship was sunk by a ntine or by a
torpedo in the instances where neither was
seen.
ways, laying its engines of destruction.
In addition to all these, Captain Konig
has smilingly introduced to us the
Deutschland, a successful underwater
blockade runner.
With this evidence of accomplishments
it is not surprising that the submarine
has seized upon the imagination. Nor
has Germany, in furthering her ends,
failed to take full advantage of the mys-
tery surrounding underwater attack. It
has been part of the German war plan to
prepare and circulate submarine propa-
ganda designed to strengthen hopes at
home, and at the same time break down
morale in enemy countries. This has
resulted in a somewhat confused perspec-
tive; but it is important that the United
States should search out the facts, reason
to logical conclusions, and take the true
measure of the U-boat.
Arm of the Weaker Combatant
The outstanding characteristic of the
submarine, as the name indicates, is its
ability to navigate below the surface of
the water. This enables it to evade the
enemy, to make a surprise attack, and to
escape by hiding. These faculties are
manifestly suitable for the weaker bel-
ligerent to use against the stronger ene-
my. Navies that dominate, that have
power to seek and destroy in the open,
are not dependent upon abilities to evade
and to hide. It is for this reason that
allied submarines have found their chief
opportunity to strike in sea areas con-
trolled by the fleets of the Central Pow-
ers, the Baltic, Dardanelles, and other
waters close to Teutonic bases, while
German submarines have been active in
all other ocean areas within the cruising
radius of their U-boats. Since the Allies
control practically all the high seas, the
274.
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
field of the U-boat has been large, while
the activities of allied submarines have
been confined to the relatively narrow
coastal waters controlled by Germany,
Austria, and Turkey.
Without depreciating the utility of the
submarine, it may be truly said that if the
Allies had not possessed a single one they
would still, in all probability, have been
able to enjoy the incalculable advantages
that surface control of the seas has given
them. The German submarines, more-
over, have not proved effective against
enemy battle fleets; and in order to
facilitate their commerce-destroying ope-
rations they have found it necessary,
because of inherent weaknesses, to adopt
methods in violation of the laws of civ-
ilized warfare. Before going deeper into
the uses and limitations of the subma-
rine it might be well to touch briefly
upon some of the rules governing its
legitimate employment.
Rules of International Law
The purpose of rules regulating ocean-
borne intercourse in times of peace and
governing both belligerent and neutral
conduct in time of war is to carry out
practically the principles of the freedom
of the seas, and it need hardly be added
that these principles are identical with
those grounding all rules of right con-
duct at sea and on shore; namely, prin-
ciples of liberty, justice, and humanity.
As weapons and other conditions
change, new situations arise which may
require modifications in these rules; but
both in time of peace and in time of war
reason calls for a general concurrence
of Governments before a modified or new
rule can become operative; and any bel-
ligerent instituting methods in violation
cf previously established regulations
assumes the burden of proof to show that
new conditions compel new rules in order
to carry out the never-changing princi-
ples of the freedom of the seas.
There is little room for confusion of
thought on this point. Unfortunately,
however, it is the experience of war-
time practice that military necessity and
the doctrine of " might makes right "
twist these rules into a bewildering tan-
gle. One belligerent breaks a rule and
attempts to justify his conduct. The
enemy, as a matter of policy, turns a
deaf ear to the arguments in justifica-
tion, and, seeing only the broken rule,
proceeds to retaliate by breaking another
rule on the ground that military neces-
sity forces him to resort to this act of
reprisal. And so one act of reprisal
leads to another until unconscionable de-
grees of lawlessness are reached.
It has been suggested as a possible
solution obviating the difficulties of
drawing up a set of good working rules
to govern naval operations against com-
merce that one sweeping sanction of im-
munity might suffice by which all trade
ships would be allowed to carry on their
peaceful pursuits unmolested in time of
war as in time of peace. The objection,
however, to such a rule is, that when the
world is divided between nations at peace
and nations at war, this rule would satis-
fy peoples at peace and one side of the
belligerents, but the other belligerents
would find it discriminatory and would
oppose it as an infringement upon their
rights to use the seas in accordance with
principles of equity and freedom.
To deny belligerents, moreover, their
right to use the seas for suppressing ene-
my commerce and imposing economic
pressure in order to hasten the settle-
ment of their differences, would deprive
the world of what is generally looked
upon, when conducted according to the
rules of civilized warfare, as a humane
method of re-establishing conditions of
peace. It may be added that those who
aim at a world peace secured by a con-
cert of power may reasonably assert
that, while the freedom of the seas is a
foundation principle on which to make a
world peace secure, naval power, by in-
stituting blockades, may at times prove
a humane and effective means of com-
pelling recalcitrant Governments to ob-
serve the provisions of this peace.
Certain Established Rules
During a war, the maritime interests
cf belligerents and neutrals are bound
to conflict; and it is impossible to give
either of them unlicensed use of the seas
without restricting the freedom of the
other. Hence a compromise is necessary,
NAVAL POWER IN THE PRESENT WAR: THE SUBMARINE 275
and so long as nations recognize a state
of war as involving conditions subject
to law in which both belligerents and
neutrals have rights, it is manifest that
rules are required to define and guaran-
tee these rights. It will not be attempted
here to examine closely the many rules
drawn to govern naval warfare, some of
which were still subjects of controversy
when the present war began; but, as an
aid to the memory, a few of the recog-
nized and established regulations affect-
ing the use of the submarine will be
briefly outlined:
1. A blockade to be binding1 must be ef-
fective ; that is, it must be maintained by a
force sufficient to render ingress to or egress
from the enemy coast line dangerous.
2. A blockade must not bar access to neu-
tral ports or coasts.
3. During the continuance of a state of
blockade no vessels are allowed to enter or
leave the blockaded place without consent of
the blockading authority.
4. The prohibition of contraband trade with
the attendant adjudging of penalties is a
belligerent right. This right can only be ex-
ercised upon the high seas and the terri-
torial waters of the belligerents and in ac-
cordance with the rules and usages of inter-
national law. (Contraband of war may be
defined as articles destined for the enemy
and capable of use as an assistance to the
enemy in carrying on war either ashore or
afloat.)
5. Lawfully commissioned public vessels of
a belligerent nation may exercise the right of
visiting and searching merchant ships upon
the high seas, whatever be the ship, the
cargo, or the destination. If the examination
of ship's papers and search show fraud,,
contraband, an offense in respect of block-
ade, or enemy service, the vessel may be
seized. Force may be used to overcome
either resistance or flight, but condemnation
follows forcible resistance alone. In exer-
cising these rights belligerents must con-
form to the rules and usages of interna-
tional law.
6. When a vessel in action surrenders,
(usually indicated by hauling down the na-
tional flag or showing the white flag of
truce,) firing must cease on the part of the
victor. To continue an attack after knowl-
edge of surrender, or to sink a vessel after
submission, te a violation of the rules of civ-
ilized warfare only permissible in cases of
treachery or renewal of the action.
7. Absolute contraband, including guns,
ammunition, and the like, is liable to capture
on the high seas or in the territorial waters
of the belligerents if it is shown to be des-
tined to territory belonging to or occupied by
the enemy, or to the armed forces of the
enemy. It is immaterial whether the car-
riage of the goods is direct or entails trans-
shipment or a subsequent transport by land.
Also there must be a trial and judgment of a
prize court of the captor having proper juris-
diction in regard to the goods involved,
whether destroyed or not.
Policy of " War Areas "
At the beginning of the war Great
Britain might have taken advantage of
the well-established case of our legal
blockade of the Confederate States. A
summary of the steps by which this civil
war blockade was made legally effective
will be found in the article, " American
Tactics in the Present War," in Current
History Magazine for November, 1916.
Instead of proclaiming a legal block-
ade of Germany, Great Britain in an
Admiralty order, Nov. 2, 1914, announced
military areas in the North Sea, trusting
to British command of the sea, which at
that time seemed undisputed. This was
an unfortunate move, for the possibilities
of the submarine were not considered;
and Germany was able to retaliate by
declaring all waters about Great Britain
and Ireland a " war zone," beginning
Feb. 18, 1915.
Great Britain at once realized her mis-
take, and by an Order in Council pro-
claimed a blockade of Germany, March
1, 1915. But the harm had been done,
and the pernicious war area had been
evolved. On Jan. 27, 1917, the British
Admiralty announced that the area in the
North Sea had been enlarged. This was
modified Feb. 13, 1917. On Jan. 31, 1917,
Germany sent to the neutral nations the
" barred zone " note announcing unre-
stricted submarine warfare beginning on
Feb. 1, 1917.
Armed Merchantmen
Merchantmen have the right to arm for
defense. A merchantman may repel an
attack by any enemy ship, but only a
man-of-war can attack men-of-war.
According to international law the
character of a ship is determined by her
employment; and it is an established
right of merchant vessels that they may
carry arms — for defense only — without
necessarily altering their status before
the law as traders engaged in legitimate
276
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
peaceful pursuits. This right is well
established by precedent, and although
prolific of complications, it has on the
whole operated to sustain the principles
of freedom of the seas. Its usefulness
was conspicuous in the days of piracy;
and the " long toms " on board our clip-
per ships proved strong arguments in
suppressing lawlessness.
In the heat of war, moreover, bellig-
erents are inclined to infringe the privi-
leges of noncombatants, and experience
has shown thatfthe right of merchant
vessels to arm for defense has tended to
prevent belligerents from unlawful inter-
ference with peaceful traffic. The bel-
ligerent right to stop, visit, search, and
capture merchantmen is a high sovereign
power, and it seems reasonable to require
that the vessels authorized to exercise it
should possess potential strength. It
would be a somewhat absurd condition,
inviting abuse and irregularity, if rules
were so framed as to permit a fast enemy
motor boat, manned by three or four
men armed with rifles, to stop, search,
and capture an ocean liner, without
allowing the liner to attempt lawfully
either flight or resistance. On the other
hand, a motor boat, submarine, or any
other duly commissioned and authorized
man-of-war has the right to employ force
to overcome resistance or to prevent
flight; and the merchantman has no re-
dress for damage sustained during at-
tempted flight or resistance. In the ma-
jority of cases, it is obvious that pru-
dence will influence merchantmen to sur-
render promptly in the face of a respect-
ably powerful man-of-war rather than
forfeit immunity by attempting flight or
resistance.
If an armed merchantman of a neu-
tral country on friendly terms with the
warring nations should resist by force a
belligerent man-of-war, the neutral Gov-
ernment would properly discountenance
the act as incompatible with the relations
of amity existing between the two coun-
tries. If, however, neutral rights are
violated to an intolerable degree a state
of armed neutrality may supplant the
relations of amity, and under these unus-
ual conditions a Government has the
right and may be in duty bound to pre-
serve its neutrality by using such force
as the circumstances may require; but
in this delicate situation care must be
exercised that force is used only in de-
fense of neutral rights.
Blockades and Submarines
From the beginning of the war sub-
marines have helped to prevent a close
blockade of the coasts of the Central
Powers, and the inability on the part of
the allied navies to institute a coast line
blockade strictly in accordance with the
established rules of international law has
led to what is generally known as a dis-
tant blockade. The so-called Orders in
Council regulating this distant blockade
have lengthened the contraband lists and
extended the doctrine of ultimate destina-
tion until Germany's commerce with non-
contiguous countries has been practically
cut off.
As the effectiveness of the blockade
increased, military necessity demanded
that Germany do something to counter-
act it. The only weapon her navy could
use was the submarine. Underwater at-
tack against the blockading battle fleets
met with little success; but the unscrupu-
lous use of the submarine as a commerce
destroyer brought better results. The
vigorous protest of neutrals against the
violation of their rights caused Germany,
for a time, to make an effort to comply
with the rules and usages of international
law; but this effort proved ineffectual.
The vulnerability of the submarine, with
the increasing efficacy of the ways and
means developed to safeguard merchant-
men from its attack, presented to the
German Government the alternative
either of suffering a curtailment of sub-
marine effectiveness or of abandoning
lawful methods. Germany's decision to
take the latter course was announced to
the world by official notification that
within a war zone embracing large areas
of the high seas her submarines would
sink all ships, neutral or belligerent,
without warning. It was further an-
nounced that a weekly neutral steamer
here and there would be spared, provided
Germany's orders respecting cargo and
behavior were carefully observed.
In tracing the developments leading to
NAVAL POWER IN THE PRESENT WAR: THE SUBMARINE 277.
this decision it is interesting to follow
the various measures of retaliation
adopted by both sides and to note the
part taken, either directly or indirectly,
by the submarine; the creation of danger
zones, the indiscriminate use of mines
and torpedoes, the lengthened contraband
lists — all the various successive moves by
which the belligerents, actuated by the
policy of military necessity, have tres-
passed more and more upon the rights
of neutrals and noncombatants. But in
spite of the scientific triumph of the
modern U-boat, and notwithstanding the
toll of shipping sacrificed, a careful study
of all sides of the question seems to lead
to the conclusion that in the end the sub-
marine will not vindicate the expectations
of those who hail it as a decisive factor
of modern war. The submarine may be
able to prevent a close blockade by the
enemy; but it does not seem to be able
either to break the grip of a distant
blockade or to establish an effective sub-
marine blockade as a countermeasure.
The Submarine s Limitations
Submarines are of many different
types and sizes, which may be divided
into two general classes: the smaller
coast-defense submarine of moderate
cruising capacities, and the larger sea-
going submarine with greater fighting
and cruising abilities. The first-men-
tioned class comprises the five-hundred-
ton to eight-hundred-ton submarines, and
includes the familiar E, F, G, H, K, and
L boats of our navy. Germany uses these
types chiefly in the North Sea, Baltic
Sea, and other home waters. The other
and more modern class includes the larg-
er U-boats operating on the high seas.
The most recent of Germany's large
submarines may be described as the
fighting consorts of the Deutschland.
Although little is known positively about
them, the following approximate char-
acteristics may be attributed: tonnage,
2,000; Diesel engines of 6,000 to 8,000
horse power, giving a surface speed of
18 to 20 knots and a submerged speed
of 12 to 14 knots; a cruising radius at
most economical speed of about 7,000
miles; and an armament of one or two
small calibre (three inch or four inch)
guns in addition to about sixteen torpe-
does.
These are formidable craft, capable of
doing much damage, especially if operat-
ing from a secret base supplied and pro-
visioned by ships like the Deutschland.
But they have difficulties to overcome.
The problems of submarine navigation
have not all been satisfactorily solved.
When submerged the speed is slow, mak-
ing it necessary to rise to the surface
in order to overtake even moderately fast
freighters. It is then that the trader's
guns for defense become dangerous.
Moreover, the distance the submarine
can go below the surface on a stretch
is still comparatively short, probably 150
miles for the newest U-boats is an over-
estimate. When the limit is reached the
submarine either has to remain stopped
or come to the surface to recharge her
batteries. If the submarine is forced to
keep below the surface, besides having
a reduced speed, she cannot use her
guns and therefore has to draw upon her
limited supply of expensive torpedoes.
Nor is it an altogether easy matter to
manoeuvre a submarine by periscope so
as to score a hit on an alert merchant-
man.
Advantages of Armed Ships
Suppose a submarine on the edge of
the war zone, either stopped or cruising
slowly on the surface looking for mer-
chantmen. Smoke is sighted, say, at
twenty-five or thirty thousand yards.
The submarine would probably manoeu-
vre to get in the path of the quarry and
then submerge at a range of about fifteen
to twenty thousand yards before there
were likelihood of her being sighted by
the supposedly armed trader. If the
merchantman should come straight on, to
destroy her is comparatively easy; but if,
instead of this, a zigzag, irregular course
should be steered, the submarine would
have to estimate the changes through her
periscope and manoeuvre to keep ahead
of the merchantman, with consequently
more likelihood of being discovered and
less likelihood of getting near enough for
a sure shot. If the periscope should be
seen by the trading vessel, she would
probably open fire and turn away. Shots
278
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
splashing in front of a submarine's peri-
scope would hamper her manoeuvring
abilities and the chances of getting a hit
in a stern-on target steering a zigzag
course would, unless close aboard, hardly
be worth expending a torpedo. To catch
the trader, unless a slow one, the sub-
marine would have to come to the sur-
face and risk destruction by gun fire.
All these limitations contribute to
make the submarine vulnerable and less
effective. Although nets, aircraft, and
the lighter submarine chasers will not be
as competent against seagoing subma-
rines as against the smaller coast sub-
marines, both because of the greater size
of the former and because of the rough-
er weather and sea conditions to be con-
tended with, still they may do some good
while more effectual methods are being
developed. Undoubtedly the United
States Navy will be of great help in
solving this problem — but it would be
improper at this time to discuss our
navy's share in the game.
Until means of neutralizing the sub-
marines are found they will take great
toll from merchantmen. It is folly not
to realize that they are destroying many
vessels, and not to acknowledge that
merchantmen run risks, especially under
conditions of poor visibility at night, in
fog, and in mist. Early dawn is also a
critical time for the trader. But it is
probable, as schemes of co-operation are
developed between the submarine-hunting
navies and the shipping they are trying
to safeguard, that these dangers will be
lessened.
Future of the Submarine
The question of the future of under-
water craft is conjectural, but it is possi-
ble to make some tentative deductions
from the trend along which development
has so far proceeded.
The submarine is always asking for a
greater cruising radius, more speed, bet-
ter habitability, and more power. It is
also reported that new designs call for
an increased number of torpedoes, to-
gether with guns and armor protection
for surface fighting. There is perhaps a
new type of submarine under construction
or possibly already afloat, some idea of
which might be had by conceiving a sort
of submersible monitor of about 4,000 to
6,000 tons displacement, carrying a tur-
ret mounting two six-inch guns so at-
tached to the hull as to present when
firing only armor-protected parts above
the water. A division of these sub-
mersible monitors, accompanied by a few
Deutschlands fitted as troop-carrying
and supply ships, might set out from a
blockaded coast, steam to distant parts,
and there seize, fortify, and hold with
considerable tenacity an advance base
from which to operate against commerce.
Such an expedition might do a lot of
damage unless met and defeated by the
determined measures of an equally enter-
prising adversary.
The evolution of the submarine ap-
pears to be toward the submersible bat-
tleship; but the consensus of naval opin-
ion at present seems to be that a super-
submersible capable of navigating under
the water and also strong enough to fight
battleships on the surface involves an
almost prohibitive cost, which would be
out of proportion to the advantages
gained. By increasing the tonnage of the
submarine its mechanical difficulties are
aggravated. On the other hand, the
large tonnage of the surface battleship
is like a reserve of wealth, which may be
expended in any desirable way; if under-
water attack is a serious menace to the
battleship some of~this tonnage can be
drawn upon to supply suitable protection,
such as a series" of outer and inner bot-
toms so constructed and subdivided as
to make the ship practically nonsinkable;
or, if attack from the air is dangerous,
reserve tonnage may be drawn upon for
aero defense — and so on. In estimating
the value of the submarine in wars to
come it would appear safe, therefore, to
assume that in future struggles for con-
trol of the seas the role of the submarine
will always be secondary to that of sur-
face ships.
Summary of Results
In making a brief survey of the naval
activities of the war it is seen that the
submarine has been of no great value to
the superior navies controlling the seas,
but has been practically the only effective
NAVAL POWER IN THE PRESENT WAR: THE SUBMARINE 279
naval weapon of the inferior fleets.
When used against the enemy battle
squadrons it has influenced strategy and
tactics and scored a few minor successes
in sinking some of the older men-of-war,
but generally speaking has produced no
very important results. When used
against merchant ships the submarine
has been unable to attain effectiveness
while complying with the rules and
usages of international law, but by re-
sorting to unscrupulous methods it has
become a dangerous commerce destroyer ;
and the suppression of this evil must be
one of the tasks of the navies at war
with Germany.
The war has shown that the chief tacti-
cal value of the submarine is for defense,
to hold the enemy at a distance. The fleet
submarine has also demonstrated an of-
fensive value which may be useful in at-
taining a tactical advantage. In addition,
it is not to be denied that the submarine
has raised havoc with both neutral and
belligerent commerce. But the subma-
rine blockade has not proved effective,
and the lawless methods of the U-boat
have aroused a worldwide condemnation.
The reactive effect of Germany's subma-
rine war on commerce may easily prove
so damaging as to more than counter-
balance any temporary advantage gained.
It may be inferred, therefore, that the
United States needs submarines both to
help defend her coasts and to operate as
a tactical subdivision of the fleet. A
lesson also learned is that, although the
submarine is not now, and probably
never will be, a dominating factor in
naval warfare, it should be squarely
faced as a serious menace which to com-
bat successfully under certain circum-
stances might demand our utmost inge-
nuity and energy.
Secret U-Boat Orders to German Newspapers
THE following document, which is be-
lieved to be authentic, indicates the
method used by the German Govern-
ment to obtain unanimous press support
for the present submarine campaign:
General Command, Seventh Army Corps,
Dept. lid., No. 1149.
Miinster, February, 1917.
No. 545: NOTICE
To Newspaper and Editorial Offices, &c.
CONFIDENTIAL. NOT TO BE COPIED.
SECRET -
Newspapers are requested to act on the
following- advice when discussing unlimited
" U " boat war :
1. Opinions regarding the usefulness of the
measures and of the time chosen, after the
decision has been made, would have the ef-
fect of weakness and lack of harmony, would
encourage the enemy, and perhaps induce
wavering neutrals to come in.
2. For the beginning of the concluding
struggle absolute internal unison is essen-
tial. The determined approval of the entire
people must ring out from the press.
3. It is a question, not of a movement of
desperation — all the factors have been care-
fully weighed after conscientious technical
naval preparation — but of the best and only
means to a speedy, victorious ending of the
4. Toward America it is advisable to use the
outward forms of friendliness. Unfriendli-
ness would increase the danger of America
coming in — the breaking off of diplomatic
relations, even active participation, hangs in
the balance. The attitude of the press must
not increase this danger.
5. The navy, fully conscious of its power,
enters into this new section ^of the war with
firm confidence in the result. It is recom-
mended that the phase be called unlimited,
not ruthless, " U " boat war.
C. Material, personnel, and appliances are
being increased and approved continually ;
trained reserves are ready.
7. England's references to the perfection of
her means of defense, which are intended to
reassure the English people, are refuted by
the good results of the last months.
8. Each result is now much more important*
because the enemy's Mercantile Marine is
already weakened, the material used up.
Much colored personnel.
9. The psychological influence should not
be underestimated. Fear amongst the enemy
and neutrals leads to difficulties with the
crews, and may induce neutrals to keep
ships in harbor.
10. " U " boat war is now exclusively a
part of the combined method of waging war,
therefore a purely military matter.
A Submarine Torpedo: What It Is and
How It Works
PLUNGER
RE&ULATORS.
WCHINERY.II' J
I^CHAMBER'UlLllI I;
fe«i|i;i|i
JUDDER.- -J
GYROSCOPE..
HEARINGS.
—RUDDER
SCREWS.
NEARLY all the belligerent powers
are now manufacturing their own
torpedoes, and the type of all is
the same, differing only in details. A
glance at the Whitehead torpedo, which
is manufactured at Fiume, Austria, and
which has long been the only one in use,
will give a clear idea of the working of
these engines of destruction. After be-
ing fired from a tube in the side of a
torpedo boat or submarine, the torpedo
travels under its own power until this is
spent, or until it strikes an object and ex-
plodes. The vessel launching it must
stop its engines in order to get any ac-
curacy of aim.
In its external appearance the torpedo
is a spindle-shaped tube of sheet steel
furnished with a " tail " that gives no
clue to the wonderful mechanism inside
it. The most powerful type in use meas-
ures 21 inches in diameter and about 20
feet long. It weighs 3,000 pounds. The
cost of a torpedo is upward of $1 a
pound; even for one of medium size
$2,000 is a moderate price.
The torpedo contains its own motive
power, which is compressed air. It is
divided into compartments which screw
into each other, and which may here be
examined in the order in which they are
placed.
The " charge cone " at the apex is
filled with an explosive — usually moist
guncotton — in which is placed a tube of
dry guncotton furnished with a fulminat-
ing cap preceded by a plunger. When the
plunger strikes a solid object it explodes
the charge. The earlier model of torpedo
contained fifteen or twenty pounds of
guncotton, but the largest today contain
more than 225 pounds of this or some
other powerful explosive.
Behind the charge cone is the com-
pressed-air chamber, with a capacity
varying from 12,000 to 20,000 cubic
inches and in direct communication with
the motor. The air in it is usually com-
pressed to 150 atmospheres. The machine
A SUBMARINE TORPEDO
281
chamber contains the motor which oper-
ates the screws and the auxiliary motor
that controls the depth rudder. While
the other compartments of the torpedo
are water tight, the machine chamber is
POWDER CHAMBER
1
LOADED TORPEDO TUBE
pierced with holes through which it is
filled with sea water, thus keeping the
motor cool. The rear cone, also called
the rear float, contains a considerable
quantity of ordinary air. Here is found
the gyroscope — whose function is to keep
the torpedo going straight in its original
direction — with its auxiliary motor,
the screw shafts, and a compartment
for gearing.
The screws turn in opposite di-
rections, the force being transmitted
through two concentric shafts. These
shafts are hollow; it is through their
tubes that the compressed air escapes
on emerging from the motor, producing
the bubbles that betray the track of
the torpedo on the surface of the water.
This track, visible to the naked eye at
800 or 1,000 yards, can scarcely be
seen 100 yards away if the sea is rough.
The " tail " is formed by a frame,
inside of which the screws and rudders
move.
As the torpedo propels itself and guides
itself by its own power, the firing of it
has no other object than to launch it in
the water in the right direction. The
process differs according as the torpedo
is fired from the surface or under water.
Both methods are used in torpedo
boats and battleships. To fire the tor-
pedo from the surface a cannon tube is
used, charged with one-half to two-thirds
of a pound of powder. This tube is
usually installed on the deck, mounted on
a truck that permits it to be aimed
like an ordinary gun.
Firing under water is the only
method that can be used by sub-
marines. Every navy maintains se-
crecy regarding its apparatus for this
purpose, but the machinery all belongs
to one of two types— (1) a shuttle
tube manipulated inside the ship,
with the muzzle fitted into the hull;
(2) a cradle fixed in the water at
the side of the ship and containing the
torpedo, which goes forth under the pro-
pulsion of its own screw after this has
been started from the interior of the
vessel. The Armstrong tube, which is
cftjJJJtt
FIRING THE TORPEDO
dia-
represented in the accompanying
grams, belongs to the former class.
The effects of a charge of 200 pounds
of guncotton exploding against the side
of a vessel are likely to vary according
to the point struck, the depth below the
surface, and the strength of the hull. The
best torpedoes travel to a distance of six
miles, with a speed of about twenty-five
knots; by limiting the range to two or
three miles a speed of thirty-five knots
can be obtained, or about twenty yards
a second. Within 500 or 1,000 yards
there is a chance of hitting the target;
at 2,000 yards the chances are meagre,
and beyond 3,000 yards the probable
lateral deviation is more than 150 meters.
British Foreign Policies and the
Present War
By Thomas G. Frothingham
1878
" A free outlet for the undeveloped" re-
sources of Russia would have given England
the trade of the world. England should
have given Constantinople to Russia."
THE above was the comment of the
writer's father on the terms of
the Congress of Berlin, (1878.)
My father was of an old firm of
Mediterranean merchants. This great
sea from ancient days has been the
pulsating heart of the commerce of the
world, and in the seventies its merchants
were wise beyond their generation.
These words have proved prophetic —
and the results of England's mistake are
far-reaching. Her conduct, which led to
the Congress of Berlin, made Germany
a dominating power in Europe and main-
tained the Turkish Empire. Both were
intended to be buffers against imaginary
Russian encroachments — and both are
now vindictively fighting against Eng-
land.
The Past in a New Light
England had emerged from her period
of stress through the first half of the
eighteenth century with the strongest
national life of all the nations. From
the adventurers of the Elizabethan times,
through the stern assertion of the na-
tion by Cromwell, and from the seafaring
colonists of England, there had sprung
a national growth unique in history.
There were lapses under the indolent
Stuarts, but the trend had been toward
maritime and colonial supremacy. The
last half of the eighteenth century saw
England with the dominion of the seas
and enlarged colonial possessions.
England strained her resources in the
Napoleonic wars, but it is doubtful if her
course was altogether wise. She came
out of these wars with an apparent in-
crease of prestige and power on the sea.
But all her influence had been thrown to
revive the empires of Europe. Of these
Prussia, Austria, and Russia were des-
tined to have an evil effect on England's
future, Prussia and Austria as enemies
and Russia as an imaginary foe, against
whom England has wasted her energies
for a hundred years.
After the downfall of Napoleon there
was for England a long time of great
prosperity and increased power. Eng-
land seemed to have gained all her ends,
and, with her established command of
the seas and consequent control of com-
merce, she seemed assured of the com-
mercial supremacy of the world.
Unfounded Suspicion of Russia
But after the war of 1828-29 between
Turkey and Russia, which resulted in
the independence of Greece, (announced
by Turkey in 1830,) there grew up in the
British mind a great suspicion of Russia
and hostility against Russian occupation
of Constantinople. A more false posi-
tion would have been hard for England
to find. As the commercial clearing
house of the world and the great com-
mon carrier, she would have been assured
of Russia's trade, and the development of
Russia would have opened great markets
for English goods — but all England could
see was the bogey of military Russia.
This unreasoning opposition to Russia
became a mania with the English, and
the resultant harm to England can only
be measured by the present war.
It is hard to justify the attitude of the
men who controlled the destinies of Eng-
land. Instead of realizing that the open-
ing of the Dardanelles to Russia meant
a flood of wealth to England, Russia
was pictured as an avalanche ready to
overwhelm British interests in the Near
and Far East.
All this was entirely at variance with
the characteristics of the Slav. Yet the
BRITISH FOREIGN POLICIES AND THE PRESENT WAR
283
" Eastern question " in British eyes be-
came a question of anything to serve as
a barrier against Russia. The relations
between England and the French Em-
pire became very cordial, and these two
powers in the Crimean war (1854) saved
the Turkish Empire from the onslaught
of Nicholas I. of Russia and maintained
Turkish rule over the outlet from the
Black Sea.
In view of the lesson that England
has received and her recent views, as
given out by Balfour, it is really pa-
thetic to realize that England went to
war in 1854 to prevent the independence
of Serbia, Bosnia, and Bulgaria, the pro-
visional occupation of Constantinople,
and a Russian protectorate of the Chris-
tians of the Greek Church in the Turkish
Empire! Yet such is the fact — and shut-
ting up Russia in the Black Sea was
actually regarded as a British triumph!
The result of the war was to leave Rus-
sia crippled and constricted behind the
barriers of the Dardanelles. All her vast
commercial possibilities were lost to
England. From this time on it was a
repetition of the same story. All Eng-
land's efforts were concentrated on try-
ing to hem in Russia.
British Politics to Blame
No great democratic nation with the
vitality of England would have been so
blind to its real interests if there had
not been some factor that befogged the
public mind. This is found in the ma-
chinery of English politics. Members of
Parliament are not elected for any defi-
nite term of office. The only limitation
to the life of a Parliament is the seven-
year provision of the Septennial act of
1716. Consequently, a Government is
not placed in power for any term
of office, nor is it dependent on
representatives elected at stated times.
On the contrary, the Ministry has tenure
of office as long as it can command a
majority of Parliament. This makes any
Government a target for the Opposition,
and the result has been a constant effort
to raise a " question " on which the Min-
istry in office might be defeated. This
system has led to the manufacture
of issues, to the rise and fall of
Ministers from artificially pumped up
" questions," and this accounts for the
long tenure in office of such " states-
men " as Palmerston, Russell, Disraeli,
and Salisbury. Almost all of England's
mistakes in the Victorian period are
branded with the names of these men —
and all were acclaimed as victories at the
time.
A constant stream of useless issues
attracted the attention of the British
public, and kept England from seeing
the real stakes in the great game she was
playing — her supremacy of the world
through control of the sea and unrestrict-
ed commerce. If it had not been for the
constant bickering over what were then
considered the important politics of Par-
liament, the public mind of England
would surely have grasped Great Brit-
ain's real interests abroad, of which the
most important was freeing commerce
for England's profit.
.The " Eastern question " became a
distorted fetich, to which were sac-
rificed England's treasures gained
through her greatest era. Palmerston,
Russell, Disraeli, and Salisbury were the
high priests of this cult, and by catch-
words and incantations deluded their fol-
lowers to disaster.
German Growth Stimulated
With Russia shut in as a result of the
Crimean war, there followed the most
mistaken period of English history. The
projects of Louis Napoleon were given
full headway — and the aggrandizement
of Prussia was unrestrained.
England encouraged Denmark to the
breaking point in the Schleswig-Holstein
question in 1864 — and then left Denmark
to lose both provinces, which were ac-
quired by Prussia after the war of 1866.
All this greatly strengthened Prussia.
A look at the map will show that these
provinces made possible the great double
naval base connected by the Kiel Canal,
which has proved of such great value to
Germany in the present war. Lord John
Russell presided over this inexcusable
foreign policy,* which made Prussia a
*Black is the ingratitude of mankind !
There is no statue of Lord Russell, the great
benefactor, the true founder of the German
Navy, standing Unter den Linden in Berlin. —
Lord Redesdale.
284
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
dangerous power in Europe, with a mili-
tary equipment perfected in the war of
1866. Louis Napoleon dragged unpre-
pared France into fighting this well-
armed antagonist — and the victorious
war of 1870 created a united Germany.
The impetus of the united strength of
Germany evolved from the war of 1870
has never been understood by outside na-
tions. For Germans the war of 1870 has
been their text and their inspiration.
The next generation of Germans modeled
the life of Germany, military, civic, com-
mercial, scientific, and social, on the ef-
ficiency of the war of 1870. This is the
key to united Germany, and the fact that
its States are united should not be any
longer doubted.
Nor is it reasonable to think of Ger-
many as merely ruled by a military caste.
On the contrary, Germany has made it-
self a remorseless machine with a full
belief in the efficiency of such a system.
But the whole mechanism is interlocked
with militarism, and if her armies fail to
win victory, faith in the structure will
disappear. Then there will be a new
order in Germany.
With all this great potential national
life, Germany emerged from the war of
1870 poor in financial resources. Ger-
many had practically spent in advance
the indemnity exacted from France. The
French Nation made a wonderful revival
from this tax and became prosperous at
once, but Germany was hard pressed for
funds for her development.
In the meantime Russia had recovered
her strength, and the new revolt of the
Balkan Slavs (1875-76) had again aroused
her to action. The fearful toll of mas-
sacre taken by Turkey from Bulgaria
caused a great sensation in England, but
the Disraeli Government, in power at the
time, set against this the " ambitions "
of Russia, and England resumed her task
as watchdog of the Turkish Empire in
Constantinople.
Britain s Greatest Mistake
It is comment enough on the intelli-
gence of British politics at the time to
note that the overturn in Parliament, re-
sulting in placing the Disraeli Ministry
in power, came from " the q-uestion of
university education in Ireland." From
this petty issue Disraeli and Salisbury
were evolved as England's representa-
tives in the Congress of Berlin, (1878,)
the greatest of all England's mistakes in
her history.
In the Russo-Turkish war, Russia had
broken down the obstinate resistance of
the Turks. Her victorious army was ad-
vancing on Constantinople, and it was
evident at the end of 1877 that the Turks
would not be able to save the city. With
this victorious advance of the Russians
came great alarm in misguided England,
and there was a cry to save Constanti-
nople. This was the outbreak of the
" jingo " policy. The atrocities in Bul-
garia were forgotten, and all who said
that Turkey was not England's ward
were ignored.
Disraeli fanned these fires to the ut-
most. Early in 1878 the neutral British
Ambassador was recalled from Constan-
tinople and a strong pro-Turk was sub-
stituted. The British fleet was ordered
to the Dardanelles and a war credit of
£6,000,000 was asked of Parliament.
In the meantime Turkey had sued for
peace, (Agreement of Adrianople, Jan.
31, 1878,) but England maintained her
hostile attitude, and in the Peace of San
Stefano (March 3, 1878) Russia did not
make the occupation of Constantinople a
condition. Serbia, Montenegro, and Ru-
mania were freed from Turkey. Bul-
garia remained tributary to the Porte,
but received a Christian Prince.
These terms were unsatisfactory to
England, and she still threatened war,
having made a secret treaty (June 4) to
protect Turkey against Russian conquest.
For this England was to receive Cyprus,
(occupied July 11, 1878.) Germany was
secured as a mediator, and the repre-
sentatives of the powers met at the Con-
gress of Berlin, (June 13-July 13,) under
the Presidency of Prince Bismarck — an
ominous choice to preside over the set-
tlement of Great Britain's destinies!
Errors of Berlin Congress
By the terms of the treaties drawn
up at the Congress of Berlin the Balkan
States received less territory than in the
Peace of San Stefano. Russia was left
still cut off from the Dardanelles. Ger-
£p^£
«fiS£
n\
i.
LATIN-AMERICAN WAR LEADERS
DR. WENCESLAU BRAZ
President of Brazil
MARIO G. MENOCAL
President of Cuba
DR. LAURO MULLER
Brazilian Foreign Minister
RAMON M. VALDES
President of Panama
{Photo Harrit d Swing)
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HUNTING U-BOATS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN
'
A French Dirigible Watching for Submarines That Are Un-
der Water, and Calling Destroyers by Wireless
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A French Naval Seaplane Which Can Rise Into the Air and
Destroy Submarines by Means of Special Bombs
ifrtmvh Official War Jttwd)
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:'<•
BRITISH FOREIGN POLICIES AND THE PRESENT WAR
285
many, under the leadership of the great
Bismarck, had become a dominant power.
England had assumed guardianship of
Turkey, and received Cyprus — a mess of
pottage for the fairest inheritance in
the world!
Yet all this was proclaimed as a Brit-
ish triumph.* Disraeli and Salisbury
were pictured as conquerors. The fact
that Germany and Austria made their
alliance the next year (1879) was not
noticed.
From this time on England and Ger-
many drew closer together. English
money was loaned to Germany for her
pressing financial needs, and while Eng-
land imagined she was building up a bar-
rier against Russia, Bismarck was using
these resources to build up an organized
foreign trade. Before England realized
her error much of her trade, even in her
own colonies, had been taken away by
Germany. Even in the late eighties Brit-
ish " statesmen " had not waked to the
true situation — and at this time Salis-
bury ceded Heligoland to Germany!
This last disastrous gift to Germany
was a fitting culmination of Salisbury's
career. The fortified island and the
Bight of Heligoland have given Germany
a naval base that has done incalculable
harm to England.
Beginning of Antagonism
In the nineties the commercial expan-
sion of Germany, at the expense of Eng-
land's foreign trade, began to alienate
the English from Germany. The British
merchants began to realize that English
trade was the greatest sufferer from
German competition, but this feeling was
slow to spread through the nation. The
Kaiser's indescreet letter to Kruger at
the time of the Jameson raid in South
Africa was the thing that aroused British
hostility to Germany. Great Britain
at last awoke to the fact that Germany
was not a " friendly nation. "f
There was an immediate change in
feeling toward the United States. The
*A volcanic triumph such as has rarely, if
ever, been equaled in diplomacy.— Lord
Redesdale.
fSo called by Salisbury at the time of the
cession of Heligoland.
bitterness over the Venezuela matter
disappeared, and Great Britain chose the
United States for a friend — a choice she
should have made long before.
This change of heart on the part of
Britain was strikingly shown in the
Spanish-American war at Manila Bay,
where the German fleet was threatening
our fleet under Admiral Dewey, (1898.)
The British Admiral intimated to the
German Admiral that, in case of hostili-
ties, the British would take the part of
the Americans. From that time Great
Britain and Germany drew further apart
and open enmity replaced friendship.
Yet even then England did not see the
light in regard to Russia. The next
phase was the Russian " threat " in the
Far East. This was the period that fol-
lowed " Russia at the Gates of Herat."
Again Russia was painted as an ava-
lanche ready to overwhelm the British
possessions. Tibet, Afghanistan, and
Persia were made so important that all
other interests were forgotten, and Eng-
land was ready to make use of any
possible means to do harm to Russia.
The occasion for another British mis-
take grew out of the Russian lease in
Manchuria. Port Arthur was thought a
great military base, with a huge Russian
army collecting for sinister designs.
Consequently England largely financed
the Japanese in their war against Russia
— with the same obsession of trying to
gain another buffer against Russia's
imaginary military plans.
Then the curtain was drawn aside and
revealed actual conditions — instead of
the imaginary ones — and the war showed
that Russia's " military preparations "
had consisted in having no " great army "
in the East, but in building the great open
warm-water port of Dalny to let out her
trade. This port was destroyed by Japan's
victory — to England's immediate loss of
trade. England has now realized that, in
again cramping Russia, she has created
another rival in the East, which has al-
ready hurt her trade and influence.
Created the War Situation
So it has continued to the present war.
England is now confronted with a situa-
tion of her own making. She is clean of
286
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
blame in bringing on the war by any
wrong acts or by any breach of faith.
The events have shown plainly enough
that the war is the act of Germany, and
that her brutal invasion of France
through Belgium had been planned for
years in advance. Nothing can remove
this stain from Germany, but the un-
natural conditions that inexorably
brought on the war were made by Eng-
land.
England has shut in Russia — to Eng-
land's own great loss. Her policies have
made Germany a dominating power, and
she has maintained the Turkish Empire.
Both Germany and the Turkish Empire
are now her deadly foes. She has built
up Japan into a military power, and
Japan is, at the best for England, only
a half-hearted ally and a disturbing in-
fluence in Britain's Eastern colonies.
These disastrous results of British poli-
cies in the Victorian days of power and
opportunity must be faced and no longer
ignored. Great Britain is paying a fear-
ful price for the mistakes of the era
that should have sealed her dominion,
and the nation is now fighting desper-
ately to correct those mistakes.
Our sympathies and our friendship
should be with Great Britain in this
struggle. There are ties of kinship, and
England has lately shown a most
friendly feeling toward the United
States. We should also remember that
England stands for democracy against
the autocracy of Germany. On the other
hand, the unthinking comment that
" England is fighting our war " only
blurs the issue and arouses prejudice
against Great Britain in many parts of
our country. The truth is that England
is fighting her own war — not ours.
American friendship should be given to
England, not demanded as a payment.
There is another very grave aspect of
the question. Russia is now one of the
Entente Allies, but it is evident that
Great Britain, from her conduct toward
Russia, has no hold on Russia from any
point of view. How can there be any
real feeling of friendliness for England
in Russia?
France, with the exception of the mis-
guided episode of Louis Napoleon, has
held a different course. France has
shown a friendly feeling for Russia,
and formed an early alliance with
her. Consequently the feeling of Rus-
sia for France is a very different
thing. France has played a chivalrous
, part in the great drama, and the strange
religious spirit of Russia recognizes this.
The only safety for the structure of the
Entente Allies is through France. Eng-
land must do the best she can to remedy
her past mistakes, but France is the
keystone of the allied arch.
The writer was brought up in a belief
in France as the most serious nation on
earth, and taught that in any crisis the
spirit of France would rise to the oc-
casion. This has proved more than true
in the present war. The whole nation
gave itself to the task of repelling the
invader with a devotion so intense that
it was silent. And it is only by degrees
that this silent, unselfish strength has
been appreciated in America. The
wrongs of Belgium won a ready response
from our country, but it has taken a
longer time to realize the magnificent
response of France in her ordeal. There
was no propaganda or group of writers
to urge the cause of France. Her glory
has been told by her deeds, not by her
words — and there is no measure to the
admiration that Americans should give
to France.
America in the War
Since writing the above the United
States has been forced into this war by
the hostility of Germany. Our position
is very different from that of any other
nation involved. The conditions that have
brought on the war were not in any way
made by us. We have not committed
any hostile act. We have preserved a
strict neutrality — and we have attempted
to bring about peace between the warring
groups. Our President has stated our
aims and objects so plainly that there is
no trace of selfishness in our entering
the war.
After long patience we have been
driven into a declaration of war by re-
peated hostile acts of Germany. These
acts have been not only Germany's brutal
defiance of humanity on the seas, but Ger-
BRITISH FOREIGN POLICIES AND THE PRESENT WAR 287
many's proved attempts to incite Japan sudden promises of future reforms, even
and Mexico to war with us, to dis- by the Kaiser himself, seem to indicate
rupt our country and take away its ter- this, and to give grounds for hope that
ritory. The Zimmermann note would the German people may throw down the
be held a cause of war by any nation on evil structure they have built, and that
earth. If ever a country was justified in a new Germany may offer peace and
entering a war, the United States is justi- good-will to the world.
fied and in the right — and we should If this comes, the lesson of the results
have faith that this right will prevail. of artificial conditions in Europe must
So clear is this, that it seems it must be remembered — that harsh and oppres-
influence the German Nation. Already sive terms are not lasting, and that per-
it is apparent that the President's wise manent conditions will never be found
distinction between the German people with religions ruled by hostile religions,
and the German autocracy is having an nations dominated by other nations, races
effect on the German public mind. The ruled by alien races.
• Aerial Fighting on the French Front
Lord Northcliffe visited the western front in February and wrote of the
splendid achievements of the allied flying corps, which counts many Americans
among its membership :
Very rarely do the Germans venture over our lines, and one has to be
very far forward nowadays to get a good view of a fight between the Allies
and the enemy in the air. I have had that good fortune several times. Air
fighting in 1914 bears as much resemblance to air fighting in 1917 as an old
steam automobile to a six-cylinder of today. There is a perpetual match in
speeding up between the enemy and the Allies. Four or five miles an hour
extra pace means everything. It is not the increase of engine power to over
200 horse power that has brought about the change so much as the wonderful
progress of the art of flying itself, and it is just here that the Anglo-Saxon
and the Frenchman beat the slower-minded German. It is just this reason why
the German soldiers' letters are so full of complaint about the overcautious
German airman.
When Pegoud invented looping the loop people asked, "Why? What is
the use of it? " Pegoud was a very considerable inventor as well as a flier, is
the answer. Looping the loop is a useful manoeuvre, and it has been succeeded
by that extraordinary development, the nose dive, in which the airman seems
to fall like a stone for thousands of feet, till the spectator's hair rises from
his head in horror. Suddenly the machine flattens out, scoots away, and you
find that it is only a trick after all. I talked with one of our wounded boys — he
was just 19 — who had fallen 8,000 feet owing to his rudder wire connection
being shot through. By a miracle his machine straightened itself out automatic-
ally within a hundred yards of the ground, and the boy is alive and will fly
again. I asked him his sensations; he is probably the only man in the world
alive who has fallen 8,000 feet — more than ten times the height of the Wool-
worth Building, New York City, 750 feet. He said that for a long time — what
seemed like hours — he knew that he was falling, and falling at a tremendous
speed, and then he lost consciousness, as in a dream, and found himself being
picked out of the wreck of his machine by people who thought that he was dead.
At the beginning of an air fight there is manoeuvring for position and
feinting as in boxing. There are, as a rule, two men in each machine — a pilot
and an observer — except in the smaller types, in which the wings are clipped
down to nothing to get extra speed and climbing power. Knowledge of engine
and plane power, quickness of decision, and accuracy of shooting with the Lewis
gun are essential to the pilot. His observer is provided with some form of pistol,
and often with bombs.
The rival planes, like giant hawks, hover around, above, or below each
other, till one more expert or more daring than the other manoeuvres his
opponent into a position from which he has either got to fight or flee. The
knockout blow is usually a sudden descent on the enemy, accompanied by
accurate machine-gun fire. Sometimes it becomes a duel with Browning pistols,
in which the men are so close that they can see each other's eyes. The thing
is over before you realize it. One machine is off and away, and the other
whirls and crashes down, down, down to earth.
Rasputin, Nemesis of the Czar
An Amazing Career Which Bore
Directly on the Russian Revolution
THE extraordinary career of the
charlatan priest, Rasputin, with
his baneful influence at the Court
of the Czar, was one of the con-
tributing factors which made the Rus-
sian revolution such an instant success.
The story of this impostor would be un-
believable if it were not vouched for by
trustworthy witnesses. The full record
of his criminal career, however, will not
be unveiled until the war has ended and
the new Government consents that the
documents be published.
A trustworthy Russian, whose reliabil-
ity is vouched for by the conservative
London Post, related a brief history of
Rasputin's abominable career to the edi-
tor, which was printed as follows in
March, 1917:
Gregory (Grishka, pronounced Greesh-
ka) Rasputin, aged 44 this year, was a
native of Siberia, a common mujik of the
village of Pokrovsky, in the district of
Tjumen, in the Province of Tobolsk. Like
his father, (who is still alive,) he was
employed as a fisherman. Uneducated
in every sense, he was, in the English
sense, illiterate, though before his death
he could write a labored and woefully un-
grammatical scrawl. His speech to the
end remained that of his class. His man-
ners were disgusting even for a mujik;
probably he exaggerated his shocking
habits in order to emphasize his impor-
tance in society. As a young man he was
reputed a drunkard, a thief, and a gen-
eral rascal in his native village; a
" shameless one " he was called, even by
his fellow-mujiks. Indeed, the local tri-
bunals still hold in solution, so to speak,
two criminal charges against him of
theft and of perjury, which were stopped
by administrative order. For boon com-
panion in his early days he had another
drunkard and disorderly person, a small
working market gardener, who is now a
Bishop of the Pravoslavny Church.
11 Rasputin " appears to be really a
nickname; the man's real name was
Novikh, and " Rasputin " (which may be
Englished as " Ne'er-do-weel son ") was
tacked on to it by his fellow-villagers for
good and sufficient reasons. The whole
name sounds to Russian ears very much
as to English ears would sound " Jacky
Ne'erdoweelson Jones," or something else
equally common sounding, plus the spe-
cial nickname so thoroughly earned of
" Rasputin." " Grishka " (the contempt-
uous diminutive of Gregory) is the name
for him that has been on every Russian's
lips for many years past, and figures in
lampoons which were secretly circu-
lated— for " Rasputin " could be neither
printed without incurring very heavy
penalties nor safely spoken aloud in
society without risking some form of
reprisals.
Russian " Holy Men"
It must be remembered that Russia,
like India, is full of " holy men," and in
Russia a proportion of these are arrant
rascals, wandering up and down the land,
leading a " gospel life " on endless pil-
grimages to holy places, collecting money
for nonexistent charities; a lazy, sensual
life of secret self-indulgence in the most
appalling vices, veiled by some striking
outward acts of severe asceticism, such
as going barefoot or half naked in snow
and frost, or carrying massive fetters
visibly about their persons.
Grishka, then, went on pilgrimage from
holy place to holy place, and collected
considerable sums of money for his own
use. He built himself a good house in
his village, bought a fish pond, and stood
drink to his fellow-villagers, and endeav-
ored to ingratiate himself with all men,
but very particularly with all women,
especially innocent girls who were also
young and pretty. He had a wife several
years older than himself, and at the time
RASPUTIN, NEMESIS OF THE CZAR
289
of his death a boy and two girls, all
three grown up, declared themselves from
their likeness to him to be obviously his
own children. In the big, new eleven-
roomed house, built out of fraudulent
" collectings " from pious millions on his
pilgrimages, Grishka gave his wife three
rooms, reserving the others for as many
selected young women, his " disciples "
and " devotees," or, in plain English, his
mistresses. Here were practiced abomi-
nations, over which — as not infrequently
is the case in Russia — was thrown a pseu-
do-religious cloak, in accordance with the
sect-teaching of such immoral " holy
men."
Abnormal Power Over Women
It was in this period of his life that
Rasputin discovered his almost miracu-
lous power over women. Doubtless, like
the ordinary libertine, he had the gift of
knowing instinctively the likely victim.
Yet even allowing for this, one can only
stand aghast at a power which seemed
to have a compelling influence over the
whole sex, from Princesses to peasants.
Fathers and brothers in his village com-
plained to the authorities about his many
seductions of girls, and on many occa-
sions he was severely beaten. He nearly
got into serious trouble in the course of
his pilgrimages for seducing nuns, and
frequently was ignominously kicked out
of monasteries of the better class for his
misbehavior. Nevertheless his reputation
as a " Saint " was growing, and increased
especially after visits to the capital,
where he had found powerful protectors.
From this point onward his career, so
far as it was associated with this power
over women, became almost incredible. It
is a fact that ladies bearing ancient his-
toric names, wives and daughters of the
great, began to seek Grishka out in his
far-away Siberian village. He removed
his court to Tjumen, some sixty miles
away, and practiced his religious exer-
cises, and taught that there was in him a
portion of the Divine, with whom all
that would be saved must be one in the
flesh and in the spirit. Such methods
of corruption are common enough in Rus-
sia; it was not in kind but in degree that
Rasputin's practice of them was so aston-
ishing. The creature was invited to dine
with the great — possessors of historic
titles and high places in the world — who
watched him eat with the fingers of both
hands, like a primeval beast. Those fin-
gers were often licked clean by hysteri-
cal devotees sitting beside him, guests
of great historic houses and themselves of
high rank or title, to whom the animal
would hold out his hands with a curt
command like that of an ancient Roman
to his lowest slaves.
This part of the man's story sounds in-
credible, but it is true. There were even
genuinely honest women who feared the
creature, and in that fear suppressed a
natural curiosity. They resolutely avoid-
ed all chances of meeting the man, who
was making and unmaking Ministers of
State and high dignitaries of the Pravos-
lavny Church; making and marring the
fortunes of hundreds directly and of mill-
ions indirectly. As for men, his follow-
ers were of two classes. They were
either those who gladly mortified the
flesh in his " religious " exercises, or
they belonged to the large class of place
hunters and favor seekers.
The fascination of the man lay alto-
gether in his eyes. Otherwise he looked
simply a common mujik, with no beauty
to distinguish him ; a sturdy rogue, over-
grown with a forest of dirty, unkempt
hair, dirty in person (dirt is holiness in
some countries) and disgusting in habits.
His language oscillated between the
stock-in-trade odds and ends of Scripture
and mystic writ and the foulest vocabu-
lary of Russian, which of all white men's
tongues is the most powerful in the ex-
pression of love and affection and of
abominable abuse. But the eyes of this
satyr were remarkable — cold, steely gray,
with that very rare power of expanding
and contracting the pupils at will, re-
gardless of the amount of light present.
He possessed without doubt the very
strong, natural hypnotic powers which-
seem always to go with that peculiarity.
It was this that in the first place dif-
ferentiated Grishka Rasputin from the
hundreds of other " holy " rascals of
erotic type known to history and in daily
life in that unfathomable land of Russia.
In the rest of his wonderful career
Rasputin was indebted to several aiding
290
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
circumstances, among them, as is now
universally believed, the guiding hand
of Germany. Grishka was the " obscure
influence hostile to Russia " referred to
in identical language by the United No-
bility of Russia, the State Council, the
State Duma, the United Zemstvos' organ-
ization; language, in fact, composing the
single cry of the whole nation, which, save
for three brief days soon after his death,
dared not mention the dread name aloud.
The high authorities sternly forbade, and
the nation obeyed.
Into this story of the public status of
Rasputin, as distinct from his personal
character, there would enter, were it
fully displayed, the question of his sup-
port by the Pravoslavny Church in Rus-
sia, the most powerful instrument of
State governance. And with that would
also have to be related the incidents lead-
ing up to the authority which Rasputin
came to acquire with the Empress,
through his pretensions — possibly backed
by his hypnotic powers — to wield a mirac-
ulous influence over the life and well-
being of the Grand Duke Alexis, the heir
to the Russian throne. It will be enough
to say that — however it came about — on
several occasions when Rasputin was sent
away or absented himself in ostentatious
pique at some disfavor some ill did occur
to the boy. And thus it was that Ras-
putin was given rooms at the palace at
Tsarskoe Selo in the apartments occupied
by Mme. Virubova, favorite Lady in
Waiting to the Empress, and his personal
safety was in charge of the special corps
known as the " Palace Police," who are
responsible for the safety of the sover-
eign.
Protected at Tsarskoe Selo
To the Empress, Rasputin was a saint,
a divine agent, a miraculous guide. No
stories about him were ever listened to;
they were slanders due to jealousy of his
exalted position, inventions of enemies,
not of the saint himself but of the dynas-
ty, and the like. Hence that influence
which made and unmade Ministers of
State and Bishops of the Pravoslavny
Church, and dispensed patronage to thou-
sands from highest to quite little people.
A lady of birth is credited with having
been the mainspring of this venal con-
spiracy; but Rasputin himself, with all
the shrewdness of the mujik, was unspar-
ing of his enemies. Kokovtsov, Pre-
mier Minister of Russia, once succeeded
in getting him banished from the Court;
he returned, and Kokovtsov was dis-
missed with remarkable suddenness. The
Adjunct Minister of the Interior, who
controls the police of the empire, Dzhun-
kovsky, incurred his enmity, (knocked
him down, it is said, for unparalleled im-
pudence by word and gesture,) and
Dzhunkovsky had to go. Samarin, barely
appointed Procurator of the Holy Synod,
showed plain intentions of cleansing the
Pravoslavny Church from these malign
influences and filthy practices, but was
dismissed before he had time to act.
Sturmer's was perhaps the worst of Ras-
putin's appointments, and it immediately
led to rebellion throughout Turkestan.
The Murder on the Moyka
From this appointment of Sturmer
dates the belief that Rasputin was manip-.
ulated from and in the interest of Ber-
lin. But, like other " holy " rascals in
Russia, he took from all and sundry and
for every kind of service. Getting mili-
tary appointments and exemptions from
war service was a fruitful source of in-
come to Rasputin. Frequently he would
play the kindly benefactor, doing deeds
of charity by assisting poor supplicants,
and dipping heavily only into the pockets
of the rich. In fact, there was neither
limit nor bottom to the wickedness which
he contrived to execute in every walk of
life. Every man in Russia would gladly
have seen Rasputin butchered any time
these five years past, and many would
have done the deed with their own hands
if they could have come at him through
the protective cordon (the same as for the
sovereign) of the " Palace Police." In
the end he was assassinated with their
own hands by men of such rank as has
' not for over a hundred years in Russia
taken an active part in like bloody deeds.
Not since the murder of the Emperor
Paul have persons of their rank who as-
sassinated Rasputin thus imbrued their
hands in blood.
Color was given to the story of Ras-
RASPUTIN, NEMESIS OF THE CZAR
291
putin's assassination being a political
murder by the presence at it of a mem-
ber of the Right Party in the Duma, who
took a leading part in the disposal of the
corpse. He has been credited with en-
gineering the affair, and in consequence
has won an unprecedented popularity
throughout Russia. Rasputin was invited
on the night of Dec. 17 (30) by a gen-
tleman in an automobile — a private car —
who brought a note, said to be in the
hand of a lady devotee of Grishka, and
took him to the house on the Moyka of
the young Prince Y., Count S. E. There
a distinguished party was assembled. Y.,
it ought to be remarked, is heir to the
richest patrimony in Russia. It is said
that he can ride behind horses from end
to end of European Russia and sleep on
his own land every night. There were
present, among others, the Grand Duke
D. P. and two sons of the Grand Duke,
who married the Emperor's sister. In
the company, as has been said, was the
Duma member whose activity at the
front with his feeding points and other
organizations has made his name a
household word throughout the empire.
About 6 in the morning, when most
of the party had dispersed and Rasputin
was almost certainly beastly drunk, ac-
cording to his later habit, a number of
shots were fired in the house, and Ras-
putin was brought out bleeding, in vol-
umes indicative of his alcoholized state,
and put into a motor. Whether or not
he was then dead seems uncertain; he
certainly had mortal wounds in the side
of his head and trunk. He was driven
off some way and flung over a bridge.
The Grand Dukes appear to have gone
home, and Prince Y., having reported
the whole affair to the Minister of Jus-
tice, attempted later to leave by train
for the Caucasus or some other of his
estates, but was stopped at the station.
An abandoned motor soaking in blood
was found miles out of town ; it belonged
to a Grand Duke.
Rasputin s Body Discovered
The entire police and detective force
of the capital was afoot and raked
through all the houses of ill-fame, gypsy
singers' haunts, and, in fact, every con-
ceivable place else, until the finding of
a bloodstained golosh brought them to
a deserted part of one of Petrograd's
smaller rivers. The ice, of course, was
several feet thick, but it is the custom
in Russia to cut openings where water
is obtained and linen is rinsed by laun-
dresses. Divers went down and found
nothing; eventually the body was picked
out near the bank. Orders had been
given to break up the ice if necessary
all the way to Kronstadt, but the body
must be found. When it was discovered
it was secretly interred at Tsarskoe Selo.
The Emperor meanwhile had arrived in
haste from the front. For three days
extremely guarded references to an " in-
teresting murder " appeared in the press :
alongside were printed seemingly incon-
sequent biographical notes about the
chief actors in the tragedy. Officially,
however, nothing whatever was allowed
to appear beyond the statement of death
( " ended his life," not said how! ) and
the fact that the body had been found.
After these three days not even the most
distant references were any longer pos-
sible. The Grand Duke D. P. took upon
himself the whole responsibility, and
Grand Dukes are above the law. Under
these circumstances the officials found
that murder was committed, but that
" the evidence was insufficient," and
so on.
The Crave of Rasputin
A correspondent of The Associated
Press visited Tsarskoe Selo on March
27 and had an opportunity to see Ras-
putin's grave, from which the body had
been removed and burned by the revolu-
tionists. He found the spot on the edge of
a ravine beyond a desolate and roadless
plain covered with deep snow. His nar-
rative continues:
" The grave is surrounded by an un-
finished log chapel, which adherents of
the monk, with the monetary assistance
of the former Empress, planned to raise
over Rasputin's remains. Beside the
chapel nave are half a dozen tiny cells
for pilgrims, and near the end is the ten-
foot hole from which the revolutionaries
disinterred the body.
" The chapel was filled with soldiers,
292
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
some of whom were inscribing ribald
remarks on the log walls. One of the
inscriptions reads: "Here lay Rasputin;
foulest of men, the shame of the Roman-
off dynasty, the shame of the Russian
Church.'
" As the correspondent was reading the
inscriptions he heard loud shouts. Look-
ing down into the grave, he saw a little
brown Siberian soldier on his haunches,
doing the Russian squat dance. The sol-
diers told the correspondent that Coun-
'tess Hendrikoff, at the request of the
former Empress, had offered a large sum
to the guards if they would have the
grave covered so as to prevent its fur-
ther desecration.
" The superstitious belief that the
health, and even the life, of Grand Duke
Alexis, the young heir apparent, depend-
ed on the presence of Rasputin is ex-
plained in the following extraordinary
manner by the Russky Slovo:
" Rasputin, according to the newspa-
per, stated in confidences to friends at
convivial moments that he was able to
fortify this superstition with the help of
Mme. Virubova, lady in waiting to the
Empress, and M. Badmaef, Court physi-
cian, until the Empress was absolutely
convinced that the life of her son depend-
ed on the monk. Whenever Rasputin
was absent for any length of time from
the Court Mme. Virubova, according to
the monk's story as given by the news-
paper, obtained poisonous powders from
the physician and contrived to place them
in food brought to Alexis. The result
was that during Rasputin's absences the
delicate health of the young heir appar-
ent grew steadily worse, until Rasputin
was summoned back to the Court, when
the powders were stopped and Alexis be-
came immediately better.
" Rasputin always announced that for-
ty days after his death Alexis would fall
ill. This prophecy came true with start-
ling accuracy, being caused, the newspa-
per declares, by Mme. Virubova admin-
istering another powder to the little
Grand Duke in the hope of continuing
the tradition of Rasputin's influence over
the imperial family and preparing the
way for a successor to him."
Mme. Virubova was placed under ar-
rest by the Revolutionary Government
early in April and confined at the Fort-
ress of St. Peter and St. Paul.
Russia's First Month of Freedom
THE record of the Russian Provis-
ional Government in the first
month showed steady and con-
sistent progress along the path it
had struck out on its sudden accession to
power after the overthrow of the old
regime. On the one hand, it went ahead
rapidly with the work of introducing in-
ternal reforms and cleaning out the
abuses of the old system; on the other, it
set itself sternly to the task of bringing
the organization of its military strength
to the highest possible point of efficiency
for the vigorous prosecution of the war
against the Central Powers.
The ability of the men in control of the
Government was partly explained in a
statement made by the Minister of Jus-
tice, Kerensky, to an American correspon-
dent. " Our aim is," he said, " to use
talent wherever we can find it." The
Russians themselves never doubted their
capacity for self-government once they
were given the chance. " We knew what
we could do," Premier Lvoff declared on
March 21. " We have gone ahead and
done it, and now, a week after the revolu-
tion began, the whole country is in
smooth running order. The bureaucratic
obstacle is gone, the new Russia is before
us. The future is so brilliant I hardly
dare to look into it."
As the days succeeded it became more
and more apparent that public opinion in
Russia was overwhelmingly in favor of a
republican form of government similar
to that of the United States, with per-
haps a greater measure of local auton-
omy. The sentiment in the large cities
was republican from the very start. Not
only were the extreme radicals in favor
of a republic, but even the Constitutional
RUSSIA'S FIRST MONTH OF FREEDOM
293
Democratic Party, of which Milukoff is
the leader. The Central Committee and
the Parliamentary representatives of
this party, at Petrograd, voted in favor
of a republican form of government ; and
meetings of peasant communities also de-
clared themselves unanimously for a re-
public.
On March 21 the Government ordered
that the ex-Czar and Czarina be im-
prisoned in Tsarskoe Selo. The same
day Dr. Milukoff, the Foreign Minister;
stated that nothing stood in the way of
a new commercial treaty between Rus-
sia and the United States, now that Rus-
sia was on the point of granting full and
equal rights to the Jews.
Recognized by the United States
The next day, the American Ambassa-
dor, David R. Francis, accompanied by
his entire staff, went to the Marinsky
Palace to convey the formal recognition
by the United States of the new Russian
Government. America was thus the first
country to welcome Russia into the fam-
ily of free nations. Addressing the Coun-
cil of Ministers, Ambassador Francis
said:
I have the honor, as the Ambassador and
representative of the Government of the
United States accredited to Russia, to state,
in accordance with instructions, that the
Government of the United States has recog-
nized the new Government of Russia, and I,
as Ambassador of the United States, will be
pleased to continue intercourse with Russia
through the medium of the new Government.
May the cordial relations existing between
the two countries continue to obtain. May
they prove mutually satisfactory and bene-
ficial.
Professor Milukoff, Foreign Minister,
replied for the Council of Ministers, say-
ing:
Permit me, in the name of the Provisional
Government, to answer the act of recognition
by the United States. You have been able
to follow for yourself the events which have
established the new order of affairs for free
Russia. I have been more than once in your
country and may bear witness that the ideals
which are represented by the Provisional
Government are the same as underlie the
existence of your own country. I hope that
this great change which has come to Russia
will do much to bring us closer together than
we have ever been before.
' I must tell your Excellency that during the
last few days I have received many congratu-
lations from prominent men in your country,
assuring me that the public opinion of the
United States is in sympathy with us. Per-
mit me to thank you. We are proud to be
recognized first by a country whose ideals
we cherish.
On March 23 Great Britain, France,
and Italy also extended formal recogni-
tion of the Russian Provisional Govern-
ment through their Ambassadors at
Petrograd.
Former Czar a Prisoner
The former Czar Nicholas's arrival at
Tsarskoe Selo the day after his arrest,
in the custody of four members of the
Duma, caused no stir. The crowd that
had gathered at the station looked on
silently, and even the residents of the
Court village, whose livelihood depended
upon the imperial patronage, remained
cold and unmoved. Nicholas was turned
over to the Tsarskoe Selo commander
and taken to the Alexandrovsky Palace,
where a strict guard was established.
He and his wife are being kept under
close surveillance. He is allowed to
walk in the garden only twice daily and
only in the presence of the palace com-
mander, Kotzebue. For many days he
was in close attendance on his son, who
was very ill with measles. He took
some recreation by shoveling snow. He
wept occasionally, but was quite sub-
missive. At church he was the first to
kneel when a prayer was offered up for
the new Government.
Along with Nicholas and Alexandra
there were 200 other inmates, courtiers,
and adherents of the old regime, who
were held prisoner in the palace. These
were subsequently transferred to the
Fortress of St. Peter and St. Paul in
consequence of alleged plotting against
the new Government, and the former
Czar and Czarina were thus isolated.
Meanwhile the cleansing process was
prosecuted with energy. Every day
members of the Secret Police, the Black
Hundreds, and spies were put out of
harm's way. Up to March 25, 4,000 had
been arrested and imprisoned in Petro-
grad alone. It was these elements that
had created the counter-revolution in
1905, and their elimination freed the Gov-
ernment from a source of danger to the
294
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
stability of the new-won liberty and the
effective prosecution of the war.
Reform Measures
Simultaneously with the internal re-
forms the War Office began vigorously
pushing the work of military reorganiza-
tion under the leadership of War Min-
ister Gutzkov, and introduced measures
of radical reform. Among those contem-
plated was the concentration of the su-
preme direction of the army in a war
council consisting of the Ministers of
War, Marine, and Foreign Affairs, who
would be in constant touch with the Min-
isters of Railways and Agriculture, the
last to give special advice and informa-
tion in the matter of food supplies.
The Russian War Office renewed its
youth. Under the old regime new ideas,
dictated by the obvious necessities of the
war and the bitter experience of all the
Allies, had fallen for the most part on
stony soil. Intrigue, inertia, and a score
of other deadening influences presented
insuperable barriers to effective reform.
Now all the reserves of youth and intel-
ligence have been enlisted, and reforms
long overdue have been put into effect.
The removal of Grand Duke Nicholas
from the post of Commander in Chief of
the Russian armies was officially con-
firmed on March 28, and General M. V.
Alexieff, Chief of the General Staff, was
appointed his successor. All members
of the imperial family and all officers
friendly to the autocracy were likewise
removed from army posts, and all the
Grand Dukes were forbidden to leave
the military district of Petrograd.
Ner» Oath of Office
On March 28 all the Ministers of the
Provisional Government took the follow-
ing oath of office in the Senate:
In the capacity of a member of the Pro-
visional Government created by the will of
the people and at the instance of the Duma,
I promise and swear before Almighty God
and my conscience to serve faithfully and
justly the people of the Russian State, sacred-
ly guarding its liberty, rights, honor, and
dignity, inviolably observing in all my acts
and orders civil liberty and civic equality,
and in all measures intrusted to me, sup-
pressing any attempts, direct or indirect,
toward the restoration of the old regime.
I swear to apply all my intelligence and
strength completely to fulfill all the obliga-
tions assumed by the Provisional Govern-
ment before the eyes of the people. I swear
to take all measures for the convocation of
the Constituent Assembly in the shortest
possible time on the basis of universal, direct,
equal, and secret suffrage, to transfer to the
hands of the Assembly all the authority pro-
visipnally exercised by me in conjunction with
other members of the Government, and to
bow before the people's will as expressed by
that Assembly concerning the form of gov-
ernment and the fundamental laws of the
Russian State.
May God help me in the fulfillment of this
oath.
One of the most-hated features of the
old bureaucratic Government was its
system of raising revenue. The burden
fell most heavily upon the peasants, who
were taxed to the starvation point. As
the Russian population is largely agri-
cultural, the prosperity of the country
depended chiefly upon the welfare of the
peasants. Consequently, their oppres-
sion greatly retarded Russia's normal
development. The new Government
began to grapple with this problem at
once.
Important Financial Program
Tereshchenko, the Minister of Finance,
outlined his financial program on March
29 as follows:
The country is full of capital, which has
grown out of the increased industrial activity
since the beginning of the war, and my plan
is to institute immediately a new system of
taxes based on war profits. Since 1915 all
industrial enterprises of the country have
shown most remarkable increases in earnings
and have issued millions of new shares. It
is only proper that the Government should
have a more adequate share in these profits.
In the past, revenues have been obtained
only in a casual, manner by the Ministry of
Finance, and, although they far exceeded the
financial loss to the Government occasioned
by the suspension of the liquor traffic, they
have not been properly or thoroughly applied
to the resources of the country, which ought
to contribute largely to the expenses of carry-
ing on the war.
This new revenue will enable the country
to meet at least the accumulating interest on
outstanding loans. Russia will have to de-
pend, of course, upon foreign loans, and, judg-
ing by the .sympathy and support with which
the new Government has been greeted by its
allies and in the United States, there should
be no difficulty in arranging a basis for a
continuance of financial assistance abroad.
A not inconsiderable item of expense
was saved by the elimination of the
RUSSIA'S FIRST MONTH OF FREEDOM
295
" pocket money," so to speak, that the
imperial family formerly drew from the
State revenues. This amounted to no
less than $20,000,000 annually. On March
30 the Provisional Government, in com-
pliance with a demand made by the Coun-
cil of Workmen's and Soldiers* Deputies,
through the Socialist Cabinet member,
Chkheidze, confiscated all the imperial
lands and monasteries, which yield an
annual revenue of 25,000,000 rubles.
Three days before the Grand Dukes and
Royal Princes had, of their own accord,
given up their crown lands and other
official property to the Government.
Despite the wary the economic organiza-
tion of the country proceeded apace. The
growth of the trade-union movement took
on tremendous proportions. An eight-
hour day was introduced in Petrograd,
and a central board of arbitration ap-
pointed to settle trade disputes. The
eight-hour day was also introduced in
other cities and throughout the country.
The fever of organization spread even
to the peasants. They formed a council
of peasants' Deputies modeled after the
Council of Workmen and Soldiers.
Not to Claim Constantinople
That free Russia has no desire to annex
Constantinople was the inference drawn
from a statement made by the very in-
fluential Minister of Justice, Kerensky,
that the Dardanelles should be " interna-
tionalized." This view was further
strengthened in the declaration of
Premier Lvoff on April 10:
" The new Government considers it its
duty to make known to the world that the
object of free Russia is not to dominate
other nations and forcibly take away
their territory. The object of indepen-
dent Russia is a permanent peace and
the rights of all nations to determine
their own destiny."
On April 7 Kerensky declared that if
the German people would follow the ex-
ample of Russia and overthrow their
monarch, " we offer the possibility of
preliminary negotiations." He added,
however : " We are not going to assist
in making a separate peace." Kerensky's
statement was in accord with an appeal
adopted on March 28, at a meeting of
workmen's and soldiers' Deputies, ad-
dressed to the laborers of all countries,
but mentioning especially the Central
Powers, " to throw off the yoke of auto-
cratic rule as the Russian people have
overthrown the imperial autocrat and re-
fuse to serve longer as an instrument in
the hands of Kings, capitalists, and
bankers."
A party of Russian radicals who ar-
rived at Stockholm from Switzerland on
April 13 were said to be planning a peace
congress in Stockholm, and to have won
the support of German radicals and some
French Socialists. Lenin, a prominent
Russian Socialist, who had lived in Swit-
zerland, was their leader. The fact that
tneir mission was synchronous with the
German Socialist majority leader Scheide-
mann's alleged departure for Stockholm
to meet envoys of the Russian Govern-
ment, and that the Russian radicals were
permitted to pass through Germany from
Switzerland, was taken to mean that the
plan had the backing of the German
Government.
Poland and Finland Free
In its policy toward dependent nation-
alities the new Government announced
that Poland was to receive complete inde-
pendence with the right to determine its
own form of government and its relation,
if any, to Russia. The Polish Deputies
thereupon surrendered their seats in the
Duma. On March 29 the Provisional
Government appointed a committee with
Alexander Lednitsky, a Pole, as Chair-
man, to make the necessary arrangements
for the separation of Poland from Rus-
sia and to determine the relation of the
State to the Roman Catholic Church.
In Finland the Governor, Sein, was
removed. On March 21 a manifesto was
issued by the new Government completely
restoring the Finnish Constitution and
annulling all edicts and administrative
rules and regulations. A liberal was
appointed Governor, and the Finnish Diet
was convened. On April 13 M. Kerensky,
the Russian Minister of Justice, was
present at the meeting of the Diet, and in
a speech greeting the " free Finnish peo-
ple " in the name of the Provisional
Russian Government declared that Russia
296
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
would do everything in its power to make
it certain that Finland should remain
free forever.
The Speaker of the Diet, M. Talman,
requested M. Kererisky to inform the
Russian people of the Diet's gratitude
for the fraternal greeting. He said that
henceforth a complete agreement, on the
basis of reciprocal confidence, would pre-
vail between the two peoples.
To the Armenians, Kerensky expressed
himself in favor of an autonomous Gov-
ernment for them under Russia's pro-
tection. The promised emancipation of the
Jews became an accomplished fact on
March 25, when, according to advices re-
ceived at the Russian Embassy at Wash-
ington, absolute equality of the Jews
was proclaimed by the new Government.
Jews are permitted to reside wherever
they please, they have access to all posts
in the navy and army, and are unre-
stricted as to educational advantages
and the owning of property. A number
of Jews were made officers in the army,
says a cable dispatch of April 12, the
first city claiming that distinction being
Odessa, and 250 Jewish students entered
the military officers' school. On March
27 it was announced, according to tele-
grams to Russian correspondents at
Copenhagen, that the Jewish advocates,
Grusenberg and Winawer, were appointed
members of the Russian Senate and of
the Supreme Court. They were the first
Jews who ever obtained a seat in a Rus-
sian tribunal.
On April 4 full religious liberty was
proclaimed and all laws discriminating
against any creed or religion repealed.
Premier Lvoff promised a delegation of
women on April 4 that women would be
given the right to vote.
Return of Siberian Exiles
One of the most dramatic and pictur-
esque events of the revolution was the re-
turn of the political exiles and prisoners
from Siberia. A full hundred thousand
of them were released, and their progress
from the prisons, mines, and convict set-
tlements across Siberia to Russia was one
grand triumphal march. Everywhere
they were met by wildly cheering crowds,
feted by reception committees, and called
upon to deliver speeches. So great was
their haste to leave that many of them
dil not even wait to change their prison
garb or have their chains struck off.
The most celebrated of the ex-exiles
were two women, Catharine Breshkovs-
l^aya and Marie Spiridonova. Catharine
Ereshkovskaya is known as the grand-
mother of the revolution. She has grown
old in Siberian prisons and exile. Forty-
four years of her life were spent there.
Escaping once, she braved the Russian
authorities again, and, though by that
time an old woman, she fought dauntless-
ly side by side with the younger genera-
tion in the new movement that led to the
unsuccessful uprising in 1905. Again she
was thrust into exile. When she reached
Petrograd from Siberia the 1st of April,
she was met at the railroad depot by a
military band and representatives of the
Government and carried through the
streets. A similar reception was given
her in Moscow on April 5. Here the sol-
diers and the reception committee carried
her out into the street on their shoulders.
Equally popular was Marie Spirido-
nova, who, though still young, suffered a
martydom perhaps even greater than
Breshkovskaya's. She was tortured with
a refinement of cruelty that is unprint-
able. One of the lesser harms done her
was the disfiguring of her face for life.
The two bureaucratic agents who in-
flicted the torture were later assassinated
by revolutionists.
Signs of Unrest
The Council of Workmen's and Soldiers'
Delegates, after a prolonged session at
Petrograd, adopted a resolution on April
16 affirming the necessity of its continu-
ing to exercise influence and control over
the Russian Provisional Government, and
appealing to the whole democracy of
Russia to rally around the council as the
only organization capable of counteract-
ing any reactionary move.
The resolution at the same time ap-
pealed to democracy to support the Pro-
visional Government so long as it con-
tinued to develop the conquests of the
revolution and abstained from any as-
pirations for territorial expansion.
On the same day a dispatch from Tash-
RUSSIA'S FIRST MONTH OF FREEDOM
297
kent, Asiatic Russia, announced that
General Alexei Kuropatkin, Governor
General of Turkestan, his assistant, Gen-
eral Yerofeiff, and General Sivers, Chief
of Staff, had been arrested by the Council
of Soldiers' Delegates. General Buroff,
commanding the First Siberian Brigade,
and General Tsuomillen, commanding the
local brigade, also were placed under
arrest and confined to a guardroom.
The officers are charged with distributing
arms to Russians in various districts for
defense against natives in the event of
an attack. This action was held to be of
a provocatory character. The Cossack
guards of General Kuropatkin appeared
at the meeting of the Soldiers' Delegates
and announced that they would not de-
fend him.
General Kuropatkin was in chief com-
mand of the Russian forces in Manchuria
in the Russo-Japanese war and was
for a while Commander in Chief of
the Russian northern armies in the pres-
ent war.
The news from Petrograd up to April
20, at which date this record closes, indi-
cated a gradual subsidence of unrest and
a tendency among the workingmen to
recognize the authority of the Provisional
Government. Industries which had been
closed since the outbreak were being re-
opened, the soldiers were becoming more
amenable to discipline, and there were
indications that the moderates would be
able to keep the radical revolutionists in
check; but the feeling of general unrest
had by no means yet disappeared.
Warning of Russia's Revolution
Paul MilukofFs Address
THE following document, read in the
Duma by Professor Milukoff on Feb.
28, a week before the outbreak of
the revolution, contained a warning that
has become historic in the light of what
followed :
We are nearing a point in our conduct of
the war when the supreme effort of the nation
will be required in order to secure victory.
We are at a moment of crisis in the great
war. The military resources of the enemy
are nearing- exhaustion ; his morale is getting
lower ; and just at the moment when we
ought to develop the highest power of re-
sistance and endurance, we are beginning to
see the consequences of the inactivity of our
Government in organizing the nation for the
supreme effort.
We might be told that the Government
alone is not responsible for the faults of our
machinery of war; that our past, our whole
history, are the causes of our backwardness.
To this I say most emphatically, No. The
Government and the Government alone is re-
sponsible for it. The Government concen-
trated all its efforts on the internal war. At
a moment when the whole nation is straining
to get ahead and demands of the Govern-
ment a clear road to victory, the Government
is drawing it back. The nation is united in
its supreme effort against the external foe;
but the Government returns to the old in-
ternal war in order to insure its own safety.
Every day voices from all parts of the
country are reaching us, addressed to the
Duma. The people in the provinces tell us :
"Act boldly and act- instantly; the country
is with you." These voices enable me, even
in the present dark state of affairs, to retain
my hope, to refrain from any pessimism, and
I warn you not to be led into pessimism. In
England and France the people have found
themselves ; the same may already be said
about Russia.
When the nation finds that, in spite of all
its sacrifices, its destinies are being endan-
gered by a clique of incompetent and corrupt
rulers, then the people become a nation of
citizens ; they become determined to take their
case into their own hands. Gentlemen, we are
approaching that point. In everything we see
around us, we hear the echo of the patriotic
anxiety which fills our own hearts. It is
in this alarm and not in silence and recon-
ciliation that I see a promise of salvation for
the country. You know well that I can say
no more from this tribune. You know that,
this alarm is well-founded, and you know
that the Duma alone is not in a position to
remove the causes of this alarm ; but I firmly
believe in the active patriotism of the nation.
I believe that the people will not allow its
forces to be flouted in the present critical
struggle, and I believe that when once the
popular idea that Russia cannot conquer
with the present Government ripens in the
mind of the nation, the nation will triumph in
spite of the Government.
German Raiders in the Atlantic
Twenty-six Merchant Ships Captured by the
Mowe in a Second Expedition
THE German auxiliary cruiser
Mowe, (Seagull,) commanded by-
Count zu Dohna-Schlodien — the
same sea raider that had captured
the Appam and fourteen other merchant
ships a year before — stole out through
the Kiel Canal and the North Sea late in
November, 1916, and added a still more
destructive chapter to its record. The
British Admiralty got the first inkling
of the depredator on Dec. 2 and sent out
a general warning on Dec. 8, but, though
several vessels were known to be miss-
ing, the operations of the raider con-
tinued to be shrouded in mystery.
The true state of affairs came to the
public on Jan. 16, 1917, when the cap-
tured Japanese steamer Hudson Maru
landed at Pernambuco, Brazil, with 287
men taken from six ships that had been
sunk at various points between the
Azores and the Brazilian coast. On Dec.
31 the captured British steamer Yarrow-
dale had arrived at Swinemunde, Ger-
many, with 469 prisoners taken from one
Norwegian and seven British ships in the
South Atlantic, but the German Govern-
ment did not announce the fact until
Jan. 19. Even then the name of the sea
raider remained in doubt. Finally, on
March 22 a Berlin dispatch announced
the recent return of the Mowe from a
second successful raid among enemy
shipping. The Mowe herself had brought
in 593 prisoners, including fifty-seven
Americans from the crew of the British
horse transport Esmeraldas.
The total number of ships sunk or
taken as prizes by the Mowe on this raid
was at least twenty-six, aggregating
125,000 tonnage, and carrying to the bot-
tom many millions of dollars' worth of
foodstuffs, munitions, and general cargo.
The property loss was estimated at be-
tween $15,000,000 and $20,000,000. The
total number of prisoners landed by the
Mowe and the two prize ships not sunk
was 1,389. A few lives were reported
lost. Fifty-nine of the men on the Yar-
rowdale were American sailors, some of
whom had been employed on armed Brit-
ish merchantmen. These the German
Government was inclined to hold as
war prisoners, on the ground that all
armed ships are warships; but this
threatened cause of international contro-
versy disappeared when the Americans
were released on March 9 and returned
by way of Switzerland. They filed
charges to the effect that they had been
roughly treated and half starved in Ger-
many.
List of the Victims
The vessels reported captured by the
Mowe were the following:
Voltaire, British steamer, with crew of 93
men, sunk on Nov. 21.
Pallbjbrb, Norwegian steamer, bound from
America to France with a cargo of food.
Mount Temple, British steamer with 7.5-
centimeter gun, 9,792 tons gross, with provi-
sions, parcels, and horses.
Duchess of Cornwall, British sailing ship of
152 tons, with fish.
King George, British steamer of 3,852 tons
gross, with explosives, provisions, and par-
cels.
Cambrian Range, British steamer of 4,200
tons gross, with wheat and parcels.
Georgic, British steamer with 12-centimeter
gun, 10,000 tons gross, with wheat, meat, and
horses.
Yarrowdale, British steamer of 4,600 tons
gross, with ammunition, provisions, and war
materials.
St. Theodore, British steamer of 5,000 tons
gross, with coal.
Dramatist, British steamer of 5,400 tons
gross, with ammunition and fruit.
Nantes, French sailing ship of 2,600 tons
gross, with saltpeter.
Ansieres, French sailing ship of 3,100 tons
gross, with wheat.
Hudson Maru, Japanese steamer of 3,800
tons gross, with parcels.
Radnorshire, British steamer, with 12-cen-
timeter gun, 4,300 tons gross, with coffee and
cocoa.
Minieh, British steamer of 3,800 tons gross,
(listed at 2,890 tons gross,) with coal.
Netherby Hall, British steamer of 4,400 tons
gross, with rice and parcels.
GERMAN RAIDERS IN THE ATLANTIC
299
Jean, Canadian sailing ship of 2,115 tons
gross, with sugar.
Staut, Norwegian sailing ship of 1,200 tons
gross, with whale oil.
Brecknockshire, British steamer, with 12-
centimeter gun, of 8,400 tons gross, with coal.
French Prince, British steamer of 4,800 tons
gross, with coal.
Katherine, British steamer of 2,900 tons
gross, with wheat.
Rhodanthe, British steamer of 3,000 tons
gross, in ballast.
Esmeraldas, British steamer of 4,680 tons
gross, in ballast.
Otaki, British steamer of 7,400 tons gross,
(listed at 9,575 tons gross,) with 12-centi-
meter guns, in ballast.
Demeterton, British steamer with 7.5-centi-
meter guns, 6,048 tons gross, with food.
Governor, British steamer, with 12-centi-
meter guns, of 5,500 tons gross, in ballast.
" The Mowe is a finely masked cruiser
of 12,000 tons," said one of the released
neutral sailors. " It is impossible to dis-
cover anything unusual about her before
the rail drops down and the guns are un-
covered. The Mowe is also carrying
sails, which prevent any view of the deck.
The cruiser is quite new and armed with
four big guns and two smaller ones. She
has four torpedo tubes."
German Official Statement
The following official statement was
issued at Berlin under date of Jan. 19,
1917:
The English steamer Yarrowdale, of 4,600
tons, was brought into harbor on Dec. 31 as
a prize by a prize crew of sixteen men. She
had aboard 469 prisoners, namely, the crews
of one Norwegian and seven English ships
which were captured by one of our auxiliary
cruisers in the Atlantic Ocean.
The cargoes of the captured vessels con-
sisted principally of war material for our
enemies from America and foodstuffs, in-
cluding 6,000 tons of wheat, 2,000 tons of
flour, and 1,900 horses. The Yarrowdale had
on board 117 motor lorries, one motor car,
6,300 cases of rifle cartridges, 30,000 rolls of
barbed wire, and 3,300 tons of steel bars, be-
sides a large quantity of meat, bacon, and
sausages.
Of the vessels sunk three of the British
were armed. Among the crews of the cap-
tured vessels are 103 subjects of neutral
States, who, as well as enemy subjects, have
been removed as prisoners of war in so far
as they had taken pay on armed enemy ves-
sels. The commander of the prize crew is
Deputy Officer Badewitz.
The bringing in of the Yarrowdale has been
kept secret up to this time for military rea-
sons, which, in view of the British Ad-
miralty statement of Jan. 17, were no longer
operative.
When Lieutenant Badewitz was asked
how he succeeded in bringing the Yar-
rowdale through the North Atlantic and
the North Sea with a crew of only six-
teen men and with more than 400 prison-
ers on board, he replied:
" For such an action you need only to
exercise coolness and determined, blunt
carelessness, especially if you have to
deal with Englishmen. In addition you
need to have a handful of smart boys
like mine who have their hearts in the
right place and revolvers in their pockets.
Then you can fetch the devil from his
own house. The discipline was first-
rate. Whenever the order to go below
was issued, the whole crowd of prisoners
hurried to the lower decks, running like
hares."
Lieutenant Badewitz said he and his
officers never left the bridge of the Yar-
rowdale, and all preparations had been
made to sink the ship at a moment's no-
tice from the bridge. All on board, he
said, knew that the vessel would be sunk
in case of a mutiny. Explosive charges
had been placed in the hold, with electric
connections that would enable the vessel
to be sent to the bottom by touching a
button, and this would have been done
rathe rthan allow the vessel to be cap-
tured by British patrols.
Life on the Moewe
The crew of the Norwegian steamer
Pallbjorb gave this interesting account
of their experiences :
" One day at the end of November the
Pallbjorb saw a large steamer approach-
ing. The stranger changed her course
and began manoeuvring in such a manner
that the Norwegian thought the crew
must have gone mad. Suddenly the ves-
sel came toward the Norwegian steamer
and when a few yards away let down her
bulwarks, disclosing four large guns. At
the same time a German flag was hoisted
and an order given to the Pallbjorb to
stop. Thirty naval officers and sailors
then boarded the Pallbjorb, seized 500
boxes of food, and then sank her. The
Captain protested, saying his ship did not
carry contraband; but the German offi-
cers declared that they disregarded the
contraband regulations.
" On board the Mowe was the crew of
300
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
ninety-three from the British steamer
Voltaire, which was sunk on Nov. 21.
On Dec. 6 a Newfoundland trawler was
stopped and sunk while on a journey to
Gibraltar with fish. The same evening
the C. P. R. liner Mount Temple, with
a cargo of 750 horses and 5,000 tons of
merchandise, was stopped by seven shots.
The steward and one sailor were killed,
and another .sailor had both his legs
smashed. The crew, numbering 107,
were taken on board. The Mount Tem-
ple was finally sunk by bombs, the horses
struggling for life in the icy water.
" In the evening of Dec. 10 the large
White Star liner Georgic, having on board
1,200 horses, was brought to a halt by
shots. Great panic prevailed on board
and fifty of the men jumped into the wa-
ter without their clothes on, but only one
of them was drowned. The vessel was
then blown up by bombs. Hundreds of
horses, swimming toward the Mowe, made
desperate efforts to clamber on board, but
the German sailors, standing with loaded
revolvers, killed them as they reached
the ship.
" On Dec. 11 the British steamer Yar-
rowdale was encountered. As there were
already 500 men on board the Mowe, the
Captain decided that his latest capture
must go to Germany with his prisoners.
For a whole day after leaving the Mowe
the Yarrowdale was in communication
with her by wireless. The Yarrowdale at
last got the order to go northward, and
the ship then made for the south coast of
Iceland, Norway, the Cattegat, &c, and
was compelled by storm to anchor near
Hveen Island, in the sound, where a Ger-
man patrol ship appeared. It was at this
spot that two British sailors attempted
to escape, but they were discovered. They
offered violent resistance, and bit and
scratched the enemy. The next day the
Yarrowdale anchored in Swedish waters
and a Swedish destroyer appeared. The
500 prisoners were commanded to go be-
low. The Swedish officer came on board,
but failed to find anything suspicious.
Meanwhile the Germans stood with their
revolvers leveled against the prisoners
in the hold.
While the Mowe was still busy it was
known that one or more auxiliary raiders
were at work in the same region. The
captured British steamer St. Theodore
was said to have been fitted out with
guns from the Mowe, and there were
rumors of a German raider named the
Venetia assisting in the work of destruc-
tion. A circumstantial account of the
sinking of the Venetia by the British
cruiser Glasgow on Jan. 25 was told by
an officer of that warship.
Exploits of the Seeadler
More tangible, however, was the news
brought to Rio Janeiro on March 20 by
the French bark Cambronne. A new
raider, the Seeadler, (Sea Eagle,) was
at work in the South Atlantic and had
already sunk eleven vessels. The Cam-
bronne, one of the Seeadler's victims,
brought 277 men from the crews of other
captured vessels in addition to her own
crew of twenty-two. She had encoun-
tered the raider on March 7 at a point
two-thirds of the way across to the
African coast, and had been commanded,
after receiving the refugees on board, to
proceed to Brazil, a voyage of twenty-two
days.
The Seeadler had left Germany on Dec.
22, escorted by a submarine. The com-
mander declared to his prisoners that the
German Emperor and the Crown Prince
alone knew of the expedition. The ves-
sel's guns and two gasoline launches had
been concealed in the hold while she was
running the British blockade. On sight-
ing a merchantman the raider would first
hoist the Norwegian flag, which would be
replaced by a German flag when her
prey was within reach of her guns. The
commander presented to the Captain of
each ship he sank an engraved certificate
setting forth the circumstances in which
it had been destroyed. The prisoners all
said they were well treated aboard and
no loss of life had occurred. Five were
Americans. The ships sunk, as reported
by the American Consul General at Rio
de Janeiro, were the British steamers
Lady Island, Gladys, Royal Hongar, and
sailing vessels Pintors, British Yeoman,
Terse; Italian vessel Buenos Aires, and
French vessels Charles Gounod, Antoine,
Rochefaucauld, and Dupliex, all between
January and March in the neighborhood
of Madeira and Cape Verde Islands.
Democratic Progress in Germany
THE news of the Russian revolution
was hardly known in Berlin be-
fore the Imperial Chancellor, von
Bethmann Hollweg, appeared be-
fore the Prussian Diet, on March 14, and
delivered a speech which startled the em-
pire from end to end, (see Current His-
tory Magazine, April, 1917, Page 37.)
" Woe to the statesman who cannot read
the signs of the times!" were his words of
warning. After the Chancellor's speech
declaring that there must be reforms, the
debate became tempestuous, the Socialists
seizing the opportunity to attack Junker-
ism and demand the abolition of the Her-
renhaus, the Prussian House of Lords.
" We are no longer serfs," said Deputy
Leinert, a Socialist, " whom the King can
buy and sell or order to bleed and die at
the word of command." Amid cheers Lei-
nert spoke of the coming time when Jun-
kerism would be swept off the earth. The
speech of another Socialist, Adolf Hoff-
mann, provoked so much commotion that
it was cut short, but before he was si-
lenced he made the following remarks:
We shall refuse to vote for the budget.
Chancellor von Bethmann Hollweg is merely
the fig leaf of military absolutism. Militarism
bears the responsibility for the bloodshed in
Europe, and only when militarism and des-
potism are removed will the people breathe
freely. Force of arms will not lead to a de-
cision and peace. Distress, desperation, and
general collapse will do it.
When both enemies are equally strong the
threat of crushing is sheer nonsense. Ger-
many, despite many successes, has not con-
quered. The German peace proposal with its
tone of victory Was bound to cause vexation
and distrust. She should have communicated
her peace terms and thereby dissipated her
enemies' distrust.
The revolution in Russia should be a warn-
ing to our rulers. The German submarine
warfare is opposed to the laws of humanity
and international law.
The floodgates of democratic agitation
were now open. Philipp Scheidemann,
leader of the majority of the Socialist
Party in the Reichstag, which had stood
behind the Government since the begin-
ning of the war, came out in an article in
Vorwarts on March 19 with the bold
statement, " The whole world sees among
our enemies more or less developed forms
of democracy, and in us it sees only Prus-
sians." There was a stormy scene in
the Reichstag on March 22, when the
Socialist Deputy Kunert charged the
Kaiser and the Imperial Chancellor with
having been the originators of the war.
Another sign of which way the wind
was blowing was the election to fill the
seat in the lower house of the Prussian
Diet which had been vacated by Lieb-
knecht. Dr. Franz Mehring, a member
of the anti-war Socialist minority, who
at one time had been placed under " pre-
ventive arrest," was easily elected,
though opposed by a representative of
the Socialist majority. The ever-grow-
ing scarcity of food was a constant con-
tributor to the popular discontent, and
when it was announced that after April
15 the bread ration was to be reduced
by one-fourth, it seemed that the break-
ing point would soon be reached.
But the Junkers, the Prussian Herren-
haus, were not to be easily moved even
by the most solemn warnings. They de-
clared against reform of the three-class
system of voting for the Diet and all
proposals whatever for increasing popu-
lar rights. The language of the noble-
men who spoke on March 28 was remi-
niscent of the old days of the divine right
of Kings. " My highest war aim," said
Count von Roon, " is to maintain the
Crown and the monarchy as high as the
heavens." Others asserted they would
stand by the " good old Prussia." That
the power of the Junkers was still very
great was shown by the fact that their
opposition induced von Bethmann Holl-
weg to decide that political reform must
be postponed till after the war. This
decision he announced in the Reichstag
on March 29, and instantly there were
outbursts of indignation, not only by the
Socialists, who are leading the fight for
German democracy, but also by such
moderates as the National Liberals. The
Socialist leader Georg Ledebour made a
historic speech, in which he said:
Kerensky [the new Russian Minister of
302
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Justice and a Socialist] is now the most pow-
erful man in Russia, yet he was lately only
the leader of a small faction. We are few
In the Reichstag, but behind us stands the
Industrial revolutionary population, true to
democratic principles.
"We regard a republic as a coming inevita-
ble development in Germany. History is now
marching with seven-league boots. The Ger-
man people, indeed, shows incredible patience-
The Reichstag must have the right to a voice
in the conclusion of alliances, peace treaties,
and declarations of war. The Imperial Chan-
cellor must be dismissed when the Reichstag
demands it.
The speech was interrupted by shouts
of " High Treason ! " Gustav Noske, an-
other Socialist, referred to the " deplor-
able events " at Hamburg, Magdeburg,
and elsewhere, indicating that there had
been food riots, the reports of which had
been suppressed by the censorship. Ref-
erences to the Russian revolution were
frequent, and more than one speaker re-
minded von Bethmann Hollweg of his
words, " Woe to the statesman who can-
not read the signs of the times." Final-
ly, despite the Government's intention to
postpone reform questions till after the
war, the Reichstag adopted by 227 votes
against 33 a resolution appointing a com-
mittee of twenty-eight members to con-
sider the whole subject of constitutional
reform.
The Kaiser, who had kept silent dur-
ing all this agitation, was roused by
President Wilson's message and the dec-
laration of war which followed it, to come
out openly in favor of reform. On April
7 it was announced that he had ordered
the Imperial Chancellor to submit to him
certain proposals for the reform of the
Prussian electoral law, to be discussed
and put into effect after the conclusion
of peace. The text of the Kaiser's order
follows :
Never before have the German people
proved to be so firm as in this war. The
knowledge that the Fatherland is fighting in
bitter self-defense has exercised a wonderful
reconciling power, and, despite all sacrifices
on the battlefield and severe privations at
home, their determination has remained im-
perturbable to stake their last for the vic-
torious issue.
The national and social spirit have under-
stood each other and become united, and have
given us steadfast strength. Both of them
realized what was built up in long years of
peace and amid many internal struggles. This
was certainly worth fighting for. Brightly
before my eyes stand the achievements of
the entire nation in battle and distress. The
events of this struggle for the existence of
the empire introduce, with high solemnity,
a new time.
It falls to you as the responsible Chancellor
of the German Empire and First Minister of
my Government in Prussia to assist in ob-
taining the fulfillment of the demands of this
hour by right means and at the right time,
and in this spirit shape our political life in
order to make room for the free and joyful
co-operation of all the members of our people.
The principles which you have developed in
this respect have, as you know, my approval.
I feel conscious of remaining thereby on the
road which my grandfather, the founder of
the empire, as King of Prussia with military
organization and as German Emperor with
social reform, typically fulfilled as his
monarchial obligations, thereby creating con-
ditions by which the German people, in united
and wrathful perseverance, will overcome this
sanguinary time. The maintenance of the
fighting force as a real people's army and the
promotion of the social uplift of the people in
all its classes was, from the beginning of my
reign, my aim.
In this endeavor, while holding a just bal-
ance between the people and the monarchy
to serve the welfare of the "whole, I am re-
solved to begin building up our internal
political, economic, and social life as soon as
the war situation permits.
While millions of our fellow-countrymen are
in the field, the conflict of opinions behind
the front, which is unavoidable in such a far-
reaching change of constitution, must be post-
poned in the highest interests of the Father-
land until the time of the homecoming of our
warriors and when they themselves are able
to join in the counsel and the voting on the
progress of the new order.
Specifying the reforms that were nec-
essary the Kaiser said:
Reform of the Prussian Diet and libera-
tion of our entire inner political life are espe-
cially dear to my heart. For the reform of
the electoral law of the lower house pre-
paratory work already had been begun at my
request at the outbreak of the war.
I charge you now to submit to me definite
proposals of the Ministry of State, so that
upon the return of our warriors this work,
which is fundamental for the internal forma-
tion of Prussia, be carried out by legislation.
In view of the gigantic deeds of the entire
people there is, in my opinion, no more
room in Prussia for election by the classes.
The bill will have to provide further for
direct and secret election of Deputies. The
merits of the upper house and its lasting
significance for the State no King of Prussia
will misjudge. The upper house will be
better able to do justice to the gigantic de-
mands of the coming time if it unites in its
midst in more extended and more proportional
DEMOCRATIC PROGRESS IN GERMANY
303
manner than hitherto from various classes
and vocations of people men who are re-
spected by their fellow-citizens.
The election of the twenty-eight mem-
bers to the Committee on Reforms was
fixed for April 24, the date on which the
Reichstag was to resume its sittings after
the Easter recess.
Reply to the Dardanelles Report
THE report of the Special Parlia-
, mentary Commission on the Dar-
danelles Expedition, which had
criticised Lord Kitchener, former
Premier Asquith, and Mr. Churchill, First
Lord of the Admiralty, was the subject
of a vigorous attack in Parliament on
March 28, 1917. Speeches were made by
Mr. Asquith and Mr. Churchill, in which
the fairness of the report was challenged
and its political use severely rebuked. Mr.
Asquith paid a glowing tribute to Lord
Kitchener, who had been represented as
" a solitary, taciturn autocrat," who took
no counsel with any one and insisted on
having everything his own way. This
Mr. Asquith denied. Lord Kitchener
was, indeed, a masterful man and a for-
midable personality, but the fact was
that at the outbreak of war all the Gen-
eral Staff went to France and no sol-
diers of experience were left in the coun-
try. The Government, therefore, in all
military matters was bound to defer
to Lord Kitchener's unrivaled authority,
and no man ever had a heavier burden
to carry. Mr. Asquith also revealed the
fact that, at the outbreak of war, Lord
Kitchener was the only man he ever
thought of asking to become Secretary
of State for War.
Mr. Asquith, in replying to the criti-
cism that there had been a delay of three
weeks in sending reinforcements, said
that the delay had been due, not to any
vacillation or hesitation, but to two main
considerations — first, that the Russian
position was so bad at the time that Lord
Kitchener feared the Germans might
withdraw divisons from the eastern and
send them to the western front, and, sec-
ond, that both the British and French
headquarters were putting the strongest
pressure on him to dispatch the Twenty-
ninth Division to France. Those were
" grave and weighty reasons," said Mr.
Asquith, and, he added, " it is so easy to
be wise after the event." He held that
the Commissioners had not given suffi-
cient weight to these considerations when
they passed their censure.
He dealt at some length with the crit-
icisms of the report on his own neglect
to summon a War Council between March
19 and May 14. His answer to this was
that he had been in daily and hourly con-
sultation with Lord Kitchener and Mr.
Churchill, and that the operations were
in the hands of the naval men on the
spot. But there had been no fewer than
thirteen meetings of the Cabinet in that
period, and at several the Dardanelles op-
erations had been discussed at length.
As for the role of the experts at the War
Council, Mr. Asquith declared that he
had never known them to show the least
reluctance to give their opinion, whether
invited or uninvited, and though Lord
Fisher was known to be averse to the
Dardanelles operations, it was not on the
ground that they were impracticable, but
that his preference was for a different
operation in a totally different sphere.
Lord Fisher, said Mr. Asquith, was in
a minority of one, but he explicitly
agreed to undertake the naval operations.
According to Mr. Churchill, everybody
on the War Council knew of Lord Fish-
er's objections, but knew also that they
were not objections based on the imprac-
ticability of " forcing " the Dardanelles —
a very different thing from " rushing "
the Dardanelles, which no one ever con-
templated. Lord Fisher, insisted Mr.
Churchill, never objected to carrying out
the operations until the Admiral on the
spot changed his mind and advised that
the naval attack should not be proceeded
with. Mr. Churchill did not conceal his
own desire to press the attack with the
navy alone, but he was overruled, and
then the fatal delays took place.
304
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Toward the close of his speech Mr.
Churchill intimated that if naval rein-
forcements had been furnished the re-
sult might have been different, as the
Turkish ammunition was about exhaust-
ed at the time of the retirement. He
likewise affirmed, in a detailed review
of the proceedings of the War Council,
that the plans for a purely naval attack
had received the considered approval of
all the naval authorities, including the
Admirals on the spot, Sir Henry Jack-
son, Admiral Oliver, and the French
Naval Staff, and that Lord Fisher him-
self had agreed to carry it out. He con-
tended that this naval attempt to force
the Dardanelles was not a rash enterprise
foisted upon an unwilling Admiralty,
but was the plan of the naval experts
themselves.
Mr. Asquith by no means conceded that
the expedition was a failure. On the
contrary, he asserted that " it absolutely
saved the position of Russia in the Cau-
casus; it prevented for months the de-
fection of Bulgaria to the Central Pow-
ers; it kept at least 300,000 Turks immo-
bile; and, what is more important, it
cut off and annihilated a corps d'elite, the
whole flower of the Turkish Army. The
Turks have never recovered to this mo-
ment from the blow, inflicted upon them,
and it is certainly one of the contribu-
tory causes of the favorable develop-
ments which we have happily witnessed
in the events in Egypt, Mesopotamia,
and Persia."
Mr. Churchill, in his defense of the ex-
pedition, asked: "What was gained, not
what might have been gained, by the
naval attack? Was ever any demon-
stration in the history of the world more
potent? The relief to the Grand Duke
in the Caucasus was instantaneous. The
whole attitude of Bulgaria was changed
for the time in our favor. Greece had
almost joined us. Lastly, there was Italy.
During the progress of the naval attack
those negotiations were begun which
finally, in the hands of Mr. Asquith, who
dealt for all the Allies, culminated in
Italy's entrance into the war at the mo-
ment when her entrance was most need-
ed and before she could be discouraged
by the defeats of the Russians in Galicia,
which began a few weeks later. These
are the results of failure. Think what
might have been the consequences of
success. It is a torment to dwell upon
them and to think how near was the
naval attack to success. Was there even
really a reasonably fair chance of its suc-
ceeding if it had been persevered in and
pushed on ? "
Writing War History in France
A contributor to Le Temps of Paris has placed on record the measures which self-con-
scious France is taking to aid the future historian. The article is here translated for Cur-
i;i:nt Histokt Magazine.
INSTINCTIVELY we are watching our-
selves live in these heroic days. We
feel, indeed, that the passionate curi-
osity of future centuries will be con-
centrated upon our acts and movements;
we have become conscious of the con-
sideration and respect which coming gen-
erations will lavish upon the men and
things of today. We are secretly flat-
tered by the thought, and, without going
so far as to strike a pose before the
painters of history, we are beginning
discreetly to prepare their palettes and
brushes.
We throw furtive glances in the direc-
tion of the mirror that reflects our
silhouettes, and try negligently to
straighten our cravats. " We men of the
middle ages," cries a foreseeing hero of
a mediaeval operetta. " We witnesses
of the great world cataclysm," already
some of our contemporaries are thinking.
And, flying the altruistic flag, they are
working conscientiously for posterity.
The explorers of the past, who later shall
undertake a voyage around the great
war, will bless the enlightened zeal of
these men. They will find themselves in
the presence of a fabulously rich mine of
documents. We have recently mentioned
WRITING WAR HISTORY IN FRANCE
305
the interesting project of Messrs. Hon-
norat and Alexandre Varenne, intended
to bring together in one place complete
collections of the newspapers and re-
views that have appeared during the
war. This plan, formulated after thirty
months of war, might seem purely
platonic: is it not too late to collect
and classify all the fugitive papers
scattered in the blast of the tempest?
Not at all.
In the first year of the great conflict
a wide-awake Minister of Public In-
struction asked all the Mayors in France
to gather carefully all printed documents
relating to the war. He begged them
particularly to " collect the newspapers,"
and explained the exceptional interest
attaching to these " mirrors in which are
reflected the successive moods of the na-
tion " and the necessity of preserving
" the least manifestations of public spirit
and the slightest traces of emotion or
serenity, as the case may be, with which
the people receive administrative meas-
ures, or other war news, whether from
France or from abroad. * * * At so
important a time in our national history
this country has assumed an attitude too
profoundly honorable for one to neglect
preserving proofs of it taken from life,
day by day, which posterity must needs
accept. On this score it is really de-
sirable to save the whole contemporary
product from oblivion."
A series of circulars developed and or-
ganized this noble undertaking. Not only
are all our Mayors collecting the local
newspapers, the public and private post-
ers, the social and religious documents,
the industrial pamphlets, the cartoons,
postcards, and photographs of the war
period, but in the smallest village of
France the representative of the Insti-
tute has been invited to take notes
methodically of all the events he wit-
nesses. He is to gather up and preserve
the " oral tradition " which, in our coun-
try districts, is usually the sole deposi-
tory of the past. He will thus perpetu-
ate remarks, anecdotes, and significant
examples and traits, which will consti-
tute an incomparable documentary treas-
ury for those who shall wish to study the
soul of France as it is today.
At this moment thousands of attentive
pens, under these official orders, are
blackening little pieces of paper meas-
uring— our organizers think of every-
thing— " fifteen centimeters by ten."
France is an immense classification cabi-
net, in which these slips of paper are
being tirelessly placed on file. They will
form an admirable Golden Book of the
mind and conscience of our nation.
There is a certain grandeur in this or-
der for the mobilization of a nation's
memory. Who will dare henceforth to
speak of our lack of foresight? We are
leaving nothing to chance. Our papers
are in order. History may enter: she
will find us waiting for her.
A Song of Sunrise
[On the Morning of the Russian Revolution]
By GEORGE E. WOODBERRY
To those who drink the golden mist
Whereon the world's horizons rest,
Who teach the peoples to resist
The terrors of the human breast —
By burning stake and prison camp
They lead the march of man divine,
Above whose head the sacred lamp
Of liberty doth blaze and shine;
O'er blood and tears and nameless woe
They hail far off the dawning light ;
Through faith in them the nations go,
Sun-smitten in the deepest night —
Honor to them from East to West
Be on the shouting earth today!
Holy their memory! Sweet their rest!
Who fill the skies with freedom's ray!
Arab Revolt Against Turkish Rule
Proclamation of the Ulema of Mecca Denouncing the
w Janissaries " at Constantinople
THE Ulema of Mecca, the orthodox
religious authorities in the holy
city of the Moslems, has sent out
a proclamation to the faithful
which is reproduced herewith as one of
the documents of the war. It marks yet
another step in the growing revolt in
Arabia, which threatens to deprive the
Turkish Empire permanently of that his-
toric realm and of the holy cities of
Islam. The revolt began in June, 1916,
with the rising of El Husein ibn Ali,
the Grand Sherif of Mecca, against the
rule of the Young Turks on account of
their German alliance. He proclaimed
Arabia's independence on June 27. In
the next two months he and his followers
captured all the principal cities on the
Red Sea littoral and began to administer
a region — desert, oases, and towns — of
24,000 square miles with a population of
3,000,000. Since then he has ruled an
increasing section of Arabia under the
title of King of the Hedjaz.
Early in September the French and
British Governments dispatched a dele-
gation of French Moslems to the Grand
Sherif of Mecca for the purpose of con-
gratulating him on his deliverance from
Turkey, and of conveying to him a sub-
stantial sum of money to aid his revolt.
To cover the expense of the expedition
the French Minister of Foreign Affairs
asked the Chamber of Deputies on Sept.
29, 1916, for 3,500,000 francs, at the
same time disclosing the fact that the
French Government had furnished a ves-
sel to enable the British and French Mos-
lems to resume their pilgrimages to
Mecca by way of Jedda. Thousands of
pilgrims took advantage of this free serv-
ice, those in October alone numbering
30,000. Among these was Si Kaddor ben
Ghabbit, the Moroccan adviser of the
Sultan of Turkey. He found a new,
hygienic Mecca, free of the assassins and
robbers of former years, and declared on
his return that the new Kingdom of
Arabia was destined to revive the Mos-
lem world in all its former glory and
power.
Since then the movement has spread to
the interior of Arabia, and has been
marked by extensive defections of native
tribes from Turkish rule. Peace has
been made between two powerful leaders
of rival tribes, Emir Arab ar Rawleh,
from near Damascus, and Hakim ibn
Mahid-Hakim, Emir of the great Anzeh
tribe in the vicinity of Aleppo. These
two chiefs, formerly enemies, have
united and agreed to raise a large troop
of horsemen to fight the Turks. The
importance of this step is indicated by
the fact that the Anzeh and Shamr tribes
together are said to number 4,000,000
souls.
It is also asserted that the Sheik
Khazai Khan has sent a deputation to
the Sherif — otherwise Suleiman I., King
of the Hedjaz — announcing his co-opera-
tion in the revolt and his readiness to
respond to a call for men and money.
Thus a large portion of the Mohamme-
dan world, which refused to respond to
the Sultan's call for a holy war against
the Entente, is now actively lining up
against Turkey and the Central Powers.
On Dec. 2, 1916, the United States
Government received the following com-
munication from the new kingdom, whose
capital is Mecca. It was signed by Fuad
el Khatib, Acting Secretary for Foreign
Affairs :
In the name of justice and international
law we enter a solemn protest to the civilized
world against the band of Unionists and
affiiliates which inflicted all manner of cruelty
on the women and children of the innocent
population of Alawali and is now repeating
its elaborate acts of cruelty even at Medina
by sentencing the harmless people and those
of Alawali that are still alive to death by
hanging and to forced labor.
The echo of these atrocities has been
brought to the men in charge of our Army
of the West, whose vanguard is in touch
with the enemy, by a delegation, comprising
every class of the people, that came to them
to appeal to the Arabian Government for
ARAB REVOLT AGAINST TURKISH RULE
307
protection against such inhuman, heinous
crimes.
The Arabian Government, which has shown
every regard for the Turkish prisoners of El
Taif, including the Vali, commanders, officers,
and soldiers, in spite of the misdeeds com-
mitted by them and of their setting fire to the
houses of Princes, notables, and inhabitants
after plundering them, draws your attention
to the matter so as to protect itself from
blame for any retaliation it may be compelled
to apply.
Orthodox Protest from Mecca
A long and important " Proclamation
to the Faithful," issued by the Ulema or
high priesthood of Mecca, reached the
outside world in March, 1917. It adds
religious sanction to the rebellion of the
holy places against the rule of the Turk-
ish Sultan at Constantinople. The text
in English is as follows:
We, the elders and lawyers of the House of
God, are among those whom God has per-
mitted to serve the faith and defend its
truths. The world and its treasures, in com-
parison with truth, are not worth the wing
of an insect, for there is no other purpose for
man in this life except to prepare for eternity.
The Moslem soul rejoices in beholding the
Grand " Kaaba " in the first streak of dawn
and in the shadow of evening, and he is
sanctified by dwelling in the land blessed by
the Prophet of God, (the peace of God be
upon him.) Can such a man allow his faith
to be scorned or see evil befall the things
that are holy? Even so it is with us who
dwell in this holy place.
"We have discerned the hearts of the usurp-
ers of Osman's empire. We have learned
their evil purpose with regard to our faith,
we have beheld their crimes and wickedness
In this our holy land, and our faith has
shown us the path of salvation, and in its
name we have acted according to our duty to
ourselves and the Moslems of the world.
Every Moslem who would consider this mat-
ter should seek its cause and ascertain the
nature of evil against which we rose in arms,
when we found words were of no avail.
As for us, we are absolutely certain that
the secret committee of the Young Turk Party
has notoriously disobeyed God. No words
stayed their hand from crime, and no oppo-
sition prevented the evil consequences of their
actions. Let no one think that we speak vain
things. There stand the facts and events
which every man by inquiry can ascertain
for himself. We shall bring forth these facts
and lay them before the Mohammedan world
when necessity demands. Now we content
ourselves with begging those of our brethren
who oppose us to send some reliable person
or persons to Constantinople, the capital of
the Unionists, and there witness personally,
as we have ourselves witnessed, Moslem wo-
men employed by the Government and ex-
posed in public places unveiled before men
of strange nations. What do our true Moslem
brethren who oppose us in haste think of this
matter, an example of an evil that will great-
ly injure us if it increases and of which we
publicly complain?
Would the obedience of people who do such
a thing, (and it is the least of their crimes
against Islam and Moslems,) be a true
obedience or would it be disobedience to God?
Never, by the God of the " Kaaba," never.
To obey them is to disobey God. Far from
it that any of the faithful should consent to
this.
We endeavored to please God and avoid a
rebellion so long as it was possible. We re-
belled in order to please God, and He gave
us victory and stood by us in support of His
law and religion, and in accordance with a
wisdom known to Him which would lead to
the uplifting of this people. Every Moslem
heart in the Ottoman Empire, even among
the Turks in Anatolia and among the mem-
bers of the Turkish royal family in the
palaces, prays God for our success, and God
always answers the prayers of the oppressed
and the righteous. There is no doubt about
it, that if the inhabitants of those countries
which the Unionists have lost through their
alliance with Germany in this war had re-
volted against those oppressors, just as we
did, they would have no more been regarded
as belligerents and would thus have saved
their countries for themselves. But if things
should continue as they are, no territory will
remain for this empire.
If you keep this in mind and remember
what the Indian paper Mashrek wrote on
Sept. 12 and 19 on the subject of the dis-
qualification of Beni Osman to be the Khalifas
of Islam, you will understand that we have
risen in order to avert these dangers and to
put the Islamic rule on a firm foundation of
true civilization according to the noble dic-
tates of our religion. If our revolution were
only to preserve the integrity of our country
and to save it from what has befallen other
Islamic countries, it is enough, and we are
amply justified.
We call the attention of those who oppose
us to the necessity of saving the other coun-
tries from the calamities into which their in-
habitants have fallen and to deliver them
from the destruction and ruin into which
those criminal hands are dragging them, if
any true religious enthusiasm is left at all.
We have done what we ought to do. We have
cleansed our country from the germs of
atheism and evil. The best course for those
Moslems who still side with and defend this
notorious gang of Unionists, is to submit to
the will of God before their tongues, hands,
and feet give witness against them.
It is a great mistake to suppose that in
rising against this party we are rising against
a legitimate Khalifa possessing all the legal
or, at least, some of the conditions qualifying
him to be such.
What does the Mohammedan world say of
308
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
the Beni Osman who pretend to be Khalifas of
Islam, while for many years they were like
puppets in the hands of the Janissaries ;
tossed about, dethroned, and killed by them,
in a manner contrary to the laws and doc-
trines established in the books of religion on
the accession and dethronement of Khalifas—
which facts are recorded in their history?
History is now repeating itself. To those
Janissaries, grandsons have appeared in these
days who are repeating the acts enacted in
the days of Abdul Aziz, Murad, and Abdul
Hamid. The murder of Yussuf Izzedin, the
Turkish heir apparent, is too recent to be
forgotten.
Those who oppose us and side with the Beni
Osman should do one of two things : (1) Con-
sider the Janissaries and their grandsons as
the final authority on the question of the
Khalifat, which we do not think any reason-
able man would do, because it is against the
laws of religion ; or (2) consider those Janis-
saries and their grandsons as void of author-
ity on the Khalifat question, in which case
we should ask them, " What is the Khalifat
and what are its conditions? "
Therefore, it remains for those who oppose
us to repent, to come to their senses and
unite with us in appealing to the Moslem
world to use all effective measures for the
strengthening of Islam and the restoring of
its glory.
We want those who are present here to tell
you who are far away that we shall confess
before Almighty God, on the last day, that
today we do not know of any Moslem ruler
more righteous and fearing God than the son
of His Prophet who is now on the throne of
the Arab country. We do not know any one
more zealous than he in religion, more ob-
servant of the law of God in words and deeds,
and more capable of managing our affairs
in such a way as would please God. The
people of the Holy Land have proclaimed him
their King simply because, in so doing, they
would be serving their religion and country.
As to the question of the Khalifat, in spite
of all that is known of the deplorable condi-
tion in which it is situated at the present
moment, we have not interfered with it at
all and it will remain as it is pending the
final decision of the whole Mohammedan
world.
Salams to all who hear what is said and
believe the good in it. May God lead us all
into the path of right.
Proclamation to the People of Bagdad
FOLLOWING is the official English
text of the proclamation issued by
General Sir Stanley Maude to the
people of Bagdad Vilayet, when he cap-
tured the historic city on March 11,
1917:
1. In the name of my King, and in the
name of the peoples over whom he rules, I
address you as follows :
2. Our military operations have as their
object the defeat of the enemy and the
driving of him from these territories. In
order to complete this task I am charged
with absolute and supreme control of all
regions in which British troops operate ; but
our armies do not come into your cities and
lands as conquerors or enemies, but as lib-
erators.
3. Since the days of Halaka your city and
your lands have been subject to the tyranny
of strangers, your palaces have fallen into
ruins, your gardens have sunk in desolation,
and your forefathers and yourselves have
groaned in bondage. Your sons have been
carried off to wars not of your seeking, your
wealth has been stripped from you by unjust
men, and squandered in distant places.
4. Since the days of Midhat, the Turks
have talked of reforms, yet do not the ruins
and wastes of today testify the vanity of
those promises?
5. It is the wish not only of my King and
his peoples, but it is also the wish of the
great nations with whom he is in alliance,
that you should prosper even as in the past,
when your lands were fertile, when your an-
cestors gave to the world literature, science,
and art, and when Bagdad City was one of
the wonders of the world.
6. Between your people and the dominions
of my King there has been a close bond of
interest. For 200 years have the merchants
of Bagdad and Great Britain traded together
in mutual profit and friendship. On the-
other hand, the Germans and Turks, who
have despoiled you and yours, have for
twenty years made Bagdad a centre of power
from which to assail the power of the Brit-
ish and the allies of the British in Persia
and Arabia. Therefore, the British Govern-
ment cannot remain indifferent as to what
takes place in your country now or in the
future, for in duty to the interests of the
British people and their allies, the British
Government cannot risk that being done in
Bagdad again which has been done by the
Turks and Germans during the war.
7. But you people of Bagdad, whose com-
mercial prosperity and whose safety from
oppression and invasion must ever be a mat-
ter of the closest concern to the British Gov-
ernment, are not to understand that it is
the wish of the British Government to' im-
pose upon you alien institutions. It is the
hope of the British Government that the
aspirations of your philosophers and writers
shall be realized, and that once again the
people of Bagdad shall flourish, enjoying
PROCLAMATION TO THE PEOPLE OF BAGDAD
309
their wealth and substance under institu-
tions which are in consonance with their
sacred laws and their racial ideals. In
Hejaz the Arabs have expelled the Turks
and Germans who oppressed them and pro-
claimed the Sherif Hussein as their King-,
and his Lordship rules in independence and
freedom, and is the ally of the nations who
are fighting against the power of Turkey
and Germany ; so, indeed, are the noble
Arabs, the Lords of Koweit, Nejd, and Asir.
8. Many noble Arabs have perished in the
cause of Arab freedom, at the hands of those
alien rulers, the Turks, who oppressed them.
It is the determination of the Government of
Great Britain and the great powers allied
to Great Britain, that these noble Arabs
shall not have suffered in vain. It is the
hope and desire of the British people and
the nations in alliance with them that the
Arab race may rise once more to greatness
and renown among the peoples of the earth,
and that it shall bind itself together to this
end in unity and concord.
9. O people of Bagdad, remember that for
twenty-six generations you have suffered
under strange tyrants who have ever en-
deavored to set one Arab house against an-
other in order that they might profit by
your dissensions. This policy is abhorrent
to Great Britain and her allies, for there can
be neither peace nor prosperity where there
is enmity and misgovernment. Therefore, I
am commanded to invite you, through your
nobles and elders and representatives, to
participate in* the management of your civil
affairs in collaboration with the political
representatives of Great Britain who accom-
pany the British Army, so that you may be
united with your kinsmen in north, east,
south, and west in realizing the aspirations
of your race.
Italy's Military Progress in 1916
An Official Summary
THE report of the Italian Supreme
Command for the period of Septem-
ber to December, 1916, contains this
birdseye view of the actual results of the
whole year's operations, under date of
Dec. 26:
Looking back on the year which is drawing
to its close, the Italian Army has reason for
legitimate satisfaction and pride in all the
efforts made, the difficulties overcome, and
the victories achieved.
The development of, its military power was
effected in the Winter of 1915-16, thanks to
the wonderful work of reorganization and
production, in which the whole nation par-
ticipated. In the Spring we sustained in the
Trentino the powerful, long-prepared Aus-
trian offensive, which the enemy with insolent
effrontery styled a punitive expedition against
our country. But after the first successes,,
which were due to the preponderance of
material means collected, above all in artil-
lery, the proposed invasion was quickly
stopped and the enemy was counterattacked
and forced to retire in haste into the mount-
ains, leaving on the Alpine slopes the flower
of his army and paying bitterly the price for
his fallacious enterprise not only here but
also on the plains of Galicia.
Our army did not rest after its wonderful
effort. While maintaining a vigorous pres-
sure on the Trentino front, in order to gain
better positions and to deceive the enemy as
to our intentions, a rapid retransfer of strong
forces to the Julian front was made. In the
first days of August began that irresistible
offensive which, in two days only, caused the
fall of the very strong fortress of Gorizia and
of the formidable system of defenses on the
Carso to the west of the Vallone. Doberdd,
San Michele, Sabotino— names recalling san-
guinary struggles and slaughter— ceased to be
for the Austro-Hungarian Army the symbols
of a resistance vaunted insuperable, and be-
came the emblems of brilliant Italian vic-
tories. The enemy's boastful assertions of
having inexorably arrested our invasion on
the front selected and desired by himself
were refuted at one stroke.
From that day our advance on the Carso
was developed constantly and irresistibly. It
was interrupted by pauses indispensable for
the preparation of the mechanical means of
destruction without which the bravest at-
tacks would lead only to the vain sacrifice
of precious human lives. *
Our constant and full success on the Julian
front is witnessed by 42,000 prisoners, 60
guns, 200 machine guns, and the rich booty
taken between the beginning of August and
December.
Also on the rest of the front our inde-
fatigable troops roused the admiration of all
who saw them for their extraordinary efforts
to overcome not only the forces of the enemy
but also the difficulties of nature.
The coming year is looked forward to by
our army with serenity and confidence. Our
soldiers are supported by the unanimous ap-
proval of the nation, by faith in themselves
and in the justice of their cause. They face
willingly their hard an,d perilous life, under
the guidance of their beloved sovereign, who
from the first day of the war with a rare
constancy has shared their fortunes. Our
army is waiting in perfect readiness to renew
the effort which will carry it to the fulfill-
ment of the unfailing destiny of our people.
Military Operations of the War
By Major Edwin W. Dayton
Inspector General, National Guard, State of New York; Secretary, New York
Army and Navy Club.
Major Dayton has long had the official recognition of the United States War Depart-
ment as an authority on strategy and tactics. He is one of the experts who have chronicled
the present war for The Army and Navy Journal. The article here presented is the third
in a series which Major Dayton is writing for Current History Magazine, covering in a
rapid and authoritative narrative all the military events of importance since the beginning
of the great European conflict.
III.— The Great Battle of Ypres
IN the previous articles we have re-
viewed events of the Summer and
early Autumn of 1914 in Belgium
and France. Having followed the
progress of the invading German armies
across Belgium and down into the heart
of France, we saw their scouts almost
in the environs of Paris before the tide
of war turned. Defeated on the Marne,
the Germans retreated to the fortified
lines above the Aisne, where they suc-
ceeded in halting the pursuit of French
and British armies eager to keep up the
drive. By the middle of October the
manoeuvres by which each sought to win
the control of the Channel coasts had
resulted in a mutual extension of the
battle lines until they confronted each
other all the way from Westende, south
of Ostend, through Belgium and France
to the Swiss frontier. That situation
was destined to continue for long and
bloody years despite frequent efforts on
both sides to break through.
In October and November the Ger-
mans made an enormous effort to smash
a way through to Calais, and some of
the hardest fighting of the whole war
developed. The Allies, believing that
Antwerp could hold out, had hoped to
keep the Germans back of the Scheldt
until the concentration of a strong
Franco-British force between Ghent and
Antwerp would provide the means for
turning the German right flank and
cutting the northern communications of
the armies further south. The plan
failed when Antwerp fell, and the French
then endeavored to execute a flanking
manoeuvre by crossing the Lys and the
Scheldt between Lille and Ghent.
La Bassee and Arras were important
points south of Lille which were essen-
tial to the success of General Joffre's
strategy. Both sides hurried every man
who could be spared from the Aisne up
to the northern battlefield, and new
armies from home gave greatly needed
reinforcement. As the campaign pro-
gressed, the turning movement was re-
pulsed and the Allies found themselves
involved in a desperate struggle to pre-
vent the Germans from turning their
flank and winning a way to the Channel
ports.
First Battle of Ypres
A great battle opened on Oct. 12,
1914, and lasted until Nov. 20, on a
front of about forty miles between Lille
and the mouth of the Yser. The struggle
reached its climax before Ypres, and the
battle bears, the name of that town. The
casualties, Belgian, British, French, and
German, probably exceeded 350,000.
General Foch's Tenth French Army
had failed to turn the German right
flank, and General French had success-
fully moved the whole British force from
the Aisne to its new northern position.
On Oct. 12 British divisions had crossed
the Aire-Bethune canal and were syste-
matically driving back the dismounted
German cavalrymen, who contested stub-
bornly every foot of the way. By the
17th General French's men reached the
village of Herlies, in the hills between
La Bassee and Armentieres, and Aubers,
another village in the same sector, was
MILITARY OPERATIONS OF THE WAR
311
taken — French cavalrymen captured
Fromelles. On the 18th, British attacks
upon La Bassee failed. The Second Royal
Irish captured Le Pilly, where they were
surrounded and killed or captured almost
to a man.
About this time strong German rein-
forcements reached the scene, and the
British, under General Smith-Dorrien,
relinquished the offensive, although they,
too, were reinforced by the arrival of the
MARSHAL SIR JOHN FRENCH
first native Indian contingent, the Lahore
Division, under General Watkis. Smith-
Dorrien's corps of about 37,500 men had
lost 10,000 men in August, 10,000 in Sep-
tember, and 5,000 up to the middle of
October. Although the losses were in
part replaced by drafts of fresh men,
the corps was well-nigh exhausted by
continual fighting, and suffered severely
in the next few days, when the Germans
attacked fiercely near Neuve Chapelle
and Givenchy.
Between Oct. 12 and 29 Smith-Dor-
rien's (second) corps suffered additional
casualties of 360 officers and 8,200 men.
On the 29th they were temporarily re-
lieved by Indian troops stiffened by
British brigades and batteries. Mean-
while Pulteney's (third) corps on the left
was likewise heavily engaged in a series
of battles along the River Lys, nearer to
Armentieres.
Late in October several new German
corps came up' in front of Ypres, and
General Rawlinson led the British
Seventh Division of veteran regular
troops in an advance upon Menin, an im-
portant point southeast of Ypres. He
met heavy resistance on the front and
was strongly attacked on the left flank,
but succeeded in regaining his original
positions, although with severe losses.
The arrival of General Haig's (first)
corps rescued the famous Seventh Divis-
ion from threatened destruction.
British in Crave Peril
General Haig's corps, just from the
Aisne, was assigned by General French
to a position north of the left flank of
the Seventh Division. On Oct. 21, in a
series of terrific attacks, some of the
Germans penetrated the lines of the
Twenty-first Brigade and found cover
in woods behind the position. For sev-
eral days after this the officers of the
Second Yorkshire Regiment kept each
alternate man facing the opposite direc-
tion to reply to rifle fire coming from
both front and rear. On Oct. 22 and
again on the 24th and 25th German
storming columns smashed their way
through the thin British lines, but were
eventually held by reserves skillfully em-
ployed at critical moments.
As the British struggled to hold the
sectors about Ypres the gallant Belgians
held on successfully to their intrenched
positions along Ypres Canal and the Yser
River. On Oct. 29 the Germans made a
tremendous attack upon the re-entering
angles of the British salient in front of
Ypres, on the north at Bixschoote, and on
the south between Zandevoorde and
Hollebeke. The head of the salient was
at the crossroads at Gheluvelt, five
miles east of Ypres, on the Ypres-Menin
road, and early in the day the Germans
forced one of the British divisions out of
its trenches in this sector.
On the morning of the 30th the Ger-
man artillery fire became unbearable and
312
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
many of the British trenches had to be
abandoned. Sometimes a whole troop
would be buried alive by the storm of
high explosive shells, which fairly
churned the earth along the British lines.
Sir Douglas Haig was determined to hold
the critical salient head at Gheluvelt, al-
though the angle had grown even sharper
when regiments north of the village were
forced to fall back a mile to the ridge
of Klein Zillebeke.
One after the other, regiments whose
names have been part of British his-
tory for centuries were sent in to stop
the Teuton rush along the Ypres-Menin
road. The German Emperor urged the
attack and had assured his officers that
a victory at Ypres would end the war.
There can be little question that it would
have meant at least the destruction of
the British expeditionary army then in
France. In addition to the reverses
north of Gheluvelt, General Haig's men
on the south were driven out of Hollebeke
and down on St. Eloi. Supports coming
up were soon heavily engaged about
Messines.
On Oct. 31, in early morning attacks
along the centre of the battle line, two
British brigades were driven back and
the Coldstream Guards practically de-
stroyed. The entire division in this
sector was driven back to the woods
beyond Hooge, and this retreat uncov-
ered the flank of the Seventh Division.
The Royal Scots Fusiliers, attempting
to hold their trenches in the face of
overwhelming forces, were completely
cut off and annihilated. This battalion
had brought over a thousand men to
Flanders and mustered seventy when
this day's work was done.
General Moussy's battalions from the
Ninth French Corps rendered great aid
at a critical moment near Klein Zille-
beke, and later the French Sixteenth
Corps gave greatly needed reinforce-
ment. %
Crisis of the Battle
Sir John French has since said that
the crisis of the whole campaign was
in the middle of the afternoon on this
last day of October. The whole British
line had suffered terribly and was un-
doubtedly very near the breaking point.*
Threatened disaster was averted by a
magnificent charge by the Second
Worcesters supported by the Second Ox-
ford Light Infantry and the field ar-
tillery. This counterattack destroyed
the German initiative along the line of
direct attack on the highway, and by
nightfall the British had regained sev-
eral of the lost positions.
On Sunday, Nov. 1, considerable Brit-
ish and French reinforcements arrived,
but a strong German assault won Holle-
beke and Messines, which enabled the
German gunners to shell Ypres. Wyt-
schaete, too, was taken, but recaptured
later. The Germans held Messines
against continuous counterattacks. In
the fighting up to this time the Seventh
Division had been reduced from 400 offi-
cers and 12,000 men to about 3,000.
On Nov. 6, after a period of heavy ar-
tillery attacks, the German infantry at-
tacked the Klein Zillebeke positions, and
it required the utmost courage of both
British and French to stem the rush.
Generals Bulfin and Moussy were the
commanders on this hard-fought field,
where the honors fell to the British
Household Cavalry. The day was won
by the First and Second Life Guards
and the Blues.
On Nov. 11 the First and Fourth
Brigades of the Prussian Guards at-
tacked under the eye of the Emperor
and pierced the British lines on the
Menin road at several places, but failed
to drive the attack home.
While the British had been struggling
through these long weeks to hold Ypres,
General Dubois with the French Ninth
Corps had performed prodigies of valor
between Zonnebeke and Bixschoote.
Helped by territorial divisions and de
Mitry's Second Cavalry Corps, Dubois
held Bixschoote against the most violent
attacks of great German forces. Regi-
* It is related that the loss of Ypres seemed
so imminent that the breech-blocks had
actually been taken from the heavy guns
to disable them before falling into German
hands. Some of the field guns were being
moved back from the town.
MILITARY OPERATIONS OF THE WAR
313
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SCENE OP CLIMAX OF THE BATTLE OF YPRES. THE BLACK LINE INDICATES THE
BATTLE FRONT AS IT REMAINED FOR TWO AND A HALF YEARS AFTERWARD
ment after regiment was hurled to de-
struction in the effort to win this place,
which covered the British forces to the
south. The Germans renewed their ef-
forts against the British positions on
Nov. 12 and again on the 17th, but by
the 20th large French reinforcements
came up, and as the Winter storms began
the German assaults died down.
This great battle was distinguished by
the heroic courage and magnificent pro-
fessional skill of the finest troops the
combatants possessed. New organiza-
tions, such as the London Scottish, won
undying fame beside the most highly
trained professional soldiers of the reg-
ular regiments. The Germans employed
in the neighborhood of a million men to
win the war in this their last great of-
fensive on the western front, and among
that great host were included at least
six corps of their first-line troops. Sir
Henry Rawlinson's famous Seventh Di-
vision of British regulars held the
salient in the line against odds estimated
at 8 to 1. When finally withdrawn at
the end of the battle this division had
44 officers left out of 400.
Battle of Neuve Chopclle
On Dec. 14, 1914, a combined attack
by Scotch and French regiments was
made upon positions southwest of Wyt-
schaete and some small gains made.
Earlier in this month the French under
Maud'huy carried a fortified chateau
at Vermelles, south of the Bethune-La
Bassee Canal, and about the middle of
December the Lahore Division of the In-
dian Army and the Meerut Division of
314
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
the same service won temporary suc-
cesses, but later suffered dangerous re-
verses in the region of Neuve Chapelle,
three miles northwest of La Bassee, and
near Festubert, about the same distance
west of that point.
A severe battle raged on Dec. 20 about
Givenchy, a village in front of Festu-
bert, where both Indian brigades and
British regiments were soundly beaten.
Sir John French sent strong reinforce-
ments into the firing line, and on the
21st some of the lost ground was re-
taken. At noon on the 22d Sir Douglas
Haig took command in the danger zone,
and on that night and the following day
the British position was re-established
in the various places where the Indian
troops had proved unable to withstand
the evening's assaults. In the earlier
stages of this battle the British forces
showed less efficiency and stamina than
on any other field in the war. The staff
arrangements seem to have been imper-
fectly planned, and severe losses were
due to poor leadership. Disaster threat-
ened at Givenchy until Haig took com-
mand and, with British and French
troops, saved the day.
The Winter of 1914-15
When the battles near La Bassee
ended, the campaign in the north quieted
down. To the south in the Argonne the
Crown Prince was very active, and a
number of minor battles were fought.
The French held their own splendidly in
this domain of minor tactics, where
there was — and, indeed, has continued
ever since — incessant skirmishing which
frequently developed into combats of con-
siderable importance. General Sarrail at
Verdun held his own, and did more, for
gradually his intrenched positions were
enlarged on the east front of the fortress
in the direction of Metz.
The War in Serbia
Recalling the complete defeat of Aus-
tria's first invasion of Serbia in August,
we will proceed to a further consideration
of this theatre of the war. Austria lost
40,000 men killed and wounded, and 50
guns, in the first attempt at a punitive
expedition into the region which had
been the cause of the outbreak of the
war. The Russian campaign on the east
had necessitated pulling every available
soldier out of the Balkans for use on the
frontiers of Poland and Galicia, and the
Serbs undertook an attack aimed at Sera-
jevo, the capital of Bosnia. On Sept. 14
the frontier position at Vishegrad was
captured, and a force which had crossed
the Save at night took the town of Sem-
lin on Sept. 6 and silenced batteries which
had been bombarding Belgrade.
The Austrians gathered a new army
along the Drina, and early in September
crossed that river, but on the arrival of
Serbian reinforcements were defeated and
driven back. The battle continued for
ten days, but by the 17th the Austrian
attack was definitely repulsed.
Meanwhile the Serbs were unable to
make much progress in their attempt on
Serajevo, and by the end of October the
Austrians resumed the attack, with Nish,
to which the Serbian Court had retired,
as the main objective. An Austrian
army of about 300,000 men invaded Ser-
bia in November and a hard-fought cam-
paign followed among the mountain
ridges of the interior, to which Crown
Prince Alexander and General Putnik re-
tired.
Early in December the Austrian com-
mander, confident that his invasion was
to be an easy victory, sent several corps
back to assist in the effort against Rus-
sia in the Carpathians. The aged King
Peter joined his army. On Dec. 3 and 4
a heavy battle was fought among the
ridges of Rudnik and Mai j en, and at
Ushitza. By the morning of the 6th the
Serbs had won a complete and astonish-
ing victory. The Austrians were a
routed and broken remnant of an army,
hotly pursued all the way to the border
by the hardy Serbian veterans. Forty
thousand Austrian prisoners were taken,
and their casualties were very heavy.
The Serbs recaptured the capital at Bel-
gade on Dec. 14-15, and the second Aus-
trian attempt to invade the land had
ended in complete and disastrous defeat.
The War in Africa
Within the period of Germany's com-
mercial expansion which followed the
victories of 1870 a wonderful scheme of
foreign colonization had been developed
MILITARY OPERATIONS OF THE WAR
315
on the coasts of China, in Polynesia, and
especially in Africa. In the Dark Con-
tinent vast regions became German col-
onies or protectorates, and of course this
expansion was regarded most jealously
by the other European nations, whose
arms were already elbow deep in the
African grab bag. Germany built roads
and railroads, and had apparently started
a movement which would in time have
made great returns for the large sums
spent in development.
On the Atlantic side, Togoland was
located above the north shores of the
Gulf of Guinea, while the much larger
Cameroon lay on the east coast of the
same gulf. Southwest Africa was an
enormous territory west of the old Boer
republic, now absorbed into British
South Africa. On the Indian Ocean Ger-
man East Africa was another huge pro-
tectorate whose northern frontier nearly
touched the equator, while the southern
border touched Mozambique well below
the tenth parallel. This colony contained
Mount Kilimanjaro, which was first sur-
veyed by the German explorer von der
Decken, and the greater part of Lake
Victoria Nyanza. There are several good
ports on the seacoast, and this colony
was one with great possibilities both in
mining and agriculture.
Early in August, 1914, a British
cruiser captured Lome, the port of Togo-
land, and the small German garrison re-
treated into the interior. French and
British expeditions invaded the colony
from the Gold Coast and Dahomey, and
by Aug. 27, after very little fighting, all
Togoland had passed into possession of
the Allies.
Late in August, Cameroon was in-
vaded by a. British column, which met
a reverse on the 30th in an attack upon
the forts on the Benue River. The Brit-
ish commander and a number of other
officers were killed, and nearly half of
the native force under their command
was lost. Another column, which en-
tered Cameroon from Calabar, after
some initial successes was completely
routed at Nsanapong in a night attack.
The losses here were heavy. On Sept.
27 a mixed Anglo-French force captured
the German port at Duala and another
coast town called Bonaberi. British war-
ships from the mouth of the Cameroon
River rendered great assistance. By
October the Germans had been driven
back into the wild interior and the Allies
were in complete control of the coast
and the rivers.
General Botha s Achievement
In the important colony of German
Southwest Africa the Governor aban-
doned the coast stations early in August,
1914, and concentrated his defense in the
interior at Windhoek. When the Parlia-
ment of British South Africa met on
Sept. 8 skirmishing was in progress
along the frontier, and General Botha
announced a policy of active aggression
against the Germans in the west. Fight-
ing occurred at several places along the
Orange River, and on Sept. 18 a British
naval expedition captured the seaport at
Suderitz Bay. In this colony the Ger-
mans had between 5,000 and 10,000 men,
with considerable artillery. General
Botha raised in the British colonies about
7,000 men, and by the end of September
skirmishing was in progress at a number
of frontier points. At Sandfontein a
small British column was trapped, and
after a hard fight the survivors sur-
rendered.
Early in October a rebellion occured in
the northwest section of Cape Province,
led by Colonel Maritz, who commanded
the British forces in the region, but who
had fought on the Boer side in the South
African war. Martial law was declared
in the British colonies, and in several en-
gagements Maritz, who had a force of
about 2,000 men, was completely defeated
and driven out of the colony.
A much more serious rebellion de-
veloped in the old Orange Free State and
the Western Transvaal under such re-
nowned veterans of the Boer war as Gen-
erals de Wet and Beyers, assisted by a
number of other veteran leaders in South
African wars. At Pretoria the burghers
rallied to th£ loyal Botha, who soon
raised an army of more than 30,000 fight-
ing men. On Oct. 27 Botha defeated
and dispersed the rebels under Beyers
and Kemp south of the town of Rusten-
berg. The defeated forces rallied, and
at Lichtenburg defeated a force under i
316
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Colonel Alberts, which attempted to cut
off the retreat, but after several reverses
this section of the rebel army was finally
defeated and dispersed by Colonel van
der Venter on Nov. 8 at Sandfontein,
sixty miles from Pretoria. Another part
of the force defeated at Rustenberg had
taken refuge in the Orange Free State,
led by Beyers and Kemp, who were final-
ly defeated near the junction of the Vaal
and the Vet and dispersed toward the
wild interior.
The old-time genius of South African
fighting had deserted de Wet, and his
campaign was short. On Nov. 7, at
Doornberg, his force of about 2,000 de-
feated a Union column under Col. Cronje,
and de Wet's son was killed. By Nov. 11
General Botha, having cleared up the
Transvaal, began to close in on de Wet's
forces and administered a severe defeat
to them. After further reverses de Wet
and a few faithful adherents were cap-
tured on Dec. 1 at Waterberg, a hundred
miles west of Mafeking. By the end of
December, after a number of engage-
ments with scattered commandoes, the
rebellion was practically stamped out.
Beyers was drowned while attempting
to swim the Vaal. De Wet and Muller
were prisoners, and Kemp had escaped
into German territory.
German East Africa
In East Africa the Germans had an
army which numbered close to ten thou-
sand, of whom perhaps 30 per cent,
were white. In British East Africa and
Uganda the British forces all told seem
not to have exceeded 1,500. On Aug. 13,
1914, a British cruiser bombarded Dar-
es-Salam and destroyed the harbor
works, and on Lake Nyassa a British
steamer attacked German vessels. In
September several small battles were
fought along the frontier between the
German colony and Rhodesia to the
south as well as on the frontier to the
north bordering British East Africa. Im-
portant British reinforcements arrived
from India with artillery in time to pre-
vent a German attack upon the British
railway from the sea at Mombasa across
the colony to Lake Victoria Nyanza. In
seven or eight engagements on the coast
and along the northern frontier the Ger-
mans were uniformly beaten, and by
October their campaign had run its
course with only a few minor points oc-
cupied on the British side of the line.
The British were content to maintain
a successful defense while awaiting fur-
ther reinforcements promised from India
for November. This new expeditionary
force arrived on the East African coast
on Nov. 1 and proceeded to attack the
German port of Tanga, the terminus of
the Maschi Railway. An attempt to
storm the defenses on Nov. 4 met with
a disastrous repulse, in which the British
lost 800 men, and the expeditionary army
withdrew to the north, where it became
an army of observation along the fron-
tier for the next few months.
The Japanese in China
Japan, having declared war upon Ger-
many late in August, 1914, proceeded to
capture Germany's well-fortified position
at Tsing-tao on the China coast. The
Japanese Army, with a peace strength
of 250,000 and a war strength of 1,000,-
000, was, so to speak, at the door of this
German post hopelessly remote from Eu-
ropean assistance. The powerful Jap-
anese Navy controlled the eastern sea
and had doubled in strength since the
Russian war. Several British warships
co-operated in the attack upon Tsing-
tao. The German garrison numbered
5,000 men, occupying an intrenched
camp and modernized Brialmont forts
with •concrete and steel construction.
Under naval convoy a strong Japanese
force landed, and by the end of Septem-
ber had advanced along the peninsula to
a point where their artillery dominated
the German forts. A small British force
from Wei-hai-Wei landed and co-operated
with the Japanese in the reduction of the
German fortifications. General Kamio,
the Japanese commander, had a heavy
siege train of 140 guns, including some
11-inch howitzers, which quite outclassed
in range and weight anything possessed
by the Germans. The Japanese warships
joined in the bombardment, and fort
after fort was crushed by heavy shell
fire from both land and sea. The Ger-
mans finally surrendered on Nov. 10,
1914.
If
IN THE PATH OF THE GERMAN RE
View of the Once Prosperous Town of Bapaume, Which the
German Army Wrecked Before Evacuating It
(.Official Press Bureau)
Public Square in Peronne, With Burned and Bombed Houses,
and a Unique Message Left by the Departing Germans.
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German Vandalism During the
Retreat in France
SINCE November the German mili-
tary authorities had been prepar-
ing to withdraw from the most
seriously threatened portions of
their lines in France, and on Friday,
March 16, 1917, the preparations were
complete. The last batteries on the long
front between Arras and Soissons were
withdrawn that night, though rear
guards remained in the trenches, making
a show of activity until the following
night, when they too withdrew, marching
swiftly and silently into the darkness
toward the north.
At 8:30 in the evening the last troops
left Noyon. The inhabitants were fiercely
ordered to remain in their cellars on
pain of bombardment. On the morning
of Sunday, the 18th, when they timidly
emerged there was not a German to be
seen. A few moments later a French
cavalry patrol trotted cautiously to the
edge of the town and was greeted with
weeping and cheers by the inhabitants.
After two and a half years of exile and
slavery they were again in France!
The conduct of the German Army in
retreat revealed the fact that it was
under orders to devastate the abandoned
territory, and the thoroughness with
which it acted on these orders has left
one of the most sensational records of
" frightfulness" in the annals of the
great war.
French Note of Protest
The French Government at once
charged its representatives in all neutral
countries to enter a protest against these
" acts of barbarism and devastation."
The text of this note, signed by Premier
Ribot, is as follows :
The Government of the republic is now
gathering the elements of protest which it
intends sending to neutral Governments
against acts of barbarism and devastation
committed by the Germans in French ter-
ritory which they are evacuating while re-
treating. At this time I ask you to make
known to the Government to which you are
accredited that we intend to denounce before
universal judgment the unqualifiable acts in-
dulged in by the German authorities. No
motive demanded by military necessities can
justify the systematic devastation of public
monuments, artistic and historical, as well
as public property, accompanied by violence
against persons. Cities and villages in their
entirety have been pillaged, burned, and
destroyed ; private homes stripped of all
furniture, which the enemy has carried off;
fruit trees have been torn up or rendered
useless for future production ; streams and
wells have been poisoned. The inhabitants,
relatively few in number, who have not
been removed have been left with a minimum
of rations, while the enemy seized stocks
supplied by the neutral revictualing commis-
sion which were destined for the civil popu-
lation.
You will point out that this concerns not
acts destined to hinder the operations of our
armies, but of devastation having no con-
nection with this object and having for its
purpose the ruin for years to come of one
of the most fertile regions of France.
The civilized world can only revolt against
this conduct on the part of a nation which
wanted to impose its culture on it, but which
reveals itself once again as quite close to
barbarism still, and, in a rage of disappoint-
ed ambition, tramples on the most sacred
rights of humanity.
Pillage and Destruction
At the same time the French Govern-
ment charged that safes had been
robbed, notably at Peronne, where a
branch of the Bank of France was pil-
laged and large amounts of stocks and
bonds were taken by the departing
troops. Press dispatches also stated that
securities to the amount of $3,600,000
were taken from the banks in Noyon.
Premier Ribot, who is also Foreign
Minister, instructed the representatives
of France in neutral countries to warn
bankers against having anything to do
with these stolen securities, declaring
that France and the Allies would not
recognize as valid any transaction based
upon negotiable paper which the Ger-
mans had seized in violation of The
Hague Convention.
The region evacuated by the Germans
was approximately forty miles long and
twenty-five deep, or a total of 1,000
318
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
square miles, containing between 350 and
400 towns and villages, and a population
of nearly 200,000 before the war. This
whole section of the fairest lands in
France is described by all eyewitnesses
as a vast wreck, a heartrending chaos of
burned villages and farms, blasted roads
and bridges, felled fruit trees, polluted
wells, and looted homes. Philip Gibbs,
the war correspondent, wrote on March
21:
" The Germans have spared nothing on
the way of their retreat. They have de-
stroyed every village in their abandon-
ment with systematic and detailed de-
struction. Not only in Bapaume and
Peronne have they blown up or burned
all the houses which were untouched by
shellfire, but in scores of villages they
laid waste the cottages of poor peasants
and all their little farms and all their
orchards. At Bethonvillers this morn-
ing, to name only one village out of
many, I saw how each house was marked
with a white cross before it was gutted
with fire. The cross of Christ was used
to mark the work of the devil,, for truly
it has been the devil's work.
" Even if we grant that the destruction
of houses in the wake oi retreat is the
recognized cruelty of war there are
other things I have seen which are not
pardonable, even under that damnable
code of morality. In Bapaume and Pe-
ronne, in Roye and Nesle and Lianecourt,
and all these places over a wide area the
German soldiers not only blew out the
fronts of houses, but with picks and
axes smashed mirrors and furniture and
picture frames. As a friend of mine
said, a cheap jack would not give four-
pence for anything left in Peronne, and
that is strictly true also of Bapaume.
There is nothing but filth in those two
towns. Family portraits have been
kicked into the gutters. Black bonnets
of old women who once lived in those
houses lie about the rubbish heaps and
by some strange pitiful freak these are
almost the only signs left of the in-
habitants who lived here before the Ger-
mans wrecked their houses.
" The ruins of houses are bad to see
when done deliberately, even when shell-
fire spared them in the war zone, but
worse than that is the ruin of women
and children and living flesh. I saw
that ruin today in Roye and Nesle. I
was at first rejoiced to see how the
• first inhabitants were liberated after
being so long in hostile lines. I ap-
proached them with a queer sense of
excitement, eager to stop with them,
but instantly when I saw those women
and children in the streets and staring
at me out of windows I was struck with
the chill of horror. The women's faces
were dead faces, shallow and masklike
and branded with the memory of great
agonies. The children were white and
thin, so thin that the cheekbones pro-
truded and many of them seemed to me
idiot children. Hunger and fear had
been with them too long."
Wells Polluted by Order
Outside of the ruined cities, not only
were all the bridges and cross roads
blown up with mines — a legitimate mili-
tary measure to hinder pursuit — but
cottages and farmhouses that were
once the homes of nearly 100,000'
peasant farmers were rendered unin-
habitable by means of specially pre-
pared bombs. Written orders were cap-
tured which directed the blowing up of
all houses, wells, and cellars, except
those occupied by rearguards, and these
were to be made uninhabitable upon
leaving. Farming implements were
gathered in heaps and burned, peasants'
carts were hacked to pieces, all the
spokes of the wheels being cut out, in
some cases with infinite labor. Fruit
trees everywhere were sawed off near
the ground, or, if time pressed, were
girdled so as to insure their death.
Wherever a house was spared it was
rendered filthy.
Every well also was rendered useless
by pollution, so that the homeless
people were compelled to get all their
drinking water in barrels from outside
the looted region. This pollution of the
wells was also done under German offi-
cial orders, as demonstrated by a writ-
ten order found on the battlefied, dated
March 14. It was addressed to the Sec-
ond Squadron, Sixth German Cuirassiers,
GERMAN VANDALISM DURING THE RETREAT IN FRANCE 319
Thirty-eighth Division, and gave instruc-
tions to this end.
The wife of the village doctor at
Nesle, who had housed the German regi-
mental staff, protested to a German
Lieutenant against the willful destruc-
tion of her furniture. He appeared to
regret what his men were doing, but said:
"I cannot do otherwise. It is by
command."
A number of German doctors who
lodged for months in one of the finest
mansions of Roye summoned the aged
mistress of the house on the morning of
March 16 and said: "We are going to
give Roye back to the French. We hope
they will like it." They then went
through the house, firing revolvers at
the mirrors and smashing furniture in
the drawing-room and bedrooms. In
many other houses the same scene was
repeated, and pictures, clocks, and family
papers were carried away.
In Peronne a famous avenue of shade
trees was left prostrate, and scarcely a
house was undamaged. Not a living
human being remained. Peronne was a
dead town, like Bapaume, like Ypres.
like all the villages in the wake of the
German retreat. The first correspon-
dents who penetrated through the chaos
to the Grande Place found a large board
hung upon a shattered wall and bearing
the ironic words : " Nicht argern, nur
wundern." (Do not be annoyed, only
be astonished.) It was the greeting of
the departing Germans to the incoming
Britons.
Coucy Castle, one of the most splen-
did remaining relics of the thirteenth
century, was utterly blasted from the
face of the earth. Nothing is left but
a great pile of massive crumpled ma-
sonry and pulverized rock of what was
one of the strongest and most historic
castles of Europe.
So enraged were the French at this
act of destruction that they refused to
bombard the ruins, where the Germans
had intrenched machine gunners. In-
stead infantry, unsupported by artillery,
charged over a plain swept by German
machine gun fire and wrenched the
sacred spot from the enemy.
Before they left, the Germans boasted
to the French inhabitants that thirty
tons of explosives were used to destroy
the castle. Pieces of its ancient ma-
sonry were spread over 10,000 square
yards. Not a vestige remains of the
great tower which Cardinal Mazarin's
engineers vainly tried to blow up in the
seventeenth century. Coucy Castle had
been set aside as a historical museum.
Pitiful Streams of Fugitives
A correspondent who accompanied
the French Army in its advance from
Noyon, Chauny, and Tergnier, on March
21, wrote that the path of the retreating
Germans was marked with the smoke of
burning farms for fifteen miles. Along
the road back from Tergnier and Noyon
poured an unending stream of refugees
from these blazing farms and villages.
Nearly all were women — pitiful in their
destitution, a few scant pieces of cloth-
ing saved and strapped on their backs,
or pushing baby carriages, or wheel-
barrows with tiny tots tucked therein.
Younger children clung to their skirts
or themselves toddled along under the
weight of bundles.
" Their stories were all alike. For
weeks before the retreat started the
Germans herded all inhabitants before
them from village to village. When the
final movement came for the Germans
to leave they sacked the houses. The
soldiers carried off everything eatable
and burned the villages before the eyes
of the refugees. Then they departed,
leaving the villagers homeless and food-
less.
" A few hours later, when the Germans
believed the French troops had arrived,
they began shelling the villages they had
pillaged and left, despite their knowledge
of thousands of innocent civil inhabitants
still there. Seven thousand women and
children suffered this experience at
Chauny alone. The village was under
bombardment at the moment I arrived.
The French Red Cross crews, with their
litters, who had pushed forward afoot,
were carrying off women and children
wounded during the shell fire.
" The German retreat has been marked
by insensate destruction. Aside from
320
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
the burning of farms and villages, the
blowing up of church doors and altars
and the like, the wanton destruction
was carried to such an extent that I
walked through twenty miles of farms
and fields where every orchard tree had
either been hewn down or — if the French
arrived before this job of destruction
could be completed — the trees were suf-
ficiently hacked to insure their death.
" The Germans stripped every village
of all metal. They tore tin gutters and
plumbing from all houses, took off the
metal roofs; pilfered the churches of
clocks and bells. Not one escaped —
from the cathedral at Noyon to the
humblest of wayside churches.
" At Noyon, owing to the concentra-
tion of 10,000 women and children, the
Germans promised to leave the Ameri-
can commission sufficient supplies to
feed the refugees. Nevertheless, depart-
ing patrols sacked the American com-
mission storehouses, carrying off all
eatables. Then they dynamited the
building and finally diverted water from
the canal into the village. Part of the
city was flooded and ruined in this
fashion. The population of Noyon said
they had not eaten a scrap* of meat in
eighteen months."
Took Away Many Captives
In leaving the evacuated territory the
Germans carried with them all the able-
bodied men and boys above 16 years,
and all women and girls older than 15
years who were able to work. A French
official communication mentions the
taking of fifty women and girls from
Noyon. On Feb. 17 they had removed
423 from Nesle. While taking away the
fit population throughout the evacuated
region, the invaders sent back hundreds
of the aged and infirm from St. Quentin
and other towns behind their new lines.
" Many of these French boys and old
men," says an Associated Press corre-
spondent, " had been compelled to work
in the German trenches, where they said
they also met many Belgians and Rus-
sians, the latter, of course, being pris-
oners of war. It was asserted that one
of the reasons for the wholesale deporta-
tion of Belgians was the necessity for
this labor in constructing the new posi-
tions to which the Germans have fallen
back. The Germans wished to spare the
soldiers from this work and so employed
these unwilling civilians and prisoners."
Village Priest* s Narrative
In the ruined village of Voyennes, not
far from the now demolished Fortress of
Ham, a priest told of the spiritual
agonies through which his people had
passed, culminating in the sacking of
their homes by the departing enemy.
" We could get no news for months
except lies," he said. " We knew nothing
of what was happening. Starvation crept
closer upon us. We were surrounded by
the fires of hell for fifty hours at a time.
The roar of guns swept around us week
after week, and month after month, and
the sky blazed around us. We were
afraid of the temper of the German of-
ficers.
" After the defeat on the Marne and
after the battles of the Somme Germany
was like a wounded tiger, fierce, des-
perate, cruel. Secretly, although our
people kept brave faces, they feared what
would happen if the Germans were forced
to retreat. At last that happened, and
after all we had endured the day of
terror was hard to bear.
" From all the villages around, one by
one, the people were driven out, the
young women and men as old as 60 were
taken away to work for Germany, and
the orderly destruction began which
ended with the cutting down of our little
orchards and ruin everywhere.
" The commandant before that was a
good man and a gentleman, afraid of
God and his conscience. He said: 'I do
not approve of these things; the world
will have a right to call us barbarians.'
He asked for forgiveness because he had
to obey orders, and I gave it to him.
" An order came to take away all the
bells of churches and all metal work. I
had already put my church bells in the
loft, and I showed them to him and said,
* There they are.' He was very sorry.
This man was the only good German offi-
cer I have met, and it was because he
had been fifteen years in America, and
had married an American wife and es-
GERMAN VANDALISM DURING THE RETREAT IN FRANCE 321
caped from the spell of his country's
philosophy. Then he went away.
" Last Sunday a week ago, at this very
house, when our people all were in their
houses under strict orders and already
the country was on fire with burning vil-
lages, a group of soldiers came outside
there with cans of petroleum, which they
put into the church. Then they set fire
to it and watched my church burn in a
great bonfire. That night the Germans
went away through Voyennes, and early
in the morning, up in my attic, looking
through a pair of glasses, I saw four
horsemen ride in. They were English
soldiers, and our people rushed out to
them. Our agony had ended."
Ambassador Sharp's Report
The full extent of this German ruth-
lessness was confirmed by Ambassador
Sharp in a report made to the Washing-
ton Government after a journey of 100
miles through the devastated territory.
The State Department made public the
following summary of the document:
" A telegram from the American Am-
bassador at Paris, dated April 1, states
that upon the invitation of the French
Government he visited on March 31 many
of the French towns recently retaken in
the invaded territory. He was accom-
panied by one of the Military Attaches
to the embassy. He found that the vari-
ous reports circulated in France, which
have appeared in American newspapers,
in regard to the deplorable condition
were in no way exaggerated.
"In the larger towns of Roye, Ham,
and particularly in the attractive and
thriving town of Chauny, destruction
Was complete. In many of the other
smaller villages scarcely a house remains
with roof intact. Throughout the re-
conquered territory there reigns a scene
of desolation, and this Is not only true
where German military operations might
possibly excuse destruction in the blow-
[Continued on
ing up of bridges, telegraphic and tele-
phonic connections, railway lines, and the
blocking of highways by felling trees
which protected the German retreat, but
towns were totally destroyed for no ap-
parent military reasons.
" Fruit trees had either been cut down
or exploded so as to ruin them com-
pletely; private houses along the coun-
try highway, including some of the most
beautiful chateaux of great value, were
completely gutted by explosives sys-
tematically planted or by fire. Black-
ened walls of what must have been man-
ufacturing plants were to be seen in
many towns, the salvage of which would
scarcely pay for their removal. Agricul-
tural implements in farms were de-
stroyed, churches and cathedrals were
reduced to a mass of ruins by fire or
by explosives.
"At the town of Ham the mother of
six children told him that her husband
and two daughters, one 18 and the other
15 years of age, had been carried away
by the Germans at the time of the evac-
uation. Upon remonstrating she had
been told that as an alternative she
might find their bodies in the canal in
the rear of her house. She stated that
out of the town's total population sev-
eral hundred people had been compelled
to accompany the Germans, nearly half
of whom were girls and women over 15
years of age. A large number of French
people, it is believed, in the evacuated
towns and surrounding country were
compelled to go with the Germans from
the fact that few are now to be found
there.
" He inspected on the trip more than
100 miles in the invaded territory and
left with the conviction that never be-
fore in the history of the world had
there been such a thorough destruction
wrought by either a vanquished or vic-
torious army."
next page]
su
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
with the French lines was most interest-
ing. There was a definite space of shell-
marked cleavage between the former
French lines and the first German out-
posts. After that came the German first-
line trench and a marvelous system of
communicating trenches back to their
second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, to the
twentieth line of formidable defense,
known as the Hindenburg line.
Their main lines were of solid concrete.
I would have sworn they were impregna-
ble had I not such vivid proof of what
happened to similar German trenches on
the Somme after the battering of French
artillery. Their communication trenches
were a marvel of ingenuity — line after
line of them running across the main
lines and so connected that reinforce-
ments or supplies could be rushed from
half a dozen places to almost every main
position. Between this and between
every defensive trench line there is noth-
ing but one unbroken mass of barbed
wire. As far as the eye could see for a
distance of miles after I entered what
was German territory until a week ago
there was one unending vista of rusted
wire entanglements. There was some-
thing psychological about it. On the
French side there are also complete sys-
tems of defensive lines that stretch all
the way back to Paris, but they are not
so visible — there are great open stretches
of country between. On the German side
it seemed that everything they did was
to perfect a defense; that they realized a
long time ago that an offensive on that
front was impossible, and that against a
French offensive they could only prepare
to go back yard by yard as best they
could.
Barbed Wire Ten Miles Deep
For a distance of probably ten miles
this barrier of barbed wire extends in
solid formation. Then come stretches of
free country to where probably the tenth
or eleventh defense line appears, and so
on. It is behind this main area of entan-
glements that the systematic devastation
begins. Leading directly back from what
was the French front, the Germans only
committed such destruction as any retir-
ing army .might do to keep off rearguard
attacks. Every road was blown to pieces
— now, however, all filled and planked —
every telegraph pole prone on the
ground, and every rod of railway de-
stroyed.
Beyond all this, however, lies Ger-
many's everlasting shame and disgrace.
Acts that had not the slightest military
value were committed on every hand.
The whole country lies waste and deso-
late beyond description, and not a Ger-
man living today or in years to come can
ever be clever or brilliant or logical or
false enough to tell the reason why and
have the world believe him. Ten thou-
sand inhabitants of the country who were
left behind are living witnesses that they
existed these past years in a bondage
worse than galley slaves. And if the tes-
timony is not enough, let the German
placards upon the remaining dead walls
of these corpses of cities bear them out:
That every person above the age of twelve
should always salute officers by politely re-
moving their hats and bowing as they passed
or suffer the penalty of imprisonment.
That they should live how and where their
masters pleased, that their women should
cook for them and wait upon them and serve
them in any way desired.
That they might only walk certain streets
at certain hours.
That they were forbidden to possess either
money or food except at the German will.
The penalty in all these cases was
death.
Lived Only by Outside Aid
I asked the same question a dozen
times throughout the trip, how the civil
population managed to live at all. Every
time I received the same answer, which
was:
" We would have starved except for
the food sent by the American Relief
Committee."
In reply to a question concerning the
kinds of food received, I was shown
empty tins that had contained American
crackers and canned goods. When I
asked what sort of meat, I received the
invariable response:
" The Americans sent lots of things,
but everything like that the Germans
took for themselves."
This naturally led to questions con-
cerning how the German soldiery fared,
GERMAN VANDALISM DURING THE RETREAT IN FRANCE 325
and the unanimous response was that
neither officers nor men fed any too well;-
that the pinch of hunger now afflicting
the entire empire has fastened itself as
well on the army.
As we approached the ruined villages
* * * we saw what ghastly hand had
been at work. The solid brick and stone
walls of the houses were only shells
concealing charred ruins. Not only one
village is like that, nor a dozen, but
every single one of the hundreds that
have been liberated has been put to fire
and sword, old men, old women, cripples,
and children left to await the arrival of
their own soldiery to care for them; their
able-bodied men taken into bondage
months ago, their young women and girls
herded along with the retreating army to
a slavery no one dares to think about
without seeing red. And at every village
the same message was left behind for
the French soldiers when they arrived.
Translated, it reads like this:
" You see what we have done here.
Well, this is what is going to happen all
the way back to the French frontier."
Is it any wonder that the French sol-
dier telling me this said between clenched
teeth:
" There is only one answer to that, my
friend. Let them get down on their
knees and pray when the French Army
crosses the Rhine. We will be taking no
prisoners on that day."
The Countryside Devastated
The aspect of the villages is sad
enough, but the countryside is worse. I
have seen so much of artillery destruc-
tion during this war that I confess I have
been rather sated with ruins. A de-
stroyed church, a house ripped clean to
its foundations, is only another example
of what I have seen dozens of times be-
fore. But a countryside that has so little
left of it as that one I passed through is
a sight that made me want to cry and
fight at the same time. It has already
been reported how orchards have been
destroyed. I rather expected that this
had happened just along the roads by
which the army retreated. But with field
glasses I could see far in on either side
of every road for miles and miles; every
farm is burned, fields destroyed, every
garden and every bush uprooted, every
tree sawed off close to the bottom. It
was a terrible sight, and seemed almost
worse than the destruction of men. Those,
thousands of trees prone upon the earth,
their branches waving in the wind,
seemed undergoing death agonies before
our eyes.
Everything gave its share to the blood
lust of hate. Churches gave their organs
for their copper, also the brass rails of
their altars, even crucifixes upon ruined
walls were stripped down and torn asun-
der.
We passed through the remnant of a
place called Porquericourt. An old wo-
man came to a broken doorway. We
stopped to talk with her. She smiled at
sight of the French uniforms of our offi-
cers. She lived on a farm a mile away.
The Germans had passed in the night
and burned it so that she had come to
Porquericourt to hide in the cellar of a
friend. .Her husband and brother, both
old men, had been killed by the Germans
during the retreat, her two sons led off
to slavery the year before. One of them
had come back, but had been seized again
only a few weeks before.
Her three daughters had been with her
at the farm the night that the Germans
retreated. They had fled with her to the
house of her friend, from where they saw
their own home of a lifetime in flames.
The girls were 19, 21, and 24 years old.
The Germans had found them in Por-
quericourt and had taken them away.
That was eight days before. She had
heard nothing of them since. All other
young women had likewise vanished that
night when the Germans went away.
She told her story simply in a low,
unfaltering voice. But she suddered as
she spoke of her daughters.
Cemetery Left Intact
We left just at nightfall. On the out-
skirts we came upon the only thing I can
now remember in all that scene on all
that day which the Germans did not de-
stroy as they fled. It was a cemetery
built by themselves for their soldier dead.
It was magnificently made, upon a mag-
nificent site, overlooking a great valley.
The graveyards I have seen behind the
324
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
with the French lines was most interest-
ing. There was a definite space of shell-
marked cleavage between the former
French lines and the first German out-
posts. After that came the German first-
line trench and a marvelous system of
communicating trenches back to their
second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, to the
twentieth line of formidable defense,
known as the Hindenburg line.
Their main lines were of solid concrete.
I would have sworn they were impregna-
ble had I not such vivid proof of what
happened to similar German trenches on
the Somme after the battering of French
artillery. Their communication trenches
were a marvel of ingenuity — line after
line of them running across the main
lines and so connected that reinforce-
ments or supplies could be rushed from
half a dozen places to almost every main
position. Between this and between
every defensive trench line there is noth-
ing but one unbroken mass of barbed
wire. As far as the eye could see for a
distance of miles after I entered what
was German territory until a week ago
there was one unending vista of rusted
wire entanglements. There was some-
thing psychological about it. On the
French side there are also complete sys-
tems of defensive lines that stretch all
the way back to Paris, but they are not
so visible — there are great open stretches
of country between. On the German side
it seemed that everything they did was
to perfect a defence; that they realized a
long time ago that an offensive on that
front was impossible, and that against a
French offensive they could only prepare
to go back yard by yard as best they
could.
Barbed Wire Ten Miles Deep
For a distance of probably ten miles
this barrier of barbed wire extends in
solid formation. Then come stretches of
free country to where probably the tenth
or eleventh defense line appears, and so
on. It is behind this main area of entan-
glements that the systematic devastation
begins. Leading directly back from what
was the French front, the Germans only
committed such destruction as any retir-
ing army might do to keep off rearguard
attacks. Every road was blown to pieces
— now, however, all filled and planked —
every telegraph pole prone on the
ground, and every rod of railway de-
stroyed.
Beyond all this, however, lies Ger-
many's everlasting shame and disgrace.
Acts that had not the slightest military
value were committed on every hand.
The whole country lies waste and deso-
late beyond description, and not a Ger-
man living today or in years to come can
ever be clever or brilliant or logical or
false enough to tell the reason why and
have the world believe him. Ten thou-
sand inhabitants of the country who were
left behind are living witnesses that they
existed these past years in a bondage
worse than galley slaves. And if the tes-
timony is not enough, let the German
placards upon the remaining dead walls
of these corpses of cities bear them out:
That every person above the age of twelve
should always salute officers by politely re-
moving their hats and bowing as they passed
or suffer the penalty of imprisonment.
That they should live how and where their
masters pleased, that their women should
cook for them and wait upon them and serve
them in any way desired.
That they might only walk certain streets
at certain hours.
That they were forbidden to possess either
money or food except at the German will.
The penalty in all these cases was
death.
Lived Only by Outside Aid
I asked the same question a dozen
times throughout the trip, how the civil
population managed to live at all. Every
time I received the same answer, which
was:
" We would have starved except for
the food sent by the American Relief
Committee."
In reply to a question concerning the
kinds of food received, I was shown
empty tins that had contained American
crackers and canned goods. When I
asked what sort of meat, I received the
invariable response:
" The Americans sent lots of things,
but everything like that the Germans
took for themselves."
This naturally led to questions con-
cerning how the German soldiery fared,
GERMAN VANDALISM DURING THE RETREAT IN FRANCE 325
and the unanimous response was that
neither officers nor men fed any too well;-
that the pinch of hunger now afflicting
the entire empire has fastened itself as
well on the army.
As we approached the ruined villages
* * * we saw what ghastly hand had
been at work. The solid brick and stone
walls of the houses were only shells
concealing charred ruins. Not only one
village is like that, nor a dozen, but
every single one of the hundreds that
have been liberated has been put to fire
and sword, old men, old women, cripples,
and children left to await the arrival of
their own soldiery to care for them; their
able-bodied men taken into bondage
months ago, their young women and girls
herded along with the retreating army to
a slavery no one dares to think about
without seeing red. And at every village
the same message was left behind for
the French soldiers when they arrived.
Translated, it reads like this:
" You see what we have done here.
Well, this is what is going to happen all
the way back to the French frontier."
Is it any wonder that the French sol-
dier telling me this said between clenched
teeth:
" There is only one answer to that, my
friend. Let them get down on their
knees and pray when the French Army
crosses the Rhine. We will be taking no
prisoners on that day."
The Countryside Devastated
The aspect of the villages is sad
enough, but the countryside is worse. I
have seen so much of artillery destruc-
tion during this war that I confess I have
been rather sated with ruins. A de-
stroyed church, a house ripped clean to
its foundations, is only another example
of what I have seen dozens of times be-
fore. But a countryside that has so little
left of it as that one I passed through is
a sight that made me want to cry and
fight at the same time. It has already
been reported how orchards have been
destroyed. I rather expected that this
had happened just along the roads by
which the army retreated. But with field
glasses I could see far in on either side
of every road for miles and miles; every
farm is burned, fields destroyed, every
garden and every bush uprooted, every
tree sawed off close to the bottom. It
was a terrible sight, and seemed almost
worse than the destruction of men. Those,
thousands of trees prone upon the earth,
their branches waving in the wind,
seemed undergoing death agonies before
our eyes.
Everything gave its share to the blood
lust of hate. Churches gave their organs
for their copper, also the brass rails of
their altars, even crucifixes upon ruined
walls were stripped down and torn asun-
der.
We passed through the remnant of a
place called Porquericourt. An old wo-
man came to a broken doorway. We
stopped to talk with her. She smiled at
sight of the French uniforms of our offi-
cers. She lived on a farm a mile away.
The Germans had passed in the night
and burned it so that she had come to
Porquericourt to hide in the cellar of a
friend. .Her husband and brother, both
old men, had been killed by the Germans
during the retreat, her two sons led off
to slavery the year before. One of them
had come back, but had been seized again
only a few weeks before.
Her three daughters had been with her
at the farm the night that the Germans
retreated. They had fled with her to the
house of her friend, from where they saw
their own home of a lifetime in flames.
The girls were 19, 21, and 24 years old.
The Germans had found them in Por-
quericourt and had taken them away.
That was eight days before. She had
heard nothing of them since. All other
young women had likewise vanished that
night when the Germans went away.
She told her story simply in a low,
unfaltering voice. But she suddered as
she spoke of her daughters.
Cemetery Left Intact
We left just at nightfall. On the out-
skirts we came upon the only thing I can
now remember in all that scene on all
that day which the Germans did not de-
stroy as they fled. It was a cemetery
built by themselves for their soldier dead.
It was magnificently made, upon a mag-
nificent site, overlooking a great valley.
The graveyards I have seen behind the
326
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
allied lines cannot compare with it. In-
stead of wooden crosses and ^painted
names and dates it contained monuments
and crosses of engraved marble, done in
all the heavy but splendid style of mod-
ern Teuton art. The place was organized
and carried out with all the perfection
of detail and display in which Germany
has proved herself. The monuments bore
sonorous and lofty mottoes. On one, be-
neath a helmeted statue in white, was
the inscription that there lay a Prince of
the house of Mecklenburg, who had died
for his country, and on either side, like-
wise marble, rested all that was mortal
of simple German soldiers.
I walked down another path, and be-
fore a gigantic marble block I halted in
surprise. The inscription read : " Here
lie French warriors," and over the next
grave was the inscription: "Here rests
the body of a brave Frenchman." I asked
myself what was I to think of these
people who should show such respect to
French dead and place them in the same
place as their own. I knew the French
did that in their graveyards, but here I
was in a German graveyard, and I had
been hating Germans all day. I had
failed to find anything about them that
was good or could be admired, but here
in this graveyard, perhaps, after all I
had found some of that spirit of Heine,
Goethe, and Schiller.
I voiced my thought to a French Lieu-
tenant who accompanied me. We were
standing by a large monument in the
centre of the graveyard. It was a noble
figure of a woman in a long robe. In
one hand she carried a tablet, and from
the other stretched out a wreath. I read
the inscription on the tablet: " Friend
and enemy in death united."
Silently we walked out of the place and
stood in the road. A long line of motor
camions was passing. I looked into the
rear ends as they lumbered along. From
them the faces of old women, crippled
old men, and children peered out at us,
all looking white and frightened in the
dark. A miserable pile of bedding and a
hamper of broken crockery and kitchen-
ware was strapped outside one of them.
From another dangled an old and broken
baby buggy. Inside I could see a mother
with her child at her breast. My com-
panion said:
" They are inhabitants who can no
longer remain; their homes are gone. We
cannot feed them there; we are sending
them to Paris."
He laughed bitterly and pointed back
to the statue that loomed white through
the darkness. He repeated the inscrip-
tion on the tablet:
" Friend and enemy in death united."
He said: " They had the nerve to put
that up in France — but it's quite true."
I understood and I believed him. In
death the Frenchman and the German
may be united, but that is the only way
it is ever likely to happen.
Military Results of Germany's Move
GENERAL VON HINDENBURG was
present in person behind the old
front in France as late as March
10 and arranged the details for the with-
drawal to the new line of fortified de-
fenses, which had been in preparation for
months. The orders for devastation of
the abandoned territory came through
him. Judged purely from the viewpoint
of military strategy, what are the ad-
vantages of the new situation for Ger-
many?
The plans and preliminary stages of
the retirement were successfully con-
cealed from the Allies for days and
weeks, so that all the heavy guns were
removed safely to their new posi-
tions and all the main bodies of
troops and their supplies were out of
danger when the move became known.
The Germans, however, miscalculated as
to the speed with which the enemy would
be able to pursue the rearguards. The
fact that they left five days' food with
some of the inhabitants seems to give a
measure of the time they had allowed
for the arrival of French or British
troops through the chaos they had ere-
GERMAN VANDALISM DURING THE RETREAT IN FRANCE 327
ated. As a matter of fact the French,
especially, performed marvels of swift
engineering work, throwing temporary-
bridges over streams, building pathways
around deep craters at crossroads, and
deflecting their march through fields
where necessary, almost with the speed
of an ordinary march. Time after time
they came upon the heels of the German
rearguards before they were expected.
Thus the military purpose of the desola-
tion was a failure.
What the Germans Abandoned
All those who have looked upon the
impregnable positions abandoned by the
Germans, especially at Peronne, with
Mont St. Quentin on its flank, agree that
no new line can equal it in strength.
Only dire necessity could have caused the
evacuation of the vast barbed wire forti-
fications and marsh protection at that
point. A British correspondent thus de-
scribes the abandoned defenses:
"Everywhere outside Bapaume and
Peronne and Chaulnes and all those de-
serted places near the front lines one
ugly thing stares one in the face — Ger-
man barbed wire. It is heavier and
stronger stuff than the British or French
wire, with great crosspieces of iron.
They used amazing quantities of it in
great wide belts in the three lines of de-
fense before these trench systems and in
all sorts of odd places, by bridges and
roads and villages, even far behind the
trenches, to prevent any sudden rush of
hostile infantry or to tear British cavalry
to pieces should they break their lines
and get through.
" The German trenches are deeply dug,
and along the whole line from which they
have now retreated they are provided
with great concreted and timbered dug-
outs leading into an elaborate system of
tunneled galleries, perfectly proof from
shell fire, and similar to those which I
described often enough in the Somme bat-
tlefields. But in addition to these trench
systems, they made behind their lines a
series of strong posts, cunningly con-
cealed and commanding a wide field of
fire, with dominating observation over
the British side of the country."
The Hindenburg Line
A high military official at Berlin ex-
plained on March 20 that the new posi-
tions which the German Army was tak-
ing up were buift with the aid of every
possible device developed in two and a
half years of trench Warfare.
" The old positions," he said, " were the
result of the breaking off of the unfin-
ished offensive toward Paris. Many por-
tions of our positions were held only with
the greatest difficulty. The trenches
were difficult to maintain and the artil-
lery observation points, so important
in this kind of warfare, were few. The
new positions are laid out in the best
possible locations, with the finest obser-
vation points and deep concrete shelters
for the battery positions. While the ene-
my is coming up to them he will be in
the greatest possible difficulties himself
in the devastated battlefield."
To this a British correspondent, who
has talked with German prisoners, replies
that the people may be deceived by such
statements, but not the German soldiers
at the front. " They know they have left
the strongest positions ever made in war-
fare by years of labor, and already the
fictitious strength of the famous ' Hin-
denburg line/ called by the Germans
themselves the * Siegfried line/ has been
exposed in its reality to the men who
have to hold it."
The new German line has already been
pierced at several points by both the Brit-
ish and French Armies in the first month
of its fiery ordeal.
fflt!!K
111111111111111111
French Heroes of the Air
Daring Deeds at the Front
Victor Forbin recently contributed to Les Annales of Paris this romantic yet authentic
sketch of the deeds of French military aviators
[Translated for Current History Magazine]
Mastery of the air over the trench lines in France is> as necessary for victory as the
capture of territory. During the months of the Somme battle the Allies succeeded in gaining
almost complete control of the air, and their artillery fire was correspondingly successful,
while that of the Germans was blinded. The Germans, however, reported the destruction of
1,002 enemy aircraft between the beginning of the war and Jan. 1, 1917. French military
records show that 417 German machines were shot down in the year 1916, besides twenty-nine
captive balloons. All figures aside, the fact remains that the Allies have long held a large
degree of aerial supremacy, and in the opening days of the new Spring offensive, when their
whole air fleet was mobilized to photograph the German positions, they came off with 1,700
photographs. It was. a victory, even though it cost from a dozen to a score of airplanes
and their brave crews^every day until the task was accomplished. The article here presented
gives an idea of the perilous nature of the task of these men.
THIS hasty sketch will deal only
with the aviators who have won
the honor of personal mention
in the War Office bulletins. It
would be impossible to speak of all our
LIEUTENANT GUYNEMER
WHO HAS SHOT DOWN MORE THAN THIRTY
GERMAN AIRCRAFT
(© International Film Service)
heroes of the air, both because they are
too . numerous and because the censor
would forbid our printing most of their
names. It should be remembered that the
press is allowed to print only the names
of those aviators who have shot down
a minimun of five enemy machines —
airplanes, dirigibles, or captive ballons,
[which the Germans call Drachen and
the French sausages.] In the ranks of
our " fifth arm " these laureates form a
clearly defined group — they are called
the "Aces of the War Office. bulletins."
Philologists will be grateful to us for
noting that this expressive word had
been adopted by the sporting argot even
before the war. In the boat-racing
world the word " ace " was applied to
oarsmen who pulled single shells. Ac-
cording to our esteemed contemporary,
Sporting, it was during the Olympic
games of 1908, held in London, that the
term was applied for the first time in
its present sense. M. Spitzer, who took
part in*these tournaments as trainer of
a team, heard French runners cry, as
they left the field where the American
champions had just stupefied them with ,
their swiftness, " Why, they're all aces ! "
The team that counted such trumps
among its cards was bound to win. And
the word found favor. In all sports the k
champions became " aces."
It is indispensable to note that the
official communique takes account only
of enemy machines whose destruction is
beyond question, whether they fall within
our lines or have been seen to fall in
flames within the enemy's lines. Our
score sheets, therefore, are sincere, while
FRENCH HEROES OF THE AIR
329
those of Germany are erroneous. To
illustrate this difference we will compare
the record of our " Prince of aces," Lieu-
tenant George Guynemer, with that of
the most brilliant of the German avia-
tors, Captain Boelcke, who was killed on
Oct. 28, 1916, probably by a French or
British aviator, although his compatriots,
who had dubbed him " The Invincible,"
assert that he was the victim of an
accident.
The communique credits Guynemer (in
February, 1917) with the destruction of
only thirty machines, though he has cer-
tainly shot down thirty-four, of which
four fell so far from our lines that it
was impossible to get material proof of
their destruction. If it were permissible
to add to these figures those of enemy
machines which he put to flight after
having visibly damaged them, the record
of Guynemer would exceed forty.
Rival Records Compared
Boelcke is officially credited with forty
machines, but the editor of La Guerre
Aerienne, Jacques Mortane, has revealed
several gross errors in the record of the
celebrated aviator. For example, the
German official communication of April
30, 1916, gives him his fortieth machine,
whereas the pilot who steered it — the
marshal of the camp, Viallet — returned
safe and sound to his aerodrome. On
March 19 and 20 of that year the German
War Office bulletins credited Boelcke with
three machines, designating the points in
the French lines where they fell. Now,
a French communique states clearly that
in the course of that same month of
March only one French airplane was
shot down within our lines. Another fact
must not be forgotten: Among the forty
victories attributed officially to Boelcke
eleven have not been mentioned in any
bulletin. They are therefore open to sus-
picion.
At the moment of writing this article
the " Aces of the War Office bulletins P
number twenty-five, a figure which the
coming days will modify, for there are
numerous aviators with four victories to
their credit who are watching impatient-
ly for their fifth machine, a certificate
of public fame. Here is the list of the
laureates up to Feb. 5, 1917:
Second Lieutenant Guynemer, 30
machines; Second Lieutenant Nunges-
ser, 21; Lieutenant Heurteaux, 19;
Adjutant Dorme, 17; Second Lieutenant
Navarre, 12; Lieutenant Deullin, 10;
Sergeant Chainat, 9; Second Lieutenants
Chaput, Tarascon, Under Officer Sau-
vage, 8; Under Officer Viallet, 7; de la
Tour, Lufbery, Sayaret, Flachaire,
Jailler, Loste, de Bonnefoy, Bloch, Vi-
talis, Martin, Delorme, Gastin, Hauss,
Madon, 5.
This list includes only the " aces "
who are living and in active service. We
will complete it with the names of Ad-
jutant Maxime Lenoir, who was made
prisoner when he shot down his eleventh
machine; Second Lieutenant de Roche-
.fort, who died of wounds after bringing
down his sixth enemy; the deeply
mourned Pegoud, who died on the field
of honor after his sixth airplane; and
Second Lieutenant Gilbert, who had
scored five aerial victories when he was
interned in Switzerland.
A comparison of this list with that of
the German " aces " leads to some in-
teresting observations. For example,
one of the Germans, Kandulski, received
the honor of mention by the War Office
for one isolated victory. True, it was
one of importance; the victim was
Pegoud, whom Sergeant Ronserail
avenged a few days later by bringing
down Kandulski. Of the sixteen Ger-
man aviators cited in the Berlin bulle-
tins nine were killed in the year 1916,
while the French phalanx lost only three
units in that year.
Laureates of the Air
Space is lacking here to sketch the
biographies of our francs-tireurs of the
air, but a few lines may be given to
note their status before the war. Of
the twenty-five names on the list just
given, the great majority were unknown,
even in the sporting world, during the
first ten months of the war. A few
exceptions may be cited from memory:
Second Lieutenant Jean Chaput had dis-
tinguished himself in the races of the
Racing Club of France; Camp Marshal
330
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Vitalis was a champion in pigeon-shoot-
ing contests; Second Lieutenant Nunges-
ser had participated in boxing matches
in America, after having taken lessons
of Descamps, the instructor of Carpen-
tier.
Sporting men are numerous in the
phalanx of " aces." To the three names
just mentioned we may add those of
Adjutant Bloch, amateur football player;
Sergeant Chainat, noted as a pugilist,
and Adjutant Lufbery, an American ex-
pert in baseball, the national sport of
his country.
All the arms — infantry, cavalry,
artillery — Have representatives on our
list, and men of the most diverse social
classes fraternize there — professional
army officers, civil engineers, mechani-
cians. The standing of those laureates
of the air is dazzling; they have heroism
and glory by the armful. Let us glance,
to begin with, at the laurels of the " ace
of aces," Guynemer, whom the councils
of revision had removed from the army,
and who had to ask five separate times
for admission into the aviation corps —
and was admitted then only through
official protection. To baptize his
stripes as a Corporal he shot down his
first German airplane on July 19, 1915,
destroyed two others in the next six
days, and then in a single battle sent
three enemy machines crashing to earth!
Guynemer has to his credit whole
series of deeds that are epoch-making.
In three weeks — from the 4th to the 23d
of September, 1916 — he added to his
score seven machines, four of which
figured in the official announcements.
Indeed, Sept. 23 was a red-letter day in
his eventful life, for on that day he
attacked a squadron of enemy aircraft,
drove one machine to earth, and set two
others on fire in less than three min-
utes. Then a bursting shell damaged
his machine, and he took a slide of
10,000 feet without receiving a scratch!
Two months later he added two fine
double feats to his score. On Nov. 10
he shot down two aircraft; on the 23d,
in an hour and a half, he found time to
destroy two others at different points
on the front, and to inflict serious
damage upon a third.
Nungesser's Dramatic Record
The career of Nungesser is no less
remarkable. Serving in a regiment of
hussars, he conducted himself so val-
iantly that he won the Military Medal
two weeks after the opening of the
campaign. Then he entered the avia-
tion corps and took part in numerous
bombing expeditions. Finally he spe-
cialized in the pursuit of enemy ma-
chines, and on Nov. 28, 1915, made a
brilliant debut by bringing down a Ger-
man airplane. The next month, while
trying a new machine, he came crashing
to the ground; with a fractured leg, a
broken jaw, and a hole in his palate, he
could say good-bye to aviation, if he sur-
vived at all. But he did survive, refused
to be laid on the shelf, and begged to
be allowed to take part in the defense
of Verdun. He could no longer walk,
except painfully, with the aid of canes.
Now mark the intrepid work of the
cripple! Think of his achievements in
April, 1916. What a fine lesson in
energy and endurance!
On April 1 Nungesser rejoined his
squadron; on the 2d he burned a German
" sausage "; on the 3d he attacked and
brought down an airplane; on the 4th
he attacked and shot down a double-
motor machine with four passengers; on
the 25th he brought down a machine
that fell on the trenches near Verdun;
on the 27th he accepted battle with six
airplanes, shot down one of them, and
put the others to flight.
In nine months — from April to De-
cember, 1916 — he destroyed twenty
enemy aircraft, which brought his total
score of victories to twenty-one.
One of the most brilliant careers in
the world of military aviation is that
of Adjutant Dorme, whose comrades call
him the Unbreakable, so impervious
does he seem to the enemy's bullets.
He began, however, with a fall that
almost cost him his life. But he re-
covered and arrived at the front on July
6, 1916. On the 9th he shot down his
first airplane, and his second on the
28th. In the following month he de-
stroyed six and received the honors of
public mention. By the end of Septem-
FRENCH HEROES OF THE AIR
331
ber his official score had reached ten,
and in October thirteen. But in reality-
he had, in those four months, put
twenty-six enemy aircraft out of action.
Sub-Lieutenant Navarre, with his four
aircraft brought down in eight hours,
(April 4, 1916,) established a record
which no one has thus far taken away
from him. During that same month of
April his record was increased by eight
more official victories.
Chaput1 s Amazing Escape
Another record, less brilliant, perhaps,
but certainly more sensational, and at
the same time more scientific, belongs
to Second Lieutenant Jean Chaput. As
an engineer in the Ecole Superieure
d'Electricite, Chaput had just won his
brevet as pilot at Nieuport when the
war broke out. Thrown into aviation
as a soldier-pilot, he was twice wounded
in combats with the dreaded Fokkers, but
soon got his revenge by shooting down
his first Boche in June, 1915. Other
vitcories succeeded this beginning. On
March 18, 1916, above Montzeville, he
joined battle with a machine much
better armed and more powerful than
his own. Suddenly, after an exchange
of shots, the German dashed down upon
him in order to crush him.
We learn from a friend of the aviator
that a few days earlier, in talking with
comrades, he had foreseen the case in
which he might be forced to approach
an enemy in order to " get inside of
him," as the familiar phrase has it.
He had declared that he would escape
alive from such a dangerous approach.
He had his plan. This plan, elaborated
by the engineer, was put into practice
by the aviator.
Putting his motor at full speed, Chaput
threw himself into the meeting with the
German, and then, at the moment of
approach, moved his levers and manoeu-
vred his machine in such a manner that
his screw tore into the enemy's fuselage,
cutting off the rear end. The German
pilot fell whirling with his machine,
which burst into flame, while his pas-
senger went crashing into the ground
nearly two miles below. The conqueror
got back to earth by Volplaning on his
seriously damaged machine, and landed
without injury, amid the cheers of hun-
dreds of poilus who had witnessed his
dazzling achievement.
The next month Chaput was attacked
by a Fokker and brought it down with
the fourth ball from his machine gun,
whose bands jammed at that point. He
burned a " sausage " at Douaumont,
and then, in the space of five days, added
four airplanes (two in the same day)
to his score. He had just finished off
his ninth official machine when a fight
near Verdun almost put an end to his
career. With his thigh fractured and a
bullet through his shoulder, he yet had
the superhuman courage to fly more
than twenty-five miles in order to
alight near an ambulance, where he
knew he would find a skilled surgeon.
This sang froid, remarkable in a young
man of 22 years grievously wounded, had
its reward; a very rapid recovery soon
enabled him to see the day when he could
again fall upon the Boches.
Another Stirring Episode
We are sorry not to be able to give a
few lines to each of our " aces " — to
Adjutant Tarascon who, in spite of his
artificial foot, has become one of the
most dreaded chasers of the Boches; to
Sergeant Sauvage, whose nineteen years
have won him the sobriquet of the " Ben-
jamin of the Aces "; to Adjutant Lufbery,
the former chauffeur and American cit-
izen who has carved a place for himself
among the " aces " of France. But we
may be allowed to close this too long
article with a final anecdote.
A marshal of the aviation camp,
Georges Flachaire, an electric engineer
like Jean Chaput, is one of the most re-
cent recruits to the glorious phalanx —
his sixth enemy machine dates from Nov.
23 last. His comrades consider him a
fine pilot. With Chaput he represents
the scientific type of aviator.
Defying bad weather, one day he de-
parted on the chase, hiding himself in a
sea of clouds to foil the vigilant scouts
of the enemy, and emerged after an hour
of flight to inspect the horizon. * * *
(Censored) * * * When he came out
332
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
of it he perceived a peaceful village,
and, convinced that he was over our lines,
chose a meadow for his landing place.
Maledictions! He discovers suddenly that
he is in a cantonment of German artil-
lery. Amid a volley of musketry he
resumes his flight, foils the German gun-
ners by executing those unforeseen pirou-
ettes that are, familiar to the scientific
acrobat, takes refuge in the clouds amid
a storm of shrapnel shells, and, after a
flight by compass, rejoins his squadron.
Told by a French Artist
Henry Farre, the French " painter of
aviators," in addition to making wonder-
ful pictures of battles in the clouds, can
tell good stories in connection with them.
Les Annales prints the following account
of a night bombardment, which M. Farre
gathered from the heroes themselves,
" Sergeant G. and Lieutenant de L.," who
accomplished this perilous circuit. He
puts the narrative into the mouth of the
Lieutenant:
" Once outside the environs of Verdun,
the departure was made in a normal way.
The objective of our bombardment was
at a considerable distance behind the
lines. Ceaseless attacks were trans-
forming the ground into one vast brazier.
Verdun was burning. The smoke ob-
scured the sky with great clouds, amid
which the moon seemed to be playing
hide-and-seek, too often hiding from our
view the meanderings of the Meuse,
which served as our guide. Nothing
was lacking for our reception; every-
thing was offered us in profusion —
searchlights, shells, and incendiary
bombs.
" In the midst of this cannonade our
motor stops, then goes on, then stops
again, and goes on more freely. I peer,
I grope, for we dare not think of light-
ing our lamps, and it is impossible to
learn what is the matter with the motor.
The pilot turns and questions me. ' Ah,
worse luck!' I shout; 'we must throw
our bombs first, and then we'll turn
back/ The machine was sinking with
the diminishing speed of the motor.
* Certainly,' I was saying to myself,
without thinking of the danger, ' the
bombardment will be all the more effec-
tive at close range.'
" We were at an elevation of 800
meters; the shells were bursting far
above us, and the searchlights were
seeking us still higher up. At last our
bombs fall and we veer for the home-
ward course. Oh, anguish! Is the
motor going to fail us completely? No;
it is going again. We are thirty miles
from Verdun; at this altitude we could
never get there by planing. The pilot
makes desperate efforts to keep the
machine horizontal and thus prolong the
descent.
"A ray of hope! The motor seems
to have more force. I consult the alti-
meter; we are at 1,000 meters. Around
us the shells accompany us, but we pay
no attention to them, for we prefer any-
thing rather than K. K. bread in a
German prison. We are ascending a
little. God be praised! We shall ar-
rive, we are up 1,200 meters; but it is
the maximum. I am beginning to wear
out; my efforts are less and less effec-
tive; we are descending again.
" Verdun, which we see always in
flames, is still far distant. We fall
swiftly to 800 meters, then 600. We are
doomed — it is K. K. bread this time with-
out a doubt — we are right over the Boche
lines — we distinctly hear the tac-tac of
the machine guns and the irregular re-
ports of the rifles. Shall we reach our
lines? The altimeter shows 400. Verdun
is now about three miles away.
" ' Courage !' I cry to the pilot. ■ We
can get back; in any event, if we die, it
will be among our own people. See — the
flames of Verdun! If only we can glide
as far as that! '
" We land at last, the motor, mean-
while, having stopped entirely. We have
come down on the auxiliary ground, with
the two front wheels dished, a few guy
wires wrenched, and a few cracks in the
machine. That is all the harm done,
while we, in each other's arms, let the
German sheels fall unheeded around us.
" • We've had a mighty close view of
K. K. bread,' I remark; 'come, let us
telephone our friends; they must be wor-
ried.' "
■ •*••••*•>• ■>••■>■•
PRINCE GEORGE E. LVOFF
Premier of the Russian Provisional Government, and a
Leader in the Revolution That Overthrew the Romanoffs
(Central New* Service)
Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Whose Speeches in
the Duma Precipitated the Revolution
(© Underwood d Underwood)
■ ■■■■■■■■•■a ■»■
_J
The Zeppelin Raids and Their
Effect On England
By Charles Stienon
French Author and Publicist
[By arrangement with the Revue Bleue, Paris; translated for Current History Magazine.]
ON the fast express to Spain I re-
cently met an Englishman of
rank. In the course of conver-
sation we came to discuss the
frequent Zeppelin raids on England. I
asked him what effect they would have
on the people of . Great Britain. " Oh,
excellent! They arouse such anger that
the enlistments increase by leaps and
bounds on the days following." Our
adversaries have committed few psycho-
logical errors comparable to this one,
which promises to furnish a curious
problem for the historians of the great
war.
It is important to note at the outset
that the Zeppelins were created to wage
war — and that they have not done it.
The military use of the enemy dirigibles
has been almost nil. In August, 1914,
these airships were far from the per-
fection which they have since attained.
One can scarcely place to their credit
any real military service except the
bombardment of Antwerp. Since that
moment they have never accomplished a
more difficult exploit nor rendered a
more valuable service to the German
cause. Is this owing to their vulner-
able nature, and to the effective guard
of swift airplanes and anti-aircraft
guns on our front? Probably. The
German General Staff has always seen
the deception which the non-utilization
of these national monsters would pro-
duce in Germany. For the people of
the belligerent nations see the war only
on its external side. " Tanks," 420's,
trains with blind windows, will stimu-
late their imagination on the romantic
side more than many another element
with a less extraordinary outer aspect
but greater real importance.
From that moment our enemies con-
ceived the idea of using their Zeppelins
for a " moral " purpose — and one less
dangerous. It was, however, to an air-
plane that the honor was given of at-
tacking Dover on Christmas Day, 1914,
a raid without success. On that occasion
our allies were able to realize the mani-
fest insufficiency of their anti-aircraft
defenses. Almost everywhere they had
installed special guns whose mediocrity
became evident.
First Zeppelin Raid
Three weeks afterward, on Jan. 19,
1915, Zeppelins for the first time flew
over the soil of the British Isles. At
Yarmouth they threw nine bombs, killing
only nine persons. This raid, which could
have no military aim, provoked a just
indignation. In the United States a
prominent newspaper asked whether it
was " insanity or despair." At that time
Germany had not yet generalized its
system of terrorism. The effect in Eng-
land was great. This first raid produced
an immediate increase in voluntary re-
cruiting. On Feb. 21 an airplane flew
over Colchester, destroying a few houses,
but without injuring anybody. At Brain-
tree two soldiers found an unexploded
bomb on the ground and, though the fuse
was burning, they picked it up and threw
it into a pond.
On April 14 a raid on the northeast
coast, with no victims. Two days later
an airplane threw bombs on the fields
of Kent. It killed a crow and uprooted
an apple tree. On April 30 and May
3 and 10 new incursions, absolutely in-
effective. A curious fact, however, was
observed. The siren sounded to warn the
inhabitants actually attracted the enemy
aircraft.
Meanwhile our adversaries did not con-
334
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
ceal the fact that London was their real
objective, and that their operations thus
far had been mere scouting expeditions.
Yet the English technical services ap-
peared not to be giving adequate atten-
tion to the city's defenses.
On May 17 a Zeppelin, after wander-
ing leisurely over Ramsgate and Dover,
was attacked by an English air squadron
from Dunkerque, which succeeded in
damaging it.
On May 31, 1915, at 10:23 P. M., the
capital of the British Empire received its
first bombs; the authorities had not even
been warned. Six persons were killed in
the East End. Public anger rose swiftly.
Suspected German shops were demolished
by the mob that gathered in the streets
and committed mild depredations.
After that the Government forbade de-
tailed accounts of the German raids.
This policy of absolute secrecy, however,
was an error, for the public immediately
lost all confidence in the official bulle-
tins, and believed, on the contrary, the
most improbable tales. The happy and
usual result of all censorships! Thus five
deaths were announced one day when
there were really twenty-four, a fact
which was soon known and gave rise to
exaggerations. In February, 1916, the
press was again allowed to speak; the
British censors thus gave proof of sound
sense.
Fighting the Air Monsters
Meanwhile an extraordinary exploit
had occurred to prove that it was possi-
ble to fight the Zeppelin. An aviator
of 22 years, Second Lieut. Warneford,
destroyed one of the great aircraft with
six bombs on June 7, 1915. The hero re-
ceived the Victoria Cross and the Legion
of Honor, but was killed a few days
later — on the 17th — in a stupid accident.
An attack of two airships on June 15
caused the death of fourteen persons and
the wounding of thirteen. On Aug. 9,
fourteen more deaths and fourteen
wounded. One of these Zeppelins, which
had already been damaged by shells, was
destroyed near Dunkerque by an air-
plane attack. On Aug. 12, six dead and
twenty-three wounded. The people, by
coming out into the streets and gathering
in groups in public places, helped to
cause these murderous results.
All accounts of these events agree in
describing the English communities as
very calm in the face of danger, and in-
tensely interested. They regularly im-
agined that the enemy was hit by the
anti-aircraft shrapnel, whose explosions
in the sky produce curious optical illu-
sions. " We must terrorize the English,"
say the German commentators. Yet fear
is the last sentiment that our allies seem
to have experienced. Recruiting was in-
creased and more people rallied to the
munition factories. Fear ? " The eyes
of the children whose laughter I hear in
the playground as I write are the best
answer to this threat." Thus wrote one
witness.
The next raid, Aug. 17, killed ten per-
sons and wounded thirty-six. From that
time there began to be manifested, espe-
cially in The Times, a feeling that the
Government was doing nothing against
these enemy raids, and was, moreover,
concealing the truth. When German air-
ships reappeared over London on Sept.
7 and 8, the unrest became more marked.
Several houses were destroyed and the
guns obtained no result. The destruction
and losses were important.
London Organizes Defenses
A veritable campaign was started on
the spot to demand the measures indis-
pensable to the safety of the capital.
Admiral Sir Percy Scott, a retired artil-
lerist, was intrusted with the defense;
but before he could obtain results, on
Oct. 13 a new raid on London killed
56 persons and wounded 113. The guns
and airplanes went into action, but ac-
complished nothing. Of course the
enemy represented these expeditions as
having a purely military object and as
producing great results.
British opinion then began to demand
reprisals, and the attitude of the people
became more clearly characteristic.
The Englishman's house has always
been his castle. He regarded these
raids as a new sort of violation of the
rights of private domicile. The people
were not afraid — far from that! — for
their curiosity was often the cause of
THE ZEPPELIN RAIDS AND THEIR EFFECT
335
deaths; but where the French people
adopted an attitude of irony and skep-
ticism in a like situation, the English
took the matter more seriously.
The enemy airships continued their
attacks, the details of which need not
be continued here. In the night of Jan.
31, 1916, the invaders killed 59 more
people and wounded 101. It would
be wearisome to prolong this harrowing
enumeration; but there is proof that on
the day when our allies went seriously
to work on the problem they obtained
incontestable advantages over the
pirates of the air.
In the first months of the war several
Zeppelins had been shot down with ease.
But times had changed. The first,
rather slow machines, flying at a low
altitude, had soon been succeeded by
super-Zeppelins, veritable Titans of the
air, which flew at great heights.
Against them the guns of small calibre
were powerless, while the heavy pieces
could not be used effectively save dur-
ing the few moments when the dirigible
descended to hurl its bombs. A special
means of pursuit was needed, which could
follow the Zeppelins, Parsevals, and
Schutte-Lanz dirigibles at great heights,
and it existed in the airplane. This
invention has been developed by the war
to an unhoped-for degree of perfection.
After long and sometimes mortal ex-
periences the English aviators were
ready to chase the monster — in the early
Summer of 1916. Add to this the fact
that a special make of incendiary fuse-
bombs — we cannot say more — facilitated
the work to an extraordinary degree.
The anti-aircraft guns also were in-
creased in number, and the most pains-
taking precautions were adopted to
defeat the adversary. And they were
needed to overcome these air monsters,
»227 meters long, bristling with cannons
and machine guns, and carrying more
than fifty bombs.
From May to July the enemy re-
frained from further attacks, but in
July and August the raids multiplied,
causing serious losses. On several oc-
casions the hostile aircraft were pursued
in vain by airplanes.
Great Raid of Sept. 2
One might be tempted to see in the
raid of Aug. 24, 1916, a scouting opera-
tion preliminary to the great attack of
Sept. 2. On the latter night thirteen
dirigibles flew over English soil, and
three reached London. The city had
been warned, and the whole population
was on foot awaiting the new spec-
tacle. The necessary precautions had
been taken to minimize the probable
losses. The sky was divided into a cer-
tain number of sectors, swept by dozens
of searchlights. There was a sound of
distant cannonading, bombs burst in the
sky, a Zeppelin emerged from the dark-
ness— and suddenly all the searchlights
were extinguished and the guns ceased
fire!
A few seconds passed, and then sud-
denly a formidable mass of flame illu-
mined the heavens and was seen falling
swiftly, until the colossal conflagration
came crashing to earth. What had
happened? At the arrival of the Zep-
pelin the aviators had dashed to the
pursuit. One of these, Lieutenant
Robinson, after rising about 2,700
meters, saw the airship. At that mo-
ment, to avoid hindering or wounding
him, the guns and searchlights paused.
The dirigible was emitting torrents of
smoke. It rose and then descended at
great speed. Lieutenant Robinson rose
680 meters higher and charged at full
speed against the enemy. At the right
distance he fired his fuse-bombs and
destroyed the Zeppelin, which, as seen
later, was of the Schutte-Lanz type. The
brave aviator, 21 years old, received the
Victoria Cross, the supreme honor. Only
the charred bodies of Captain Wilhelm
Schramm and his Zeppelin crew of fifteen
men were found. A military burial was
accorded them.
Thus, after two years of war, our
allies succeeded in defending their soil.
One can understand what fury seized
Germany when she saw her beautiful air
cruisers destroyed by British guns and
airplanes. This failure called for ven-
geance, and, on Dec. 24, twelve Zeppelins
came across the North Sea to hover over
England. Their reception was still
336
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
hotter than before. The first machine
was brought crashing to earth with its
crew in Essex. Lieutenants Sowrey and
Brandon, following the tactics of their
friend Robinson, had shot it down. This
brought them the D. S. 0., (Distinguished
Service Order.) The, second machine
was hit by the artillery and came gently
to earth on the Essex coast. The crew
of twenty men destroyed it and sur-
rendered to a British constable. The
ten other airships had achieved the con-
siderable result of killing 30 persons
and wounding 110, most of them in
London.
Invaders Suffer Heavily
On Oct. 1 came a new attack by ten
airships, one of them reaching London,
and the scene of Sept. 2 was repeated.
Lieutenant Tempest, now also a D. S. O.,
shot down his Zeppelin while the crowds
sang " God Save the King." The enemy
craft fell to destruction in two pieces,
with its chief, Captain Mathy, one of
the most noted of the German aviation
officers. In an interview a short time
before he had ridiculed the English
aviators. These experiences cooled the
German ardor somewhat in regard to
air raids.
It is extremely probable that the
General Staff at Berlin had no desire
to continue such costly experiences. But
public opinion would not have tolerated
this confession of defeat. So on Nov.
27 a new raid carefully avoided London,
which was too well defended, and turned
its bombs and shells against the north-
east coast of Great Britain. One Zep-
pelin was demolished in a few seconds,
and another was seriously damaged
while flying over the Midlands; it suc-
ceeded, however, in repairing these in-
juries and reaching the sea. Nine miles
from the shore, overtaken by four air-
planes and a gunboat that shelled it, it
plunged into the waves. Lieutenants
Palling, Cadbury, and Fane were re-
warded for this exploit. In the course
of the same day an enemy airplane suc-
ceeded in attacking London. A few
hours later French aviators shot down
a machine carrying two officers with
large-scale maps of the British metrop-
olis. Thus was the aggressor punished.
Since then the German General Staff has
renounced these " reconnoissances," which
it found decidedly too far from being
satisfactory.
German Errors of Psychology
The psychological errors of Germany
can no longer be counted. Before the
war she had expected internal revolts
in the Entente countries, defections that
have Tiever materialized. She did not
foresee entirely the support that the
colonies have given to France, nor the
organization of Britain's military power,
nor the efforts of the British dominions.
She has sought to establish her superior-
ity over other nations by means of cer-
tain processes, of which the least one
can say is that they have totally failed.
The Germans have never deceived them-
selves more completely than on the sub-
ject of their magnificent air fleet. They
believed that in war they would enjoy
entire superiority in bombarding and air
scouting. Since then they have had to
acknowledge that these were illusions.
Still, the German people, not being able
to admit that their idol, Count Zeppelin,
was self-deluded, thought to utilize the
" genial creations of the inventor " as
instruments of moral strategy. Colonel
Feyler, in an imposing study, has shown
all the labors which the General Staff
lavished in magnifying his successes
and in presenting them in such fashion
as to influence the spirit of the German
people.
The Central Empires knew how firmly
the English held to their independence,
and how much the inviolability of their
soil was a question of honor with them.
Hence followed this reasoning, from
which, be it noted, all humanity is absent :
"We wish to strike England; we cannot
do it better than by striking her homes."
This logic is correct, and the exasperation
of the English has answered " Touched!"
to the German boot. But the Berlin Gen-
eral Staff had formulated a second
axiom, much more debatable than the
other : " When the English, who have
never been invaded, shall see the enemy
in their country, they will be so agitated
that the moral effect will be the depres-
THE ZEPPELIN RAIDS AND THEIR EFFECT
337
sion of the nation ; the more so, since we
risk nothing."
Here the psychological sense of Ger-
many was faulty. The raids not only
failed to produce the expected moral ef-
fect, but proved to be the lash that woke
the sleeping horse.
When Englishmen saw their women,
children, and old men disemboweled by
German bombs, they enlisted to fight the
Germans all the more angrily as they
saw more clearly what their enemies
were capable of doing. Besides, the final
clause in the German theory also proved
itself inexact, since from September to
December, 1916, five Zeppelins were shot
down.
The influence of this German mistake
upon British recruiting can scarcely be
exaggerated. We owe the British armies
in France partly to our adversaries.
Thus at Charleroi Marshal French had
about five divisions in August, 1914. One
year later he had forty-one divisions,
divided into three armies; and on Jan. 1,
1916, Marshal Sir Douglas Haig had two
million men! Does Germany know how
many of these soldiers took up arms be-
cause of the indignation aroused in their
hearts by the Zeppelin murders?
Tist of Zeppelin Raids Against England
THE total number of Zeppelin raids
over the British Isles since the be-
ginning of the war, according to the
best available data, is forty-one, including
the belated attempt of March 16, 1917,
which was apparently organized after
the death of Count Zeppelin to prove
that the German hopes once based upon
his invention still lived. For several
months the raids had been discontinued,
owing to the increasing frequency with
which the ballons had been destroyed in
October and November.
On Aug. 22, 1916, Major Baird, repre-
sentative of the Aerial Board in the
House of Commons, announced that there
had been thirty-four raids on England,
in ten of which no casualties were
suffered, while in the remainder the
number of killed was 334 civilians and
50 military men. In the next three
months five of the great aircraft were
destroyed in England alone, two of them
on Nov. 28 during the raid on the mid-
land counties. At the end of November
an authoritative list showed that a total
of thirty-eight German Zeppelins had
been lost on all fronts since the begin-
ning of the war, seven of which fell in
England and four in the North Sea.
Then one of the raiders of March 16-17
was shot down in France Many of the
earlier ones were destroyed by allied
aviators in France and by bombs dropped
on Zeppelin sheds in Belgium.
The list of recorded raids on England
is as follows:
1915
Jan. 19, 20— Yarmouth, Cromer, Sheringham,
King's Lynn.
April 14, 15— Blyth, Bedlington, Morpeath,
Cramlington, Wallsend, Hebburn.
April 15, 16— Maldon, Heybridge, Southwold,
Lowestoft, Burnham, Yarmouth.
April 29, 30— Ipswich, Bury St. Edmunds,
Whitton.
May 9, 10— Southend, Westcliffe, Mouth of
the Thames.
May 10, 17— Ramsgate, Folkestone.
May 31, June 1— London.
June 4, 5— Mouth of the Humber, Harwich.
June 6, 7— Hull, Grimsby.
June 15, 10 — Shields, Elswick-on-Tyne.
Aug. 9, 10— London, Mouth of the Thames,
Harwich, Humber.
Aug. 12, 13— Harwich.
Aug. 17, 18 — London, Woodbridge, Ipswich.
Sept. 7, 8— London.
Sept. 8, 9— London, Norwich, Middlesborough.
Sept. 11, 12— London.
Sept. 13, 14— Southend.
Oct. 13, 14 — London and suburbs, Ipswich.
1916
Jan. 31, Feb. 1— Liverpool, Birkenhead, Man-
chester, Sheffield, Nottingham, Birming7
ham, Humber, Yarmouth.
March 5, 6— Hull.
March 31, April 1— London, Enfield, Walth-
am Abbey, Stowmarket, Lowestoft, Cam-
bridge, Humber.
April 1, 2— Mouth of Tees,- Middlesborough,
Sunderland.
April 2, 3— London, Edinburgh, Newcastle.
April 3, 4— Great Yarmouth.
April 5, 8— Whitby, Hull, Leeds.
April 24, 25— Cambridge, Norwich, Lincoln,
Winterton, Ipswich, Norwich, Harwich.
&S8
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
April 25, 2G— London, Colchester, Ramsgate.
May 2, 3— Middlesboro, Stockton, Sunderland,
Hartlepool, Mouth of Tees, Firth of Forth.
July 28, 29— Lincoln, Grimsby, Immingham,
Hull, Norwich.
July 31, Aug. 1— London, Mouth of Thames,
eastern counties.
Aug. 2, 3— London, Harwich, Norwich, Lowe-
stoft, Winterton.
Aug. 8, 9— Mouth of Tyne, Sunderland, Har-
tlepool, Middlesborough, Whitby, Hull,
Grimsby, Mouth of Humber, King's
Lynn, eastern counties.
Aug. 24— London.
Aug. 24, 25— London, Harwich, Folkestone,
Dover.
Sept. 2, 3— London, Yarmouth, Harwich,
southeastern counties, Humber.
Sept. 23, 24— London, Humber, central coun-
ties, (Nottingham, Sheffield.)
Sept. 25, 26— Portsmouth, fortified places at
the mouth of the Thames, York, Leeds,
Lincoln, Derby.
Oct. 1, 2— London, Humber.
Oct. 9, 10— Near London.
Nov. 27, 28— Midland counties.
1917.
March 16, 17— Coast of Kent.
As a pendant to the foregoing article
comes the following from the Bulletin
des Armies:
The death of Count Zeppelin on March
8 has not diminished the blind faith of
the German people in his apparatus. On
March 11 the Cologne Gazette said:
" We will soon prove to the English that
the work of our immortal Zeppelin still
lives." This threat was carried into ef-
fect: In the night of March 16-17 an air
raid was attempted on the English coast.
According to the British war bulletins
the enemy threw bombs on the northeast
corner of the County of Kent. The ex-
plosives did no material damage.
A few hours later three Zeppelins were
sighted in France, undoubtedly the same
ones that had bombarded the English
coast. About 4 o'clock in the morning
they passed over Rouen; two of them re-
gained the German lines. The third flew
over the neighborhood of Paris and then
turned north. About 5:30 it was passing
over Compiegne at a height of 3,500
yards, when it was hit by a shell from
our anti-aircraft batteries. It instantly
burst into flame, remained a few minutes
in the air, and then crashed to earth at
the corner of the Rue de Paris and the
Boulevard Gambetta. It struck a garden
wall and broke in two.
Before falling the men had thrown out
their bombs, which fell in the fields; most
of them did not burst. There was no
victim among the people, no damage to
property where the airship fell. The
crew of fifteen men had been burned to
death — except a few who had thrown
themselves overboard and had been killed
in the fall. Once more a Zeppelin raid
had ended in a bloody reverse.
Terrible Realities of War
A Gunner's Story
A British artillery officer on the Somme wrote this impressive description after travers-
ing the scene of a successful advance :
FOUR villages on our immediate front
fell — two of them after desperate
and bloody fighting, the other two
with comparative ease. When we first
arrived there we looked on the remains of
ruined villages and a field of desolation
and ugliness as far as the eye could see.
On arriving at our old observation
point we made our way over to the old
Hun stronghold. We started our journey
down our old trenches, but these, though
now empty, were in a filthy condition —
we had recently had a lot of rain — and as
the enemy had now no direct observation
on us we left these and proceeded across
the open. The ground here was com-
pletely pitted with shell holes of all sizes.
Hardly a square inch of ground that had
not been disturbed. One literally stepped
out of one into another, (many of them
filled with water from the previous
night's rain.) It was here that one saw
the grim realities of war — the human
remains lying among the wreckage of the
battlefield; khaki or gray clad forms
wherever one turned one's head, some un-
TERRIBLE REALITIES OF WAR
339
mercifully torn and shattered beyond rec-
ognition, others like waxwork figures in
attitudes which showed their last set pur-
pose before they were struck down. Oth-
ers might well have been only sleeping,
though their mud-begrimed faces told the
truth, and all that ghastly color of the
rain-sodden yellow clay on which they
lay.
The whole place was nauseating. The
smell of powder and stench of putrefac-
tion pervaded everything. The atmos-
phere was too still and heavy for those
foul smells to disperse. Our troops were
then well beyond the village, but the Hun
gave it no rest, and shells were still drop-
ping all about the place.
From here we made our way to the spot
where some two weeks before I had seen
through my glasses our men held up by
machine-gun fire. Some infantry had
now established themselves there, and a
few men were standing by the entrance
drinking tea from a dixie. The roof,
which was some four or five feet thick
and made of reinforced concrete, showed
signs of our fire, but had been but little
damaged, though all around had been
broken and smashed. Four dead Ger-
mans lay just outside among the wreck-
age, a fifth on a stretcher was uttering
most awful groans, and, though attended
by our men, was beyond all human aid,
and was soon to be numbered with his
lifeless comrades, while a sixth sat by
nursing an arm he had recently had
dressed, looking a picture of abject mis-
ery, as he gazed vacantly on that fearful
field in front of him.
Inside the dugout showed signs of its
previous occupation. The German litter
had not as yet been cleared away — an old
waterproof sheet, a blanket or two, and
one or two old Hun coats lay among the
rubbish. Two or three officers lay curled
up in odd corners trying to get a little
rest, while a few orderlies and telephon-
ists squatted about the place among their
instruments and the tangle of wires with
which they are always surrounded. The
men spoke in subdued tones, and a still-
ness pervaded the chamber, which was in-
terrupted only by a small kitten, which
wandered about playfully toying with
everything that came within its reach —
wires, bits of surgical dressing^ and old
beef tins. Having obtained what infor-
mation we required here, we set out to-
ward our new front line away in front of
the village.
I have seen villages that have been
smashed beyond recognition, but this one
surpassed all. It was literally razed to
the ground. Not a wall was left stand-
ing. It was impossible to try to locate
one's position by roads and buildings.
They simply didn't exist. It was one
huge rubbish heap, one mass of wreckage
— broken masonry and brickwork and
shattered and charred timber. We made
our way along a newly trodden track
through the debris — it evidently followed
what was once a sunken road, for the
wreckage was piled up high on either side
of us, affording us a little shelter from
occasional shells which were being indis-
criminately dropped about the place.
Turning a sudden corner, we came upon
a sight I shall never forget. The stench
became overpowering. Along the track
in front of us lay, not one, but scores of
gray-clad figures. I think they must
have been caught unexpectedly in our ar-
tillery barrage, but I did not stop to ex-
amine the nature of their wounds. The
spectacle was too horrible. We left the
sunken track at this point, and went for-
ward across the open. Such was ,the
state of this Hun stronghold on the day
following its fall.
Amazing Effects of Shell Shock
On Soldiers' Nerves
By W. R. Houston, A. M., M. D.
Professor of Clinical Medicine in the University of Georgia
Dr. Houston, an eminent neurologist, spent several months in French war hospitals
studying the effects of shell shock upon the nervous systems of wounded soldiers. The re-
sults of his observations have been condensed by him into this noteworthy article.
THE beautiful City of Lyons, lying
at the confluence of the Rhone and
Saone, has been made the " Hos-
pital City of France." More than
thirty-five thousand sick and wounded
are cared for there. A thousand of
these are assigned to the Neuro-
logical Centre and housed in the hand-
some buildings of the Nouvelle Lycee,
the new boys' college at the entrance to
the park. In each of the twenty medical
districts into which France is divided
there is a similar hospital for men who
have suffered damage to the nervous
system. The Centre Neurologique at
Lyons is, however, the largest of these
centres, and for certain reasons the most
interesting.
To the neurologist, the care and study
of this unprecedented wealth of material
is of high value in broadening and re-
fining his knowledge of the function and
structure of the nervous system; yet of
still greater interest and offering still
greater possibilities for the enlargement
of our comprehension of the nature of
nervous diseases are those cases, compris-
ing more than two-thirds of the patients
in the institution, who are grouped under
the name of the hysterical.
When the entire manhood of a nation
is mustered into battle, it follows that the
nervously frail, the men of unstable
equilibrium, must go, too. The shocks
and sudden emotional strains of civil life
have made a certain number hysterical.
It might be expected that under the stress
of warfare many would break. The
number of such cases arising in the
course of war is far greater than in time
of peace, but, after all, they form but a
small fraction of the total number of
nervous crises in the neurological centres.
We have considered them, however, less
because of their intrinsic interest than
for comparison with another class of
cases — the commotionnes, that very large
and novel group of cases, comprising sev-
eral thousand admissions to the neuro-
logical hospitals of France, which the
French physicians named cerebral com-
motion, the English shell shock.
In the accounts of the great bombard-
ments we have all read of men who were
found dead in the trenches, unwounded.
Death had resulted from air concussion
in the zone contiguous to the exploding
shell. The concussion is more intense
and the danger greater if the shell ex-
plodes in a closed space, as in the deep
chambered trenches of the western front.
Countless Internal Wounds
Most of our commotion cases were in-
jured in the trenches. Often they were
hurled some distance, dashed against a
wall, and buried alive. If an examination
is made of the bodies of these dead, or of
those who have survived a few days be-
fore death, it is found that there has
taken place an intimate tearing of the
finer structures throughout the body.
The lungs are torn; there are abundant
hemorrhages in the pleura and stomach.
The blood vessels in the brain are rup-
tured, and minute hemorrhages are
found throughout.
Many are killed outright, but most
survive. Even these survivors bleed in
many cases from the ears, the lungs, the
stomach, the bladder, and bowels. There
are sometimes hemorrhages into the ret-
ina and under the conjunctivae. The
normally clear cerebro-spinal fluid is
found blood tinged. Even after blood is
no longer found the fluid is often discov-
AMAZING EFFECTS OF SHELL SHOCK
341.
ered to be under high pressure, the white
cells and globulins that indicate damage
to the meninges continue to be found in it
for months.
The patients seldom regain memory of
the beginning of their accidents. At
most they recall the whistling sound that
preceded the arrival of the shell. In cer-
tain cases there will be found only a
more or less transient clouding of con-
sciousness, or a very painful sensation
of having been beaten on the head. Usu-
ally the patient is unable to walk, and
as he is carried on the stretcher every
movement is painful. The limbs are
inert, the head drops on the shoulder.
Even when sitting he collapses if not
supported. Any movements made are
maladroit and imprecise. The sphincters
are relaxed; almost all arrive at the aid
stations soiled with^ excrements. Later
they may have retention, but in the be-
ginning the contrary is the rule.
The facial expression is typical — com-
parable to that seen in the cerebral type
of infantile paralysis — the corners of the
mouth droop, the tongue is paretic, the
lids droop, and the eyeballs are without
motion. The pupils are dilated, almost
always unequal.
In all cases is found the sign of Babin-
ski — irritation of the foot sole, provoking
an obvious and prompt elevation of the
great toe and a fanlike spreading of the
other toes — an unequivocal indication of
damage to the motor pathways leading
from the brain; and, as further indica-
tion of this damage, the tendinous re-
flexes are generally strongly exaggerat-
ed. Kernig's sign of cortical irritation is
present.
In cases of moderate severity we ob-
serve a rapid retrocession of symptoms.
Within twenty-four hours the mental
cloudiness tends to disappear, the expres-
sion of the face changes, the strabismus
diminishes and disappears, the reflexes
approach normal.
In severe cases, however, and some-
times from milder ones, there develop a
series of most bizarre clinical pictures.
It is the general nervous system that is
most often and most strikingly affected.
As the patient emerges from his cloud-
ing of consciousness, he seems to be in a
state of confusion. His memory is weak-
ened. He has lost in power of voluntary
attention. He has hallucinations. These
psychopathic states may persist for days
or months, and are accompanied almost
always by persistent nightmares of fire
and battle that startle and disturb the
rest.
It is at this stage extraordinarily diffi-
cult to disentangle symptoms that are
due to gross organic injury from those
that would be reckoned hysterical. Very
frequently there are convulsive attacks
that seem frankly similar to* that de-
scribed above; occasionally a case that
resembles true Jacksonian epilepsy.
Sight and Hearing Affected
There is often deafness associated with
injury to the ears; again, deafness is
present with ears apparently normal.
Sometimes the deafness is associated
with vertigo such as suggests damage to
the inner ear.
As to the sight, we encounter every de-
gree of disability, from slight cloudiness
of vision and narrowing of the visual
field to complete blindness. In a consid-
erable number of cases these troubles are
due to damage done the retina. In a
larger number, however, so far as exami-
nation can determine, they are purely
subjective. These troubles of sight and
hearing are almost never isolated. They
are found associated with an assemblage
of other symptoms referable to the nerv-
ous system.
Much more frequent than the troubles
of the special senses are the paralyses —
paralysis of a single member, of both
legs, or of a lateral half of the body.
Some of these paralyses are obviously
due to hemorrhage within the brain, oth-
ers are a flaccid paralysis with loss of
sensation. In all the characteristics that
are accessible to investigation most re-
semble hysterical paralysis, and the
greater number are associated with con-
tracture of the muscles.
The foot will be drawn into the position
of a clubfoot and firmly fixed there. The
hand is tightly clenched, and the wrist
and elbow bent. The contracted muscles
of half the body may draw the trunk and
head to one side. The neck may be fixed
342
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
as a wry neck. A very frequent de-
formity is the bent back. A peculiar cir-
cumstance is the violent fit of coughing
that is induced by any attempt to
straighten the bent back, either in bed or
against the wall.
The vocal cords may be paralyzed and
the tongue incapable of being protruded,
so that the patient is entirely mute, un-
able to make the slightest sound, to
whistle or to blow, or even to imitate the
movements of the lips in speech. His
breathing muscles are contracted so that
he cannot draw a long breath. In milder
cases there is a stammering to the degree
of almost complete unintelligibility.
A muscular trouble, often of the most
striking and startling sort, is the shaking
and trembling. This may be a fine
tremor, such as we have in Graves's dis-
ease, and Graves's disease is a complica-
tion that is superadded to the picture in
a large percentage of cases, or a very
coarse, irregular shaking and jerking of
the head, arms, legs, in contortions that
make walking or any co-ordinated move-
ment nearly or quite impossible.
Pitiful Motion Pictures
A remarkable series of moving pict-
ures, which are already to be seen in this
country, was made of these patients at
Lyons. Large groups illustrating each
of the contractures and paralyses were
marched past the camera, but the most
striking groups were the tremblers and
the bent backs, and when, as constantly
happens, many physicians come to see
the astonishing and almost incredible
cases that are found in this neurological
hospital, the profound pity that these pa-
tients excite is inevitably mixed with
laughter at the sight of the poor fellows
with wildly inco-ordinate movements,
struggling to maintain their balance as
they totter across the stage of the exhi-
bition hall or shuffle along with feet in
constant motion, like a novice at skating,
and the back bent forward from the hips
almost at right angles.
Upon these troubles of movement there
are always superimposed troubles of sen-
sibility. In the paralyses with contrac-
tion, and especially in the flaccid paral-
yses, all the modes of sensibility, superfi-
cial and deep, including the sensibility to
electric currents and the sensibility of
the bones to vibration, are affected, and
often to an extreme degree. Some of the
patients have inflicted burns on them-
selves accidentally without knowing it.
In others the joints can be twisted to an
extreme degree without causing the least
pain or sensation.
In opposition to these anaesthesias or
hypoaesthesias there is found extreme
sensitiveness to pain. Sometimes the
patient cannot endure the least touch or
the least movement of the limbs.
Purely Physical Causes
Are these patients hysterical in the
sense of any of the theories of hysteria
that we have mentioned — these deaf,
these mutes, these palsied, trembling men
with agonized or deadened members?
Was it a mental picture or a buried idea
or a suggestion from the physician that
developed these phenomena?
In the language of Dr. Sollier, the emi-
nent neurologist who is at the head of the
hospital at Lyons:
In the true commotion case, we find our-
selves in the presence of hysteria in the raw,
of the elementary hysteria, in which the
physical element is absolutely preponderant,
whereas, in the ordinary traumatic hysteria,
the somatic phenomena and the psychological
phenomena are almost on the same level, and
in the commonplace hysteria of civil practice
the psychologic element tends to take domi-
nant importance.
When we envisage the similarity of the
pictures presented by ordinary hysteria and
the nervous phenomena that result from shell
shock, we are forced to conclude that their
nature is identical. Shell shock thus demon-
strates to us that hysteria may be provoked
by causes purely physical, and we are led
to conclude that the purely psychological
theories are inexact, since they do not apply
to all the cases. Since it is undeniable, on
the other hand, that hysteria can be provoked
by emotional and moral causes, we must con-
clude that there exists an entire gamut of
forces— physical, mechanical, organic, and
psychic— that may lead to the same clinical
results.
Such are the views that are upheld by
Dr. Sollier, who in numerous forcible pub-
lications had sustained before the war
his physiological theory of hysteria. In
his treatise on hysteria, published in
1914, he maintained that hysteria was
essentially a sleep of portions of the
brain, a dulling or numbing (engour-
dissement) of certain cerebral centres;
AMAZING EFFECTS OF SHELL SHOCK
343
that the disassociation of personality re-
sulted from the unequal wakefulness of
different portions of the brain ; that the
attacks were disorderly expressions of a
sudden movement toward reawakening.
We must remember that a thought is
not, for the individual that harbors it at
least, a disembodied concept, but that
with every thought there must be a
physical change, a movement of matter
and energy in the molecular structure of
brain cells. Modern psychology concerns
itself more and more with the attempt to
conceive the physical processes in the
brain that accompany thought. Espe-
cially in the study of the emotions (and
it is the emotional side of ideation with
which we are chiefly concerned in hyste-
ria) has emphasis been laid on its physi-
cal aspect.
Our American psychologist, William
James, lent his astute support to the
view that emotion was rather the con-
scious appreciation of a series of physical
changes that resulted from the presence
of an idea; that we felt fear because the
heart stood still, the hair stood on end,
the knees shook at sight of the ghost,
rather than that the emotion of fear
brought about these physical changes.
We are obliged, if the facts of the de-
velopment of our commotion cases have
been faithfully observed and accurately
recorded, to shift from the formerly con-
ventional viewpoint of the essential nat-
ure of hysteria and to place the emphasis
on its physical and its physiological as-
pects.
Dr. Babinski and his followers, with
their rather narrow definition of hysteria
as a malady provoked by suggestion and
curable by persuasion, have been led to
assert that these grand hysterias of shell
shock are not hysteria, and to erect a new
and heretofore unheard of classification
in which to place them, so far will the
attachment of a scientist to a favorite
theory carry him. The cases that we see
in the military hospitals of France were
not produced by suggestion, nor are they
amenable to persuasion.
These theoretical considerations, how-
ever, are by no means without their prac-
tical importance. Even before the earli-
est publication, in 1895, "of his views, Dr.
Sollier contended that by his so-called
method of cerebral reawakening he was
able to cure by physical and mechanical
means many hysterical conditions that
proved refractory to suggestion, and it
was largely these therapeutic successes
that led to the crystallization and devel-
opment of his idea of hysteria.
Sollier's Method of Cure
Dr. Sollier is a large and vigorous man
both morally and physically, a man whom
one would fancy inclined by temperament
to snatch his patients back to health
rather than coax them back. His evident
kindness and goodness to his men, how-
ever, give them courage to endure with-
out question the rigors of the physical
treatment to which they are submitted.
The central idea of his treatment is that
the cerebral centres must be awakened
from their dormant state by physical
measures addressed to the parts of the
body corresponding to the cerebral in-
volvement.
The treatment of one case, for instance,
consisted in cold douches and showers for
a general effect, but more particularly in
twisting and manipulating the joints of
the paralyzed limbs until pain, and even
very severe pain, was induced. If bend-
ing the finger joints produces no pain,
the wrist is manipulated; if the wrist is
without sensation, the shoulder is ma-
nipulated. Sensibility returns to the
anaesthetic areas through the pathway
of pain induced in neighboring regions
that are more sensitive.
In another case the treatment was to
place the hands over the eyes, whereupon
the patient would promptly fall into a
hypnotic state and go through all the
phases of the grand attack. As his strug-
gles began to subside and he was sinking
into a quiet sleep, he was ordered to wake
up, to awaken his shoulders, awaken
his back, awaken his limbs, awaken all
over. He is regarded when apparently
awake as a vigilambule, one who, while
apparently awake, has large portions of
his brain cortex asleep, and who for this
reason is so easily and by such slight
transition thrown into complete hypnotic
slumber.
In addition to these treatments carried
344
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
out by the attending physicians, and by
trained masseurs working under their
direction, an interesting and indeed most
inspiring part of the work for the resto-
ration of these men is the systematic
motor re-education carried out by the
men themselves. Every morning from 8
until 9 o'clock, and again of an afternoon
from 2 until 3, in the quadrangle of the
Lycee the men are gathered at the sound
of tne bugle for drill.
Patients Treated in Croups
They are grouped in squads according
to their several disabilities. The club-
footed squad, the hemi-contractured
squads, the contractures of the left arm,
the contractures of the right arm, and so
on. Each squad has its non-commissioned
officer, who is himself convalescing from
the same disorder, and the whole battal-
ion is under the command of a Sergeant,
who is partially recovered from severe
organic and functional disturbances.
The apparatus employed in the exer-
cises is of the simplest — a manual of
arms carried out with a wooden pole,
some board platforms for the exercises
to be taken lying down, a few weights
and pulleys. The intention is to bring
the defective muscles into play through
the unconscious influence of limitation;
to strengthen the muscles which oppose
those that are contracted; to give tone to
the physique as well as to the morale of
the men.
A physician passes from group to
group encouraging and instructing the
leaders, calling attention to stragglers
that may be failing of the efforts de-
manded of them. The cheerful atmos-
phere of this scene, the sharp cries of
command making a not unpleasing dis-
cord of sound; the emulation of the sol-
diers to attain the progress that they see
others have made — all gives one the feel-
ing that these men are cordially enlisted
in the effort to overcome the handicaps
under which they labor, and a large part
of the success of the treatment in this
institution is to be attributed to this
community of effort.
It is too early to say whether the views
which Dr. Sollier has advanced as to the
nature of hysteria, his so-called physio-
logical theory, will be generally accepted.
It is certain that his effort to place the
emphasis on the physical and physiolog-
ical aspects of this trouble has been tre-
mendously favored by the large group of
cases that have come to observation
through the accidents of war.
When I first walked through his ward
and looked with astonishment at the
array of nervous phenomena presented, I
began to wonder: Is this the result of
the traditionally excitable and nervous
French temperament? Would English-
men or Germans or Russians exhibit such
astonishing bizarreries of nervous func-
tion? I learned on asking the physicians
of the Lyons hospitals, who were neuro-
logists by profession, that in years of
practice at the Salpetriere, the famous
Paris hospital for nervous diseases, they
had only rarely encountered cases com-
parable to hundreds that we had in our
hospital. I learned from consulting the
literature that Englishmen and Germans
were suffering the same nervous acci-
dents as the French.
Some Unsolved Questions
It would be difficult, if not impossible,
for Dr. Sollier to prove that the sufferer
from shell shock, as he emerged broken
and bleeding from unconsciousness,
might not, in his awakening intelligence,
develop hysterical symptoms on a psy-
chological basis, and that this elementary
hysteria of molecular vibration might
not have interwoven with it as a psychic
state ideas associated with terror and
dread, the most powerful of human emo-
tions. His opponents, moreover, will ask
him to explain the rarity of these com-
motional states in the numerous wound-
ed that received physical injuries from
projectiles that have exploded near them,
patients exposed to the same displace-
ments of air, and the same physical con-
ditions— an embarrassing question to the
partisan of the organic theory.
Some of the commotionnes tell us that
they had often had large shells burst near
them without experiencing anything
more than the disturbance legitimate to
such circumstances, a disturbance easily
mastered and quite transient. Further-
more, as Dr. Sollier has himself pointed
out, it is most unwise to return the pa-
AMAZING EFFECTS OF SHELL SHOCK
345
tient when apparently quite cured to the
firing line. The first explosion in his
neighborhood will bring back a return of
the old symptoms, sometimes with added
violence, so that the recrudescence is ap-
parently due less to the physical reopen-
ing of an old wound than to the re-pres-
entation of remembered conditions.
Dr. Sollier's .conceptions, however, gain
valuable support from the success of his
treatments when applied to the commo-
tion cases, even though they be very
severe, provided the patient is fortunate
enough to be taken in hand early.
Sergeant B., for example, a robust and
muscular man of 25, was in Fort Douau-
mont during a bombardment. He was
thrown many yards by the explosion of a
large shell; consciousness was lost for
some time. At the first-aid station he
had difficulty in breathing, and conscious-
ness was only gradually restored. He
was brought back at once to Lyons, where
he was found to be in a state of general
rigidity and hyperaesthesia. Even small
movements of his limbs were painful.
His heart was moderately dilated, pulse
rather rapid, fibrillary tremor of the
hands, slight goitre, and exophthalmus.
When the treatments, which consisted in
forced movements of his limbs, were un-
dertaken, he would gradually become
stuporous, cry out with pain, and at the
close of the seance would almost lose con-
sciousness and would dissolve into tears.
However, after a month of such treat-
ment the stiffness and sensitiveness were
rapidly disappearing from his members,
he was able to stand erect and walk, and
was obviously on the high road to recov-
ery. Had he been treated merely by rest
and care, he would probably have made
no such progress.
Alongside of him other men, whose in-
juries had come about in the early months
of war, and who in the early stages of
their trouble were treated by the conven-
tional methods, seemed to have crys-
tallized in their disabilities. It appeared
that after the deformities and tremors
had become inveterate it was most diffi-
cult to eradicate them, even by the treat-
ment of motor re-education, though this
brought about slow and steady gains.
A Harrowing Summary
It was possible, then, in this hospital
to find the same clinical pictures result-
ing from causes of every degree of po-
tency— a slight and merely psychic
trauma sufficing to induce the symp-
toms in the unstable, a violent physical
trauma being needed in the well poised.
1. There were the highly neurotic sub-
jects, who had never been near the front,
but who on receiving the news from
home of the death of a wife or being
parted from a sweetheart had developed
these terrible attacks and paralyses.
These were few.
2. There was the somewhat larger
group of cases similar to the first two
cited, cases of tougher-fibred but still
imaginative men, whom the emotional
shocks of the campaign, combined with
fatigue and long strain, had been able to
bring to a grand hysteria.
3. A third group more stable than the
last could be made hysterical only if,
after being weakened by hunger, sleep-
lessness, and overwork, they were sub-
jected to the shock of a violent explosion,
though the same shock might have pre-
viously left them untouched.
4. Last, there were men, stalwart,
tranquil, robust men, who had never
known nervousness, neither personally
nor in their families — unimaginative,
stolid men, who, being suddenly hurled
through the air, torn and lacerated in the
finer structures of their bodies by an ex-
plosion, buried alive perhaps by falling
earth, were, when they ultimately re-
gained consciousness, transformed in-
stanter into disorganized reurotics, ex-
hibiting all the characteristics typical of
the grand hysterics.
To see these strong men suddenly re-
duced from the flower and vigor of youth
to doddering, palsied wrecks, quivering at
a sound, dreading the visions of the night,
mute or deaf, paralyzed or shaken by vio-
lent agitations, rent from time to time Dy
convulsive seizures as though tormented
by many devils — this wreckage of men's
souls seemed to me to mirror more vividly
the horror of war than any picture
drawn from the carnage of the battle-
field.
Curious German War Medals
"In Our Iron Time— 1916"
George Macdonald, who a year ago describe*! in The Scotsman some 500 German war
medals struck during- the first eighteen months of the war, has written this interesting ac-
count of later medals announced in a supplementary catalogue issued in Amsterdam .
APATHETIC feature of the new
sales catalogue of German war
.medals and " tokens " is the great
increase in the number of speci-
mens of paper money of small denomina-
tions, intended to supply a currency for
prisoners' camps or for those portions of
the allied countries which are in enemy
occupation. It is strange, for instance,
to encounter a group of notes, ranging in
nominal value from 2 francs to 10
centimes, that belonged to an issue of
2,000,000 francs, guaranteed under
date April 23, 1915, by a resolution of
seventy communes in the region of the
Somme and the Ancre. When one sees
in the list such familiar names as Mirau-
mont, Irles, Courcelettes, Thilloy, and
Warlencourt, one shudders to think of
the appalling rate at which the securities,
heritable and other, must have depreci-
ated through the action of high ex-
plosives.
All the belligerents, except Japan and
Portugal, have contributed their quota
to the sum total of the war medals
proper. Germany, however, has once
a^gain been far and away the most active.
In a fair proportion of cases the under-
lying motive has obviously been a desire
to honor individuals by associating them
with some particular achievement or
with some popular declaration of policy.
The collection, in fact, constitutes a sort
of national portrait gallery of all the
German Admirals, German Generals, and
German statesmen whom the events of
the last three years have brought into
prominence. A bust of von Tirpitz, for
example, is backed by a plump figure of
Germania " doing battle for the freedom
of the seas," while both von Scheer and
Hipper receive credit for their great
" victory off the Skagerrak," which is
said to have been won " not by chance
but by sheer capacity." The military
laurels have been gathered mainly on the
eastern front, and first and foremost by
von Mackensen.
The big events of 1916 in the west are
but rarely alluded to, although a huge
iron medal with allegorical figures de-
picts " the horrors of the Somme," and a
companion piece shows the scourge of
war descending upon Verdun. Tit-bits
from the Imperial Chancellor's Reichstag
speech of June 5 are immortalized on un-
wieldy lumps of metal bearing his image
and superscription, and royalties more or
less considerable are, of course, sprinkled
freely through the pages of the cata-
logue— so freely, indeed, that the Kaiser
and the Crown Prince tend rather to be
elbowed into the background.
A good deal of space is occupied by
heroes of less exalted rank, like the
aviators Boelcke and Immelmann. On
the latter of these one enthusiastic medal-
list has conferred the title of " The Eagle
of Lille." And it is interesting to ob-
serve that few even of the major hap-
penings of the war have caught the Ger-
man imagination in the way that the
exploits of the Mowe and the voyage of
the Deutschland appear to have done.
The capture of the Appam could hardly
have been more loudly celebrated if it had
affected the naval situation as profound-
ly as did Trafalgar.
The tribute of medallic portraiture is
paid not only to the raider's Captain,
Count zu Dohna-Schlodien, but also to
the officer who navigated the prize to the
United States, Lieutenant Berg. So,
too, with Captain Konig of the Deutsch-
land, in immediate juxtaposition to whom
we are astonished to find a much older
Atlantic voyager — to wit, no less a per-
son than Francis Drake himself. The
first glance at his bust, dressed in cor-
rect Elizabethan costume, and identified
beyond possibility of mistake by his name,
sets one wondering whether Houston
CURIOUS GERMAN WAR MEDALS
347
Stewart Chamberlain has succeeded in
proving that the Spanish Armada was
defeated by Germans. But the real ex-
planation is a veritable anti-climax; it is
furnished by an inscription on the re-
verse, " Francis Drake was the name of
a gallant man who three centuries ago
sailed from England to America in com-
mand of a ship, and who when he re-
turned from his distant travels brought
with him the good things that we call
potatoes. This useful vegetable we owe
to the very same State that is today —
1916 — endeavoring to starve us out.
Such is the irony of world history and of
world politics."
The Drake Medal is not the only one
on which the food difficulty is frankly
alluded to. Another piece pillories the
butchers who indulge in " profiteering,"
and threatens them with handcuffs and
the knout. A third is directed against
the bakers, two of whom are represented
diligently sawing a log of wood in order
to secure material for bread. That
bronze is growing scarce is abundantly
clear from the fact that it is not used
for almost any of the recent medals,
iron being the usual substitute. And
gold, as might be expected, is altogether
unknown. In this connection a small
medal of iron is of special interest; it is
issued by the Reichsbank, and presented
to persons who hand gold ornaments over
the counter. On the obverse is a kneel-
ing woman, holding out a piece of jew-
elry, accompanied by the legend, " In
our iron time, 1916." On the reverse is
a branch of oak, and the couplet:
Gold I gave in hour of need,
Iron received as honour's meed.
Presumably the idea is that this should
be transmitted as an heirloom. The
same consideration for the future is
plainly responsible for a medal having
on the obverse a " Pickelhaube," or
spiked helmet, resting on a shield, and
on the reverse a mailed fist clasping a
hand that is indubitably feminine, the
two between them supporting a sword.
The legend is, " Wedded in war -time."
The mention of " war weddings " inevi-
tably suggests a search for the " war
baby." And, sure enough, here he is on
another medal, nestling inside an in-
verted " Pickelhaube," which reposes on
a little pile of bombs. The inscription
reads, " Born during the world war."
The well-to-do can purchase either of the
last two medals in silver.
The productions just described give us
a quaint glimpse into the mentality of
the great nation with whom our own is
now locked in a life-and-death struggle.
A MUCH-SOUGHT-AFTER GERMAN MEDAL,
STRUCK TO COMMEMORATE THE SUBMA-
RINE BLOCKADE OF ENGLAND, FEB. 18, 1915.
IT PROVIDES AN EARLY EXAMPLE OF THE
FAMOUS PHRASE " GOTT STRAFE ENGLAND"
The definitely satiric medals are a more
lurid illuminant. It is sometimes said
that a boxer never feels thoroughly con-
fident until he sees that his opponent is
losing his temper. If the analogy holds
good, a perusal of the catalogue should
be comforting. In any case it provides
a wholesome discipline in the way of
seeing ourselves as others see us. The
rest of the Allies escape almost scot-free,
except for a few fierce thrusts at Italy or
at individual Italians, like Gabriele
d'Annunzio, who is represented as Judas
Iscariot. It is for Britain that the vials
of German wrath are reserved. And
what vials they are! Humor, or at all
events humor of the conscious variety,
has taken to itself wings.
The catalogue contains nothing quite
so shocking as the Lusitania medal. On
the other hand, one cannot help observ-
ing that the author of that infamy, Karl
Goetz, now appears to enjoy extraordi-
nary popularity as a designer. A speci-
348
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
men of his handiwork,- dealing with the
loss of the Zeppelin L-19 in the North
Sea, forms a highly instructive counter-
part to the performance through which
he first became notorious. On the ob-
verse is the airship laboring heavily amid
the waves; the crew have clustered on
the upper portion of the envelope, and
are looking over the angry waters to
a trawler, the King Stephen, which is
disappearing in the distance. The re-
verse is almost wholly occupied by the in-
scription, "Curse the British at sea!
Curse your evil conscience," which is
doubtless meant to express the feelings
of the Zeppelin crew, (who are all repre-
sented as shaking their fists vigorously,)
and by the descriptive sentence, " Ship-
wrecked men, imploring help, were left
to drown, 2d February, 1916." Yet an-
GERMAN SILVER MEDAL, INSCRIBED " NACH
PARIS" ON ONE SIDE, WITH A PORTRAIT OF
GENERAL VON KLUCK ON THE PACE, MADE
IN ANTICIPATION OP THE FALL OF PARIS
other of Goetz's creations shows on the
obverse a half-length portrait of Roger
Casement, stripped to the waist and
bound, with a lanky Highlander busily
engaged in tying a rope round his neck;
as caricatured in Germany, the British
Army usually wears a kilt, a delicate
compliment which Scotsmen will not be
slow to appreciate. On the reverse a
spider is hard at work weaving its web
round a stout volume, which is labeled
"English Law, 1351." The book itself
is supported by a pleasing assortment
of mediaeval instruments of torture, from
the midst of which there grins a skull
with serpents issuing from its eyes.
Across the field is the date of Casement's
execution, " 3d August, 1916," while
round the margin is the doggerel verse:
Edward Third's dead hand
Fastens the noose round Ireland.
Another echo of the unhappy Irish
rising presents ' us with a picture of
Death, wearing the undress cap of a
hussar and smoking a clay pipe, seated
jauntily on the edge of a tomb inscribed
" Home Rule. R. I. P." He is contem-
plating with apparent satisfaction a
bunch of shamrock which he holds in his
hand, and which is described in the
rubric as " A posy of May flowers from
' the Emerald Isle." This medal is one of
a group of six executed by a certain W.
Eberbach. They are identical in size,
and are clearly meant to be regarded as
forming a sort of " danse macabre." In
all of them the same repulsive figure is
conspicuously " featured," as the cinema
advertisements would have it. Thus on
one he stands astride above the sinking
Lusitania, gloating over her as she sinks
beneath the waves, the accompanying
legend being " Spite and heedless frivol-
ity on board of the Lusitania." The re-
verse dedicates the medal " To Woodrow
Wilson, the man who despised our warn-
ing. 1916."
It is far from agreeable to linger in
such company. But the effrontery dis-
played in a third member of the series is
so colossal that one cannot pass it by in
silence. As in the case of all the others,
Death dominates the field. This time he
is seated with his back to the spectator,
closely watching a passing liner, whose
fate is plainly foretold by the mine which
he holds in one hand and the torpedo
which he grasps in the other. Above are
the words, " England's greeting to the
neutral ship Tubantia," the Tubantia
being, of course, the fine Dutch steamer
which was one of the first victims of Ger-
many's campaign against neutrals. On
the reverse is the unexceptionable senti-
ment, " The best of people can't live in
peace if their wicked neighbor doesn't
want them to." Britain or Germany —
which of these was neighbor to him that
fell among thieves?
The War Problems of Mothers
By the Countess of Warwick
[Published by arrangement with The London Chronicle.]
MOTHERS of soldiers have been
in evil plight from time im-
memorial, ever since the wag-
ing of the first wars in some
forgotten era of which history takes
no count,, but in England their troubles
in the past were never as they are to-
day. Before 1914 we had a professional
army for which men underwent long
training; only in a few families did
the service claim all the sons; as a rule
there were some who chose a civil call-
ing. The result was very satisfactory.
Mothers had a sense of double security.
In the first place, the risks of war could
not reach all their loved ones; secondly,
the ethics of war could not dominate the
house.
Thinking women, whether educated or
not, have always recognized in militarism
the merciless enemy of feminism; it is
a fight to a finish between the two, and
neither side will abate its claims. While
militarism is up, feminism is down, and
when the latter ascends the former must
go. I have known suffragists belonging to
families that have a great military rec-
ord, and some of them have hesitated to
face the truth on account of personal
family history, but there can be no two
opinions about it. If women did not
realize the whole truth earlier it was be-
cause the services claimed no more than
a part of their family, and the war risks
were comparatively small. In the past
sixty years the last Transvaal war ( 1899-
1902) has been the only really serious
conflict, and that was little more than
an affair of outposts by the side of the
struggle that engages the world today.
If the responsible section of my sex has
been betrayed by the love of gold lace,
ribbons, stars, crosses, and other decora-
tions into thinking too well of war
through all the years of peace, the retri-
bution, long though it lingered, has come
at last. It has taken a double form.
Some of our sons have gone to their
death, and this, indeed, is tragedy
enough; but other of our sons have come
back dead to the life that held them be-
fore they went away, and this in many
instances is the worst tragedy of all. A
mother's love for her son is something
that no man can nearly understand; so
many things enter into it beyond the
reach of his perceptions. The thinking
COUNTESS OF WARWICK
woman looks to him to carry some at
least of her ideals into the world; she
molds him that he may be better, nobler,
more useful to humanity than she herself
ever hoped to be, even in dreams.
It is not easy to say how the mother
of a lad who fulfills her ideals would de-
cide if she could choose for him one of
two fates — the first, to die in battle in
the earliest flush of youth and idealism,
returning to his Creator a soul unstained;
350
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
the second, to return from the war sound
of limb, but with the feeling that our
ends and aims are not shaped by any
Divinity, that nothing matters, and that
it is well to eat and drink and be merry
today, because tomorrow the just and the
unjust man will share a common grave,
over which the dust of oblivion will soon
be blowing. I can imagine no more ter-
rible choice for any mother, but I can-
not doubt what answer would spring to
the lips of those who have kept their
faith quite free from definitions, in spite
of the bankruptcy of Church and of State.
Happily, such an awful responsibility
does not fall to any one.
Yet it will be the fate of innumerable
mothers to welcome back to their homes,
when war is over; sons whose finer sus-
ceptibilities and emotions have lost all
their edge, boys who were in all save
military eyes too young to be plunged
into the inferno of strife, who, after grow-
ing careless of death, are now careless
of life. Men go through their appointed
task with unquenchable heroism, and
there is no detailed story of a day's work
that cannot thrill to the heart, but here in
England, happily, we see nothing of the
actualities; we read of cannon fodder, but
do not realize what it actually means.
We only know vaguely that every time
the sun rises in the east so many hun-
dreds, or even thousands, of lads and men
look upon the dawn for the last time, and
that by the hour when the west is red-
dening whatever their lives held of prom-
ise for the world at large is lost. Ours
is the knowledge, but the actual sight of
all the hideous welter upon which the pen
forbears to dwell is the experience of our
young sons. How many of us, not lack-
ing in courage, could face with open eyes
the sights with which our lads have
grown familiar?
There is a certain esprit de corps
among fighting men. They are jovial to
the last, they have neither the time nor
the mood to mourn, the normal values of
life have passed entirely out of sight.
Recklessness is the order of the hour, it
strays from action to thought. Young
officers have told me in all seriousness
that we at home have no real idea of life
at all. To savor the true sense of it
one must needs go to the trenches, or
over the blackened sites of villages that
once held a few hundred simple, harmless
lives. " Perhaps God ruled over Europe
•once upon a time," said one, with a sud-
den burst of candor, " but I know He
doesn't now. Even He could not claim
to rule and be responsible for the things
I've seen; and ours is no more than a
few yards of line." Another assured me
that when the army is finally disbanded,
nobody will go to church. " There never
could be any hypocrisy," he assured me,
" equal to going to church after all one
has seen.
" Yes, I did hear those rather pitiful
stories about the angels at Mons, but they
were supposed to have been seen when
the war was a month old. If anybody
tells of angels now, it is one of the forms
of shell-shock. That does make some
men pray and others curse, and some
can't do the one or the other, and they
go mad. But nothing really matters.
We all do what we can, and the enemy
does the same, and we'll win because,
man for man, we're better, even if we're
not as clever, and those who don't go
west today will go tomorrow, or next
week or next month, but most of us will
get there before we see the Rhine." He
went on to talk lightly of a revue that
he had been taken to see three times on
his brief leave. " I suppose it's rather
a beastly thing," he said, "but we all
laughed, and it doesn't matter much any-
way."
I could dive deeper into the problem I
have suggested rather than outlined here,
but to do so would be to commit a breach
of confidence. Suffice it that the respon-
sible mothers of the young men who come
home have a grave problem before them,
the more grave because they cannot, save
in a very few exceptional cases, solve it
for themselves. All mothers have to re-
member that their sons grow up, and
that of all the forcing processes in the
world none is quite so drastic as war.
The lads will have reached the time when
they will turn for counsel, sympathy, and
affection, not to their mothers, who would
so willingly give them of their best, but
THE WAR PROBLEMS OF MOTHERS
351
to the daughters of other mothers, who
will become mothers in their turn. I do
not think I have ever regretted more
keenly the neglect of the education of (
girls in the middle and. upper classes,
the little provision there is in it by which
they may save alive the soul of a man
who is in danger of losing it.
It is one of the ironies of the times
that the daughters whose education is in
so many instances scarcely worthy the
name, whose tastes are so often per-
verted by the empty life of pleasure that
is the only life within their grasp, whose
physique is injured by town life, badly
ventilated rooms, ill-chosen food, fash-
ionable clothes and the rest of the evil
to which the daughters of wealthy par-
ents are heir, should be asked to save the
race. Yet, however great the irony of
the situation, that situation exists. It
must be faced. The battle of militarism
against feminism will be resumed. Con-
sciously or unconsciously, they will be
combatants. They, and not the mothers
who yearn for sons lost and sons worse
than lost, must play' their part, live
awhile face to face with the grave prob-
lem, solve, trifle with or ignore it. War
has loaded the dice for militarism. The
times will gamble with these loaded dice
for the bodies of a generation yet unborn,
and all that many a lad will have to
stand between him and the further dis-
aster of perpetuating the evils of our
day will be some young, fair, foolish head
with eyes that a piece of braid or ribbon
may be able to dazzle.
I am conscious of a clear conviction
that feminists of every class and creed
should unite to face this problem; any
other success while such a work remains
undone is the gain of the shadow and
the loss of the substance. The girls of
England whose attractions will rule the
English world and decide the character
of the next generation must be reached
while there is yet time, and something
of their responsibilities brought home to
them. If they are going to disregard
them and help to prolong the agonies of
our failing civilization, let it not be said
that they erred through ignorance or
because there were none to teach them
the truth about the part they are called
upon to play.
British Women in War Service
THE British War Office issued, at the
end of February, 1917, the following
statement of the terms and condi-
tions governing the employment of
women with the British armies in France.
Many thousands of women in England
had long been awaiting official arrange-
ments enabling them to volunteer for
this service:
For twelve months, subject to termination
earlier at the discretion of the Army Council
upon one month's notice, except for mis-
conduct or incompetence, when one week's
notice will be given. The engagement may-
be renewed by mutual consent at the termina-
tion of the first period. A bonus of £5 will
be paid to each woman, irrespective of grade,
on renewal of the agreement for a second
period.
There are five main categories of em-
ployment, viz. : (a) Clerical, typist, short-
hand typist; (b) cooks, waitresses, and do-
mestic staff; (c) motor transport service;
(d) storehouse women, checkers, and un-
skilled labor ; (e) telephone and postal
services, and (f) in addition there will be
certain miscellaneous services which do not
fall within the above main classification.
(a) Ordinary clerical work and typists,
23s. to 27s. per week, according to efficiency;
clerks employed on higher clerical and
supervisory duties, 28s. to 32s. per week,
according to efficiency ; shorthand typists,
28s. to 32s. per week, according to efficiency.
These rates of pay cover forty-two working
hours per week, after which overtime will
be paid at the rate of 7d. per hour for
ordinary clerks and 9d. per hour for clerka
employed on higher work and shorthand
typists.
(b) Head cooks and waitresses, £40 per
annum ; cooks, waitresses, and housemaids,
£26 per annum, with free board and lodging,
together with 6d. per week for personal wash-
ing.
(c) Superintendents, first class, 52s. 6d. per
week ; superintendents, second class, 46s. per
week ; head drivers, 40s. per week ; qualified
driver-mechanics, 35s. per week ; washers,
20s. per week. These above weekly rates in-
352
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
elude Sunday work when necessary, but if
employed on Sunday a day's rest in lieu
will be given. In addition, overtime will be
allowed, except to superintendents, at the
rate of 5d. per hour after eight and a half
working hours per day.
(d) Storehouse women and unskilled labor,
20s. per week. Extra pay up to 2s. per week
where special aptitude is required ; leading
hands, 22s. per week ; checkers, 22s. to 24s.
per week ; assistant forewomen, 24s. per
week; forewomen, 24s. to 30s. per week, ac-
cording to number of staff supervised. These
rates cover forty-eight working hours per
week. Overtime, at time and a quarter for
the first two hours per day; thereafter and
on Sundays, time and a half.
(e) Telephone and postal services. Rates
of pay are under consideration by the Post-
master General and will be announced later.
(f ) Miscellaneous services. Special ratesi of
pay, according to nature of employment, with
a minimum of 20s. per week.
No woman under twenty or over forty years
of age will be eligible for employment. A
short form of agreement will be entered into.
A medical examination by a woman doctor
will be necessary. The period of prepara-
tion in England will include elementary in-
struction in hygiene and discipline. Free
conveyance to and from France on appoint-
ment and termination of engagement will be
provided. A fortnight's leave will be given
during each year's service. An allowance
of £4 will be paid to provide uniform at
the beginning of service, with a further
grant of £1 at the end of six months. Similar
grants will be made for the second year's
service. Slightly different grants will be
made in the case of the Motor Transport
'Section.
In all cases other than (b) cooks, wait-
resses, and domestic staff ; (d) storehouse
women and unskilled labor, and (f) miscel-
laneous services — a deduction not exceeding
14s. per week will be made to cover cost of
board and lodging and washing on a regu-
lated scale, which will be provided by the
military authorities. In the case of (d) store-
house women and unskilled labor and (f)
miscellaneous services, when the pay is less
than 21s. per week, the deduction will not
in any case exceed 13s. a week. The women
will be accommodated, while in France, in
hostels, under the care and supervision of
lady superintendents. The above applies to
France only. It must be understood that
enrollment for service includes service at
home as well as in France. Those who have
a preference should declare it. Where prefer-
ence for France is declared it will be satis-
fied if possible, and service in France may
ultimately follow service begun at home. The
conditions of service of the various classes of
women workers at home will remain as at
present.
To the First Gun
By ROBERT UNDERWOOD JOHNSON
[The liner St. Louis, the first American merchant ship to carry guns through the German
submarine zone, sailed from New York on March 18, 1917]
Speak, silient, patient gun!
And let thy mighty voice
Proclaim the deed is done —
Made is the nobler choice;
To every waiting people run
And bid the world rejoice.
Tell them our heaving heart
Has found its smiting hand,
That craves to be a part
Of the divine command.
Speak, prove us more than ease or mart,
And vindicate the land.
Thine shall the glory be
To mark the sacred hour
That testifies the free
Will neither cringe nor cower.
God give thy voice divinity
That Right be armed with Power.
Thou art not lifeless steel
With but a number given,
But messenger of weal
Hot with the wrath of heaven.
Go earn the right to Honor's seal —
To have for Honor striven.
Lead us in holy ire
The path our fathers trod;
The music of thy fire
Shall thrill them through the sod.
The smoke of all thy righteous choir
Is incense unto God.
And when long Peace is found
And thou has earned thy rest,
And in thy cave of sound
The sparrow builds her nest,
By Liberty shalt thou be crowned
Of all thy comrades, best.
German Women as War Workers
By Caroline V. Kerr
The writer of this article has recently returned to the United States after having served for
many years as Berlin correspondent of a New York newspaper. She is able, therefore, to
furnish a first-hand report on the wartime activities of German women.
WHAT are the women of Germany
doing today? Everything,
from sitting in the civic coun-
cils to sweeping the snow from
the streets. From the very outbreak of
the great war it was plain to be seen
that the women of Ger-
many were filled with
the determination to
play their part in the
great national epic,
and to play it with
fortitude and devotion.
At no time have they
swerved or faltered,
and Dr. Delbruck, late
Minister for Home
Affairs, paid the wo-
men of Germany a
well - deserved tribute
when he declared in
the Reichstag that
" such intelligent co-
operation and striking
efficiency as that dis-
played by the women
of the land since the
beginning of the war
could not be dispensed
with when normal conditions were once
more restored."
Not only are they engaged in the mani-
fold phases of relief work such as ob-
viously fall upon the womenfolk of a na-
tion at war, but they have taken the
places left vacant by the men on the farm
and in the factory. The rapid readjust-
ment of the German labor market was
due to the fact that the number of female
industrial workers was increased by half
a million during the first eight months of
the war. This new home army has been,
chiefly employed in the " war industries "
— that is to say, in the metal and machine
works or in the electrical and chemical
plants. Fifty thousand women are em-
ployed in one large ammunition factory,
and the manufacture of shells is almost
CROWN PRINCESS CECILIE
OF GERMANY
entirely in the hands of the women.
Female labor is utilized, to a large ex-
tent, in the production of other war sup-
plies which do not represent so striking a
departure from normal activities. This
is the case with the textile industries and
the factories for ready-
made clothing.
No one has been sur-
prised to find German
women developing
great organizing gifts
in dealing with the
many ramifications of
the Red Cross work, in
operating a National
League for Public
Service, and in elabo-
rating a well-nigh per-
fect system of munici-
pal kitchens, but it was
scarcely to be expected
that they would so
readily fall into line
when it came to re-
cruiting the ranks of
the thousand and one
small trades and vo-
cations which go to
make up the everyday life of a big nation.
They are serving with success as letter
carriers, as messenger boys, as chauf-
feurs, as window cleaners, as " motor-
men," as conductors on the street cars
and subways, and one is reported as hav-
ing joined the ancient and honorable guild
of chimney-sweeps.
They are familiar figures on the
streets where public works are in course
of construction, and if you ask them who
looks after their households in the mean-
time they cheerfully explain that they
can rely upon the thoroughly organized
system of municipal welfare work to
care for them and their children.
Women haVe been included in the
municipal councils of Berlin and other
large cities, and no civic measure bear-
354
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
ing upon the subjects of alimentation
and public welfare is carried out with-
out their counsel and co-operation; in
fact, a few women of extraordinary-
initiative and executive ability may be
spoken of as ex-officio members of the
German Home Office.
Frau HcyYs Enterprises
One of these is Frau Sophie Heyl, the
woman who gave the impulse to the
centralization of the national movement
in household economics. Frau Heyl has
received many orders for distinguished
service, but no one of these is as gratify-
ing to her as the unofficial title be-
stowed upon her of " The Hindenburg of
the Kitchen."
She is verily a generalissimo in her
line of work, and in the opening days of
the war gave striking proofs of her
gifts in this direction by mobilizing the
housekeepers of the land and initiating
them into the role they were expected to
play in the great campaign then open-
ing. Her ever-fertile brain evolved one
scheme after another for meeting the
unexpected economic situation, and the
awakening of a national consciousness
among the cooks and housewives of the
empire was largely due to the efforts
of this remarkable woman.
It was she who organized and financed
the first relief kitchen for the " shame-
faced poor," and it was due to her fore-
sight that the meat and vegetables were
concocted into the savory stew, known
as " gulasch," millions of tins of which
were sent to the soldiers in the trenches.
More than that, her name became a
household word throughout the land by
means of the series of " War Cook
Books," compiled at the request of the
German Home Office and distributed
gratis by the tens of thousands.
Frau Heyl has not confined her
energies to household economics on a
large scale, but, believing in the ef-
ficacy of small economies, has instituted
potato-paring and cherry-pit campaigns.
Such activities may seem ridiculously
small to the outside world, but are not
to be despised in a country now passing
through the state of " commercial iso-
lation," once foreseen by the great Ger-
man philosopher, Fichte.
Public Service League
What Frau Heyl has accomplished
in the field of household economics has
been achieved along the broader lines
of national welfare work by Dr. Gertrude
Baumer, President of the National Coun-
cil of German Women and of that re-
markable war organization known as
the National League of Public Service.
This organization represents a con-
centration of effort and a compre-
hensiveness of scope never before at-
tempted by the women of any country.
The war was scarcely a week old when
the call went out from Berlin to the re-
motest corner of the empire summoning
the women of Germany to the colors,
and the result was the present far-
reaching organization prepared to meet
every exigency of the war relief and
public welfare work.
Both Dr. Baumer and Frau Heyl at-
tribute the phenomenal rapidity with
which they were able to organize such
large bodies of women, and direct their
activities into channels of efficiency, to
the much-decried " Prussian militarism,"
which they claim only means schooling
and subordination of the ' individual to
the well-being of the masses — in other
words, discipline and organization.
Every town, village, and hamlet
throughout Germany maintains a branch
of the Public Service League, and these
local organizations receive a weekly
budget from the municipal treasuries
and thus work hand in hand with the
city authorities in disbursing the relief
funds. Some idea of the magnitude of
the work may be gained from the fact
that in Berlin alone more than ten mil-
lion marks are paid out every month
to the soldiers' families, and practically
all the applications for aid are handled
by the league. In two months the Berlin
relief committees distributed food cer-
tificates and bread and milk cards to a
total amount of more than 130,000 marks.
Relief of the Needy
Some of the duties of the league are
to look after the war widows and
orphans, to feed the hungry, to clothe
the destitute, to find work for the un-
employed, to mediate between land-
GERMAN WOMEN AS WAR WORKERS
355
lords and tenants, and in every possible
way to come to the immediate and ef-
fective relief of all the needy classes of
the population. One of the chief activ-
ities of the league at the beginning of
the war was to care for the thousands
and thousands of refugees from the dev-
astated provinces of East Prussia who
poured into Berlin and other cities of
the interior and for months claimed the
hospitality of their more fortunate com-
patriots living within the " safety zone."
In addition to the
funds appropriated by
the city, the league is
the constant recipient
of voluntary contribu-
tions; in fact, its
treasury is in no dan-
ger of being exhausted
should the war con-
tinue indefinitely.
A fact of striking
significance in connec-
tion with this organ-
ization was the sweep-
ing away of all reli-
gious and party bar-
riers. The League of
Catholic Women as
well as those of pro-
nounced Social Demo-
crat tenets allied them-
selves with the national movement, and a
Swedish writer, in commenting upon this
phenomenon, says that if " dismembered
Germany was welded into an empire by
the war of 1870-71, the war of 1914 may
be said to have accomplished still more
for the nation by bringing about an in-
ner unification and creating an entirely
new quality of national consciousness."
The basic principle underlying the
activities of the league is to discourage
charity and make every applicant for
aid self-supporting. It is not possible
to carry out this principle in all cases,
but its general wisdom is incontestable.
Living upon the charity of others soon
becomes an incurable habit and is ut-
terly destructive of all feelings of self-
respect and personal responsibility.
Parallel with the work of the Public
Service League is that of the so-called
" Frauendank " — an endowment fund al-
GRAND DUCHESS LOUISE OF BADEN
ready amounting to many millions, de-
signed as a special expression of grati-
tude from the women of Germany to
their fallen heroes. The interest on this
fund, which is splendidly invested, is to
be supplied to the permanent support
of the families thus left unprovided for.
It is the women who have also taken
the lead in the national " Gold Offering."
The official head of this work is the
German Crown Princess, from whose
various royal residences rich treasures
have been sent to
swell the sacrifices
laid upon the altar of
the Fatherland.
There is no busier
woman in the empire
than the Crown Prin-
cess, as she must not
only lend her name
and influence to the
manifold war organ-
izations, but she is also
called upon to repre-
sent the Empress at
all public functions
owing to the fact that
the latter has with-
drawn herself from
active participation in
the broader phases of
the relief work and
confines herself to a few charities lying
very near to her heart.
Thus it happens that the Crown
Princess is daily claimed by some of-
ficial duty or errand of mercy; now she
makes the round of the military hos-
pitals; now she is investigatng the
progress made at the lace school started
under her aegis; now she is presiding at
a bazaar, where her services are eagerly
sought as a saleswoman; now she is act-
ing as patroness at a charity concert, the
least irksome of all her duties, as she
is a thorough musician. She is par-
ticularly interested in the work being
accomplished by the Crown Princess
Hospital Train, the gift of the Schoene-
berg Borough of Greater Berlin and said
to be the best-equipped hospital on wheels
in Germany.
The active participation taken by the
royal women of Germany in all phases
856
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
of the war relief work has been a great
stimulus to the women of the land, who
feel that the war has bridged the social
chasm and united them in one common
work, quite irrespective of caste dis-
tinctions. Here they meet on common
ground and are all engaged in fulfilling
their sacred duties as wives, mothers,
and citizens.
Even the octogenarian Grand Duchess
Louise of Baden does not allow her age
to deter her from being present to wel-
come the German wounded soldiers when
they first touch home soil at Constance on
their way back from the prison camps of
France.
Other Royal Women
The Queen of Bavaria is another royal
woman whose heart and soul are in the re-
lief work, and in the opening days of the
war she personally presided over the sew-
ing rooms established in one of the wings
of her Munich palace.
Court society furnishes no more strik-
ing example of fidelity to a self-imposed
task than Princess Henckel-Dommers-
marck, the wife of Germany's largest coal
magnate. Despite her years, this woman
not only maintains but personally super-
vises a hospital of 200 beds. By 8 o'clock
in the morning she has entered upon her
round of daily executive duties, and 8
o'clock in the evening finds her still en-
gaged in her work of mercy.
Baroness von Ihne, one of the beauties
of German Court society, was one of the
first to recognize the necessity of placing
the work being done for the " war blind "
on an organized basis, and her Home
for the Blind was the first of many to
undertake the systematic education of
this most tragic class of war sufferers.
Here again an endownment fund already
reaching the millions insures permanent
aid to the beneficiaries.
Another field of work to which Ger-
man women have devoted themselves with
great energy is gardening — not futile,
amateur attempts to make things grow,
but " war gardening " on a large and pur-
poseful scale.
Baroness von Flotow is the head gar-
dener at the Tel tow Vegetable Fields near
Berlin, where 200 young women of gentle
birth and breeding have braved wind and
weather for two years in the execution of
their volunteer task of cultivating 150
acres of land. This is only the largest
of the " war gardens " which hang like a
heavy green fringe around the skirts of
Greater Berlin, now widening, now nar-
rowing as the brick and mortar of the
suburban settlements or the shining black
ribbon of railway steel imposes an ob-
stacle to their further progress.
The fruits and vegetables grown in
these war gardens are sold for minimum
prices in the co-operative retail shops
opened up by the housewives' unions,
who are thus in a position to control the
prices of foodstuffs.
Raising Sunflower Seeds
Nothing is deemed so insignificant as
to be a negligible quantity in the general
economic scheme. A case in point is
furnished by the attention paid to the
cultivation of the sunflower, strongly
recommended to the gardening element
by reason of the oil to be extracted from
the seeds and the "sunflower cake" to be
made from the residue and used as
fodder.
Sunflower products form an important
item in Russia's export trade, the reve-
nue derived from the export of sunflower
oil alone having brought the State the
sum of 4,000,000 rubles a year. Germany
is not rich in oil-producing plants, and
before the war was obliged to import
practically her entire supply of oils and
fats. In thus encouraging the home pro-
duction of an indispensable article hither-
to bought in foreign countries, the Gov-
ernment has evidently taken as a prec-
edent the present sugar beet industry,
which owes its origin to the Continental
blockade imposed by Napoleon I. in his
wars with England. Forced back upon
her own efforts to supply the "nation's
needs in this article, Germany then laid
the foundation of one of her most highly
developed national industries.
Naturally the question arises as to
what this activity on the part of the wo-
men will lead to after the war. Dr.
Gertrude Baumer answers this question
at the close of her book on the " German
GERMAN WOMEN AS WAR WORKERS
357
GERMAN WOMEN AT WORK IN A STATE GUN FACTORY
Woman in War Welfare Work." Here
she says : " Thousands of women have
been brought to a full realization of their
duties as citizens in this hour of fate
and will remain true to their awakened
consciousness. The war has had a qualita-
tive effect upon woman's work and en-
deavor by reason of the fact that the
enormous and unprecedented problems
created by the war have forced all
sociological organizations to shake off
their dilettantism and plant themselves
upon the firm ground of scientific
knowledge and systematized effort.
Moreover, the official recognition of
the part played by the women in the
communal and national work has al-
ready been shown by the appointment of
women as members to the city councils
and deputations, the full significance of
which will not be, can not be, estimated
until after the war.
The German Nation will not be able
to forget that the stern fight for exist-
ence behind the front was made possible
only by the unremitting efforts of the
women of the land, working hand in hand
with the men and contributing cheer-
fully and intelligently to the economic
upkeep of the nation. Even women who
are not avowed suffragists think that
universal suffrage will be one of the in-
evitable results of the war, for the
reason that the law-givers of all the bel-
ligerent countries can no longer deny
this crowning privilege to the wives and
mothers who have worked so bravely,
suffered so keenly, and endured so pati-
ently through the long years of this cruel
war.
(Copyright, 1917, Otis F. Wood.)
The War's Effects on Woman's Status
AUGUST WINNIG, NATIONAL SECRETARY
BUILDING TRADE UNION OF GERMANY
Women in all the belligerent countries of Europe have taken men's places in industrial
life in unprecedented numbers. In Germany at the end' of 1916 the number of women
employed in industries covered by the sickness and death "benefit societies numbered
4,703,472, or nearly one-half the persons included in the insurance system. This is a 33
per cent, increase since the beginning of the war. At the same time there were in England
3,219,000 women employed outside their own homes, of whom, 706,000 had replaced men gone
to war. About 500,000 of these had gone into munition plants. Cecil Harmsworth, head of
the Woman's War Employment Commission, stated on Jan. 6, 1917, that his commission
then had a trifle over 1,000,000 women doing men's work, and that they had saved England.
In France similar conditions exist, and hundreds of thousands of women are making
munitions at wages ranging from $1.05 to $2.15 a day. French schools are now taught
almost exclusively by women, a radical change from the past, and one likely to remain
after the war.— Editor Current History Magazine.
THE world war is a revolution the
extent and meaning of which will
be fully apparent only to coming
generations. Regarding the com-
plex problems that, taken together, are
called the woman question, the war has
shown itself to be genuinely revolution-
ary, as it is fast ripening the new social
and economic phenomena that have grown
out of the peculiar needs of our period.
The increasing prominence of woman in
the life of Germany and her independent
position both mentally and economically
form a not unimportant peculiarity of our
day. This is a phenomenon inseparably
connected with the development and ad-
vance of capitalist administration, and,
consequently, cannot be stopped by any-
thing, although naturally it may be in-
fluenced.
Right here the war has given the
wheel of time a powerful turn ahead.
For nobody need imagine that with the
return of peace everything in this matter
will go back to its old form. On the con-
trary, there are many considerations that
force us to the conclusion that, even
after the war, women's labor will con-
stitute a far more weighty factor in in-
dustry than it did before. It is also cer-
tain that this phenomenon cannot be re-
stricted to Germany alone. After the war
all Europe will be compelled to employ
women to a greater extent in industry.
Millions of men in the flower of their
working lives are being eliminated from
the industrial sphere, either through death
or permanent injury. Europe must find
substitutes for them, if she doesn't want
to lose her hard-pressed position of su-
periority in the world of industry, or,
more correctly stated, if she wishes to
regain it. Millions of the wives of the
dead or crippled participants in the war
need and seek industrial employment in
order to earn a necessary addition to
their pension allowances.
The surplus of women will increase,
and, in line with this fact, there will be
a rise in the number of women who must
renounce the idea of marriage and make
themselves economically independent.
We must expect a sharper competition
among the industrial States for the ex-
port markets, and this will involve an
increased effort to lower the cost of
production. These conditions will be
present and their influence will be felt
in all the industrial nations. Therefore
this mighty transformation in the eco-
nomic position of woman is not limited
to Germany. It will be extended to all
the belligerent countries, will spread
from these to neutral lands, and, as a
further consequence, will form the base
of a new period in the history of
woman.
The position of woman as to her pub-
lic and private rights, as to her public
and intellectual life, is closely bound up
with her industrial position and activity.
Woman's sphere of influence in the State
and in society corresponds to her field
of activity. Where woman's activity is
THE WAR'S EFFECTS ON WOMAN'S STATUS
359
limited to the home and family, where
she has no direct connection with the
industrial life of the nation, there her
legal and intellectual position is confined
within narrow boundaries. Right here is
verified Marx's declaration that society
does not rest upon the law, but that the
law Tests upon society. Law is the legal
expression of the actual social condition.
Of course, like everything existing, it is
ruled by the tendency to stand fast, and,
consequently, it generally yields but hesi-
tatingly, and often resistingly, to changes
in conditions.
There is no question that the changes
in the relation of women to industrial
life that have taken place during the
war have been extraordinarily great.
Nevertheless, they would remain without
any influence upon the legal and intel-
lectual position of woman if they were
merely of a transitory nature. Let us
summarize the reasons that show that
this cannot be the case;
1. The economic life of the belligerent
countries needs the labor of women as
a substitute for the men whom the war
has taken from industrial life either
through death or permanent injury.
2. The sharpened industrial competi-
tion to which Europe will see herself
forced because of her loss of strength
will necessarily develop — to the ad-
vantage of powerful industrial groups —
a strong movement toward a lowering
of the cost of production, which will be
favored by woman's labor, as it is at
present cheaper.
3. The disappearance of the fathers of
families from industrial life through
death or disability will compel a great
many women to seek productive labor
in order to increase their pension al-
lowances from the public, so as to be
able to maintain the family.
4. The diminished possibility of mar-
riage will force more women than for-
merly to make themselves economically
independent and enter industrial life for
this purpose.
Quite aside from the question as to
how greatly these conditions will affect
matters, there is the problem of how
this transformation is going to influence
not only the legal and intellectual posi-
tion of woman, but also the entire
economic and intellectual life of our
people.
Up to the present there have been in
Germany only weak currents of feminine
opinion insisting upon a change in the
present legal standing of women. One
of these was composed of the most in-
tellectually active women of the bour-
geoisie, whose interest in public life had
been aroused, but who lacked a field for
its exercise. This current has often been
called the "ladies' movement," with the
intention of hinting in a deprecatory way
that this was not so much an earnest
effort for the attainment of equal rights
as it was an interesting but harmless
sport. The view thus expressed, how-
ever, was not quite fair. Even the
women's movement of the bourgeoisie
had its point of economic support in the
circles under its influence. A growing
number of women remained single and
saw themselves forced by economic, and
partly by psychological, reasons to take
up a profession, which these women
found as doctors, teachers, nurses, or as
employes in commercial offices, or in the
postal service, or in other lines.
In so far as the bourgeois woman's
movement really was backed by num-
bers its adherents were recruited among
these circles, and as a matter of course
the leadership fell to the women who
were the most fitted for it through edu-
cation and liberty of movement. The
second, and in numbers stronger, move-
ment among the German women was that
of the working women organized dn the
Socialist Party and the trade unions.
This movement found support in masses
that already amounted to some hundreds
of thousands, but in comparison with the
total numbers of the women of the work-
ing class its active followers were but
few. * * *
Enough: It is beyond question that
only through that direct participation by
women in the economic life of the na-
tion which is connected with economic
independence is emphasis lent to the de-
mand for broader rights, and that only
then will the great mass of women take
up this demand and earnestly support it.
Consequently it is evident that an in-
300
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
creasing participation by women in in-
dustrial labor will influence the legal
position of woman in the sense of a
broadening of her rights. This connec-
tion is due to the fact that the sphere of
activity of woman in industry is closely
related to the general conditions of the
people's life. The wage-earning woman,
first of all, has quite different economic
interests from those of the housewife,
whose activities are limited to the man-
agement of her home, the care of her
family, and the rearing of her children.
Of course the housewife also has eco-
nomic interests, but between her and the
basic economic conditions of life stands
the man, to whom falls the main task of
providing for the maintenance of life,
and who is the first to have to contend
with the handicaps and difficulties en-
countered in this work. Here in a cer-
tain sense the man forms a protecting
shell for the woman and the family, keep-
ing off the economic pressure from with-
out, or at least lessening it. For this
reason the contact of the housewife with
the economic conditions of existence is
less sharp. The case of the wage-earning
woman is different. She lacks the pro-
tection of the man. She is entirely de-
pendent upon herself. She senses her
economic interests to a much greater
degree and soon comes to the conclusion
that she must take action herself if she
wishes to better her conditions of labor.
Moreover, it is only a step from the
field of economic interests to participa-
tion in politico-economic and purely
political questions; this step, however, is
very seldom taken deliberately, but
simply forces itself upon the women's
organizations. And the women's eco-
nomic organizations will be something
quite different in significance in the
future. So long as the wage-earning
woman regards her industrial activity
merely as a transition period to be fol-
lowed by marriage she does not take
the matter of defending her trade in-
terests very seriously. Only the con-
sciousness that her wage-earning labor
forms the enduring base of her economic
existence makes her receptive to the idea
of a joint representation of interests
through organization.
The basic principle — equal pay for
equal work — has more than mere trade
union significance. No matter what ob-
jections may be raised against it on the
part of the employers it is indubitably
justified when taken in connection with
the nation's industrial and political life
as a whole. But it can only be put into
effect -if woman is kept away from the
kind of gainful labor in which she is not
equal to man, therefore above all from
work that makes especially heavy de-
mands upon bone and muscle. The
women in the mines, on railroad track
and construction work, in foundries and
rolling mills, &c, must remain a phe-
nomenon of war that must end with the
war. But even then limitless fields of
activity are open to them. But one of
the most necessary tasks of legislation
is to define, after careful examination,
which of the fields of industrial life shall
be kept open to woman labor. For only
thus may the unavoidable shocks to our
economic machinery due to the entering
of woman into the army of wage workers
be materially lessened. * * *
The war has given the wheel of evolu-
tion a swift turn forward. The woman
question has entered upon a new stage;
its significance for the entire nation has
grown mightily. The State and society
must recognize the new nature of the
woman question and come to an under-
standing with it.
THE EUROPEAN WAR AS
SEEN BY CARTOONISTS
Note.— Owing to the existing blockade of Germany, Current History Magazine has been
unable to obtain German cartoons for this issue.
[Italian Cartoon]
An International Match
—From II $0, Florence.
It began as boxing — and ends as football!
361
[Dutch Cartoons]
The Arm of the Law Deep Sea Philosophy
—From De Notenkraker, Amsterdam.
" Father Neptune, what do they mean
—From De Notenkraker, Amsterdam. ^y t freedom of the seas '? "
"Donnerwetter! Caught, and I knew " They mean> my dear> that they
the bait was illegal! " must be free to send what they choose
to the bottom."
362
[English Cartoon]
Holland's Plight
-'From The National News, London,:
" Between the devil and the deep sea."
[American Cartoon]
His Easter Egg
—From The New York Times.
Slow in hatching, but a healthy bird.
864
[Italian Cartoon]
The New Costume
—From L'Asino, Rome.
President Wilson : " And now — cut off my wings ! "
365
[English Cartoon]
The Leper
—From Passing Show, London.
Shunned by all the world.
366
[Spanish Cartoon]
A Sudden Fear
II ■ * J
II ' ______ ■ B
; >, ■— - \ ^; <3|
- '■ jWP»^
^ ' N s ' v 1
. yr^
__HF'
_______?_______[ _________P^ '; JH
;r^M ' i-
1 _l
KM
> • .';•'
mm -£&?■
■>■■ ;P
* „i> ^^/te/^KM-
K x i >
life- >•!'" i^l
•
___RT3Hi :.
■^-t§? of
K fv
l__i_ ___ _____ __ : ' ' 1 : - i — in'. ' ■ .". ' - '"
—From Campana de Gracia, Barcelona.
" Where is the good old '
Gott' I have called on always? Where is He? Have I
slain Him also in error? "
367
[German-Swiss Cartoon]
The American Crocodile
—From NebeUpalter, Zurich.
"My good rider gives me such good fodder that I like to please him. There-
fore I howl about the Belgian deportations."
[German Cartoon]
French Losses
[Spanish Cartoon]
Better Late Than Never
S7 Vr ~
—From Ioeria, Barcelona.
" While England does the shouting, _ . , _.M . „ , , ^
France loses the teeth." President Wilson's final rep y to Ger-
many s submarine policy.
368
[Austrian Cartoon]
Besieging John Bull
—From Die Muslcete, Vienna.
The U-Maidens at Dover.
369
[Dutch Cartoon]
The Woe of the World
—From Be Notenkraker, Amsterdam.
The militarist sees all the thin and puny hands of the starving peoples shape
themselves into one mighty fist.
370
[English Cartoon]
The Harmony Three
-From The Evening News, London.
A song of the German-Mexican-Japanese plan of alliance.
371
[Dutch Cartoon]
England Holds Up Dutch Shipping
■ ■ " ■ ■
—From De Amsterdammer, Amsterdam.
The Dutch Minister shows the empty bread basket.
[German-Swiss Cartoon]
The American Prestidigitateur
—From Neoelspalter, Zurich.
" All without apparatus or double
bottoms. See, ladies and gentlemen,
one, two, three — the dove is a cannon! "
[Italian Cartoon]
The Pirate Emperor
^q
Mt:-^"^
—From 11 $0, Florence.
Kaiser : " Behold ! I am Emperor of
the seas! The submarine is my
throne ! "
Death : " I think you will find it your
coffin."
372
[American Cartoons]
"You Lose"
—From The Cleveland Plain Dealer.
As It Looks to Poor Holland
More "Clever Strategy"
—From The Grand Forfcs Herald.
—From The St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
373
[Italian Cartoon]
The Strange Position of Holland
/
^w
—From 11 Numero, Turin.
Germany still creeping through for supplies
374
[Spanish Cartoon]
The Neutral
—From Esquella, Barcelona.
Playing a fandango, while fellow-citizens perish.
375
[English Cartoons]
Straining at the Leash
—From The Pall Mall Gazette.
The dogs of war, United States of America.
[Published about the time of the Senate filibuster]
A Potato Drama
f??
Despair.
The Last Potato.
—From The Westminster Gazette.
Safety.
Ha, ha! I am a Seed Potato!
376
[German-Swiss Cartoon]
Europe's Progress Toward Bankruptcy
—From Nebelspalter, Zurich.
The load is the debt and the imp is the interest. The load has grown from
$4,000,000,000 to $80,000,000,000.
[American Cartoon]
In Freedom's Name
—From The Baltimore American.
Helping to roll away the stone.
[American Cartoon]
Into the Light
FaaiU
—From The Providence Journal.
The War's Greatest Work.
377
[Spanish Cartoon]
The Recompense
-From Campana de Gracia, Barcelona.
Germany : " In return for the kindness shown by you to my people I reward
you with this note in regard to my unlimited submarine campaign."
378
[Italian Cartoon]
America's Latest Reply
—From III $0, Florence.
The Kaiser : " Donnerwetter ! This is a new kind of American note ! "
[American Cartoon]
More Trouble for Germany
[American Cartoon]
The Pariah
—From The Portland Oregonian.
Now China's kicking the Kaiser's dog . —From The New York Evening Post.
around. " What has become of my friends? "
379
[German-Swiss Cartoon]
Intensive Submarine Warfare
mm&
—From Nebelspalter, Zurich.
Neptune : " You can only put a good face on a bad position, John."
380
■m— mi— wmwn mwiimmiiniwiHHMiHi
DR. GEORG MICHAELIS
Germany's new Imperial Chancellor, successor to Herr von Bethmann
Hollweg, and head of a complete new Imperial and
Prussian administration
(Photo Central If9W§)
ALEXANDER F. KERENSKY
Premier of Russia, on whom the new Republic is depending for a suc-
cessful issue, both to its external dangers and its internal troubles
(© The New York Times Mid-Week Pictorial)
tVrw^
MUSTERING OUR ARMED FORCES
America's First Million of Fighting Men Mobilized
and Ready to Begin Training for the Front
ONE of the most notable advances in
the preparations of the United
States to take part in the Euro-
pean war came with the conclusion
of the effort to bring the regular army
up to war strength. This was accom-
plished on Aug. 9, 1917, when the 183,898
men required at the beginning of the
recruiting campaign on April 1 were at
last enlisted. More than four months
were thus occupied in reaching the maxi-
mum war strength of 300,000 men. The
average daily enlistments during the 141
days were 1,300. But, despite its having
now reached its war strength, volunteers
for the regular army have since been
coming forward in considerable numbers,
so that on Aug. 20 the total was more
than 10,000 in excess of the number
originally required. m
A further addition to the nation's mili-
tary forces was made on Aug. 5, when
the National Guard was drafted into
Federal service. More than 300,000 men
in the guard units were discharged from
State service, and with enlistments which
have since taken place the National
Guard now numbers about 350,000. Add
this to the regular army, and we find
that the United States now has 650,000
men under arms. These figures do not
include the 40,000 men in officers' train-
ing camps. Finally, when the 687,000
men of the first conscript army are under
arms, the United States will have over
1,300,000 men in its land forces. If the
training of these men proceeds without
delay, the United States ought to have
its first million men on the firing line
at the beginning of the Summer of 1918.
Early in September the first section of
the National Army — raised by draft —
will be in camp. From now onward all
these men will form one great army, since
regulars, guardsmen, and conscripts, to-
gether with the newly trained officers,
will be merged into a single fighting
force.
Comparison With Peace Forces
Within five months of America's entry
into the war the nation will have raised
over a million men, a fact which can be
more fully appreciated by looking back
a few years to the small army which was
considered adequate for the defense of
the United States in times of peace. In
1880 the actual strength of the regular
army was 26,509, in 1890 it was 27,095,
in 1900 it was 69,155, and in 1910 it was
77,035. At the beginning of 1916 it had
increased tc 5,016 officers and 92,973
enlisted men, including 5,733 Philippine
Scouts.
But the year 1916 saw important de-
velopments. The Mexican raid on March
9, 1916, caused Congress to authorize an
increase of 20,000, while the National
Defense act of June 3, 1916, which was
passed at a time when there was no
thought of the United States intervening
in the war, provided an aggregate war
strength — including officers and special
corps and services of all kinds — of 301,-
375. But when the United States declared
war in April, 1917, over 180,000 enlisted
men were required to bring the army up
to this figure. The National Guard be-
fore the war had about 8,500 officers and
123,000 enlisted men.
At that time it was calculated that the
United States could put into the field
not more than 80,000 men at the utmost.
It follows, then, that practically the
whole army which will be ready to go to
the front in 1918 will be an entirely
new fighting force, created since America
entered the war.
Navy and Army Totals
The naval forces have not been included
in these figures. It was officially an-
nounced on Aug. 18 that since the United
States declared war approximately 1,300,-
000 men had offered themselves for serv-
ice in the naval and military forces of
the country. Of this number, not includ-
382
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
ing those who have been commissioned
from the training camps, 448,859 had
been accepted since April 1.
The total number serving on Aug. 18
in the armed forces — all volunteers — on
land and sea was 943,141 men, not in-
cluding the 687,000 men who are being
drafted and who will go into training
camps in September and October. Since
the United States became a belligerent
in April, 121,514 men who had volun-
teered for service in the navy, marine
corps, and other sea forces had been ac-
cepted. In the regular army the increase
since April 1 by voluntary enlistment had
been 190,347, and in the National Guard
136,998, making a total of 327,345 re-
cruits accepted in the army branches, and
a grand total of 448,859 for both land
and sea forces.
Even this figure does not include all
who have been accepted for service, for
there have been additions to the different
reserve corps, but these figures are not
all available. The largest single item is
that of 27,341 added to the list of land
officers representing the young men
commissioned from the first series of
training camps.
The land forces on Aug. 18 were:
. Enlisted
Officers Men.
Regular army 6,700 298,996
National Guard 11,000 300,000
Reserve Corps 10,500 55,487
Res. Corps (train, camps) 27,341
Total 55,541 654,483
55,541
Total land forces 710,024
The sea forces are as follows:
Regular navy, enlisted men 138,500
Naval Reserves, enlisted men 35,000
Naval Militia in Federal service, en-
listed men 11,000
Hospital Corps, regular navy, enlist-
ed men 0,000
Hospital Corps, Naval Reserves, en-
listed men 400
Marine Corps, officers and enlisted
men 33,117
Total 224,077
Approximate number of naval officers 9,040
Total 233,117
The total forces on the date named
were :
Land forces 710,024
Sea forces 233,117
Total forces 943,141
The enlistments since the declaration
of. war (in the case of the army since
April 1) were as follows:
Regular navy 73,880
Naval Reserve forces 25,000
Hospital Corps 4,400
National naval volunteers 1,500
Marine Corps 1 f>,7:>4
Total naval forces 121,514
Regular army 1<>o,::47
National Guard 136.998
Total land forces 327,345
Grand total 448,859
Nev> System of Organization
The changes in warfare during the last
three years have been responsible for an
important change in American Army
organization. The new scheme is outlined
in the following general order issued by
the War Department on Aug. 7:
" The ratio of artillery strength to in-
fantry is greatly increased. A division
will hereafter include only four infantry
regiments in two brigades in place of
the old division of three brigades, each
comprising three regiments of infantry.
There will still be three regiments of
field artillery in each division. Thus, in
the new organization, there will be three
regiments of field artillery to every four
regiments of infantry instead of the ratio
of three to nine. In addition, a trench
mortar battery is attached to each divi-
sion.
"The machine gun arm is also mate-
rially enlarged. A machine gun battal-
ion of four companies has been made a
unit of each division, in addition to the
three machine gun companies included
in each regiment.
Each Division 1 9,000 Men
" The American division will be made
by this order to confirm practically to
the units utilized by the Entente Allies,
among whom a division numbers ap-
proximately 19,000 men. The reason for
the change is that the division as here-
tofore made up of about 28,000 men is
too unwieldy for the demands of trench
warfare. With so large a unit, sure and
MUSTERING OUR ARMED FORCES
swift communication with all parts is
difficult. The problem to be met was
basically one of mobility for the peculiar
needs of fighting on the western front.
" The smaller sized units call for main-
tenance of all units at full fighting
strength. For this purpose reserve bat-
talions will be provided. These will con-
sist of 612 men each and are listed in
the general order as ' separate training
battalions.' The number of these bat-
talions has not been made public. Details
of regimental organization are also with-
held for military reasons.
" The new order provides for army
corps and armies, units which have prac-
tically existed only on paper since the
civil war. Corps were organized during
the Spanish war, but were not actually
operated as such to any great extent.
Three Divisions to a Corps
" Each army corps will consist of three
infantry divisions, corps headquarters,
and certain army corps troops not speci-
fied. Each army will normally consist
of three or more army corps, army head-
quarters, and certain army troops not
specified.
" Under the new order each infantry-
division will be composed as follows, the
changes from the present organization
being as indicated:
" One division 1 eadquarters, (same as
at present.)
" One machine gun battalion of four
companies, (new.)
" Two infantry brigades of two regi-
ments and one machine gun battalion
(four companies) each. (The present
division is three infantry brigades of
three regiments each.)
" One field artillery brigade of three
regiments and one trench mortar bat-
tery, (same, except trench mortar bat-
tery, is new.)
" One field signal battalion, (same.)
" One train headquarters and military
police, (same.)
" One ammunition train, (same,)
" One supply train, (same.)
" One engineer train, (same, except
that pontoon and searchlights sections
are not included in new plan.)
" One sanitary train of four field hos-
pital companies and four ambulance
companies, (same.)
" The new organization provides for
no cavalry in the division. The division
as at present constituted calls for one
regiment of cavalry. The present divi-
sion also calls for one aero squadron,
while the new plan calls for none, the
aircraft units being otherwise provided
for.
" The order specifies sixteen divisions
of the National Army to be organized
and numbered from 76 to 91, both inclu-
sive, and states the numbers to be given
to each of the different units in each
division. It provides that the sixteen
divisions of the National Guard now or-
ganized shall be reorganized to conform
to the new plan as soon as practicable
after their arrival in the training camps.
" The regular army, the National
Guard, and the National Army will all
conform to the same plan."
So far as the regulars are concerned,
the reorganization already has been car-
ried out for the units now in France.
Sixteen Wee\s of Training
A large number of French officers
have been selected by the French War
Office to assist in the training of the
new armies. France has also furnished
aviation specialists for the instruction
of American officers as well as a num-
ber of artillery specialists, who are giv-
ing the benefit of their experience to
American artillery men at the Army
School of Fire at Fort Sill, Okla.
There are several French officers in
Washington who have been in daily con-
ference at the War College and the War
Department. These officers will be at-
tached to the staffs of the thirty-seven
Major Generals recently announced to
command the national army divisions.
The plans of the War Department call
for sixteen weeks, or virtually four
months, intensive training, for the Na-
tional Army and the National Guard in
the cantonments. According to this plan,
the first of these men should complete
their training i:i January. On account
of difficulties of transportation the prob-
abilities are that American troops will
be sent to France in a steady stream as
fast as transports are available to send
384
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
them. A considerable number of picked
National Guard officers are now under-
going special training at the War College
in Washington. This special instruction
covers the whole field of modern war-
fare as now developed in Europe.
The number of applications for the sec-
ond series of officers' training camps was
much larger than was at first expected.
The figures made public by the Adjutant
General showed a total of 72,914, of
whom 51,838 passed the physical exami-
nations. This work was accomplished in
a month, as the applications were opened
June 15 and closed July 15. It was orig-
inally stated that the War Department
would choose for the second series of
camps about 16,000 applicants. Applica-
tions came in very slowly at first, but
increased with unexpected rapidity dur-
ing the last ten days, as a result of the
active campaign of the War Department.
The camps opened on Aug. 27.
Forty-seven Major Generals
President Wilson on Aug. 14 sent to
the Senate the names of 37 Major Gen-
erals and 147 Brigadier Generals whom
he had appointed as general officers in
the National Army. The appointments
are for the period of the war. -These
officers may be assigned to the regular
army, the National Guard army, or the
National Army. All the thirty-five Briga-
dier Generals in the regular army were
promoted to be Major Generals, and two
officers of the National Guard were like-
wise promoted.
These, with the ten Major Generals of
the regular army already in office, give
the United States a total of forty-seven
Major Generals.
Following are the names of the Briga-
diers of the regular army who have been
made Major Generals:
William A. Mann, Joseph T. Dickman,
James Parker, Charles G. Treat,
Eben Swift, Adelbert Cronkhite,
Edward H. Plummer, Henry T. Allen,
Edwin F. Glenn, William H. Sage,
A. P. Blocksom, Clarence R. Edwards,
Henry A. Greene, John W. Ruckman,
Francis H. French, Chase W. Kennedy,
Charles J. Bailey, Omar Bundy,
George Bell, Jr., Harry C. Hale,
F. S. Strong, R. M. Blatchford,
Harry F. Hodges, Samuel D. Sturgis,
C. P. Townsley, David C. Shanks,
E. St. J. Greble, William M. Wright,
Francis J. Kernan, Robert L. Bullard,
John F. Biddle, Joseph E. Kuhn,
George T. Bartlett, Peyton C. March.
Henry C. Hodges.Jr.,
The National Guard officers made
Major Generals of the army are:
Major Gen. Charles M. Clement, Pennsyl-
vania. *
Major Gen. John F. O'Ryan, New York.
The Major Generals already in office
in the regular army are:
John J. Pershing, Tasker H. Bliss,
Leonard Wood, Erasmus M. Weaver,
J. Franklin Bell, Hunter Liggett,
Thomas H. Barry, Henry G. Sh'arpe,
Hugh L. Scott, William C. Gorgas.
One hundred* and five Colonels of the
regular army and two Lieutenant Colo-
nels of that service were appointed Briga-
dier Generals of the National Army; also
thirty Brigadier Generals of the Na-
tional Guard and nine National Guard
Colonels. The new officers are to rank
from Aug. 5, 1917.
It was announced on Aug. 14 that the
first National Guard division to be sent
to France would be the Forty-second, to
be formed immediately out of troops
from twenty-six States and commanded
by Major Gen. William A. Mann. Three
days later the War Department had com-
pleted plans for sending another com-
posite division, the Forty-third, to be
made up of National Guard troops from
twenty-four States.
The Conscript Army in the Making
The second step toward the develop-
ment of the National Army was taken on
July 20 when a drawing by lot at Wash-
ington decided the order in which the
nine and a half million men who had
registered on June 5 should be called up
for examination. The great national
lottery created far more interest and dis-
cussion than either the enactment of the
conscription law or the registration of
the nation's young men.
The War Department had devised a
MUSTERING OUR ARMED FORCES
385
simple system of deciding the order of all
registrants in each of the 4,557 local
registration districts. As the total
registered in any one district did not ex-
ceed 10,500, all that was necessary was
to draw all numbers up to that number.
When the drawing was complete, the list
of rearranged numbers enabled every
man to see at a glance when he would be
required to report for examination.
Thus, the first number drawn was 258,
and the man in each district who had
received that number was the first to
report to the local board. If there were
not 258 men in the district, then the first
man called was the one holding the first
sufficiently low number drawn at Wash-
ington. It took sixteen and a half hours
to draw the 10,500 numbers.
A Historic Occasion
The drawing of the numbers was made
the occasion of an interesting ceremony.
The scene was one of the rooms in the
Senate Office Building, and the centre
of the stage was taken by Newton D.
Baker, Secretary of War. He opened
the proceedings with a brief address, in
which he said:
We have met this morning- to conduct
the lot or draft by which the national
army and such additions as may be nec-
essary to bring the regular army and the
National Guard up to war strength are
to be selected. This is an occasion of
very great dignity and some solemnity.
It represents the first application of a
principle believed by many of us to be
throughly democratic, equal and fair in
selecting soldiers to defend the national
honor abroad and at home.
I take this occasion to say that every
step has been most honestly studied with
a view not only to preserving throughout
the utmost fairness in the selection, but
also to preserve all those appearances of
fairness which are necessary to satisfy
the country that this great selection has
been made in accordance with every prin-
ciple of justice.
There are assembled here this morning
In addition to officers of the army, who
are going to conduct for the most part the
mechanical part of the work, the Chief of
Staff, the Adjutant General, and other
men high in the military establishment,
and the drawing is to be held under the
observation of the Senate and House Mili-
tary Committees, so that both the execu-
tive and legislative branches of the Gov-
ernment are here to see that fairness is
given to every person.
Secretary Baker then introduced Gen-
eral Crowder, who succinctly explained
the process of the lottery and the pro-
gram of the War Department to acquaint
each one of the men registered on June
5 with information regarding the priority
of his examination for service with the
National Army. As General Crowder con-
cluded, a handkerchief was tied about the
eyes of Secretary Baker, the camera
squad focused their instruments, the cal-
cium light of the movie operators played
upon the big blackboards in the rear, and
the lottery began.
Drawing the First Numbers
Secretary Baker plunged his hand into
the large glass jar containing the 10,500
numbers inclosed in capsules and drew
one, announcing to the spectators, " I
have drawn the first number." A clerk
assigned by the War Department opened
the capsule and announced " 258." An
officer seated at the long table upon
which were spread the tally sheets re-^
peated the number, and another clerk
walked to a large blackboard at the rear
and wrote upon it the figures. Senator
Chamberlain of Oregon, likewise blind-
folded, drew the second number. He was
plainly nervous. His hand was guided
to the top of the jar, which was fourteen
inches in diameter. " The second number
is 2,522," said the announcer, and again
there came the click of the cameras, the
rustle of copy paper, and the murmur
of excited men and women who thronged
the committee room.
Members of Congress and high offi-
cials of the army attended the start of
the drawing. Eight numbers were drawn
by officials before the ceremony became
routine, with students from various uni-
versities acting as the blindfolded with-
drawers of the fateful capsules. Chair-
man Dent of the House Committee on
Military Affairs drew the third gelatin
capsule from the jar. The number with-
in was 9,613. In turn Senator Warren,
Representative Kahn, the ranking Repub-
lican of the House Committee on Military
Affairs; Major Gen. Tasker H. Bliss,
Acting Chief of Staff; Provost Marshal
General Enoch H. Crowder, and Adjt.
Gen. McCain were blindfolded and led to
the glass bowl.
386
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
A round of applause greeted the ap-
pearance of General Crowder, who had
worked tirelessly for days perfecting
the details of the nation-wide lottery.
Adjt. Gen. McCain, too, was applauded
by the throng which crowded the com-
mittee rooms. Members of the Senate
and House Committees on Military Af-
fairs and other members of Congress oc-
cupied seats of honor at the drawing.
The unprecedented ceremony seemed
particularly to impress Representative
Julius Kahn, who had led the Administra-
tion's fight in the House for the Army
Draft bill. " It is an inspiring sight,"
he commented as he left the room soon
after the proceedings settled down to a
routine basis. Mr. Kahn was born in
Germany and came to the United States
when a child. The thrilling statement
printed at the end of this article was
issued by him on July 20. As the eighth
number was drawn by an official, Secre-
tary Baker said: "We will wait a
" moment while the photographers re-
" move their apparatus. Meanwhile I
" want to ask that perfect quiet prevail.
" This is a most important occasion and
* absolute quiet is necessary."
Work of Regular Tellers
John H. Phillips, a student of Prince-
ton University, was the first " regular
teller " who took his place at the glass
jar and began to draw out the capsules
— black looking affairs, because the
paper upon which the numbers were
written was coated black on the outer
surface. It was impossible for any one
to examine the exterior of a capsule and
ascertain the number within. The blind-
folding lent an additional touch of the
dramatic to the event, but it was unnec-
essary. Every few minutes Major Gen.
C. A. Devol, delegated by Secretary
Baker to guard the glass container,
walked over to stir the capsules with a
long wooden spoon. On the handle of
the spoon was a piece of bunting, red,
white, and blue. General Devol stirred
deeply, bringing the capsules at the bot-
tom to the top and a few moments later
sending the capsules at the top to the
bottom. While this stirring process was
on there was a momentary pause in the
recording of. the numbers. The only
interruptions were the frequent changes
of tired announcers and tabulators and
the removal of the blackboards. When a
group of 500 numbers had been written
the first section of the board was taken
out to be photographed to establish an
absolute record, while a second section
was substituted.
The lottery ended at 2:15 o'clock on
the morning of July 21, and later the
same day the figures were officially
checked and rechecked in the office of
General Crowder. There were a number
of tally sheets kept simultaneously, in
addition to the recording of the drawn
numbers on two blackboards, and every
number was gone over and checked by
a force of experts under the supervision
of army officers. The result of the draw-
ing was set into type at the Government
Printing Office. " Master sheets " con-
taining the numbers in the order in which
they were drawn were then sent by Gen-
eral Crowder to each Governor and
distributed to each local registration
board.
Appointing the District Boards
Another step accomplished was the ap-
pointment of the district boards of the
States and the announcement of the
names of the five men who composed
each of them. Some States have six or
eight boards to ease the task, Federal
judicial districts, the areas used for geo-
graphical location of the boards, being
divided into two or three parts for that
purpose and a separate board named for
each. These district boards have no
function until the local boards in their
territory have begun to certify to them
the men found fitted for military duty
physically and not burdened with de-
pendents. The higher boards are courts
of appeal, either for the individual or for
the Government, against the findings of
the local boards. The whole question of
industrial exemption, however, has been
turned over directly to these district
'boards, which have original jurisdiction
in all cases of this kind. They are sole
judges of any registered man's field of
greatest service to the nation, whether
in the army or in the munition factory,
business house, or other civilian occupa-
tion in which he is engaged. Each case
MUSTERING OUR ARMED FORCES
387
is weighed on its merits and the value
of the individual, for there is no blanket
exemption for the other classes specific-
ally named in the law. Even they must
file affidavits showing their status, to
be supported in such matters as the board
may determine.
The War Department, having com-
pleted the work of deciding the order in
which registrants should be called for
examination, drew up a list showing the
quota which each State would have to
furnish toward the 687,000 men required
in the first draft. Each State in turn de-
termined the quotas for its registration
districts. To allow for exemptions, the
number called up in each district was
double that of the quota, but as it was
soon found, when the examinations be-
gan at the end of July, that there was a
very high percentage of rejects on phys-
ical grounds and an unexpectedly higher
percentage of claims for exemption, many
more men on the lists had to be called
up. At this writing the work of exam-
ination is proceeding all over the country.
Sporadic cases of resistance to the ex-
ecution of the conscription law were re-
ported from some parts of the country,
mostly in the South and Southwest. At
the outset most of the agitation was in
the mountain regions of the South, but
it spread later to other districts, and
one of the most serious revolts against
the law was in Texas. The Department
of Justice was informed that fifty-three
members of the Farmers' and Laborers'
Protective Association had been indicted
in the United States court at Dallas for
an organized attempt to resist the draft.
In Oklahoma farmers were reported to
have armed to prevent Federal officers
from executing the draft law. There was
also said to be organized resistance in
Georgia. Through an agent of the In-
ternal Revenue Service the Department
of Justice learned of a revolt against the
draft in Western North Carolina.
An Appeal to American Patriotism
Representative Julius Kahn of Cali-
fornia, a German-born American, made
the following statement on the occasion
of the drawing of the numbers under the
conscription law on July 20, 1917:
For the fourth time in our history we
are ready to fight for the right of Amer-
ican citizens to sail the seas untram-
meled. Our first difficulty after the
Revolution was with France. In 1798
we- broke off diplomatic relations with
that Government. We ordered the im-
mediate construction of a fleet of many
vessels. Washington was appointed, by
act of Congress, commander of the Amer-
ican forces. France had interfered with
our ships and our shipping. We were
determined to fight rather than submit.
France yielded our rights, and the inci-
dent was closed.
In 1812 we fought England for the
rights of American citizens on the seas.
Every schoolboy is familiar with the his-
tory of that war. In 1815 we threw
down the gage of battle for the third
time and fought the Barbary corsairs
who interfered with American ships in
the Mediterranean. We brought them to
terms and compelled them to recognize
American rights on the seas without the
payment of any tribute.
Now we are at war with Germany to
protect again the rights of Americans on
the seas. Today the National Army of
the United States is being formed through
the medium of the draft. Hundreds of
thousands of our citizens between the
ages of 21 and 31 years will give their
lives, if need be, to the service of the
country.
To those who were drawn to bear the
burdens of the Republic on the field of
battle I would like to recall an incident
in our national life. In 1798, when we
broke off relations with France, the Con-
gress appointed George Washington as
commander of the American forces. He
was in retirement at Mount Vernon. The
Secretary of War himself brought the
commission to General Washington and
announced to him the action of Con-
gress.
Washington was in the field at the
time harvesting his crops. When the
matter was stated to him by the Secre-
tary of War, he said:
388
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
" I am ready for any service that I
can give to my country."
In that spirit I am sure the young
men of this day will accept their obliga-
tion to the Republic. In that spirit they
will again show the world that American
rights must be observed by all the world.
In that spirit they will make it possible
for future generations to continue still to
enjoy the blessings of liberty which this
country vouchsafed to its humblest citi-
zens. In that spirit they will again
c&rry the American colors to victory,
and may God defend the right.
The United States Army in France
The number of American soldiers in
France is gradually increasing as addi-
tional contingents arrive, and the train-
ing of these men with the assistance of
French and British instructors is mak-
ing excellent progress. These are the
two principal facts of the last month
regarding the United States Army in
France.
The entire army is divided into squads,
the majority of which are billeted out
with the inhabitants of the district in
which the training camp is located. The
first official inspection of the camp and
the quarters where troops are billeted
was made by Major Gen. William L. Si-
bert on July 19. The result of the in-
spection was apparently satisfactory in
the main, for the General criticised but
seldom, and everywhere had a good
word for the results achieved by the
troops in cleaning up the quarters into
which they had moved. The encamp-
ment has almost metamorphosed the
thoroughly and distinctively French town
into an American community, notwith-
standing the fact that the soldiers have
taken notable pains to adapt themselves
to the customs and habits of their hosts.
Actual intensive training began on
July 25. Trenches were dug in the way
of practice with an enthusiasm almost
equal to that with which soldiers dig
themselves in under actual artillery fire.
These trenches were of full depth and
were duplicates of certain sections of
the front line, consisting of front, or fire,
trenches, support trenches, and reserve
trenches, with intricate communication
trenches connecting them. Dummies
were constructed for bayonet practice,
and the men taught the six most vital
points of attack. Later instruction in
the use of gas masks was begun under
British officers.
General Pershing made a thorough in-
spection of the training centres on Aug.
1 and 2. He also inspected various
places suggested for his field quarters,
in anticipation of removing from Paris
to near the troops in training. At the
end of the first day's inspection General
Pershing said:
Our principal concern just now. of
course, is to perfect the army organiza-
tion. This is a big task, but it is moving
along smoothly and in a most satisfactory
manner.
The work at certain ports of disem-
barkation is well started. Railroad ma-
terial is coming over as rapidly as can
be arranged. The progress we have made
' thus far with the assistance of the French
is a source of great satisfaction to me.
Billets and training ground for the men
are as well located as could be expected
at this time of the year, when space is
limited by crops in the field.
After these are removed we shall have
plenty of space for lodging and training
the divisions that are to come. Some of
the places where men are now sleeping
are not all that could be desired, but this
soon will be remedied by the construction
of portable barracks. Training is progress-
ing very well with the assistance of the
French.
Official announcement was made on
July 18 that the United States transport
service was taking over control of the
French railroad lines from the port bases
to the permanent camp and the front.
Tracks were laid and sidings enlarged.
A section of the French State forests
has been turned over to the United
States. American lumbermen are taking
out lumber for railroad ties, barracks,
and other purposes. In addition to this,
30,000 tons of lumber are being imported
from America monthly.
Troops Greeted in London
A great demonstration took place in
London on Aug. 15, when a large con-
tingent of United States troops marched
MUSTERING OUR ARMED FORCES
389
through the streets, escorted by all the
famous bands of the Guards, English,
Scotch, and Irish, and were reviewed by-
Ambassador Page and Admiral Sims
from the balcony of the embassy in
Grosvenor Gardens, and afterward by
King George at Buckingham Palace.
British soldiers on their way to the front
and wounded men recently sent back
from the firing line joined in the demon-
stration, the like of which had not been
witnessed since the frenzied scenes which
marked the return of the troops from
the Boer war.
A meeting of the Cabinet was in prog-
ress when the Americans approached
Whitehall. It was promptly adjourned
and the Premier and his colleagues hur-
ried in a body to the War Office. As the
Americans passed the Horse Guards
Parade to' Whitehall they were greeted
from the windows of the War Office by
Premier Lloyd George, Foreign Secre-
tary Balfour, Chancellor^ Bonar Law,
War Secretary Derby, Winston Spencer
Churchill, Minister of Munitions; George
N. Barnes, member of the War Council;
Admiral Jellicoe, and other high officials,
as well as by French and Belgian officers.
The greatest crowd gathered in front
of Buckingham Palace. The King, accom-
panied by the Queen, Queen Alexandra,
Princess Mary, Field Marshal French,
commander of the home forces; the
household staff, and officers, took his
place at the gate. The Americans then
filed past, eyes left, officers at salute,
while the bands played and the cheering
and waving of flags continued. As the
first Stars and Stripes passed with the
ranks the King and his party raised
their hands in salute. The flag was
dipped, and the crowd roared approval
so vigorously that the King was forced
to smile. As each flag passed the King
saluted, and the enthusiasm of the crowd
became almost uncontrollable. After the
review the Americans camped tempo-
rarily in Green Park, at the rear of the
palace.
Food Dictator for the United States
Law to Control War Supplies Places Large
Powers in the Hands of Herbert C. Hoover
A WAR measure endowing the Pres-
ident with far-reaching powers
over the nation's food supplies
became law on Aug. 10, 1917.
Herbert C. Hoover, who was thereupon
formally appointed Food Administrator
by President Wilson, immediately served
notice on speculators and profiteers that
the time of reckoning had come if they
were not ready to co-operate with the
Government to obtain lower prices for
the American consumer and help supply
the Allies with foodstuffs.
The Government's food control pro-
gram was outlined in a statement issued
by President Wilson on May 19, in which
he said:
The objects sought to be served by the
legislation asked for are : Full inquiry
into the existing available stocks of food-
stuffs and into the costs and practices of
the various food producing and distribut-
ing trades ; the prevention of all unwar-
ranted hoarding of every kind and of the
control of foodstuffs by persons who are
not in any legitimate sense producers,
dealers, or traders ; the requisitioning
when necessary for the public use of
food supplies and of the equipment neces-
sary for handling them properly; the
licensing of wholesome and legitimate
mixtures and milling percentages, and the
prohibition of the unnecessary or waste-
ful use of foods.
Authority is asked also to establish
prices, but not in order to limit the
profits of the farmers, but only to guar-
antee to them when necessary a minimum
price which will insure . them a profit
where they are asked to attempt new
crops and to secure the consumer against
extortion by breaking up corners and at-
tempts at speculation, when they occur,
by fixing temporarily a reasonable price
at which middlemen must sell.
S90
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
After nearly two months' delay in the
Senate the Administration Food Control
bill was passed by that body on Aug.
8. One of the chief objections made by
the Senate was to the appointment of one
man who would practically have dicta-
torial powers. But the Senate eventually
yielded, as it also did in eliminating the
amendment by which it had sought to
create a Congressional board to super-
vise the conduct of the war.
Statement by Mr. Hoover
Immediately after his formal appoint-
ment, Mr. Hoover issued a statement in
the course of which he said:
The hopes of the food administration
are threefold. First, to so guide the trade
in the fundamental food commodities as
to eliminate vicious speculation, extortion,
and wasteful practices and to stabilize
prices in the essential staples. Second,
to guard our exports so* that against the
world's shortage we retain sufficient sup-
plies for our own people, and to co-operate
with the Allies to prevent inflation of
prices, and third, that we stimulate in
every manner within our power the saving
of our food in order that we may in-
crease exports to our Allies to a point
which will enable them to properly pro-
vision their armies and to feed their
peoples during the coming Winter.
The food administration is called into
being to stabilize and not to disturb con-
ditions and to defend honest enterprise
against illegitimate competition. If there
are men or organizations scheming to
increase the trials of this country, we
shall not hesitate to apply to the full the
drastic, coercive powers that Congress has
conferred upon us in this instrument.
The deep obligation is upon us to feed
the armies and the peoples associated
with us in this struggle. The diversion
of 40,000,000 of their men to war or war
work ; the additional millions of women
drafted to the places of their husbands
and brothers ; the toll of the submarine,
have all conspired to so reduce produc-
tion that their harvests this Autumn will
fall 500,000,000 bushels of grain below
their normal production.
Therefore, whereas we exported before
the war but 80,000,000 bushels of wheat
per annum, this year, by one means or
another, we must find for them 225,000,000
bushels, and this in the face of a short
crop. Our best will but partly meet their
needs, for even then they must reduce
their bread consumption 25 per cent., and
it will be war bread they must eat— war
bread, of which a large portion consists
of other cereals.
Already the greater call for meat and
animal products, due to the stress of war
on the millions of men on the fighting
line and the enhanced physical labor of
populations ordinarily subsisting on
lighter diets, coupled with the inadequate
world supply, have compelled our allies
to kill upward of 33,000,000 head of their
* stock animals. This is burning the candle
at both ends, for they are thus stifling
their annual production. Therefore, not
only must we increase their supplies of
meat and dairy products, but must pre-
pare, as war goes on, to meet an even
greater demand for these necessary com-
modities.
France and Italy formerly produced
their own sugar, while England and Ire-
land imported largely from Germany.
Owing to the inability of the first named
to produce more than one-third of their
needs, and the necessity for the others
to import from other markets, they all
must come to the West Indies for very
large supplies and therefore deplete our
own resources.
Because of the shortage of shipping
only the most concentrated of foods,
wheat, grain, beef, pork, and dairy
products and sugar can be sent across
the seas. Fortunately we have for our
own use a superabundance of foodstuffs
of other kinds— the perishables, fish, corn,
and other cereals— and surely our first
manifest duty is to substitute these for
those other products which are of greater
use to our fellow-fighters.
Our second duty is to eliminate wastes
to the last degree. Seventy per cent, of
our people are well known to be as thrifty
and careful as any in the world, and they
consume but little or no more than is
necessary to maintain their physical
strength. It is not too much to ask the
other 30 per cent., by simpler living, to
reduce their consumption. The substitu-
tions we ask impose no hardships.
There is no royal road to food conser-
vation. It can be accomplished only
through sincere and earnest daily co-oper-
ation in the 20,000,000 kitchens and at the
20,000,000 dinner tables of the United
States. If we can reduce our consumption
of wheat flour by one pound, our meat
by seven ounces, our fat by seven ounces,
our sugar by seven ounces per person per
week, those quantities, multiplied by 100,-
000,000, will immeasurably aid and encour-
age our allies, help our own growing
armies and so effectively serve the great
and noble cause of humanity In which
our nation has embarked.
Wheat Speculation Stopped
Mr. Hoover's first step was to an-
nounce a sweeping scheme to regulate
wheat and flour supplies. In a state-
ment issued on Aug. 12 he said that,
FOOD DICTATOR FOR THE UNITED STATES
391
with the full approval of President Wil-
son, the price to be paid for the wheat
crop of 1917 would be fixed by a com-
mission headed by Harry A. Garfield,
son of the late President James A. Gar-
field, and President of Williams Col-
lege. Gambling on the Wheat Ex-
changes, Mr. Hoover asserted, must end,
even if the Government had to purchase
the entire wheat supply of the nation.
As a preliminary step, Mr. Hoover de-
cided to take over control of all grain
elevators and all mills with a daily ca-
pacity of over 100 barrels of flour and
place them under a system of licenses
which would make hoarding impossible.
The Grain Exchanges at the same time
were to be requested to suspend all deal-
ings in futures. The Food Administra-
tion, despite the protests of some of the
bread-making interests, considered the
present level of prices extortionate.
There was no intimation as to the
price which would be fixed for the 1917
crop, but Mr. Hoover was careful to
point out that the minimum of $2 a
bushel fixed by the Food Control act did
not apply to it, and affected next year's
crop only, under restrictions to be later
explained.
Flour Contracts Unlawful
The text of Mr. Hoover's announce-
ment read:
With a view to determining a fair price,
the President has approved the appoint-
ment of a committee, to be selected from
representatives of the producing sections
and consuming elements in the commu-
nity. The committee will be assembled
under the Chairmanship of President Gar-
field of Williams College, and it will be
the duty of this committee to determine
a fair price for the 1917 harvest.
Upon the determination of this fair basis
it is the intention of the Food Adminis-
tration to use every authority given it
under the bill and the control of exports
to effect the universality of this fair basis
throughout the whole of the 1917 harvest
year, without change or fluctuation. It
should thus be clear that it will not be
to the advantage of any producer to hold
back his grain in anticipation of further
advance, for he will do so only at his own
cost of storage and interest, and, if it is
necessary for the Government to buy the
entire wheat harvest in order to maintain
this fair price in protection of the pro-
ducer, we intend to do so.
Furthermore, the holding of wheat or
flour contracts by persons not engaged in
the trade, and even when in trade, in
larger quantities than is necessary for the
ordinary course of their business is un-
lawful under the food act, and such cases
will be prosecuted with vigor. We would
advise such holders to liquidate their con-
tracts at once.
Immediate Drop in Prices
A Chicago dispatch, dated Aug. 12,
stated that the signing of the Food Con^
trol bill had caused a drop in prices of
grain, vegetables, and poultry. Cash
corn registered a decline of 25 and 27
cents a bushel. Prices in St. Louis and
Peoria fell off 30 and 32 cents a bushel.
The last Chicago quotation, $1.85,
showed a loss of 50 cents in three days.
Futures were affected, December going
to $1.14. Wheat declined 4 cents a
bushel, selling down to $2.15, within 15
cents of the minimum established by the
bill. Hogs at the yards sold at the high-
est prices ever known, one lot bringing
$17.25 a hundred pounds. Since March 1
hog packing had fallen off 225,000, com-
pared with the same period last year.
Pork was now selling higher than beef
and poultry. Beef sold as high as $14.50,
almost a record price. Lard was 22.75
cents a pound, 10 cents higher than the
same time last year. Pork was $17 a
barrel higher, at $43.17. Potatoes sold
for $1.50 a bushel, $2 down from the
high price. Poultry was down 2 and 3
cents a pound, turkeys at 14 cents and
17 cents for chickens. Eggs were down
2 cents, at 30 cents for firsts. Butter
was down 1 cent, to 37 cents.
Federal Wheat Corporation
A $50,000,000 corporation, with all the
stock held by the United States Govern-
ment, was established on Aug. 15 to buy
and sell wheat at the principal terminals.
Preparations were made to take over the
entire 1917 wheat crop, if necessary, to
stabilize the price of wheat throughout
the year. The move was one of a series
largely with the object to reduce the
price of bread. Millers had already
agreed to put themselves under voluntary
regulations and were working out with
the food administration a differential of
profits.
In announcing the formation of the
392
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
wheat corporation, the food administra-
tion also made known the personnel of
a committee to fix the price for this
year's wheat yield and the names of
twelve purchasing agents for the cor-
poration at terminals. The wheat cor-
poration was put under the Administra-
tion's grain division. Its Chairman is
Herbert C. Hoover and its President
Julius Barnes, a Duluth exporter, who
has been serving as a voluntary aid in
the food administration. The price-fixing
committee is headed by President Gar-
field of Williams College, and will com-
prise twelve members, representing pro-
ducers and consumers.
Pope Benedict's Appeal for Peace
Official Text of His Proposal
PRESS dispatches from Rome on
Aug. 14, 1917, announced that the
Pope was issuing a peace proposal
in the form of an identic letter
to all the belligerent powers, and added
an official outline of the document.
The British Foreign Office published the
French text and an English translation
of the Pope's appeal on the evening of
the 15th, with Cardinal Gasparri's note
of transmission. The translation made by
the State Department at Washington,
and given to the public on the morning
of Aug. 16, is as follows:
To the Rulers of the Belligerent Peoples :
From the beginning of our Pontificate,
in the midst of the horrors of the awful
war let loose on Europe, we have had of
all things three in mind : To maintain per-
fect impartiality toward all the belliger-
ents, as becomes him who is the common
father and loves all his children with
equal affection, continually to endeavor
to do them all as much good as possible,
without exception of person, without dis-
tinction of nationality or religion, as is
dictated to us by the universal law of
charity as well as by the supreme spir-
itual charge with which we have been in-
trusted by Christ; finally, as also required
by our mission of peace, to omit nothing,
as far as it lay in our power, that could
contribute to expedite the end of these
calamities by endeavoring to bring the
peoples and their rulers to more moderate
resolutions, to the serene deliberation of
peace, of a " just and lasting " peace.
Whoever has watched our endeavors in
these three grievous years that have just
elapsed could easily see that, while we
remained ever true to our resolution of
absolute impartiality and beneficent ac-
tion, we never ceased to urge the bellig-
erent peoples and Governments again to
be brothers, although all that we did to
reach this very noble goal wag not made
public.
About the end of the first year of the
war we addressed to the contending na-
tions the most earnest exhortations, and
in addition pointed to the path that would
lead to a stable peace honorable to all.
Unfortunately our appeal was not heed-
ed, and the war was fiercely carried on
for two years more, with all its horrors.
It became even more cruel, and spread
over land and sea, and even to the air,
and desolation and death were seen to fall
upon defenseless cities, peaceful villages,
and their innocent people.
And now no one can imagine how much
the general suffering would increase if
other months or, still worse, other years
were added to this sanguinary triennium.
Is this civilized world to be turned into a
field of death, and is Europe, so glorious
and flourishing, to rush, as carried by a
universal folly,, to the abyss and take a
hand in its own suicide?
In so distressing a situation, in the
presence of so grave a menace, we, who
have no personal political aim, who listen
to the suggestions or interests of none of
the belligerents, but are solely actuated
by the sense of our supreme duty as the
common father of the faithful, by the
solicitations of our children who implore
our intervention and peace-bearing word,
uttering the very voice of humanity and
reason — we again call for peace, and we
renew a pressing appeal to those who
have in their hands the destinies of the
nations. But no longer confining ourslves
to general terms, as we were led to do
by circumstances in the past, we will now
come to more concrete and practical pro-
posals and invite the Governments of both
belligerent peoples to arrive at an agree-
ment on the following points, which seem
to offer the base of a just and lasting
peace, leaving it with them to make them
more precise and complete.
First, the fundamental point must be
that the material force of arms shall give
POPE BENEDICTS APPEAL FOR PEACE
393
way to the moral force of right, whence
shall proceed a just agreement of all
upon the simultaneous and reciprocal de-
crease of armaments, according to rules
and guarantees to be established, in the
necessary and sufficient measure for the
maintenance of public order in every
State ; then, taking the place of arms, the
institution of arbitration, with its high
pacifying function, according to rules to
be drawn in concert and under sanctions
to be determined against any State which
would decline either to refer international
questions to arbitration or to accept its
awards.
When supremacy of right is thus estab-
lished, let every obstacle to ways of com-
munication of the peoples be removed by
insuring, through rules to be also deter-
mined, the true freedom and community
of the seas, which, on the one hand,
would eliminate any causes of conflict,
and, on the other hand, would open to all
new sources of prosperity and progress.
As for the damages to be repaid and the
cost of the war, we see no other way of
solving the question than by setting up
the general principle of entire and recip-
rocal conditions, which would be justified
by the immense benefit to be derived
from disarmament, all the more as one
could not understand that such carnage
could go on for mere economic reasons.
If certain particular reasons stand against
this in certain cases, let them be weighed
in justice and equity.
But these specific agreements, with the
immense advantages that flow from them,
are not possible unless territory now oc-
cupied is reciprocally restituted. There-
fore, on the part of Germany, there should
be total evacuation of Belgium, with
guarantees of its entire political, military,
and economic independence toward any
power whatever ; evacuation also of the
French territory ; on the part of the other
belligerents, a similar restitution of the
German colonies.
As regards territorial questions, as, for
instance, those that are disputed by Italy
and Austria, by Germany and France,
there is reason to hope that, in considera-
tion of the immense advantages of dur-
able peace with disarmament, the con-
tending parties will examine them in a
conciliatory spirit, taking into account,
as far as is just and possible, as we have
said formerly, the aspirations of the popu-
lation, and, if occasion arises, adjusting
private interests to the general good of
the great human society.
The same spirit of equity and justice
must guide the examination of the other
territorial and political questions, notably
those relative to Armenia, the Balkan
States, and the territories forming part
of the old Kingdom of Poland, for which
in particular, its noble historical tradi-
tions and suffering, particularly under-
gone in the present war, must win, with
justice, the sympathies of the nations.
These we believe are the main basis
upon which must rest the future reorgan-
ization of the peoples. They are such as
to make the recurrence of such conflicts
impossible and open the way for the solu-
tion of the economic question, which is so
important for the future and the material
welfare of all of the belligerent States.
And so, in presenting them to you, who at
this tragic hour judge the destinies of the
belligerent nations, we indulge a gratify-
ing hope, that they will be accepted and
that we shall thus see an early termination,
of the terrible struggle which has more
and more the appearance of a useless
massacre.
Everybody acknowledges, on- the other
hand, that on both sides the honor of
arms is safe. Do not, then, turn a deaf ear
to our prayer, but accept the international
invitation which we extend to you in the
name of the Divine Redeemer, Prince of
Peace. Bear in mind your very grave
responsibility to God and man. On your
decision depend the quiet and joy of num-
berless families, the lives of thousands of
young men, the happiness, in a word, of
the people, for whom it is your imperative
duty to secure this boon.
May the Lord inspire you with decisions
comformable to His very holy will. May
Heaven grant that in winning the ap-
plause of your contemporaries you will
also earn from the future generations the
great title of pacificators.
And for us, closely united in prayer and
penitence with all the faithful souls who
yearn for peace, we implore for you the
divine spirit, enlightenment, and guidance.
Given at the Vatican Aug. 1, 1917.
BENEDICTUS P. M. XV.
Cardinal Gasparris Note
The Papal Secretary, Cardinal Gas-
parri, sent the following note of trans-
mission with the copy of the Pope's
appeal addressed to the King of England :
Your Majesty : The Holy Father, anx-
ious to do everything he can in order to
put an end to the conflict which for the
last three years has ravaged the civilized
world, has decided to submit to the lead-
ers of the belligerent peoples concrete
peace proposals exposed in a document
which I have the honor to attach to this
letter. May God grant that the words of
his Holiness will this time produce the
desired effect for the good of the whole
of humanity.
The Holy See, not having diplomatic re-
lations with the French Government or
with the Government of Italy or of the
United States, I very respectfully beg
your Majesty to be good enough to have
handed a copy of his Holiness's appeal to
304
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
the President of the French Republic, to
his Majesty the King of Italy, and to the
President of the United States. I also
beg to add twelve other copies, which I
request that your Majesty be good enough
to hand to the leaders of the nations
friendly to the Allies, with the exception,
however, of Russia, Belgium, and Brazil,
to whom the document has been sent
direct.
In expressing to your Majesty my sincere
thanks for this extreme kindness, I am
happy to take the opportunity to offer you
the homage of sentiment and very pro-
found respect with which I have the honor
to sign myself.
Your Majesty's very humble and devoted
servant. GASPARRI.
Sentiment of the Nations
The peace proposal of Pope Benedict
was received witk diverse comments in
different circles and nations. The senti-
ment expressed in the allied countries
indicated the likelihood of a respectful
refusal by the Entc te. Comment in the
press of the Central Powers was gener-
ally favorable, notably in tkat of the
Catholic Centre Party, whose leader,
Herr Erzberger, had some time ago
formulated a similar peace program. In
many Entente quarters the Pope's pro-
posal was adversely criticised because it
contained no condemnation of German
atrocities, the invasion of Belgium, or
the submarine warfare. In reply to this
charge the Vatican on Aug. 17 issued a
supplementary statement thus summar-
ized in a Rome dispatch:
A semi-official statement issued today
says the Vatican considers the reproach
of a part of the press that the Holy See
has not condemned violations of law, such
as atrocities committed, is unjust, since
Pope Benedict, faithful to his principle of
impartiality, in his note had the intention
of acting as peacemaker, and not as
judge, and also because he lacks the nec-
essary powers to do so. No peacemaker,
the statement adds, would have the faint-
est chance of success if he began by try-
ing to prove which side is right and which
is wrong. The Pontiff went as far as pos-
sible, the statement continues, to make
understood what his feelings are without
risking the failure of his proposal on the
rocks of Austro-German ill-feeling. Be-
sides, it concludes, the Papal proposals
were in solemn condemnation of those re-
sponsible for the war methods adopted
and the barbarities committed.
Military Events of the Month
From July 18 to August 18, 1917
By Walter Littlefield
ATTENTION has been particularly
concentrated during the last
thirty-one days on three sectors
of the western front, and on one
of the eastern — at Ypres, Lens, and the
Aisne, and in Bukowina and Moldavia.
On the Italian front — in the Trentino
and along the Julian and Carso sectors —
there have been a succession of bombard-
ments, but whether these foreshadow an
Austrian offensive in the former, and an
Italian offensive in the latter, or merely
the consolidation of positions, is not
known. However, by a series of bom-
bardments from their famous Caproni
airplanes on the Austrian naval base of
Pola and other strategic and fortified po-
sitions of the enemy, the Italians appear
to have gained the mastery of the air in
the Upper Adriatic. News from the Brit-
ish fronts in Palestine and Mesopotamia
reveals the fact that the armies there are
preparing for assault in force by the en-
emy.
Although the strategy maintained on
the Aisne, in Champagne, is the same as
it has been from the beginning, further
west, the great German retreat of last
Spring has caused the Allies to make
several modifications in the method and
place of attack. Whereas, in the battle
of the Somme the objectives were purely
military, they now have a decided eco-
nomic and moral significance. In the
first place, the air service has laid bare
the German lines of communication and
their industrial and supply bases, and,
in the second, it has been demonstrated
\ni,nE
rwHF
MILITARY EVENTS OF THE MONTH
that from whatever terrain the enemy
may withdraw he leaves behind him a
desert waste, whether the material de-
stroyed be of military or industrial or of
mere civic or sentimental value. These
considerations, therefore, have been
found to qualify, if not actually to limit,
the recent military operations of Gener-
als Haig and Petain.
Hence, it may be convenient to separate
the military from the non-military phases
of the engagements, for the contrast may
be summed up in the statement that the
military advantage would have to be
greater than there seems the remotest
hope of gaining to offset the wanton
destruction of a town like Lille, which
would be likely to attend deliberate Ger-
man evacuation quite as much as occupa-
tion by assault. And Lille is to the north-
ern part of the line in France what Laon,
with its blast furnaces and mediaeval
buildings, is to the southern part. And
both Lille and Laon, as well as the new
factories established by the Germans at
St. Quentin, are supplied with fuel from
the great coalfields of Lens, which before
the war produced 15,000,000 tons a year
and employed 25,000 hands. Thus we
have an explanation of the fact that for
the last month the attacks of the Allies
have concentrated at Lens rather than at
St. Quentin, although the possession of
the latter would be of more military
value on account of its control of the
German line to the southeast, in the
Champagne.
The Battle of Flanders
The British salient at Ypres is no more.
It had been a military accident which
resulted from the great defensive
manoeuvres of November, 1914, when Sir
John French was almost flanked ere he
could form a junction with the Belgians,
and the French reinforcements arrived
which were to save Dunkirk. It has
since been maintained at great tactical
expense and merely for political reasons.
German guns from the east commanded
every direct approach and the town itself
was soon a mass of ruins. For the Allies
it was the weakest sector on the whole
front. For three years the alternative
had been the constant preoccupation of
the British and French General Staffs:
to efface it by either abandonment or ex-
pansion. Twice had an attempt to achieve
the latter failed.
These attacks failed because they were
directed against its centre, and its cen-
tre was covered by the German guns on
Messines Ridge, lying to the south. With
the greatest mine and bombardment
preparation in the history of the war the
British, on June 7, captured this ridge.
This capture made what has been called
the Third Battle of Ypres, or the Battle
of Flanders, possible. So far it consists
of two phases — the first of a single day,
July 31, the second begun on Aug. 16.
In both attacks French troops co-oper-
ated in the northern part of the offen-
sive. In the first an advance was made
over a front of fifteen miles — from the
River Lys to the Yser, the enemy's posi-
tions were penetrated to a depth of two
miles in the centre and to one mile on the
right centre, the powerfully defended
Sanctuary Wood and neighboring farms
captured, and the villages of La Basse-
ville, Hollebeke, Bixschoote, Verloren-
hoek, Frezenberg, St. Julien, Pilkem,
Hooge and Westhoek occupied. Nearly
5,000 prisoners were taken by the at-
tack arid in the ineffectual counterat-
tacks of the succeeding days. The first
two days of the second assault saw an
advance along a nine-mile front to the
northeast, with the capture of Lange-
marck and nearly 2,000 prisoners.
The capture of Pilkem is said to have
been a particularly fine performance on
the part of the guards, as they reached
their last goal without the assistance of
a barrage by creeping forward and stalk-
ing machine gun posts. In this way they
got to Steenbeck River, and threw
bridges across without serious opposi-
tion. The easiest advance was on the
northern side of the salient, where there
was an expanse of open ground, although
more or less waterlogged, like the rest of
the Plain of Flanders. Directly east of
the town of Ypres the advance was
greatly retarded owing to the unusual
character of the obstacles met — patches
of wood interlaced with shallow streams
and pools of water.
The first phase of the Battle of
Flanders demonstrated several things and
startled the Germans with at least one
396
THE NEW- YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
It 6CM.E OP MILES
BATTLE LINE AROUND LENS, (AUG. 18, 1917,) WHERE THE CANADIANS
HAVE BEEN WAGING A DESPERATE FIGHT FOR POSSESSION OF THIS
FRENCH MINING CENTRE
surprise. It established the mastery of
the British artillery over the German,
both in bombardment and barrage fire,
particularly with mid-calibre guns; it
hammered into pieces some thirteen di-
visions of the enemy; and it confirmed,
by many noteworthy experiences, the
value of " tanks " on rolling or flat sur-
faces, and the use of the bombad-plane in
protecting shell-craters from being occu-
pied by the enemy.
This last is of particular importance.
At a certain point the barrage fire which
has protected the advance of infantry
changes its shells from shrapnel to high
explosive, so that when the infantry reach
the designated point they find a line of
entrenchments formed by shell-craters
waiting for their occupancy. It had been
the custom of the Germans to anticipate
this by occupying the craters themselves
and facing the advancing infantry with
machine guns. In the Battle of Flanders
the curtain dropped by the bombad-
planes prevented this.
Although the f jrst and second phases
of the Battle of Flanders may be con-
sidered in natural sequence of the bat-
tles on the Somme and the Ancre, at
Vimy Ridge, and at Messines, it would be
idle to speculate in advance how the
sequel will develop. On no other front,
unless it be amid the Alps of the Tren-
tino, do weather conditions play such a
dominating role in shaping military
actions. All the elaborate resources with
which modern armies wage war have
not abolished their dependence on the
weather, whose arbitrary interventions
are only the more to be feared now that
the complexities of an attack make it im-
practicable to vary the date for it.
As to the objective of the Battle of
Flanders: In an effusive message to
Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria the German
Kaiser suggested that the Anglo-French
attack of July 31 was " intended to con-
quer the coast of Flanders." This coast,
with its submarine bases at Zeebrugge,
Ostend, and elsewhere on the shore, and
its aerodromes hidden on the downs,
certainly forms an inviting objective. On
this terrain, too, military strategy and
valor have more chance for endeavor than
they do amid the concrete-reinforced
walled towns and villages further south.
MILITARY EVENTS OF THE MONTH
397
Closing In on Lens
Lens was the elusive objective sought
in the Battle of Loos in September and
October, 1915, when Sir John French's
plan went wrong on account of lack of
co-ordination between artillery and
infantry. A salient, second in weakness
only to that of Ypres, was then left ex-
posed. This Loos salient was commanded
from the south by the Germans on the
Vimy Ridge, which bore the same relation
to it that the Messines Ridge did to the
Ypres salient. But Vimy Ridge also had
another function, it commanded the great
Arras salient to the south and, what is
more important, the Arras-Cambrai high-
way. If eliminated, the southern ap-
proaches to Lens would be thrown open
as well as the Arras-Cambrai highway.
It was eliminated — April 9 — and imme-
diately a British advance was made
astride the highway — the first leg of the
Hindenburg line — and preparations were
made to encircle Lens and its 200 square
miles of coal area.
Gradually the encircling took the form
of a pair of pincers. On July 20 the
Canadian troops reached a post in the
mine region to the north hardly 1,500
yards from the heart of Lens. Several
days earlier it had been revealed from
observations made on Vimy Ridge that
most of the buildings in the town had
been reinforced with concrete, just as St.
Quentin is known to have been, and all
indications showed that the Germans
were intending to hold the centre of the
city until their losses became unendur-
able.
Hill 65 to the west of the city was
taken in the middle of June, but Hill 70,
to the north, was not to succumb until
Aug. 15. Gradually at first and then
more rapidly have the jaws of the pincers
closed upon the Prussians from the
Rhinelands, men of the Fifty-sixth Divi-
sion, who hold this mining city. They
have put up one of the gamest fights of
the war — counterattacking sometimes
very fiercely, as at La Coulotte, just
south of Lens and west of Avion, where
the Canadian infantry pushed closer and
threatened their main defenses.
On the same day that Hill 70 fell,
whose formidable defenses had resisted
every assault in the battle of Loos, fell
also every defense which dominated the
city from the north — Cite Ste. Elizabeth,
Cite St. Laurent and the Bois Rase just
north of Hill 70.
On the day following Prince Rupprecht
SHADED SECTION INDICATES ALLIED
GAINS IN THE BATTLE OF FLANDERS
UP TO AUG. 18, 1917
made frantic efforts to capture the lost
positions, and ten times the Prussians
charged, each time driven back with
frightful slaughter and a heavy loss in
prisoners. The Seventh Division is said
to have been completely wiped out in a
sortie, while the Fourth Guard Division
fared little better. It was a day of ma-
chine gun and volley fire.
Although the capture of Lens would
open the way to Douai and flank, from
the north, the Siegfried line constructed
to protect that depot and Cambrai, yet
its importance to the Germans, aside
from the strategic obstruction it has pre-
sented to the Allies, is chiefly indus-
trial, as has already been indicated. And
this importance is commensurate with
the defense it has made.
Laon Threatened n>ith Investment
Laon, a beautiful city whose cathedral-
topped hill can be seen for miles around,
398
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
is held as a sort of architectural host-
age by the Germans for the preservation
of the blast furnaces they have estab-
lished there. One would hardly expect
them to evacuate it without leaving it
a mass of ruins. The Germans also have
a sentimental attachment to the place,
for here on March 9-10, 1814, the Prus-
sian Bliicher beat Napoleon.
But Laon is threatened with invest-
ment from two sides — from the north-
west and the southeast. The capture of
St. Quentin would open the way to the
first approach, and as long as the French
hold the Aisne front along the Chemin
des Dames and Craonne, with its pla-
teaus, the second is a constant source of
danger. Not impossible successes simul-
taneously achieved at both points would
probably mean the envelopment of the
city before the Germans could make good
their retreat or wreck the place.
Now the Chemin des Dames and the
Craonne terrain bear much the same re-
lation to Laon that the French line on
the edge of the Meuse-Moselle watershed
does to the great fortress of Metz. It
fell to the Crown Prince to attempt to
eliminate the latter in the battle of Ver-
dun. He is now attempting to eliminate
the other. So far it is proving as costly
in German lives as his Verdun enter-
prise. Since April 16 he has had seventy-
one divisions, or 1,065,000 men, engaged
in vain efforts to push the French back
from their threatening positions between
Soissons and Craonne and along the
Aisne.
Heavy German Losses
Having pulled off his coup d'etat at
Berlin on July 14, a week later he was
back on the front and began a new and
furious onslaught against Craonne and
its defensive plateaus, Vauclerc, Case-
mates, and Californie. Four days later
he diverted his attack, with the same
prodigious loss of men, from the Craonne
region to west of the Aisne — to a two-
mile front from La Bovelle to east of
the Hurtebise Farm. And so it has been
in this region ever since — furious as-
saults, a waste of men, and the French
standing firm or counterattacking with
vital results.
Now, aside from the military aspect
of this terrain in its relation to Laon,
already dwelt upon, there is also, as an
ever-present rule of action in all that
the Crown Prince does, the political as-
pect. And it has been said on high au-
thority that, somehow, somewhere, his
Imperial Highness had to secure a strik-
ing victory which would affect the mal-
contents at home, in the Reichstag, and
elsewhere. Whether the end which he
had in view was purely a military one
or not, the net result is that he has lost
very large numbers of men without gain-
ing anything in the way of observation
pests or a tithe of the area which rep-
resented his permanent achievements
against Verdun.
From the right bank of the Meuse the
French lines still threaten Metz across
the plain of the Woevre; still the French
from the Chemin des Dames and the
Craonne Ridge can see the cathedral of
Laon.
Offensive Against Russia
The Teutonic offensive against the
southern end of the eastern front, where
it drops from Bukowina into Rumania,
seems like an attempt to capture a
doubtful outpost while the citadel itself
lies exposed — the citadel in this case
being the road to Petrograd or to Mos-
cow. But it takes men to capture even
an exposed citadel, and men neither the
Germans nor the Austrians have got.
The Bulgars will not lend them any. The
Turks cannot.
When between April and June both
the Wilhelmstrasse and the Ballplatz
were momentarily expecting Prince Leo-
pold's efforts with the Provisional Gov-
ernment of Russia to be crowned with
the success of a separate peace 300J000
Germans were sent to the western front
and over 100,000 Austrians to the Ital-
ian. These men have not come back.
Many of them cannot.
Moreover, a successful campaign in
Rumania leading into Bessarabia, aside
from its political significance, would
shorten the great eastern battlefront by
200 miles — a very inviting prospect in
Teuton eyes.
By July 11 the personally led spas-
modic offensive of Kerensky had capt-
MILITARY EVENTS OF THE MONTH
399
vs- is ^5 SC^L OF M,Lt5
BLACK LINE INDICATES WHERE THE RUSSIANS AND RUMANIANS
AT LAST CHECKED THE GERMAN ADVANCE ABOUT AUG. 15, 1917
ured Halicz, the strategic key to Lem-
berg, the capital of Galicia, and a week
later the offensive reached its ultimate,
investing Zloczow and Brzezany, forty
miles east of Lemberg. By July 21 the
Russian mutiny and retreat in Galicia
were in full swing. That it has not ac-
cumulated more velocity is probably due
to the fact that the pursuers are not
fully prepared either in numbers or in
munitions.
By July 23 the Russian retreat had ex-
panded to a 150-mile front, but there
were Russo-Rumanian successes in the
Susitza and Putna Valleys, with 2,000
prisoners and 57 guns taken. Then in
rapid succession followed the fall of
Stanislau and Tarnopol, the enemy
crossing the Sereth from Tarnopol to
Czortkow, and finally the fall of Czerno-
witz, and the last Russian soldier was
driven out of Bukowina.
The difficulty of getting men and sup-
plies over the mountains to the Austrians
desperately fighting among the streams
on the right bank of the Sereth in
Moldavia gave a respite to all that re-
mains of Rumanian territory. Whether it
will be retained depends upon the re-,
habilitation of the Russian arms. Even
so, Rumania has not the value as an ally
to the Provisional Government at Petro-
grad that it had to the Government of
the Czar. The present Russian institu-
tion does not covet Constantinople.
Germany's Waning Man Power
The most striking revelation that has
emerged from the month's fighting has
been the waning of Germany's man
power, both in numbers and stamina.
She is already using her 1918 men on
the western front and there are isolated
cases of boys of 14 being found among
her dead. In November she will call her
1919 men to training. These will fur-
nish 450,000; no more. Her casualties
since Aug. 1, 1916, have been nearly a
400
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
million, (943,982,) according to her own
official lists. Man for man they have
shown themselves inferior to the French
and English in Flanders. Another im-
Battle of Flanders, has been the machine-
like, complementary co-operation between
the French and English and the wonder-
ful co-ordination of artillery fire and its
portant feature, also revealed in the relation to infantry attacks.
The Battle of Flanders
Terrific Barrage Fire
BELGIUM, during the last month, has
been the scene of the fiercest
fighting on the Western front.
For three weeks the bombardment on
both sides was tremendous. The Ger-
man artillery, thickly massed against
the most vital sectors of the British
front, poured vast quantities of shells
into Nieuport, Ypres, Armentieres, and
other towns. The German long-range
guns fired at targets twelve to twenty
miles beyond their emplacements. The
British reply was even more terrific.
For every German shell fired, the Brit-
ish returned two. " A rivalry in destruc-
tion greater than any former phase of
the war," was one British correspond-
ent's description of the great artillery
duel.
The bombardment culminated on the
morning of July 31 in a gigantic infantry
attack in which both the British and
French troops took part. They attacked
along a front of nearly twenty miles,
rfrom Dixmude in the north to Warneton
in the south, on the Franco-Belgian
frontier. The preliminary bombardment
had leveled the German trenches, at
some points wiping them out completely.
While the shelling had been going on for
days at what appeared to be the highest
pitch, it was redoubled on the morning
of the attack just before the men went
" over the top." The first and second
German lines were soon behind the ad-
vancing infantry, and in places they
crossed the third line of trenches. At
some points the Germans put up a des-
perate resistance in their rear positions,
holding up the advance with machine
guns. These places were stormed, not
without some losses, although both Gen-
eral Haig and General Petain called at-
tention to the fact that their losses were
exceedingly small.
Capture of Menin Tunnel
One of the most striking and spectac-
ular events of the day's fighting occurred
at the so-called Menin tunnel, a great
underground fortification constructed by
the Germans on the Menin road, opposite
Hooge. The British preliminary bombard-
ment had forced the Germans to hold
the French line thinly here, and the Brit-
ish division which was to attack at dawn
lay out all night in shell holes, within
twenty-five yards of the German line,
waiting for the signal to advance. When
the time arrived for the charge, and the
British gunners had dropped a protect-
ing barrage on the German front trench
ahead of the British troops, it was seen
that the Germans were fleeing. The Brit-
ish, seeing their prey escaping, went mad
and charged directly through their own
barrage, fortunately without heavy cas-
ualties. The Menin tunnel, which was ex-
pected to be occupied by several hun-
dred Germans, was found to be held by
only forty-one, the rest having retreated.
It was only at the second line that the
British met resistance, and here, after
sharp hand-to-hand fighting, they forced
the Germans again to withdraw.
German Account of Fight
A semi-official survey of the Flanders
battle supplied by the German General
Staff through the Wolff Bureau men-
tioned that Bixschoote three times
changed hands, the French eventually
retaining the village at nightfall, but
that the German lines gripped the vil-
lage north and east. The British, ac-
cording to the survey, delivered the
main thrust before Ypres and succeeded
THE BATTLE OF FLANDERS
401
in capturing Langemarck in addition to
other places, but were unable to hold
Langemarck and St. Julien in the face
of a German counterattack and were re-
pulsed. The report sought to give the
impression that only the immediate front-
line trench in any case was lost, and care-
fully avoided any mention of the depth
of the Entente gain. The Berliner Tage-
blatt correspondent wrote:
The great brutal force of the initial blow
has been parried. We survived the grue- .
some tension occasioned by the uncanny-
artillery fire, and we are able again to
hold our heads high as the battle of living
men is resumed. The struggle has now-
reached the phase of human effort, after
unseen mechanical death has been knock-
ing at the door day and night for weeks.
The German fighting spirit was fully
awakened, and heroes flung themselves
from the islands of defense in the con-
quered district against the advancing
masses and seriously weakened the flanks
of the oncoming troops. Millions of shells
have been spent, and now comes the test
of strength and nerves.
The mainspring which impelled the Ger-
man fighting man was the strong rea-
lization that he was here called upon to
defend the German U-boat— to serve the
mightiest, most promising weapon of his
country and bar the path to it with his
life. The German troops counterattacked
in frightful bayonet and hand grenade
combats. It was the mightiest counter-
thrust, following the mightiest impact,
which the world has ever seen.
Nightfall witnessed the happy German
achievement. The foe had won German
trenches, had gained control of Bixschoote,
and had carried off prisoners, but he lay
bleeding at the foot of the wall he desired
to scale.
Battling in the Rain
Stubborn and almost blind fighting in
the pouring rain was kept up through-
out the night of Aug. 1 and the follow-
ing day from the junction of the French
and British lines at Langemarck, in
Flanders, to the French frontier, along
the banks of the River Lys. It was al-*
most entirely an infantry struggle, for
neither the air nor artillery branches
could work effectively in the thick, tor-
rential weather. General Haig's lines
between St. Julien and the Ypres-Kou-
lers railway, northeast of Ypres, were
completely re-established in the face of
repeated and costly enemy assaults.
The controlling factor in the military
situation in Flanders at this time was
the incessant downpour of rain, which
had now lasted for fifty hours. Over
the whole field of attack the only high
ground lay where the Germans massed
their counterassaults. Elsewhere the
country was a marsh, split and inter-
woven with flooded streams. This un-
stable quagmire was just beginning to
form when the Anglo-French drive was
launched. The infantry slipped and
stumbled forward. The tanks managed
to negotiate the distance in mud up to
the hubs of their caterpillar wheels.
Westhoek and Langemarck
By a sharp stroke early on the morn-
ing of Aug. 10, east of Ypres, General
Haig penetrated the German lines to a
depth of several hundred yards, com-
pleting the capture of the village of
Westhoek, and carrying the remaining
positions held by the Germans on the
Westhoek ridge.
The following day there was more vio-
lent fighting. The right of the British
attack in Glencorse "Wood was heavily
engaged with the enemy concealed in the
usual concrete emplacements and defend-
ing himself with well-placed machine
guns. The Germans massed great power
of artillery against the British, and there
was apparently no immediate lack of
ammunition. It was truly a fearful
thing to see, even from a distance, the
wide and deep belt of fire flung by the
German guns over the countryside. For
miles the horizon was seething with the
smo]ke of heavy shells. Anti-aircraft
guns sprayed the sky with shrapnel, and
from a range of twelve miles or more
monstrous shells were exploding. The
great unending tragedy of war was along
that belt of ground, sweeping around the
horizon where innumerable shells were
bursting and where in the smoke of them
great bodies of men were fighting and
dying.
The enemy's barrage fire was great;
that of the British was greater. Between
Glencorse Wood and Inverness Copse and
all about Stirling Castle and Frezenberg
he made a hell of fire, and many of the
British had to pass through its fury, and
not all passed or came back again. But
4oe
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
afterward the enemy's turn came, and
masses of his men — thick waves of them
sent forward with orders to counterat-
tack— were caught under the fire of Brit-
ish guns and smashed to pieces.
Striking together on a nine-mile
front east and northeast of Ypres early
on the morning of Aug, 16, British and
French troops carried all their objec-
tives except on the right flank. The
French, on the left, drove the Germans
from the tongue of land between the
Yser Canal and the Martjevaart and
captured the bridgehead of Dreigrach-
ten. In the centre Haig's troops capt-
ured the village of Langemarck, which
had been held strongly by the Germans
ever since the allied attack early in the
month, and pushed half a mile beyond.
On the right British troops attempted
to seize the high ground almost directly
east of Ypres, which lies north of the
read to Menin. They swept up and
gained the ground, but in face of ter-
rific losses the Germans attacked with
great fury, and finally pressed the Brit-
ish back from the terrain they had won.
Reports of British casualties issued
during the first two weeks of August
gave a total of 21,722 officers and men.
They were divided as follows: Killed
and died of wounds — Officers, 223; pri-
vates and noncommissioned officers,
4,424. Wounded or missing — Officers,
1,821; men, 15,254. Total of killed,
wounded, and missing, 21,722.
Wonderful Barrage Fire
The wonderful accuracy of the British
barrage fire was described by an artil-
lery observation officer who was wound-
ed at Langemarck:
I have seen much modern artillery work,
but, frankly, I never dreamed there could
be such perfection. I was stationed in an
advance post where I could see the full
effects of our fire on the Langemarck
region. While I directed the firing- of the
guns in the rear I was amazed to see
what our gunners could not see. At the
jumping-off hour, which was 4:45 o'clock,
the British batteries dropped a barrage in
front of our infantry for the advance.
It was as though a solid curtain of steel
had been dropped before our men. It
moved forward with the mechanical pre-
cision of clockwork. All our guns broke
out with euch a hurricane of fire that I
was stunned with the effect. I tried to
say something to a companion standing
beside me, but could not make him hear
my loudest shouts.
The barrage moved forward with such
accuracy that our infantry was able to
I keep quite close to it without danger, for
there was no wavering of the barrage line.
Straight on over Langemarck and the sur-
rounding region passed the barrage, with
the infantry trailing. The Germans un-
doubtedly were expecting our attack, for
their counterbarrage was dropped back of
our lines almost as soon as our advance
began. There is absolutely no doubt of
the tremendous superiority of our artillery
work and the preponderance of our guns.
No worse ground for an advance could
have been encountered. The Steenbeke
River was in flood and the whole region
was waterlogged from recent rains. Our
infantry was wallowing in mud all the
time, and had it not been for the efficacy
of our artillery fire the men would have
had a hard time with the enemy.
Our troops had destroyed most of the
concrete machine gun redoubts which rep-
resent the main defenses in this section,
but there still remained many under-
ground fortifications which had to be
fought through and silenced with bombs
or left behind with the Germans still in
them. There was a typical example of
this at a point southwest of Langemarck
known as Aubongite. Here the Germans
had constructed a steel and concrete dug-
out with heavy steel trapdoors on top.
It would hold perhaps fifty to seventy-five
men with numerous machine guns. The
artillery had been unable to shell them
out, and when the infantry advanced, the
Germans crawled into their hole and
closed the steel doors over them. There
was no bombing them out, but the Ger-
mans themselves were prisoners. They
dared not open their doors to fire machine
guns for fear of bombs, so we pushed
ahead and left the Germans there with a
squad of bombers sitting outside ready
to throw explosives when the door opened.
This advance brought to a conclusion
another phase of the battle of Flanders,
The Allies were now able to look back
on one of the great achievements of the
war. The attack against the Germans
east of Ypres, which resulted in such
sanguinary fighting, did not accomplish
the advance desired, but the great push
to the north represented one of the re-
markable accomplishments of the year.
This fighting was noteworthy for a
radical change in the German defense
methods. The continuous lines of won-
derfully constructed forward trenches
with their deep dugouts, in which lived
THE BATTLE OF INLANDERS
403
and fought great numbers of men, were
now fast passing into the discard. The
new system was one of scattering ad-
vance forces over a great depth. Cun-
ningly constructed strongholds among
the myriads of shell holes along the front
concealed innumerable small and more
or less isolated garrisons of men who
formerly fought shoulder to shoulder
along great stretches of picturesque
ditches, through which communication
was not broken for miles. This alteration
was brought about by the ever-growing
preponderance of British artillery, which
buried the German front line trenches
under an avalanche of shells and left the
defenses nothing but heaped furrows of
earth, and rendered the famous dugouts
mantraps, in which many thousands
lost their lives without a chance of fight-
ing back. The continuous deluge of
breaking steel made repair work on the
trenches impossible, and as the Germans
were gradually pushed back they of
necessity were forced to invent another
mode of stemming the advancing tide.
A German Word Picture of the British
Attack in Flanders
Max Osborn, war correspondent of the
Berlin Zeitung am Mittag, wrote from
the German Headquarters on the west
front, July 30, 1917:
NEVER-ENDING howls and piercing
screams are rending the air from
the sea to the River Lys, while ac-
cessory noises like growls and blows seem
to spring from everywhere on the Yser,
in front of Dixmude and Langemarck,
around Hollebeke and Warneton. The
whole of West Flanders is one large,
steaming pot, in which death and devasta-
tion are brewing. With the sun smiling
its brightest at us, terrific, never-ending
thunderstorms are raging over the land.
Amid noises such as the old earth never
heard before, a crop of new battles and
new wars between nations is growing to
maturity.
What were the battles of the Somme,
Arras, the Aisne, and Champagne against
this earthquake of Flanders? Millions
of capital are blown up in the air and ex-
plode in the ground. It is like a Cyclo-
pean concert of unheard-of brutality, to
celebrate with becoming fitness the end
of the third year of universal madness.
The louder the desire of the nations for
peace begins to express itself, the wilder
the thunder of the guns at England's
command to drown any cry of hope.
Sometimes one thinks the end of the
bloody intoxication is coming, but there
are still graduations of description for
which there are no words. We thought
we had got accustomed to the atrocious-
ness of all this, and at home you may for-
get the monstrous events. At the front
for days our senses and nerves must cer-
tainly have suffered from these awful
three years. Spirit and feelings seek to
escape the intolerable horror, but it is no
use. Here, up against the worst form of
slaughter, again these nameless noises
bring it home to you with overpowering
force.
This battle has lasted for days ; now it
is again that continuous roar that ef-
faces, or, rather, consumes, all individual
noises, that makes even fierce explosions
close by you indistinguishable. Every-
thing disappears in one loud, rolling,
threatening volume of sound. The air
carries it a hundred miles distant, and
tremblingly they listen, south and north,
west and east, where they cannot see the
horror of all this.
But if you come nearer, it is like the
bowels of the earth exploding. Our sol-
diers sit in their dugouts, and cannot do
anything but trust to luck. Just now the
infantry must keep quiet; only the big
guns are talking. The waiting infantry
is, as it were, locked in prison. The men
cannot get out, nor can anybody ap-
proach them. The way to them is
fraught with fearful danger. All around
'04
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
spatter steel splinters, shrapnel bullets,
stones and earth. If you are hit you are
dead or crippled. What shall one do?
One smokes incessantly, until the air in
the narrow shaft is heavy enough to cut.
That is bad, but somehow it helps one to
endure the horror., of the situation.
You live for days in the closest contact
with your comrades in a contracted space.
You cannot move, and are unable to think
clearly. Never did I realize how diffi-
cult it can be to lead a human life. There
is nameless agony in it.
Suddenly there is a terrible explosion
quite near you. The earth is moving.
Splinters drop from nowhere. Our works
have been hit at an adjacent point, but
thank Heaven! there are no wounded.
Nobody was stationed there when the
projectile struck.
There is still another explosion, this
time the other side of us. Nine dugouts
have been hit and have collapsed.
Then there is one of those rare lulls in
the cannonade, and quite distinctly we
make out some of our comrades strug-
gling in the ruins of a wrecked dugout.
We rush to their aid, heedless of the
shells bursting around us. Another of
those deadly beasts strikes almost at our
feet, but it does not explode. We don't
stop ; we rush on ; we shout to our friends,
who are buried under the earth, stones,
and timber, and we set to work digging
them out.
" Nobody is seriously hurt," they cry
joyously, when we drag them, covered
with scratches and contusions, to day-
light again. We do not always fare so
well as this. Sometimes we dig them
from cellars and earthworks as corpses,
sometimes fearfully mutilated, or just in
time to draw their last breath-.
But, after all, our losses are not so
large — certainly not compared with the
mass of munitions exploded. Our men
have become masters in the art of dodg-
ing and using cover. They certainly
have had experience enough. But still
too many sons of German mothers must
yield up thf ir young lives mutely without
a chance of defending themselves. But
they all realize that only the Fatherland
c&unts; thrt the individual cannot claim
special attc ntion here. The heavy twenty-
four-centimeter projectiles of the enemy
care not where they strike, be it human
life, wire entanglements, or trench, and
sometimes they hit our nerves though
they strike many meters distant.
There is one consolation: Our artillery
pays them back with interest, and the
hellish noises at our rear are almost mu-
sic to the ears of our men in our dugouts.
Once upon a time infantrymen used to
swear at artillery in battles; nowadays
you hear nothing of the kind. Our in-
fantry knows that those men behind their
guns are having a hell of a time, while
the infai tryman is comparatively safe
in his dugout.
But even the artillery needs our in-
fantryman. He must carry munitions
to positions that are inaccessible to horses
and carts. The infantryman must watch
the approaches to the artillery positions
from all sides, and must be at his post
when the sign' is given for a general ad-
vance. Is this the end of terror, or
merely the lull before the attack?
Fiercely your fist grips gun and hand
grenade. The eyes of the men on guard
pierce the dense darkness ahead. There
rises a green fireball. Is it ours? Is it
theirs? Nobody seems to know its mean-
ing, but all of a sudden the English begin
to rain steel again. We give them tit for
tat. The artillery on each side seems to
try to surpass that on the other. What
has happened? Nothing particular, but
since they were at it, they thought they
might as well keep Hammering, and that
jone long roar continues until the sun rises
again on a new day as cruel as yester-
day. Nobody will ever forget the horror
of it.
U-Boat Destruction of Shipping
Record From July 15 to August 12, 1917
THE average number of merchant
ships destroyed . by submarines
and mines apparently remained
almost constant in the last month.
The aggregate British tonnage lost was
almost the same as that in the preceding
month, as the following figures, issued
officially by the Admiralty, show:
Over Under
1,600 1,600 Fishing
Tons. Tons. Vessels.
Week ended July 22.. 23 3 1
Week ended July 29.. 18 3 0
Week ended Aug. 5. . . 21 2 0
Week ended Aug. 12.. 14 2 3
Total for four weeks 74
Total for previous
four weeks 64
10
19 26
The increase in the loss of larger
ships equalizes, if it does not exceed,
that of the smaller vessels and fishing
craft.
Premier Lloyd George, speaking in the
House of Commons on Aug. 16, said that
there was a steady diminution of vessels
sunk. The unrestricted submarine cam-
paign, he continued, began in February,
and by April England had lost 560,000
.tons of shipping in one month. The Ger-
man official figures claimed that Eng-
land was losing between 450,000 and
500,000 monthly after allowing for new
construction Mr. Lloyd George said his
figure of 560,000 tons for April was
gross. In June the losses had fallen to
320,000 tons gross, and if the improve-
ment were maintained those for July and
August would be 175,000 each. Steps
had been taken, he added, for quickening
shipbuilding, and a good many ships had
been ordered abroad. In 1915 the new
tonnage built was 688,000 tons. In 1916
it was 538,000 tons. For the first six
months of this year it was 480,000 tons.
The tonnage acquired by construction
and purchase during the last six months
would be 1,420,000. The total for the
year would be 1,900,000 tons.
The figures of losses given above do
not include French, Italian, Swedish,
Norwegian, Dutch, or American ships, a
considerable number of which have been
sunk since the beginning of February. In
regard to American vessels 37 have been
destroyed, with a loss of 121 lives, in the
three years of war by German or
Austrian raiders or submarines. Before
the United States entered the war, on
April 6, 1917, thirteen ships had been
sunk. Since that time twenty-four have
been destroyed. The tonnage of the ves-
sels destroyed is estimated at about 110,-
000 tons, 61,000 of which have been lost
since the United States entered the war.
Only four American ships were sunk
before Germany began her unrestricted
submarine warfare. Two of these were
destroyed in 1915, and two in 1916. Be-
tween the publication by Germany of un-
restricted submarine warfare and the
acknowledgment of a state of war by
the United States nine American vessels
were sunk, either by torpedoes or by
gunfire, with a loss of forty-seven lives.
Since the United States entered the war
twenty-four ships flying the United
States flag have been lost, and seventy-
one lives sacrificed.
It was announced in the House of
Commons on Aug. "14 that 9,748 lives
were lost on British merchantmen from
the opening of the war to June 30, 1917,
as a result of enemy action. Of these
3,828 were passengers, the remainder
being officers or seamen. A later official
declaration, bringing the figures down to
Aug. 20, 1917, stated that the losses of
British mercantile sailors and officers
were 6,637.
The Belgian Prince Outrage
That thirty-eight members of the
crew of the British steamship Belgian
Prince were drowned in the most de-
liberate manner by the German sub-
marine which sank the ship was the ac-
cusation made by survivors on reaching
British shores. One of them was the
Chief Engineer, who many times after
the steamer was torpedoed was perilously
406
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
near drowning. He gave the following
narrative of his experience:
About 9 o'clock on Tuesday evening",
(July 31,) when we were 200 miles off
land, I saw the wake of an approaching
torpedo. The vessel gave a lurch as she
was hit, and I was thrown to the deck
among the debris. The vessel listed heav-
ily, and all of us took to the boats. The
submarine approached and shelled the
vessel, and then ordered the small boats
alongside the submarine. The skipper
was summoned and taken inside. The
others were mustered on the deck of the
submarine. The Germans removed the
lifebelts and the other clothing of all ex-
cept eight of us, smashed the lifeboats
with axes, and then re-entered the sub-
marine and closed the hatches, leaving
us on deck. The submarine went about
two miles and then submerged. I had a
lifebelt. Near me was an apprentice boy
of 16, shouting for help. I went to him
and held him up until midnight, but he
became unconscious and died of exposure.
At daylight I saw the Belgian Prince
afloat. I was picked up after eleven hours
in the water by a patrol boat.
The second engineer, who also was a
survivor, succeeded in reaching the Bel-
gian Prince before she blew up. The
Germans came on board and looted her,
he reported. He was in hiding, but
finally jumped into the sea and kept
afloat on the wreckage. William Snell,
a negro of Jacksonville, Fla., the only-
American survivor, added the following
details :
We left the Belgian Prince in three boats
and had got fifty yards from the ship
* when the submarine came alongside and
asked for our Captain, who was taken
aboard and inside the U-boat. The mem-
bers of the crew were ordered to hold up
their hands, and the Germans asked if
there were any gunners among us. Al-
though there were two, we said " No."
The Germans next asked if we had any
pocket arms. We were then ordered to
the deck of the submarine, where we were
told by the commander to remove our life-
belts and to lie on the deck. This we did.
Then the commander went into the boats,
threw the oars into the sea, and had his
men remove the provisions. After that
the plugs were taken out of holes in the
boats, which were then cast adrift. The
submarine went to the northeast for twelve
miles, the commander taking the lifebelts to
the top of the conning tower and throwing
them overboard. I hid mine under a rain-
coat, and as the submarine began to sub-
merge I tied it around my neck and
jumped into the sea. The rest of the crew
stayed on deck until they were swept off
by the sea as the boat dived. It was a
terrible sight. One by one they threw up
their hands and went down, or, fighting
to keep up, they splashed water as they
disappeared.
CURRENT HISTORY CHRONICLED
[Period Ended Aug. 20, 1917]
China and Siam Declare War
CHINA formally declared war on Ger-
many and Austria, beginning at 10
A. M., Aug. 14, 1917. The official war
proclamation, which was signed by Presi-
dent Feng Kuo-chang, reviews China's
efforts to induce Germany to modify her
submarine policy. It says that respect
for international law and protection of
the lives and property of Chinese citizens
forced China to sever relations with Ger-
many and now compels her to declare
war against Germany and Austria, too,
as it was not Germany alone, but
Austria-Hungary as well, which adopted
and pursued this policy without abate-
ment.
The proclamation declares that all
treaties, agreements, and protocols be-
tween China and the Central Powers have
been abrogated. It says China will re-
spect The Hague conventions and the in-
ternational agreements respecting the
humane conduct of the war, and, in con-
clusion, asserts that China's object in
entering the war is to hasten peace.
President Feng Kuo-chang made this
statement :
Our people have not yet recovered from
the sufferings due to the recent political
disturbances. Calamity again befalls us.
I, as President of the Republic, have a
profound sympathy for our people when
I consider their further sufferings. I did
not resort to this step until it seemed
impossible to delay the momentous deci-
sion. I could not bear to think that the
dignity of international law should be
CURRENT HISTORY CHRONICLED
407
impaired through us; that our position
in the family of nations should be under-
mined, or that the restoration of world
peace and happiness should be retarded.
Therefore, it is hoped that all our people
will endeavor, in these hours of hardship,
to maintain and strengthen the Chinese
Republic, so that we may establish our-
selves amid the family of nations and
share the happiness and benefits to be
derived from that position.
Siam officially declared war against
Germany and Austria at 6 o'clock July
22, 1917, and all German and Austrian
subjects were interned and German ships
seized. Prince of Songkla, brother of
the reigning monarch, declared on July
23 that national necessity and moral
pressure forced Siam into the war on
the side of the Entente. Neutrality on
the part of this small but long independ-
ent nation in the Far East had become
increasingly difficult, and there had been
a growing sentiment that freedom and
justice for States not strong from a mil-
itary standpoint were not to be secured
through the policy of the Central Powers.
Sympathy for Belgium, which began with
the invasion of that country, had taken
strong hold on the Siamese, and the
popular aversion to Teutonic methods,
solidified by President Wilson's message
asking Congress to declare a state of
war, left no doubt as to the duty, as well
as the path of expediency, of Siam.
Our Armed Forces 1,500,000
THE regular army of the United
States was brought up to its full
war strength of 300,000 men on Aug. 9,
182,000 volunteers having enlisted from
April 1 to Aug. 9. During the same
four months the volunteering for the
navy brought the naval total up to 137,-
000 men and the Marine Corps to its
authorized strength of 30,000, while 45,-
000 enlisted in the Naval Reserve and
the National Naval Volunteers. The Na-
tional Guard, brought up to a strength
of 300,000, was drafted into the Federal
service on Aug. 5. This brought the
regular army and navy up to 812,000,
to which the draft for the National Army
added 687,000 on Sept. 1, thus bringing
the armed forces of the United States
to a total of 1,500,000. It was only four
months preceding that the United States
was a peaceful and unprepared nation,
with an army and navy totaling less
than 175,000. In the same period the
country floated and oversubscribed a war
loan of $2,000,000,000 and made extra-
ordinary strides in preparation and equip-
ment, besides sending a preliminary ex-
peditionary force of sailors, soldiers, en-
gineers, aviators, doctors, hospital units,
&c, to France.
* * *
Great Britain After Three Years of
War
PREMIER LLOYD GEORGE, while at
Paris on July 27, in a formal state-
ment to leading French editors, said
that Great Britain now had between
5,000,000 and 5,500,000 soldiers enrolled,
without counting between 400,000 and
500,000 belonging to the navy, or nearly
a million men from the dominions and
colonies.
Great Britain had placed at the dispo-
sition of her allies, he added, from 1,500,-
000 to 2,000,000 tons of merchant ships.
Next year's building program for mer-
chant ships, which already has begun,
amounts to 4,000,000 tons, or twice as
much as in a good year during peace
time. Referring to the campaign against
submarines, Mr. Lloyd George said:
The diminution in shipping losses is in-
contestible. It is impossible to abandon
this subject without paying homage to the
aid given by the American Navy, both re-
garding the organization of convoys and
by torpedo boat destroyers, which have
rendered an invaluable service.
Mr. Lloyd George said that 5,000,000
men and women now were engaged in
war work in the United Kingdom. More
women could be employed if the trades
unions did not fear the competition of
women after the war.
* * *
China's Millennium of Peace
THIS appears to be the first time in
the last thousand years, since the re-
construction of the Chinese Empire
under the founder of the Sung dynasty,
that China has issued a declaration of
war, taking the initiative in bringing
about an armed conflict.
Beginning with the period about a
thousand years ago, China was repeat-
edly invaded by her militant northern
108
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
neighbors, the Mongols and their kin-
dred, but China always fought defensive
campaigns and was content with driving
the invaders beyond her frontiers, or per-
suading them to withdraw by the pay-
ment of indemnities of money and China
silks. This procedure encouraged the
Mongols to continue their raids until
1260, when Kublai Khan, perhaps the
most remarkable member of a family
which produced some of the world's
greatest soldiers and conquerors — the de-
scendants of Ghengis Khan — finally in-
vaded and conquered China. His suc-
cessors, lacking administrative ability,
gradually allowed his empire to fall to
pieces, until the founder of the Ming
dynasty re-established an independent
China. But raids from the north con-
tinued, the Manchus gradually becoming
the dominant aggressors and conquering
China in 1644.
The Mings had waged a successful war
against Japan during the years when
Shakespeare was writing his first plays,
but here also the Japanese were the
aggressors, invading and overrunning
Korea, which was claimed as a vassal
kingdom by China. Twenty-two years
ago Japan again fought China, once
more for the control of Korea, but Japan
was the aggressor. In 1900, at the time
of the Boxer outbreak, Peking was occu-
pied by foreign troops, but there was no
formal declaration of war. Now, after
a thousand years, China for the first time
takes the initiative by declaring war
against Germany and her allies.
* * *
The Pope's Peace Proposal and the
Austrian Empire
OTUDENTS of contemporary history
^ have already pointed out the close
similarity between the peace proposals
put forward in the middle of August by
Pope Benedict and the peace plans of
the Centrist (Catholic) Party in the
Reichstag, voiced by Matthias Erzberger,
a representative of the Catholic King-
dom of Bavaria. In both cases it was
suggested that these proposals embodied
the wishes of Austria, and especially of
the young Austrian Emperor Charles.
It was further suggested that both pro-
posals represented an effort on the part
of Austria and of the Catholic States of
South Germany to free themselves from
the burdens laid on them by Prussia's
victories in 1866 and 1870; and that the
Vatican, desiring to preserve the integ-
rity of the strongly Catholic Austrian
Empire and to strengthen the South
German Catholic States, for that reason
strongly seconded the effort of the
Emperor Charles.
When this possible co-operation be-
tween the Vatican, on the one side, and
Austria and the South German Catholic
States, on the other, has been discussed,
it has generally been conjectured that an
effort to revive the temporal power of
the Pope, as ruler of the Papal States,
was included as a part of the contem-
plated arrangement. It has many times
been said that Kaiser Wilhelm had
promised this restoration in case of the
victory of the Central Empires.
But, even without this restoration of
the temporal power, the Vatican's posi-
tion in the world would be strengthened
should Catholic Austria regain some-
thing of the power and prestige she lost
when defeated by Prussia in 1866, and
even more, perhaps, when the King of
Prussia assumed the title of Emperor in
1871; and, should a new alignment of
the Germanic States be brought about
which would detach Bavaria and the
other South German Catholic States from
Prussia and join them to Austria, this
would, of course, still further raise the
Vatican's prestige.
* * *
Russia's Greek Church and the Roman
Catholics
WHILE the people of Russia are pre-
paring to hold a Constitutional
Convention, or Constituent Assembly, to
decide on the future government of the
8,000,000 square miles of territory for-
merly ruled by the Czars, the Russian
Church is getting ready to hold a Na-
tional Church Council, which is expected
to re-establish the office of Patriarch of
Russia, abolished by Peter the Great; for
Peter the Great was unwilling to see a
single conspicuous personality at the
head of the national church who might
become a rival to the Czar. Peter, there-
fore, substituted for the Russian Patri-
CURRENT HISTORY CHRONICLED
409
arch a Synod, or College of Bishops, with
a civil Procurator as his representative;
the Procurator of the Holy Synod having
a controlling voice in church appoint-
ments.
If the Russian Patriarchate be restored,
the Patriarch of Russia will be one (and
the most influential) of a group of five
Oriental Patriarchs: the Patriarchs of
Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria, Con-
stantinople, and Russia. Two of these,
the Patriarch of Jerusalem and the
Patriarch of Antioch, claim to outrank
in antiquity the Patriarch (now the Pope)
of Rome, who, they say, owed his pre-
cedence to the fact that Rome was the
political capital of the empire.
It was the claim of the Patriarch
(Pope) of Rome to exercise authority
over the Patriarchs of Constantinople,
Antioch, Jerusalem, and Alexandria,
which brought about the division between
the Eastern and Western Churches; the
Eastern Patriarchs were willing to admit
the seniority, but not the absolute au-
thority, of the Patriarch (Pope) of Rome.
When the Roman See demanded complete
obedience, the Eastern Patriarchs de-
clared their complete independence of
Rome. This event took place some nine
centuries ago.
The division between the Eastern and
Western Churches has colored the reli-
gious life of Eastern Europe and much of
Western Asia ever since. The eastern
half of the empire, with Greek as its ec-
clesiastical tongue, included most of Asia
Minor and the Balkan Peninsula — the
whole region later to be invaded by the
Mohammedan Turks. Greece, Serbia,
Bulgaria, and Rumania were thus within
the area of the Eastern Church, and, when
Serbian missionaries carried Eastern
Christianity northward, to the new realm
of Russia, they also carried with them
allegiance to Constantinople and the old
Serbian tongue, which became, and has
ever since been, the ecclesiastical lan-
guage of Russia, as it is of Bulgaria and
Serbia, and as it long was for Rumania
also.
There are practically no differences of
doctrine in the group of autonomous
churches which form the Eastern Ortho-
dox Church, including, besides the four
ancient patriarchates, (Jerusalem, An-
tioch, Alexandria, Constantinople,) the
churches of Russia, Serbia, Rumania, and
Bulgaria. Poland, though Slavonic, owes
allegiance to the Church of Rome, while,
in the regions which were long the sub-
ject of contest between Poland and Rus-
sia, a compromise was arrived at, some
two centuries ago, under which certain
populations retained the Slavonic ritual,
while acknowledging the supremacy of
the Pope of Rome. Their religious or-
ganization was called the Union, or
"Unia," and they were known as Uniates;
but they have recently been called
" Greek Catholics," to distinguish them
from the Roman Catholics, who, like
them, acknowledged the supremacy of the
Pope, but who, unlike them, used the Latin
ritual, on the one hand; and from the
Greek Orthodox, belonging to the East-
ern Church which used the Greek or
Slavonic ritual and included the group
of autonomous but united churches, gov-
erned by the patriarchs of Jerusalem,
Antioch, Alexandria, and Constantinople,
the synods of Russia, Serbia, and Bul-
garia, and the Primate of Rumania.
Russia's intervention in the Balkan
Peninsula in the nineteenth century to
aid in the liberation of the Greeks, Ser-
bians, Rumanians, and Bulgarians from
the domination of the Mohammedan Turks
was largely due to the fact that these
small peoples, like Russia, belonged to
the Eastern Orthodox Church.
* * *
The Peoples of Siam
THERE is a curious fitness in the
entry of Siam into the world war
among the nations that are " making the
world safe for democracy," since the
native names of Siam, " Thai," and
" Muang-Thai," mean " free " and " the
kingdom of the free." Siam is about as
large as France (about 200,000 square
miles) with a population slightly larger
than that of Belgium just before the
war, some eight millions. Its people, who
are of many shades of yellowish brown,
appear to have drifted down into this
furthest outpost of Asia from the high-
lands north of Burma and east of Tibet
descending the valley of two immense
410
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
rivers, the Mekong and the Salwen, that
rise on the Tibetan uplands not far from
where the Yang Tse-kiang also has its
source.
There was a folk tradition among these
people that the further south they
descended the shorter they would grow;
when they reached the southern plains
they would be no larger than rabbits;
when they came to the sea, they would
vanish altogether. But while the north-
ern tribes are much taller than the south-
ern, the prophecy has stopped short of
complete fulfillment. The various yellow-
brown tribes who make up the Siamese
people, found on their arrival, several
thousand years ago, a race of black
dwarfs, absolutely savage and akin to
the Negrito race of the Philippines —
one of the oldest races in the world.
These small. black men they drove back
into the mountain jungles, where they
still dwell in caves and nests of palm-
leaves, so shy and furtive that it is
almost impossible to catch sight of them,
Siam received its literary and religious
culture from Southern India and Ceylon,
after the conversion of Ceylon to Bud-
dhism. In this way Buddhism became the
dominant religion of " the kingdom of
the free." There are many Mohammedans
also, supporting more than 500 mosques
in this far-eastern land, yet these are
far from being the most easterly Mo-
hammedan settlements, for one is found
nearly 2,500 miles further east, in the
Aru Islands, immediately over Central
Australia.
* * *
The Fight for United Italy
"M'OT all students of the world-war
*■* realize, perhaps, that Italy's part in
it is simply the continuation of the
struggle to unite the whole Italian nation,
the fight for "United Italy," begun in
Garibaldi's days. Italy was included in
Charlemagne's empire, the union between
the Emperor and the Pope dating from
800 A. D., when the Pope crowned
Charlemagne. By the Treaty of Verdun,
Lothair, Charlemagne's grandson, united
under a single crown Italy (to a line
south of Rome) and Lotharingia, (from
which comes the modern name, Lorraine,)
which included both Belgium and Hol-
land. Thenceforth, throughout the whole
history of the Empire, much of Italy was
held, for long periods, by the Teutonic
Emperors, the title of the Empire, from
the tenth century, being " The Holy Ro-
man Empire of the German People."
Thus, at the beginning of the Napo-
leonic period, much of Northern Italy,
including Venice and Trieste, was a part
of the Austrian Empire. Napoleon
forced Austria to loosen her grip on Italy,
but made no united Italian kingdom;
and, after his fall in 1815, both Venice
and Trieste, with Lombardy, were united
once more to Austria. Beginning in
1859, Victor Emmanuel and Cavour
worked for the union of Italy, using
Piedmont, the northwest corner of the
peninsula, as a foundation for the build-
ing. In that year the victory of Na-
poleon III. over Austria at Magenta and
Solferino drove Austria out of Lom-
bardy, and brought it under Victor Em-
manuel's crown.
In March, 1860, the three duchies of
Parma, Modena, and Tuscany, having
driven out their dukes, by an almost
unanimous plebescite united themselves
to Victor Emmanuel's growing kingdom.
Two months later, in May, 1860, Gari-
baldi sailed from Genoa and captured
Sicily and the kingdom of Naples, and
proclaimed Victor Emmanuel King of
Italy. But the eastern part of the Papal
States, ruled by the Pope as temporal
sovereign, was excepted. In 1866, Venice
was won from Austria, Prussia being
then Italy's ally; and finally, in 1870,
Italy took possession of Rome, her an-
cient capital. There remained "un-
redeemed " Trent and Trieste, for which
Italy is now fighting.
* * *
Germany's New Ministry
THE political crisis in Germany has sub-
sided following the appointment of Dr-
Georg Michaelis as Imperial Chancellor,
and of other new Imperial and Prussian
Ministers. Dr. Zimmermann has been suc-
ceeded as Foreign Secretary by Dr. Rich-
ard von Kuhlmann, formerly German
Ambassador to Turkey. Dr. Karl
Helfferich remains as Imperial Vice
Chancellor, member of the Ministry of
State, and temporary Minister of the
THE NEW ALLIED OFFENSIVE IN BELGIUM
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A picture-map showing the scene of the offensive opened by the Allies
on July 31, 1917, on a line extending from Dixmucfe to Armentieres
«& The New York Times Mid-Week Pictorial)
WHERE THE RUSSIANS HAVE RETREATED
territory abandoned by the Russians is shown in the above pict-
ure-map. After an offensive which opened vigorously on
July 1 demoralization of the Russian troops set in
and wiped out the previous success
(© The New York Times Mid- Week Pictorial)
CURRENT HISTORY CHRONICLED
411
Interior. One of the most interesting of
the new appointments is that of Dr. Peter
Spahn, leader of the Catholic Centre
Party in the Reichstag, to be head of the
Prussian Ministry of Justice. Adolph
von Batocki, the Food Controller, re-
signed, and was succeeded on Aug. 15
by Herr von Waldow, formerly Lord Lieu-
tenant of Pomerania. None of the
changes indicates any advance toward
Parliamentary control. The Reichstag
adjourned on July 20 to reassemble Sept.
26.
* * *
Conscription in Canada
A FTER an acrimonious debate in Par-
**■ liament, preceded by grave disorders
and threats of civil war by French Cana-
dian Catholics, in which prominent cleri-
cals participated, the Canadian Senate on
Aug. 8 passed on its third reading the
Conscription bill previously passed by the
House. It provides for drafting men be-
tween the ages of 20 and 32. It is ex-
pected that 100,000 men will be raised
by the draft. No disorders followed the
passage of the measure.
* * *
Premier Alexander Kerensky
TT has several times been asserted that
■*■ Kerensky, the most conspicuous
figure in Russia since the revolution,
is " a young Jewish Socialist." But a
careful canvass of the Russian official
colony in New York appears to make it
certain that he is a Russian Slav by
birth and ancestry, the son of a school-
master in the town of Saratoff on the
Volga. Alexander Kerensky early mani-
fested oratorical gifts of a high order,
Studied law, and was elected a member
of the Duma from one of the constit-
uencies in the region between the Volga
and the Siberian border. He particu-
larly interested himself in labor ques-
tions and defended labor cases in the
law courts, so that he soon came to be
regarded as one of the leading advocates
of labor interests in the Duma.
As labor organizations were forbidden
in imperial Russia, the workmen, seek-
ing to protect their interests, were in-
duced to join the Socialist Party in large
numbers. It thus happened that the
Socialists were the best organized and
most numerous body in Petrograd
when the revolution took place, and
their Council of Workmen's Deputies im-
mediately became prominent, seeking to
dictate the domestic and foreign policies
of the Provisional Government (formed
of Duma leaders) and even interfering
disastrously with the discipline of the
army. The organization of debating com-
mittees in each unit of the army was
the work of this council, and was the
source of the worst demoralization of
the Russian Army. The proposal to con-
fiscate the property of the landowners
originated at the same source.
While Kerensky called himself a So-
cialist, he has, since he became Premier,
done everything in his power to reverse
the action of the Petrograd Socialists. He
has forced a continuation of the war,
has first limited and then forbidden the
army debating clubs, and has restored
the death penalty for insubordination in
the army.
* * *
The Political Status of Egypt
rnHE present political status of Egypt
■*■ is an example of the innate con-
servatism— -in the sense of conservation —
which has marked all England's dealings
with Oriental peoples, and notably with
the peoples of India. For while, as a
result of Turkey's entry into the war
and England's command of the sea, Brit-
ish power was extended over Egypt in
December, 1914, Egypt becoming in ef-
fect an integral part of the British Em-
pire, England nevertheless conserved all
details of the existing administration, ex-
cept that the title of Khedive, hitherto
borne by the native ruler, was changed
to Sultan. As the former Khedive had
thrown in his lot with Turkey and the
Central Powers, he was declared deposed,
and Hussein Kamil Pasha was put at the
head of the Egyptian Government, with
the title of Sultan. The present Sultan
of Egypt, born in 1854, is the son of
Ismail I., who was forced to abdicate
under pressure of the British and French
Governments in 1879, and is the eighth
in descent from Muhammed Ali, appoint-
ed Governor in 1805, who threw off
Turkish domination six years later,
412
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
though a money tribute was still paid
to Turkey.
The administration of Egypt is carried
out by a native ministry acting under
the Sultan, but England exercises, through
a Financial Adviser, a decisive influence
over the acts of the Egyptian Govern-
ment. In July, 1913, certain existing
councils were replaced by a new Legis-
lative Assembly, which includes the Min-
isters, sixty-six elected members, and
seventeen members nominated by the
Government, to represent minorities. The
elected members hold office for six years,
one third being elected every two years,
as in the United States Senate. This
Legislative Assembly has a considerable
voice in law making and taxation. There
are 10,000,000 Mohammedans in Egypt,
or 90 per cent, of the population; the
Copts, 700,000 in number, who are the
descendants of the ancient Egyptians, are
the next largest element.
* * *
New Faces for Wounded Men
"C1ACIAL plastic surgery has made
■\ great strides recently. A new hos-,
pital has been opened in London devoted
especially to the work. It is devoted to
the building up of the features and res-
toration of contour from the patient's
own tissues. Portions of skin, bone, and
cartilage are transferred and manipu-
lated in a manner which a few months
ago would have been thought to be
impossible.
Demonstrations have been made show-
ing how a portion of a man's own rib
can be taken whence he will feel no
inconvenience, and used as the founda-
tion of a new jaw. Bits of cartilage can
be taken from his chest to reconstruct a
nose, and the new creation is of a type
to accord with the features of the
patient.
Skin from the brow can be turned
down, flaps can be drawn from parts of
the face that are intact, for these things
taken from the living organism can still
preserve their own vitality under the
process of transference. The method is
slow. As much as a whole year, or even
two, may be occupied as one after an-
other of the delicate operations are suc-
cessfully performed. Indeed, the only
real difficulty in regard to a perfect cure
is that the men are frequently so de-
lighted with the amendments partially
wrought that they and their friends say
that is quite good enough, and no more
need be done. At least, they know none
will shrink away from them.
* * *
A French Officer's Tribute to an
American Hero
THE first American to be killed under
enemy fire on the French front after
the entry of the United States into the
war was Paul G. Osborn of Montclair,
N. J., a Dart-
mouth student
in the class of
1917, who had
volunteered a s
a n ambulance
driver at the be-
ginning o f th e
war, and who
received fatal
injuries while
t r a n s p orting
wounded French
soldiers from
amid heavy
shell fire to the
nearest aid sta-
tions, dying on
PAUL G. OSBORN June 22, 1917.
His body lay for a time in the little
wooden field chapel at Chalons, covered
with a great American flag. According to
l'lllustration of Paris, which devoted a
page to pictures and text on the subject,
the funeral was held at Chalons on June
26, the day when the first United States
troops were landing on French soil. The
body, borne to the grave on an ambu-
lance truck draped with the flags of
both nations, was accompanied by a dele-
gation of French troops in command of
General A. Baratier of Fashoda fame,
who spoke these eloquent sentences in
honor of the young hero:
In the name of the 134th Division I
salute Soldier Osborn, who came at the
outbreak of the war to aid us to triumph
for right, liberty, and justice. In his
person I salute the army of the United
States, which is fighting with us. The
same ideal inspires and leads us onward.
We are fighting to save the liberty of the
world.
Soldier Osborn, my thoughts go out to
CURRENT HISTORY CHRONICLED
413
your parents, who on the other side of
the ocean will learn of the grief that has
stricken them. I know that words have
no power to lessen a mother's sorrow, but
I know, too, that the ideal which she in-
spired in the heart of her son will be able
if not to dry her tears at least to trans-
form them, for it is through these tears,
the tears of all mothers, of all women,
that victory will come — that victory which
will assure the peace of the world, which
will be theirs more than any others, since
they will have paid for it with their
hearts. Soldier Osborn, sleep in the midst
of your French comrades, fallen glorious-
ly like -you. Sleep on, wrapped in the
folds of the American flag and under the
shadow of the banners of France.
Supporting Canadian Soldiers'
Families
rpHE United States will establish a
■*■ system for the maintenance of the
dependents of men who join the army
and navy based on the Canadian system,
whose main features are these:
(1.) Enlisted men (not officers) are re-
quired to assign at least one-half of their
monthly pay, but not more than twenty
days' pay each month.
(2.) The Canadian Government grants
to dependents a separation allowance,
based on the rank of the soldier, as fol-
lows : Privates, $20 ; Sergeants', $25 ; war-
rant officers and Lieutenants, $30; Cap-
tains, $40; Majors, $50; Lieutenant Colo-
nels, $60.
(3.) In certain localities in Canada fam-
ilies of enlisted men are protected by life
insurance, the premiums on which are
paid by the municipality in which the
soldier resided at the time he enlisted.
On May 14 in Toronto alone $42,297,-
000 insurance was outstanding, of which
the municipality carried 76.4 per cent.
The fourth source is from patriotic
funds, largely made up of voluntary sub-
scriptions. This 'fund in April, 1917,
had reached $22,981,615, of which $16,-
575,634 had been disbursed. The scale
of assistance runs from $5 a month for
a wife having no children (in receipt of
$20 a month as separation allowance
and $15 a month or more as assigned
pay) to $30 a month for a wife »with
seven or more children. A widowed
mother receives from the fund a monthly
allowance not to exceed $10. If the
parents are dependent on the soldier
they receive from the fund a monthly
allowance not to exceed $20. A wife with
three children receives a total of $60 a
month from all sources. The pension for
total disability or death is $480 a year
for privates to $2,700 for Brigadier
Generals.
* * *
Russian Women in Battle
PRESS correspondents assert that the
battalion of Russian women was
actively engaged late in July on the
Vilna front, and that five women were
killed and wounded in the first battle;
it was reported that in a subsequent
engagement only fifty-five women in the
entire battalion escaped unhurt. The
women's battalion left Petrograd for the
front in July under command of Mme.
Botchkneva, who was herself injured by
shell shock. They called themselves the
Legion of Death. The women soldiers
were garbed in trousers, puttees, and
tunics a trifle longer than the usual
army coats. They wore the regulation
army caps over bobbed hair and carried
packs only a trifle lighter than those of
the regular Russian soldiers.
They entrained amid the tears of their
families, like veterans. The girls were
of Russia's best blood, of the strong stock
of some of the city's intellectual, finan-
cial and social leaders. Most of them
were students at universities. Some were
wealthy. They were recruited from the
higher educational institutions with a few
peasants, factory girls, and servants.
Some married women, but none with chil-
dren, were admitted. They range in age
from 18 to £5 years and are of excep-
tional physique. Their hair is worn
short. They are armed with the cavalry
carbine, which is lighter than the regular
army rifle. They were trained by offi-
cers of the Kolynsky Regiment.
* * *
Vast British War Credits
THE British Commons granted an addi-
tional new vote of credit of $3,250,-
000,000 in July, which brings the total up
to $26,000,000,000, as follows, in English
money:
1914-1915.
Aug. 6 ! £100,000,000
Nov. 15 ; 225,000,000
March 1 37,000,000
£362,000,000
414
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
1915-1916.
March 1 £250,000,000
June 15 250,000,000
July 20 150,000,000
Sept. 15 250,000,000
Nov. 11 400,000,000
Feb. 21 120,000.000
£1,420,000,000
1916-1917.
Feb. 21 £300,000,000
May 23 300,000,000
July 24 450,000,000
Oct. 11 300,000,000
Dec. 14 400,000,000
Feb. 12 200,000,000
March 15 60,000,000
£2,010,000,000
1917-1018.
Feb. 16 £350,000,000
May 9 500,000,000
July 650,000,000
Total £5,292,000,000
At normal exchange this total is $26,-
460,000,000. Of the preceding sums,
somewhat in excess of $5,000,000,000 was
advanced to the allies of Great Britain.
* * *
How Britain Buys Supplies
GREAT BRITAIN'S expenditures for
army supplies up to June, 1917,
embracing only clothing, food, and uten-
sils for the present war, were $3,500,-
000,000, of which $1,000,000,000 was ex-
pended for her allies. The purchases
now run for Great Britain alone at the
rate of $1,750,000,000 per annum, nearly
$5,000,000 a day. Among the purchases
during the war are included:
Cloth 105,000,000 yards
Flannel 115,000,000 yards
Knives, forks, and
spoons 35,000,000
Bacon 400,000,000 pounds
Cheese 167,000,000 pounds
Jam 260,000,000 tins
Preserved meats 500,000,000 rations
Boots 35,000,000 pairs
Smoke helmets 25,000,000
Horseshoes 40,000,000
The method pursued in buying depends
on the relation that the demand has to
the general output. If it is in small pro-
portion, competitive bids are invited; if
the industry must be enlarged to meet
the demand, the price is fixed plus a
reasonable profit. In some trades, on
which the demands of the department
are unusually heavy, it is necessary to
regulate production in all stages of man-
ufacture down to the raw material. The
latter is either purchased by the depart-
ment or dealings in it are controlled un-
der the Defense of the Realm Regula-
tions, and its conversion into the finished
article is arranged on the basis of fixed
prices for each process of manufacture.
The chief raw materials controlled in
this way are wool and jute, and a simi-
lar kind of control is applied to leather,
flax, and hemp.
* * *
American Loans to Allies
THE loans by the United States to the
Allies up to July 13, 1917, had
reached $1,327,500,000, divided as follows:
1917. France :
Great Britain and Ire- May 8 $100,000,000
land: June 2... 100,000,000
April 25.. $200, 000, 000 June 26.. 10,000,000
May 5.... 25,000,000 July 6... 30,000,000
May 7.... 25,000,000 July 9... 70,000,000
May 14... 75,000,000 July 23.. 60,000,000
May 25... 75,000,000 —
June 9... 75,000,000 $370,000,000
June 14.. 25,000,000 =
June 19.. 35,000,OOOBelgium :
June 26.. 15,000,000 May 16.. $7,500,000
June 30.. 10,000,000 June 19.. 7,500,000
July 2... 25,000,000 July 23.. 7,500,000
July 5. . . 100,000,000 .
July 20.. 85,000,000 $22,500,000
Italy :
May 3... $100, 000,000
July 5... 20,000,000
$770,000,000 Russia :
: July 6... $35,000,000
July 13.. 10,000,000
$45,000,000
$120,000,000
Germany's Loss of Shipping
IT will be remembered that, on or about
Aug. 5, 1914, the powerful German
wireless stations all over the world
sent out a general alarm to all German
ships, announcing that England had de-
clared war against Germany, and order-
ing the Captains to take refuge at once
from the British fleet in the nearest
neutral ports. Obeying this order, Ger-
many's large merchant marine almost
immediately disappeared from the seven
seas, seeking internment in American,
Asiatic, and neutral European harbors.
One of the features of the war has been
the progressive conversion of nearly all
these originally neutral powers into ac-
tive enemies of Germany, with the re-
CURRENT HISTORY CHRONICLED
415
sultant seizure of the interned German
ships, which have then been diverted to
the traffic of the Allies, to replace ton-
nage destroyed by Germany's illegal sub-
marine campaign.
Portugal was the first conspicuous in-
stance of this, a large fleet of German
merchant ships which had taken refuge
in the Tagus being seized by the Portu-
guese Government and this seizure lead-
ing to a declaration of war against Portu-
gal by the German Government; Siam
and China are the latest powers to take
this course. With the exception of the
few German steamships which may have
taken refuge in Scandinavian, Dutch, or
Spanish harbors, and the few ships in
German ports when war was declared,
practically all of Germany's once great
merchant marine is now in the service
of the Allies, or is being prepared for
such service.
follows: Between $200,000 and $400,000,
1 per cent.; $400,000 and $2,000,000,
2 per cent.; $2,000,000 and $20,000,000,
3 per cent.; between $20,000,000 and
$40,000,000, 4 per cent. ; above, 5 per
cent. The impost on revenue from rents
starts at 5 per cent, and increases to
12 per cent. The margin free of tax
allowed residents of Paris is $600. The
impost on rents annuls the tax heretofore
laid on doors and windows.
* * *
A FORMAL charge of theft was pre-
•^ ferred against Prince Eitel Fried-
rich, second son of the Kaiser, by M.
Dubois, proprietor of a chateau in the
neighborhood of Compiegne. There was
a formal hearing before the Court of the
Oise Department, and testimony was in-
troduced to establish the theft of furni-
ture, valuable ornaments, and decorative
and artistic articles by the Prince.
UNDER the new income tax law in
France the following are the rates:
Business profits, 4% per cent.; salaries,
incomes, &c, 3% per cent.; mortgages,
loans, deposits, 5 per cent. Revenue tax
on total business done by firms is as
THE House of Commons after a sharp
debate fixed the minimum wage of
British farm laborers at $6.25 a week.
The Labor Party moved to make it $7.50,
but the Government carried its point by
a majority of 199.
Progress of the War
Recording Campaigns on All Fronts and Collateral Events
From July 19 Up to and Including August 19, 1917
UNITED STATES
The drawing for the nation's first draft army-
took, place in Washington July 20.
Congress passed a bill, signed July 24, ap-
propriating $640,000,000 for the aviation
service.
Another contingent of troops from the regular
army arrived in France.
A controversy between William Denman,
Chairman of the Shipping Board, and
Major Gen. Goethals, General Manager
of the Emergency Fleet Corporation, over
the merits of steel and wooden ships re-
sulted in the resignation of Major Gen.
Goethals and in the retirement of Mr.
Denman, at the request of President Wil-
son. Edward Hurley was appointed to
succeed Mr. Denman and Rear Admiral
Washington Lee Capps was named to suc-
ceed Major Gen. Goethals. Captain John
B. White, a member of the Shipping
Board, also resigned. He was succeeded
by Bainbridge Colby.
A Norwegian Commission and a Swiss Com-
mission arrived in the United States to
discuss the question of food importation
as the result of the passage of a bill to
limit exports to neutral countries.
The Council of National Defense was reor-
ganized to provide for the formation of
a War Industries Board of seven mem-
bers and a Central. Purchasing Commis-
sion to take charge of obtaining war
supplies for the United States and her
allies.
A food control bill was passed by Congress
and was signed by President Wilson Aug.
10. Herbert C. Hoover was named Food
41 G
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Administrator. A $50,000,000 corporation,
headed by Mr. Hoover, was formed to
control wheat prices and supply.
SUBMARINE BLOCKADE
Official British reports made public July 19
showed that losses by actual sinkings of
allied and neutral ships in the first six
months of 1917 amounted to 3,507,257 tons,
and the total losses from August, 1914,
to July, 1917, were 7,706,291 tons.
Germany declared that the monthly average
of her losses in submarines was little more
than three.
The American bark Camela was sunk by
bombs at the entrance of the English
Channel after it had been attacked by a
German submarine and looted. Twenty-
four persons, including eight naval gun-
ners, lost their lives in the sinking of the
American steamship Motano. The Stand-
ard Oil tanker Campana was sunk and
the Captain and four members of the
naval gun crew were reported taken pris-
oners. Other American losses included
the schooners John Hays Hammond and
John Twohy and the bark Christiane.
England lost twenty-one vessels of more than
1,000 tons in the week ended July 21,
eighteen in the week ended July 28,
twenty-one in the week ended Aug. 4,
and fourteen in the week ended Aug. 11.
Thirty-eight members of the crew of the
steamship Belgian Prince, including four
Americans, were drowned after the at-
tacking U-boat took away their lifebelts
and smashed the lifeboats. Forty Amer-
ican muleteers were lost on the steamer
Argalia. The cruiser Ariadne was sunk
and thirty-eight members of the crew
drowned.
French losses averaged about three vessels
of more than 1,600 tons each week. Italy
lost from four to six small steamers each
week of the month.
Sweden's losses from submarines and mines,
from the beginning of the war, amounted
to 136 vessels with a tonnage of 125,000
and Denmark's amounted to 100 ships.
Norway lost thirty-three ships in July.
Ten persons were killed in the sinking of
the Norwegian steamer Falkland.
Argentina sent a peremptory note to Berlin
concerning the sinking of the steamship
Toro.
Peru refused Germany's offer to submit the
circumstances of the sinking of the Peru-
vian bark Lorton to a prize court, and
demanded payment for damages and an
indemnity.
The German Emperor accepted proposals to
spare hospital ships.
CAMPAIGN IN EASTERN EUROPE
July 19— Germans penetrate Russian positions
in Northeastern Galicia on a wide front
near Zlochow; Russians reoccupy Novica,
but withdraw to the eastern end of the
village under heavy losses.
July 20— Teutons make successful attacks on
the Pieniaki-Harbuzov front, owing to
mutiny of extremist Russian regiments,
and occupy Russian first-line trenches
east of Brzezany.
July 22— Russians continue to retreat in
Northern Galicia as mutiny spreads, and
yield ground as far sduth as the Dniester;
Babino, on the Lomnica, evacuated.
July 23— Russians pierce German lines north
of the Pinsk marshes, in the district of
Tsary-Bogushi, but retreat further in
Northern Galicia ; Germans capture Tar-
nopol.
July 24— Germans pursue Russians on a 155-
mile line from the Baltic to the Black
Sea and cross the Sereth River in the
region of Mikulice ; Russians evacuate
Stanislau ; regiments on the Dvinsk-Vilna
front abandon the enemy's positions after
capturing them, as mutiny spreads north.
July 25 — Germans occupy Tarnopol, Stanis-
lau, and Nadworna.
July 26— Germans pursue the Russians east
of Tarnopol to the Gnizdiorzno and
Gnizna Rivers, penetrate positions near
Loszniov and on the Sereth, south of
Trembowla, and occupy three towns south
of Tarnopol; Russians abandon the Car-
pathian front as far as the Kirlibaba
sector.
July 27— Russians retire from Czernowitz;
Germans capture Kolomea.
July 29— Russians retreat over the Galician
border at Husiatyn ; Germans capture
Kuty, in the Carpathians.
July 30— Russians stiffen their line and hold
heights to the east of the River Zbrocz ;
Germans advance through the Suchawa
Valley toward Seletyn.
Aug. 1— Russians begin offensive in Galicia
in the direction of Trembowla, but retreat
in the south.
Aug. 3— Austrians capture Czernowitz.
Aug. 4— Austrians cross the Russian frontier
northeast of Czernowitz ; all of Galicia
except a narrow stretch of ground from
Brody to Zbaraz wrested from ' the Rus-
sians.
Aug. 5 — Russians resume offensive tactics
east of Czernowitz and capture a wood
near Baian, but retire southwest of that
region.
Aug. 6-7— Russians take the offensive in Vol-
hynia and capture two villages ; Russians
evacuate Proskurov, in Podolia, and Ka-
menetz-Podolsk, the capital of Podolia.
Aug. 8— Russians resume the offensive in the
Chotin region and capture two villages
and retake positions near Sereminki, in
Volhynia, after being driven out.
BALKAN CAMPAIGN.
July 21— Fighting resumed on the Rumanian
front ; Austro-Germans attack positions
near the confluence of the Rimnik and
Sereth Rivers, but are repulsed.
July 25— Rumanians enter Teuton trenches
in the region of Bystro Patak.
PROGRESS OF THE WAR
417
July 27— Rumanians capture ten villages in
their advance toward the upper reaches
of the Suchitza River.
July 30— Germans advance east of the Upper
Moldavia Valley and attack on both sides
of the Pokshani-Ajoud Railway.
July 31— Rumanians take fortified positions
on the right bank of the River Putna,
northwest of Soveia.
Aug. 2— Teutons advance in Bukowina and
take stand before Kimpolung.
Aug. 3— Russians evacuate Kimpolung.
Aug. 5— Teutons occupy Varna.
Aug. 7— Austro-Germans begin offensive
against Russo-Rumanian armies in Mol-
davia and storm Russian positions north
of Fokshani.
Aug. 8— Russians fall back between the
Fokshani-Marasechti Railroad and the
River Sereth.
Aug. 11— Teuton attacks in the valleys of the
Sereth and Suchawa, in the region of
Terechini and Gadikalba, repulsed ; Ru-
manians retire southwest of Ocna.
Aug. 12— Austro-Germans in Moldavia cap-
ture Grozesni and the dominating heights ;
Russian attack at the mouth of the River
Buzeu repulsed.
Aug. 15— Austro-Germans seize the bridge-
head at Baltaretu and capture Stracani,
northwest of Pantziu.
Aug. 16— Russians and Rumanians forced to
cross to the east side of the River Sereth
and retire on the Moldavian border.
Aug. 18— Austrians drive Russo-Rumanians
from intrenched positions south of
Grozesci.
CAMPAIGN IN WESTERN EUROPE
July 19— Germans make two attacks upon the
French lines south of St. Quentin and
reach the first French line, but lose most
of their gains.
July 20— Germans repulsed on the plateau be-
fore Craonne and Vauclerc, and between
the Californie Plateau and Casemates
Plateau.
July 22-23— Germans launch fierce attacks on
the Casemates and Californie Plateaus.
July 24 — French retake all ground lost be-
tween Casemates and Californie Plateaus ;
heavy artillery duels in Flanders.
July 26— Germans penetrate French lines from
La Bovelle Farm to a point east of
Hurtebise.
July 27— French repulse five German attacks
on the heights south and west of Moron-
villiers; British capture La Bass6e Ville.
July 31— French and British smash German
lines in Belgium on a twenty -mile front
from Dixmude to Warneton, taking ten
towns and crossing the Yser in many
places ; French on the Aisne capture Ger-
man trenches over a front of nearly a
mile.
Aug. 1— Germans in Belgium retake St. Julien
from the British and gain a footing at
Westhoek.
Aug. 2 — British regain Ypres-Roulers railway
station and repulse German assaults be-
tween the railway and St. Julien.
Aug. 3— British reoccupy St. Julien and im-
prove their positions south of Hollebeke.
Aug. 4— French push forward east of Korte-
keer Cabaret and check Germans near
Verdun ; British expel Germans from
trenches near Monchy-le-Preux, re-estab-
lishing their lines.
Aug. 5— Canadians push forward southwest
of Lens ; British advance at St. Julien
and repulse attacks at Hollebeke.
Aug. 8— French take German trenches north-
west of Bixschoote.
Aug. 9— French advance south of Lange-
marck.
Aug. 10— British capture Westhoek Ridge;
French extend their positions in the Bix-
schoote region ; Germans win ground north
of St. Quentin.
Aug. 11-12— British win more ground east of
Ypres ; French retake lost trenches at
Fayet.
Aug. 14— British push German posts across
the Steenbeke River and re-establish their
lines.
Aug. 15— Canadians take German positions
on a two-mile front east and south of
Loos, including Hill 70.
Aug. 16— British capture Langemarck and
push on a half mile beyond ; French drive
Germans from a tongue of land between
the Yser Canal and the Martjewaart.
Aug. 18— French complete their conquest of
German territory south of the St. Sans-
beek and Breenbeek Rivers.
Aug. 19— British advance 500 yards east of
Langemarck.
ITALIAN CAMPAIGN
July 20— Italians destroy advanced Austrian
post on Monte Plana and repulse a patrol
at the Maso Torrent; Austrians bombard
Italian positions in the Plezzo Basin, on
the Vodice, on the Dosso Faite, and west
of Versic.
July 24— Austrians show increased activity
in the Trentino and attack advanced Ital-
ian posts in the Posina Valley, San Pel-
legrina Valley, and Overbacher region.
Aug. 10— Italians repulse attacks in the
Coalba Valley, at Brenta, and north of
Caterina.
Aug. 19— Italians begin offensive on a thir-
ty-seven-mile front from the region of
Tolmino to near the head of the Adriatic
Sea.
CAMPAIGN IN ASIA MINOR
July 24— Russians bombard Tireboli, on the
Black Sea, with torpedo boats and artil-
lery ; scouting parties cross the Karshut
Darasi and enter Turkish trenches ;
Turks report dislodging of British troops
who had penetrated positions at Chewet-
Tepe, on Gaza-Honjunous Road.
Aug. 8— Russians defeat Kurds near Hos-
haba, southeast of Van, and near Dizy,
west of Urm.
418
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Aug. 14— Turks begin offensive in the region
of Mount Salvus, Dag, and Pelimer, in
the direction of Kharput.
AERIAL RECORD
On the western front the British raided
Zeebrugge, Bruges, Ghistelles, and other
Belgian towns and dropped bombs on the
German airdrome at Sparappelhoek,
Many notable battles were fought. On
July 28 the British downed thirty-one
German machines, and on July 29 they
brought down sixteen machines and drove
fourteen out of control. Thirteen British
machines were reported missing. In the
fighting Aug. 17-18 the Allies brought
down thirty-seven machines and the Ger-
mans twenty-six.
German airplanes flew over Paris on the
nights of July 27 and 28 and dropped
bombs in suburban sections. One aviator
attacked a hospital near the front, killing
four people.
Twenty German airplanes dropped bombs
over Felixstowe and Harwich on July 22,
killing eleven persons and injuring twen-
ty-six. One German airplane was brought
down at sea. In a raid on watering
places on the southeast coast of Essex
on Aug. 12 twenty-three persons were
killed and fifty injured. Two German
machines were- destroyed.
Sir George Cave, the Home Secretary, an-
nounced in Commons on July 30 that since
the beginning of hostilities 366 persons
had been killed and 1*092 injured in the
London metropolitan area.
Germany announced that the Allies lost 213
airplanes and 24 captive balloons in July
and admitted the loss of 60 German ma-
chines.
Italians raided St. Lucia-Tolmino, damaging
the railway works, bombed the arsenal
and military works of Pola, and dropped
four tons of high explosives on Austrian
troop quarters in the Chiapovano Valley.
Austrians raided the maritime arsenal at
Venice. The School of St. Mark was
damaged.
NAVAL RECORD
Two German ships were sunk off the coast
of Holland by British destroyers and two
were captured and taken to England.
The Netherlands Government charged that a
British submarine violated Holland's neu-
trality by sinking the Dutch steamship
Batavier II. in her territorial waters.
Nineteen passengers, including five Amer-
icans, were lost when the British steamer
City of Athens was sunk by a mine off
Cape Town on Aug. 10.
MISCELLANEOUS
Chancellor Michaelis addressed the German
Reichstag on July 20, declaring that Ger-
many contemplated no new peace offer,
but was willing to treat with the Allies
if they opened negotiations. A resolution
for peace without annexations or indem-
nities was adopted. The British House
of Commons rejected a resolution of sym-
pathy with this move.
Pope Benedict sent a letter to the rulers of
the belligerent countries urging peace.
The text was made public in England on
. Aug. 15.
The Finnish Diet adopted the Autonomy bill
July 19, after rejecting a proposal to
submit it to the Russian Provisional Gov-
ernment. The Russian Government de-
clined to acknowledge the validity of the
measure, dissolved the Landtag, and de-
clared that it would submit to the Land-
tag its own laws governing Russo-Finnish
relations. On Aug. 16 the Cabinet re-
signed and the Governor General asked
M. Tokio to form a Socialist Ministry.
Revolts were put down by Russian troops.
The Canadian Parliament passed a conscrip-
tion bill.
Siam and China declared war on the Central
Powers. Austria-Hungary declared that
China's declaration was illegal and un-
constitutional.
Germany notified Turkey and Bulgaria that
she would assume all the expenses in-
curred by those countries in the campaign
of 1917-1918.
Changes were made in the British Admiralty,
Vice Admiral - Sir Rosslyn Wemyss suc-
ceeding Sir Cecil Burney as Second Sea
Lord and Alan Garrett Anderson assum-
ing the Controllership of Naval Construc-
tion. George Nicoll Barnes was appointed
to succeed Arthur Henderson as Labor
member of the War Cabinet.
Serbia protested to the United States against
the economic exploitation of the Serbian
provinces by the Austro-Hungarian and
Bulgarian authorities. The capital was
moved from Corfu to Saloniki.
On Aug. 6 official announcement was made
that four German Imperial Secretaries,
including Foreign Secretary Zimmer-
mann and Adolph von Batocki, Presi-
dent of the Food Regulation Board, and
five Ministers of the Prussian Cabinet
had resigned. Dr. Richard von Kiihl-
mann was appointed Foreign Minister
and Herr von Waldon was named food
rationer.
Representatives of the allied powers held a
conference in Paris July 25-26. They de-
cided to continue the war until their ob-
jects were attained and to withdraw their
"troops from ancient Greece, Thessaly, and
Epirus.
Rear Admiral Lacaze, French Minister of
Marine, and Baron Denis Cochin, Under
Secretary of State for Blockade, resigned
from the French Cabinet. Charles Chau-
met succeeded Lacaze. An Under Secre-
taryship of Marine was created and
Jacques Louis Dumesnil was appointed to
the post. The Chamber of Deputies was
prorogued until Sept. 18, following the
withdrawal of support from the Govern-
ment by strong Socialist groups.
The Grand Tactics of Three
Years of Warfare
By Thomas G. Frothingham
Member of the Military Historical Society of Massachusetts
IT is now known that, at the outbreak
of the war in 1914, the German
Great General Staff had its definite
plan of campaign, which had been
decided upon for years, and which had
been carefully worked out in every detail.
This was a repetition of the plan of 1870
directed against Paris. It was true in
- 1914, as in 1870, that the French capital
was the heart of -France, and its capture,
with the huge levy of money that would
have been imposed on the city, would
have paralyzed France.
The German Staff had mistakenly com-
mitted its plans to an invasion of France
through Belgium to avoid the theoretical
strength of the French frontier for-
tresses. The Germans at that time did
not realize that in the powerful Teutonic
artillery they possessed a weapon that
made all fortresses of no value. They
.had believed the French fortresses im-
pregnable, and had deliberately chosen a
passage through a neutral nation instead
of the attempt to reduce them.
In a previous article* it was shown
that the unexpected resistance of the
Belgians, which delayed the Germans
nearly three weeks, gave the French time
to mobilize, to correct the mistaken of-
fensive in Alsace, and to interpose the
French armies against the German in-
vaders. The French Commander in Chief,
General Joffre, was the ideal man in
character and temperment for such a
crisis. He fought a cool, wary, retiring
fight, all the time gathering his resources
for a final stand against the onthrusting
Germans.
In England Lord Kitchener had been
given absolute military authority, and a
British army of regulars, (about 90,-
000,) under General French, Kitchener's
Lieutenant in South Africa, had been
sent to France, where it was placed on
the left flank of the French armies,
(Aug. 21, 1914.)
As the Germans advanced into France
General Joffre kept his armies in hand,
fighting and falling back successively
from the lines of the Semois, (Char-
leroi,) Meuse, and Aisne, (Aug. 23-28.)
At the beginning of these withdrawals
the British army on the left flank had
overstayed its battle, (Mons, Aug. 23,)
and in its retreat had been badly cut up
by the German right, but the French
armies were not impaired.
Joffre s Stroke at the Marne
General Joffre had withdrawn to the
Marne, (Sept. 3,) and General von
Kluck, who commanded the German right,
knowing the battered condition of the
British army on the French left, be-
lieved that his own right flank was sate,
and drove on to the southeast to join the
massed attack on Paris. But there was
a new element in the campaign that
changed the result. General Joffre had
sent in a fresh army from the environs
of Paris (Sixth Army) and placed it on
the left of the British army, so that the
latter was no longer the left flank of the
Allies.
This Sixth Army on Sept. 6 pressed
north, threatening the German right, as
did the Fifth Army which had been on
the right of the British. This brilliant
manoeuvre decided the battle of the
Marne, (Sept. 6-10,) and saved Paris.
The Germans were forced to retreat
to the Aisne, where they intrenched in
positions previously chosen in case of an
emergency. After vain attempts to
break this line, (battle of the Aisne, Sept.
12-17,) the Allies intrenched against it.
The regions of Verdun and the other
* The Moltke of 1870, &c, Cubeent History
Magazine, February, 1917.
420
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
French frontier fortresses had been also
intrenched, as fortresses had already-
been proved of no value against the
heavy Teutonic artillery. Both armies
extended their flanks toward the sea,
and in an astonishingly short time there
was a line of Petersburg intrenchments
from Switzerland to the sea, which has
since swayed backward and forward for
almost three years.
A part of the pre-war calculations of
the German Staff had been the confident
assumption that there would be so much'
delay in the mobilization of the Russian
Army that no serious move was to be ex-
pected from Russia for many months.
Instead of this the Russian mobilization
was unexpectedly rapid, and in August,
1914, there was an invasion of East
Prussia by two Russian armies, which
started an exodus of the inhabitants, and
made it necessary to send German troops
to that front. This, of course, was a
help to the Allies in the French cam-
paign.
Battle of Tannenberg
The command of this German army in
East Prussia was given to General von
Hindenburg, who had been out of favor
and in retirement. Hindenburg had been
derisively called "The Old Man of the
Lakes," because of his insistence on the
strategic value of the Masurian Lakes
in East Prussia. Against the Russians in
actual warfare Hindenburg proved the
truth of his contention. Calmly and
methodically, as if at army manoeuvres
in his favorite region, he halted the ad-
vance of the Russian General, Sarnsonov,
in a strong frontal position among the
Masurian Lakes, and, striking first one
flank, then the other, Hindenburg prac-
tically destroyed Samsonov's army. The
other Russian army, under General Ren-
nenkampf, which had invested Koenigs-
berg, at once retreated into Russia.
This battle of Tannenberg (Aug. 26-
Sept. 1, 1914) is already considered a
classic by military critics, and it made
Hindenburg the idol of Germany, as
confidence waned in the supposedly in-
fallible General Staff. The defeat itself
was not a vital blow to Russia, nor to the
Entente Allies. In fact, the diversion of
troops and the necessity of retaining an
army on the Russian front was well
worth the price; but the consequent rise
of Hindenburg resulted in great harm to
the cause of the Entente Allies.
In the southeast the rapid mobilization
of the Russians also disconcerted the
Teutonic Allies. The Austrians had pre-
pared in Galicia for an invasion of Rus-
sian Poland. Instead of being able to
carry out their plans, the Austrians met
an onslaught of Russian armies, which
invaded Galicia, captured Tarnopol,
Halicz, and Lemberg, the capital, (Aug.
27-Sept. 3,) and forced the Austrians to
retreat to Cracow, Przemysl, and Jaroslav.
So crippling were these defeats to the
Austrians that the Serbians were able
to defeat the weak Austrian forces that
could be spared for use against them,
and Serbian territory was kept intact.
On the western front in France and
Belgium intrenching tactics changed the
whole character of the war. All through
the Fall of 1914 and into the Winter
there were bloody battles which had no
real military effect except to cause great
losses on both sides. The one tactical
result achieved at this time was the Ger-
man conquest of the Belgian coast, which
the Germans have retained to the present
date. This tactical gain was not appreci-
ated at the time, in view of the failure
of the Germans to reach Calais; but it
has given the Germans a base for sub-
marines and aircraft, which has been of
increasing tactical value.
On the eastern fronts the Russian suc-
cesses continued. In the north repeated
German offensives against Warsaw were
beaten off, and Russian offensives fol-
lowed which kept up a continued pres-
sure on the Germans. In Galicia the
Russians swept forward. Jaroslav was
captured, (Sept. 20, 1914,) Przemysl was
besieged, (surrendered March 22, 1915,)
and on the Carpathian front the Rus-
sians had broken into Austria-Hungary.
Early British Naval Errors
In the meantime Great Britain's navy
had proved to be the great factor on the
sea, as anticipated by military critics.
The concentration of the British fleet in
the North Sea dominated the German
fleet at once, but in the other areas her
naval resources were not so well used.
THE GRAND TACTICS OF THREE YEARS OF WARFARE
421
TERRITORY HELD BY CENTRAL, POWERS AT THE BEGINNING OF 1915. BLACK
LINES INDICATE THE BATTLE FRONTS, DOTTED LINES NEUTRAL BOUNDARIES
TERRITORY HELD BY CENTRAL POWERS AT END OF THREE YEARS OF WAR.
BLACK LINES INDICATE BATTLE FRONTS, DOTTED LINES NEUTRAL BOUNDARIES
422
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Allowing the Goeben and Breslau to get
into Constantinople had a serious effect
on the Turkish situation, out of all pro-
portion to the value of the ships them-
selves.
There seems to have been no reason
for leaving the squadron in the Pacific
without reinforcement, to be destroyed
by a concentration of outlying German
cruisers (Coronel, Nov. 1, 1914) — neither
should the light cruisers (Emden, &c.)
have been left footloose on the seas.
These last errors had ho effect on the
grand tactics of the war, but Great
Britain's mistake in the failure to de-
clare a legal blockade of Germany at
the outset has had a serious and increas-
ing tactical effect on the war.
The perfected case of a legal blockade
established by the United States in the
civil war was at England's service, but,
not realizing the possibilities of the sub-
marine, Great Britain trusted to her com-
mand of the sea, and, instead of declaring
a blockade, in an Admiralty order, (Nov.
2, 1914,) announced military areas in the
North Sea. This was most unfortunate,
as it gave Germany the chance to adopt
the " war zone " policy, which has been
one of the evils of the war.
The harm of this was not apparent
early in 1915. Submarines had not de-
veloped any alarming efficiency. Great
Britain controlled the sea, and, in spite
of German occupation of French and
Belgian territory, the military situation
was then apparently in favor of the
Entente Allies. On the western front
the plan of the German General Staff
had been defeated, and the great Ger-
man armies of invasion had been brought
to a halt. On the eastern front there
was a strong pressure on the Teutonic
Allies, especially on Austria. In fact, a
study of the map will show that the
Teutonic Allies were practically besieged
in the early Spring of 1915. They were
even cut off from their new ally, Tur-
key. (Turkey at war Oct. 30, 1914.)
Allied Offensives of 1915
The three great nations of the En-
tente Allies had intrusted their prepara-
tions for the coming campaigns of 1915
to three military dictators — for such
had General Joffre become in France
after his victory of the Marne. Lord
Kitchener and the Grand Duke Nicholas,
each the typical soldier of his nation, had
absolute control in Great Britain and
Russia. Herein lay the failure of the
•Allies, for each of these leaders believed
that the height of military efficiency had
been reached in the past campaigns. The
great development of barrier fire and the
excellence of the French " 75s " had
brought about the misguided belief in
the " established superiority in artillery,"
which lulled the Entente Allies into false
confidence.
In reality at this time the Teutonic
Allies were making the colossal prepa-
rations of artillery and munitions which
were destined to change the year of
1915 into a tragedy for the Entente
Allies.
The first allied offensive in 1915 was
Great Britain's ill-starred attempt on the
Dardanelles, which was undertaken with
her fleet alone. In spite of all the re-
criminations of those responsible, it is
evident that at the time there was great
confidence in the ability of the guns of
the fleet to reduce the land defenses.
The new 15-inch guns of the Queen
Elizabeth class were particularly relied
upon.
All the naval bombardments were with-
out tactical result — and several ships
were lost, (February-March, 1915.) It
was decided to use a landing force, which
Great Britain had available in Egypt.
This army was brought to the strait
in March, but the transports were found
to be " improperly loaded."* The troops
were then returned, reshipped, and, after
a delay of more than another month, a
landing was made on the tip of the Gal-
lipoli Peninsula, (April 25-26,) with fear-
ful losses. Although the great fleet
was at hand, there was no serious bom-
bardment of the point of landing, and the
Turks, who had received so much warn-
ing in advance, took full advantage of
the situation.
The battered army was retained on the
peninsula for months of desultory, use-
less fighting. In August there was an-
other landing, which was as costly as the
first, and the expedition was withdrawn
♦General Ian Hamilton.
THE GRAND TACTICS OF THREE YEARS OF WARFARE 423
in the Winter. From first to last it was
a blunder, costly in losses, and most
costly in its effects upon the war, es-
pecially in its influence on the hesitating
nations, Bulgaria and Greece.
In the Spring of 1915 this disaster had
not yet developed, and there were great
hopes of the allied' offensives, but on
the western front these hopes were soon
disappointed. The failures at Neuve
Chapelle, Ypres, &c, showed conclu-
sively that the preparations of the Allies
for carrying the formidable German in-
trenchments had been inadequate. Not
only did the Allies' best efforts fail to
make any real impression on their
enemies, but their assaults were not dan-
gerous enough to divert Teuton troops
from the eastern front, where a fearful
change had taken place in the military
situation.
Hindenburg's Drive in Calicia
In these regions, where the position of
the Entente Allies was apparently so
favorable in the Spring of 1915, with
Galicia overrun and the Russians break-
ing through the Carpathians, Hinden-
burg, who had been given the command
in the East because of his victory at
Tannenberg, had been making prepara-
tions for a campaign unprecedented in
history. The Austrian and German
forces had been amalgamated, and the
new huge artillery had been massed for
an assault on the overconfident Russians
— for the Grand Duke and his Generals
did not seem to have any suspicion of the
impending danger.
Suddenly (April 28, 1915) the storm
broke. General von Mackensen, who com-
manded in Galicia, blasted out the Rus-
sian lines with artillery attacks such as
had never been seen in war, and in a few
days the whole Russian front was in re-
treat before massed assaults that did not
allow the Russians to make a successful
stand for months.
May 14 the Russians were driven over
the San. Przemysl fell June 2, Lemberg
June 22. In the north Libau was taken
in May, and Courland was overrun. Then
came the irresistible drive on Warsaw,
which was taken Aug. 5. Kovno, Novo
Georgievsk, Ossowietz, Brest-Litovsk,
and Grodno all fell within a month — and
all the time the Russian losses in men
and guns had been enormous. It was
not until Fall that the Russians were able
to hold the line from Riga to Eastern
Galicia, where they have remained so
long with little change.
At the time there was so much daily
comment on the " masterly retreat n of
the Grand Duke Nicholas that most of
our people do not now realiza the great
military results of this most disastrous
campaign in all history. The Russian
losses are estimated to have been: Killed
and wounded, 1,200,000; prisoners, 900-
000. Some 65,000 square miles of ter-
ritory were lost.
These Russian reverses in 1915, and
the failure at the Dardanelles brought
Bulgaria into the war on the side of the
Teutonic Allies, (October, 1915.) There
was a simultaneous invasion of Serbia
by Austro-Germans and Bulgarians, and
all Serbia was conquered before the
Allies could give any help. An Anglo-
French army was landed near Saloniki,
but its only usefulness was to insure the
neutrality of the Greeks, which was very
uncertain at the time. By the end of
November, 1915, the last of the Serbian
troops had been driven into Albania.
In January, 1916, Montenegro was also
conquered, and Scutari, the capital of
Albania, was captured, (Jan. 23, 1916.)
In May, 1915, Italy had declared war
on Austria alone, and at once frankly
began to fight " nostra guerra " in an
attempt to win the Trentino and Trieste.
Consequently the tactical value of the
Italians to the Entente Allies and their
effect on the results of the great war
in 1915 must be measured by the num-
ber of Austrians they diverted from the
Russian campaign. Owing to the diffi-
culties of the country, which made de-
fense easy for Austria, it is probable
that no great numbers of Austrian
troops were needed until after the fall
of Warsaw. Consequently, the effect of
the entrance of Italy was not great — and
Italy's own campaign of conquest was
barren of military results in 1915.
On the western front, after the allied
failures in the Spring of 1915, there was
only desultory fighting through the Sum-
mer. In September the British and
424
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
French undertook another offensive in
the region of Loos and in the Champagne,
but again the Allies failed to win any
military results; neither did they suc-
ceed in making a diversion that would
take away troops from the eastern front
and help Russia and Serbia.
Development of Submarines
On the sea in 1915 Germany was shut
in so far as concerned any use of her
fleet. There had been some raiding, but
nothing that had any effect on the war.
Throughout the year Germany was de-
veloping a tactical use of submarines,
and, taking advantage of the pernicious
war zone areas, was breaking away from
international law with the U-boats; but
at the end of 1915, although there had
been much ruthless destruction of life,
it cannot be said that the submarines had
become a factor in the grand tactics of
the war.
A comparison on the map will show
that the military situation at the begin-
ning of 1916 was much less favorable
for the Entente Allies than early in 1915.
On the western front the intrenched
lines faced one another as before, but in
the East all was changed. On their
northern front the Russians had been
driven out of Russian Poland and far back
into Russia. In the south they had been
swept back in Galicia until they only
held a narrow strip on the eastern fron-
tier.
The entrance of Bulgaria and the con-
quest of Serbia had given the Teutonic
Allies a strip of territory which con-
nected them with Turkey — and gave
them the control of the "bridge" to the
East. The Teutons were no longer
hemmed in; they had raised the siege.
At the beginning of 1916 the disappoint-
ment of the Allies in their military hopes
and the realization that their prepara-
tions in the first Winter had been in-
adequate, had brought changes in the ad-
ministration of the Allies. The three
military dictators were no longer in con-
trol. Joffre was not paramount in
France, though still Commander in Chief.
In England, Lloyd George had become
Minister of Munitions, Lord Derby had
charge of the recruiting, and Sir William
Robertson was Chief of Staff. The Rus-
sian Grand Duke Nicholas had been sent
to command in the Caucasus.
The Attack at Verdun
At this time in England and France
powerful artillery and vast amounts of
munitions were being hurried to comple-
tion for use in the campaigns of 1916 —
but before these were ready in sufficient
quantities France received a costly lesson
as to the need of heavy guns to cope
with the German artillery. Suddenly in
February, 1916, north of Verdun, on a
sector over ten miles long, the French
were blasted out of their trenches by a
concentration of heavy artillery, just as
the Russians had been in the Spring of
1915. Although it was known that there
was some movement on foot, the French
Staff had been unable to tell where an
attack was to be made.* That the Ger-
mans were able to make this concen-
tration of hundreds of thousands of men
and hundreds of guns without being ob-
served by the airplanes is a blow to faith
in scouting from the air, but such is the
fact.
For three weeks after the first as-
sault (Feb. 21, 1916) there was a
fearful sacrifice of the best blood of
France. Verdun itself, as has been ex-
plained, was no longer a fortress, but a
system of trenches, and of no more real
value than any other system of trenches.
But the name Verdun meant the prestige
of France in all Europe, and it was de-
cided to hold the place at any cost.
Enormous losses were heroically en-
dured. Every available gun was rushed
to this region, and at last, by using naval
guns, many of them actually taken from
the warships, an equality in artillery
was secured. In the latter part of March
it became an even battle, and later the
advantage was with the French. It is
evident from the official accounts that in
the first stages the French losses greatly
exceeded those of the Germans, as the
German gains were made by artillery,
and then consolidated; but in the later
phases the German losses were probably
greater. This battle was a fearful drain
on the man-power of France, but the
♦Official, March 18, 1916.
THE GRAND TACTICS OF THREE YEARS OF WARFARE
425
German prolongation of the action for
months without result caused great dis-
satisfaction in Germany, and brought
about the appointment of Hindenburg to
supreme command of the German armies.
Spring and Summer of 1916
On the eastern fronts in the Spring
of 1916 there was naturally no early allied
offensive of any moment. The Russian
armies had great losses to repair, and
the allied army at Saloniki was held
inactive by the attitude of Greece. In
Asia Minor, however, the Grand Duke
Nicholas's campaign was winning im-
portant results. Erzerum was taken
Feb. 14, Trebizond April 18. On the
Tigris the totally inadequate British
force which had been sent from India
against Bagdad was compelled to sur-
render, (Kut-el-Amara, April 28, 1916,)
but this was unimportant except as it
affected British prestige in the East. In
the Spring of 1916, on the Italian front,
the Austrians, relieved from the pressure
of the Russians, invaded northern Italy
and were steadily making progress,
when a renewed Russian offensive (June,
1916) made it necessary to recall Aus-
trian troops, and this saved the situation
for the Italians.
The Russians had recuperated in an
astonishing degree, and in June, 1916,
under General Brusiloff, took the offen-
sive, quickly overran Bukowina, and be-
came dangerous in Galicia, again threat-
ening Lemberg. So strong was the
pressure on Austria-Hungary through
the Summer of 1916 that the Rumanians,
who had been waiting with a mobilized
army for a chance to win spoil in the
war, thought that Austria was suffi-
ciently weakened to enable the Ruman-
ian Army to seize Transylvania. In this
belief Rumania declared war, Aug. 27,
1916, and at once invaded the coveted
province, without making any attempt to
act in unison with the Entente Allies.
Never was there a more complete
failure. Hindenburg had made unsus-
pected preparations for just such action
on the part of Rumania. Two armies
under Mackensen and Falkenhayn were
ready — they swept the Rumanians out of
Transylvania, invaded Dobrudja, and,
united under Mackensen, conquered Ru-
mania without a check. (Bucharest
captured, Dec. 6, 1916.) The Teutons
had gained rich wheat fields and oil lands
at small cost, and only Moldavia was left
in the hands of the Rumanians.
Battle of the Somme
On the western front the Entente Al-
lies had begun their great offensive of
the year on July 1, 1916. This is known
as the battle of the Somme, and it lasted
intermittently until November. As has
been said, the Allies had much strength-
ened their artillery. At first there was
great encouragement at the gains made,
but after a time it became evident that,
while they were taking a certain number
of trenches, these trenches were being
yielded only at a prohibitive price in
losses. For months the British losses alone
were far above 100,000 a month, and the
battle gradually slowed down to raiding
tactics. As was the case in 1915, the
pressure of the allied assaults had not
been sufficient to affect the situation in
the east and prevent the conquest of
Rumania.
The Italians, relieved by the withdraw-
als of Austrian troops to Galicia in June,
1916, won their one victory of the war by
the capture of Gorizia, Aug. 9, 1916,
but they have been unable to make any
progress in the difficult mountainous
country from that time to the present
date. However, there is an Italian army
of perhaps 200,000 men in Albania, which
helps the allied situation in the Balkans,
although it has aroused the jealousy of
Greece. In this region, in spite of the
fact that King Constantine has abdicated
and Greece is nominally pro-ally, the
Greek situation has been so uncertain
that General Sarrail's Balkan army has
remained inactive.
Battle of Jutland
On the sea in 1916 the German High
Sea Fleet came out and fought the Brit-
ish Grand Fleet, so timing its battle that
the German fleet first struck Vice
Admiral Beatty's advance force, which
was out of touch with Admiral Jellicoe's
main fleet. After badly damaging this
detached force, the German fleet managed
to engage the superior British fleet under
conditions of mist and falling darkness,
426
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
with threatened torpedo attacks, which
caused the British fleet to draw off from
the battlefield — to return to it the next
morning. In consequence, the German
fleet was enabled to return to port with
the prestige of having inflicted heavier
losses on the British, and of having re-
mained on the battlefield. This great
naval battle (Jutland, May 31, 1916) had
no effect on England's control of the
sea, but it had a great moral effect in
Germany.
Throughout 1916 Germany developed
increased tactical use of the submarines,
and Feb. 1, 1917, began unrestricted
submarine warfare in the greatly en-
larged war zones, which included all the
waters about her enemies. Since then
large numbers of Teuton U-boats have
caused a serious loss of shipping, and
this successful tactical result has made
the submarine campaign as much a part
of the grand tactics of the war as any
movements of the armies. In fact, the
submarine is now the most dangerous
weapon possessed by the Teutonic Allies.
Dissatisfaction with the conduct of the
war in 1916, especially with the Somme
offensive, had brought about a political
change in England, and the energetic
Lloyd George was made head of the new
War Council, (Dec. 6, 1916.) Increased
preparations in great guns and muni-
tions were made by Great Britain and
France, and Russia was equipped as
never before.
Events of 19 1 7 Summarized
In the beginning of 1917 an adequate
British expedition was approaching Bag-
dad, (taken March 11, 1917,) and Rus-
sian forces were moving to co-operate in
Asia Minor and Persia. There appeared
to be hope of cutting through the Teuton
" bridge " to the east, but suddenly the
Russian revolution broke out (Czar ab-
dicated March 15, 1917) and all the
Russian armies were paralyzed for any
offensive value.
For four months the Russian armies
did practically nothing but debate. In
July, 1917, there was a feverish offensive,
urged on by the Russian democratic
leader, Kerensky, and the Russians made
gains in Galicia, probably helped by the
surprise and by withdrawals of Teutonic
troops. But when Austro-German forces
were brought up against them, the
Russian troops again became demoralized,
and many of them refused to fight,
marching away in Galacia without firing
a shot. This is the situation at the time
of writing. However, there is one fav-
orable element in this Russian situation
which must be kept in mind: Evidently
the Teutonic allies are still compelled to
keep large forces on the Russian fronts.
On the western front, in the Spring
of 1917, a great allied offensive, using
the new strength of artillery, was
launched against the Arras salient, which
extended from north of Arras beyond
Soissons. Here an extraordinary situa-
tion developed. Hindenburg had antici-
pated the attack of the Allies on this
sector, and he had withdrawn to more
favorable positions behind the exposed
salient, (March, 1917.)
Leaving small detachments in his
trenches to keep up appearances, Hin-
denburg had moved back his men, his
guns, and all his material safely to his
new positions. That he was able to do
this on a front of over fifty miles, un-
suspected and unmolested, with the air
full of allied airplanes, is comment
enough on the limitations of scouting
from the air. An attack in force by the
Allies while this movement was going on
would have been dangerous for the Ger-
mans.
At first this withdrawal was not un-
derstood, but in the battle of Arras
(April 9-May) which followed, it was
found that Hindenburg had improved his
own positions and given the Allies a
devastated and shell-scarred terrain to
fight over. There were gains for the
Allies at first, but, as before, the battle
waned into raids, and there has been no
aggressive fighting in this region for
weeks. Again the only tactical result of
great effort has been the number of
Germans who have been put out of
action.
A terrific blast of over 1,000,000
pounds of high explosives which had been
placed in mines under a salient at Mes-
sines, south of Ypres, wrecked everything
in the German trenches (June 7, 1917)
and gave the British possession; but no
THE GRAND TACTICS OF THREE YEARS OF WARFARE 427
tactical gain has followed, , and this is
cited merely to show the proportions to
which mining operations have grown.
Since then north of Ypres the Germans,
by a concentration of artillery unnoticed
by the airplanes, destroyed British forces
across the Yser Canal and captured their
position. This British loss was of some
tactical importance, as it strengthened
the German hold on the Belgian coast,
which is now realized to be a dangerous
German base. At the time of writing,
a new British offensive has begun in
Flanders.
In spite of all the resources devoted
to them in the three years of warfare,
aircraft have not become a part of the
grand tactics of the war. The Zeppelins
have not been of any military value, and
airplanes have not yet been devised that
can carry their fuel and sufficient weight
of explosives for serious bombardments.
Even for the short flights over the Chan-
nel the raids have been mere haphazard
dropping of bombs, and have not won any
military results; and for scouting and
direction of artillery the present air-
planes have great limitations.
True Military Situation
From the foregoing, it is evident that
the advantage would be with the Teutonic
allies if it were possible to weigh the
military results of. this war in the usual
scales. But such standards of other days
do not apply to this epoch-making cata-
clysm. Entirely different estimates must
be made to arrive at the true military
situation. To military critics the one out-
standing fact is that this war is being
fought with enormous losses in men and
material out of all proportion to the
military results attained.
Changes to intrenching tactics have
greatly increased the tasks of the armies
and multiplied their losses. The giant
proportions of the artillery and of mate-
rial of all kinds in these campaigns have
become a fearful drain, such as has never
before been imagined. Simply to con-
sider the tons of costly munitions- thrown
away in an everyday bombardment is
astonishing, and expenditure on the same
enormous scale must be made in all the
other material. The constant appalling
losses of men* and the incalculable wast-
age of material have become the domi-
nant factor in the grand tactics of the
war, and all other military results are
dwarfed in comparison.
In all the wars in the past, the mili-
tary results have been self-evident in
victories and in gain 'of territory. In this
war, to judge from any such evidence
would be to arrive at a false estimate
of the actual military situation, which is
not contained in any list of victories or
in any advantages that can be seen on
the map. The real military results have
gone far beyond all this, and the only
true estimate of the present tactical
situation is to realize that the real results
of the grand tactics of three years of
war are two groups of haggard nations,
equally depleted in men and resources —
and equally war weary!
* A conservative estimate of those killed
in three years is 7,000,000.
Estimates of War Casualties
OFFICIAL statistics of the killed, ported during June, 1917, are as follows:
wounded, and missing are not Killed and died of wounds 28,819
ii u*s *. - j i_ • J? Died of sickness 3,215
regularly published by any one of Prisoners 1,835
the nations, though compilations Missing 36,772
made from official lists as published each Severely wounded 21,315
month by some of the belligerents convey Wounded • 5,354
a fairlv arrnrate idea of the losses Slightly wounded 56,160
a lainy accurate iaea ot tne losses. Wounded remaining with units.... .... 13,077
These lists, however, do not specify the
particular periods covered. Total 166,547
The German official casualty lists, re- The above casualties, added to those
428
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
reported in previous months, (including
the corrections reported in June, 1917,)
bring the totals reported in the German
official lists since the beginning of the
war to:
Killed and died of wounds 1,032,800
Died of sickness 72,960
Prisoners 316,506
Missing 275,460
Severely wounded 590,883
Wounded i 315,239
Slightly wounded 1,655,685
Wounded remaining with units 263,774
Total 4,523,307
The above figures include all German
nationalities — Prussians, Bavarians,
Saxons, and Wurttembergers. They do
not include naval casualties or casualties
of colonial troops.
Since these figures were put into type
the German casualty totals for July, 1917,
have been published, adding an aggregate
of 89,863 to the total in the foregoing
table.
The British casualties, as officially re-
ported for July, 1917, prove the extreme
severity of the fighting in the series of
offensives launched by Field Marshal
Haig. In that month alone the casual-
ties totaled 71,348, of whom 2,490 were
officers and 68,858 men; killed, died of
wounds, and missing were 723 officers
and 16,276 men; only 2 officers were
made prisoners of war, and only 96 men.
The ghastly figures for the five months
of March, April, May, June, and July,
1917, tell a tale of ferocious fighting, and
are as follows, respectively:
Officers. Men.
March 1.765 28,709
April 4,381 31,619
May 5,991 107,075
June 3,601 84,667
July 2,490 68,858
Total .18,228 252,928
This makes a grand total of 271,256
British casualties for the five months.
In July, 1915, estimates by the Red
Cross were as follows for the first year
of the war:
First First
6 Mos. 12 Mos.
Dead 482,000 1,000,000
Severely wounded 07,000 200,000
Slightly wounded ..760,000 1,500,000
Prisoners ...> 233,000 485,000
In March, 1917, the official compila-
tions at Washington placed the number
of German dead at 893,000, wounded at
450,000, captured and missing at 245,000.
The untrustworthiness of all present
estimates is clear from the above. The
number of German prisoners and missing
estimated in the first year is put at
485,000, whereas near the end of the
third year the number officially reported
by Germany is 591,966.
On Dec. 6, 1915, the following tables
were compiled, showing the losses during
the first fifteen months of the war:
Prisoners
and
Killed. Wounded. Missing.
Great Britain 115,000 351,000 710,000
France 270,000, 840,000 180,000
Russia 450,000 1,400,000 375,000
Italy 72,000 224,000 48,000
Belgium 27,000 84,000 18,000
Serbia 27,000 84,000 18,000
Montenegro 4,500 14,000 3,000
Germany 485,370' 1,510,040 323,580
Austria 319,140 992,880 265,950
Turkey 45,000 140,000 30,000
Bulgaria 36,000 112,000 24,000
In March, 1917, compilations made at
Washington were tabulated as follows,
covering the period from the beginning
of the war to February, 1917:
Prisoners
and
Dead. Wounded. Missing.
Russia 1,500,060 784,200 800,000
France 870,000 540,800 400,000
Great Britain 205,400 102,500 107,500
Rumania 100,000 150,000 250,000
Italy 105,000 49,000 56,000
Belgium 50,000 22,000 40,000
Serbia 60,000 28,000
Germany 893,200 450,000 245,000
Austria 523,000 355,000 591,000
Turkey 127,000 110,000 70,000
Bulgaria 7,500 7,000 6,000
Estimates at the end of the third year,
published July 28, 1917, are tabulated as
follows :
Seriously Capt'd or
Killed. Wounded. Missing:. Total.
England.. *298,988 177,224 182,452 659,664
France ...1,580,000 921,328 696,548" 3,197,876
Russia . . .2,002,064 1,223,476 1,243,096 4,528,636
Italy 130,356 60,840 68,292 259,488
Belgium.. 62,064 27,324 149,644 239,032
Serbia ... 74,484 34,776 109,260
Totals . .4,263,956 2,444,968 2,341,032 9,049,956
•Includes Canadian and Australian but not
Indian troops.
ESTIMATES OF WAR CASUALTIES
429
Seriously Capt'd or
Killed. Wounded. Missing. Total.
Germany. 1,908,800 958,612 704,128 3,571,540
Austria .. 849,368 540,673 833,644 481,096
Turkey .. 157,644 236,548 86,904 481,096
Bulgaria.. 9,324 8,676 7,452 25,452
Total ..2,925,136 1,744,509 1,632,128 6,301,776
Grand tls. 7, 188,092* 4,189,477 3,973,169 15,351,732
Eighty per cent, of the Entente allied
wounded return to the armies ; Germany
claims that 85 per cent, of her wounded
return as combatants.
According to an Associated Press esti-
mate made May 15, 1917, the Central
Powers held the following prisoners at
that time :
Held by Germany. . .1,690,731 (17,474 officers)
By Austria" 1,092,055
By Bulgaria 67,582
By Turkey 23,903
Total 2,874,271 (27,620 officers)
This total is made up as follows :
( Total. In Germany.
Russian prisoners 2,080,699 1,212,007
French 368,607 367,124
Serbian . . 154,630 25,879
Italian 98,017
Rumanian 79,033 10,157
British 45,241 33,129
Belgian 42,437 42,435
Montenegrin 5,607
The total number of prisoners taken
by the Allies up to May, 1917, was esti-
mated at 1,284,050, divided as follows:
In In In In
England. France. Russia. Italy.
German
prisoners ..85,000 259,050 250,000
Austrian 550,000 80,000
In addition, 40,000 Austrians and Bul-
garians captured by Serbia are now in
Italy, and 20,000 Turkish prisoners are
in Egypt.
Arrival of the Japanese Mission
Other Visiting Envoys
A JAPANESE Commission, headed
by Viscount K. Ishii, Ambassador
Extraordinary and Plenipotenti-
ary, arrived at a Pacific port on Aug. 13,
1917, where its members were met by an
official delegation from Washington
consisting of Breckenridge Long, Third
Assistant Secretary of State, and Gavin
McNab, an attorney, with representa-
tives of the army and navy. A United
States battleship circled the Japanese
vessel during its approach to the port,
and masses of troops at " present arms "
lined the streets through which the mis-
sion passed, while the Japanese anthem
was played. A reception in the City Hall
began a series of entertainments lasting
three days, during which every appropri-
ate honor and courtesy was vouchsafed
the visitors.
At a dinner given to the mission in the
evening of Aug. 14 Viscount Ishii said:
We are here to say that in this tremen-
dous struggle for those rights and lib-
erties America and Japan are bound to-
gether ; that when the victory of the allied
forces is secure, America and Japan
should so live that your sons and our
sons will have a certainty of good neigh-
borhood ; so live that no word or deed of
either can be looked upon with suspicion;
that venomous gossip, hired slander,
sinister intrigue and influence, of which
we have both been the victims, can in
future only serve to bring us closer to-
gether for mutual protection and for the
common welfare.
The importance of this co-operation
was brought home to us particularly as
we voyaged safely and pleasantly across
the Pacific Ocean. We must indeed have
assurance bf good order in our neighbor-
hood. We cannot, either of us, take risks.
It becomes the first duty of Japan and
America to guard the Pacific and to in-
sure safe, continuous intercourse between
Asia and the United States, to see to it
that the ships of the ferocious pirates
whose crimes upon the high seas can never
be palliated find no shelter in the waters
of our seas.
It is for us together to continue to en-
force respect for law and humanity upon
the Pacific, from which the German
menace was removed at the commence-
ment of the war. Had this not been so,
had the barbarian of Europe not been
rooted from his Oriental bases, the shud-
dering horrors of the Atlantic and the
Mediterranean would today be a grim
reality on the Pacific. In the protection
of our sea-going merchandise and men,
430
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
in safeguarding the pleasures of inter-
course, you may count on us as we must
count on you.
In the dawning of this new day of stress
and strain let us forget the little molehills
that have been exaggerated into mountains
to bar our good relations. Let us see
together with a clearer vision the pitfalls
dug by a cunning enemy in our path,
let us together fix our eyes upon the
star of principle which shall lead us
together most surely to a participation
in the triumph of the right, to a certain
victory in the greatest and, let us hope,
the last great war in human history.
The cordiality of the Pacific Coast's
reception of the mission impressed the
visitors deeply. " Your action," said
their spokesman, when departing for
Washington, " clears away many a doubt
and misunderstanding on the part of the
people of both countries as to our mutual
aims and aspirations. Your generous at-
titude makes it possible for every fair-
minded man to believe that there are no
pending questions between America and
Japan which, approached in this spirit,
are not susceptible of honorable and fair
adjustment."
Nanseris Norwegian Mission
All the neutral nations of Europe were
greatly perturbed by President Wilson's
declaration of July 9, placing under Gov-
ernment control the volume of foodstuffs
and other wartime material which may
be sent to other countries. As put into
operation, this order has resulted in a
virtual embargo on foods, forage, and
fats bound for neutral lands adjoining
Germany. At the present writing more
than eighty Dutch vessels laden with
such cargoes have been waiting for .a
month in New York Harbor and adjoin-
ing waters for a ruling that would give
them clearance papers.
Norway was among the first of the
European neutrals ^to send missions to
this country to negotiate for a relaxa-
tion of the embargo, which, they de-
clared, threatened them with starvation.
Dr. Fridtjof Nansen, the arctic explorer,
headed the Norwegian Mission, which
reached Washington at the beginning of
August, and held a long conference with
the State Department on Aug. 8.
To press representatives Dr. Nansen
stated that at the beginning of the war
Norway had 3,000,000 tons of merchant
shipping, and that one-third of it had
fallen victim to Germany's submarines.
Most of the ships so lost, he said, were
DR. FRIDTJOF NANSEN
serving the Allies when destroyed. Dr.
Nansen stated his case as follows:
The fact that our imports from the
United States have increased during the
war does not mean that our total im-
ports have increased. Exportation of
fats, grain, and sugar is wholly prohib-
ited ; no licenses are issued for them.
What we want first of all are foodstuffs,
because Norway does not produce enough
to live on. Our chief needs are carbohy-
drates, which are found in wheat, sugar,
and fats; if they are cut off it will mean
starvation. We had an instance of that
one hundred years ago, during the Na-
poleonic wars, and we don't want to ex-
perience it again.
Our exports to Germany now consist of
fish, principally. We wish to remain neu-
tral, and it would be unneutral to cut off
all supplies to one side and permit them
to continue to go to the other side. Meats,
fats, milk, butter, everything in the way
of Norwegian foodstuffs, except fish, has
been cut off from Germany, and fish is
exported to Germany in accordance with
an agreement with Great Britain. We
have maintained that we could not cut
Off fish to Germany because that would
mean war with Germany; whatever is
now exported to Germany is really with
the consent of the British Government.
My hope is to come to some agreement
with the United States on the lines we
have with Gre^t Britain.
ARRIVAL OF THE JAPANESE MISSION
431
A Swedish mission for the same pur-
pose, headed by Hermann Lagerkrantz,
former Swedish Minister to the*United
States, visited Washington in July. A
similar mission from Switzerland, con-
sisting of National Counselor John Suz,
Colonel Staenpfi, and Professor William
Rappard, arrived on Aug. 15, in company
with Dr. Hans Sulzer, the new Swiss
Minister to the United States to succeed
Dr. Paul Ritter. At the same time an
official mission of the same nature was
sailing from Holland. Its chief spokes-
man, Joost von Vollenhoven, declared:
" If we fail to persuade the American
Government to permit a continuance of
the supply of grain it will mean misery
and economic ruin for Holland."
Serbia' 3 Plan of Reorganization
Following is a summary of an official
statement 'issued min July, 1917, by the
Serbian Press Bureau on the Island of
Corfu :
AT a conference of members of the
former Coalition Cabinet, the pres-
ent Cabinet, and the representatives
of the Jugoslav Committee, views were
exchanged with the co-operation of the
President of the Skupshtina on all ques-
tions relating to the life of the Serbians,
Croats, and Slovaks in their future united
state. Complete unanimity on every ques-
tion that arose prevailed. Divided among
several States our country is cut up in
Austria-Hungary alone into eleven pro-
vincial adminstrations with thirteen legis-
lative bodies. The war forced by German
militarism upon Russia, France, and
Great Britain has been transformed into
a fight for the liberty of the world and
for the triumph of right over force. To
noble France, which proclaimed the lib-
erty of nations, and to Great Britain,
the home of liberty, there has been joined
the great American Republic and the
new, free, and democratic Russia in pro-
claiming as the principal object of the
war the triumph of liberty and democracy,
and, as the basis of a new international
system, the freedom of nations to govern
themselves.
The authorized representatives of the
Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes declare that
the desire of our people is to free itself
from all foreign oppression and to con-
stitute itself into a free, national, and
independent State, based on the principle
that every people is free to govern itself,
and are agreed in considering that this
State should be founded on the following
modern and democratic principles:
1. The State of the Serbs, Croats, and
Slovenes, who are also known by the names
of Southern Slavs and Jugoslavs, will be a
free and independent monarchy, with an indi-
visible territory and unity of power. This
State will be a constitutional, democratic, and
Parliamentary monarchy, with the Kara-
georgevitch dynasty, which has always
shared the ideals and feelings of the nation
in placing above everything else the national
liberty and will at its head.
2. The name of this State will be the King-
dom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, and
the title of the sovereign will be King of the
Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes.
3. This State will only have one coat of
arms, one flag, and one crown.
4. The four different flags of the S'erbs,
Croats, and Slovenes will have equal rights,
and may be hoisted freely on all occasions.
The same will obtain for the four different
coats of arms.
5. The three national denominations, the
Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, are equal before
the law in all the territory of the kingdom,
and each may freely use it on all occasions
in public life and before all authorities.
6. The two Cyrillic and Latin alphabets
also have the same rights, and every one may
freely use them in all the territory of the
kingdom. The royal and local self-governing
authorities have the right and ought to em-
ploy the two alphabets according to the desire
of the citizens.
7. All religions are recognized, and may
be free and publicly practiced. The Ortho-
dox Roman Catholic and Mussulman religions,
which are most professed in our country,
will be equal, and will enjoy the same rights
in relation to the State. In view of these
principles, the Legislature will be careful to
preserve the religious peace in conformity
with the spirit and tradition of our entire
nation.
8. The Gregorian calendar will be adopted
as soon as possible.
9. The territory of the Serbs, Croats, and
Slovenes will comprise all the territory where
our nation lives in compact masses and with-
out discontinuity, and where it could not be
mutilated without injuring the vital interests
of the community. Our nation does not ask
432
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
for anything which belongs to others, and
only claims that which belongs to it. It
desires to free itself and establish its unity.
That is why it conscientiously and firmly re-
jects every partial solution of the problem
of its freedom from the Austro-Hungarian
domination.
10. The Adriatic Sea, in the interests of
liberty and equal rights of all nations, is to
be free and open to all and each.
11. All citizens throughout the territory of
the kingdom are equal and enjoy the same
rights in regard to the State and the law.
12. The election of Deputies to the national
representation will take place under universal
suffrage, which is to be equal, direct, and
secret. The same will apply to the elections
in the communes and other administrative
institutions. A vote will be taken in each
commune.
13. -~e Constitution to be established after
the conclusion of peace by the Constituent
Assembly elected by universal, direct, and
secret suffrage will serve as a basis for the
life of the State. It will be the origin and
ultimate end of all the powers and all rights
by which the whole national life will be regu-
lated. The Constitution will give the people
the opportunity of exercising its particular
energies in local autonomies, regulated by
natural, social, and economic conditions. The
Constitution must be adopted in its entirety
by* a numerical majority of the Constituent
Assembly, and all other laws passed by the
Constituent Assembly will not come into force
until they have been sanctioned by the King.
Thus the united nation of Serbs, Croatians,
and Slovenes will form a State of twelve
million inhabitants. This State will be a guar-
antee of their national independence and of
their general national progress and civiliza-
tion, and a powerful rampart against the
pressure of the Germans, and an inseparable
ally of all civilized peoples and States. Hav-
ing proclaimed the principle of right and
liberty and of international justice, it will
•form a worthy part of the new society of
nations.
Signed at Corfu, July 20, 1917, by the Presi-
dent of the Council and Minister of Foreign
Affairs of the Kingdom of Serbia, Nikola
Pashitch, and the President of the Jugoslav
Committee, Dr. Anto Trumbic.
O Valiant Hearts
By JOHN S. ARKWRIGHT
[A new hymn sung at the intercession service in Westminster Abbey, London, on the third
anniversary of the war.]
O valiant Hearts, who to your glory came
Through dust of conflict and through battle-flame;
Tranquil you lie, your knightly virtue proved,
Your memory hallowed in the Land you loved.
Proudly you gathered, rank on rank to war,
As who had heard God's message from afar;
All you had hoped for, all you had, you gave
To save Mankind — yourselves you scorned to save.
Splendid you passed, the great surrender made,
Into the light that nevermore shall fade;
Deep your contentment in that blest abode,
Who wait the last clear trumpet-call of God.
Long years ago, as earth lay dark and still,
Rose a loud cry upon a lonely hill,
While in the frailty of our human clay
Christ, our Redeemer, passed the self-same way.
Still stands His Cross from that dread hour to this
Like some bright star above the dark abyss;
Still, through the veil, the Victor's pitying eyes
Look down to bless our lesser Calvaries.
Russia Passes Through Deep Waters
Kerensky's New Leadership
THE Russian revolution encountered
its most perilous period toward
the end of July, 1917, and for a
time conservative judgment in the
United States and England entertained
grave fears of civil war or anarchy; but
there was remarkable restraint on the
part of the masses when affairs seemed
at their worst, and out of the depths of
the national spirit there arose a new
revolution to save the situation and main-
tain order. Within a fortnight after the
crisis the forces of law and order were
firmly in the ascendency and the revo-
lution seemed more strongly intrenched
by the middle of August than at any
previous time.
When matters were at their worst late
in July, the country everywhere the
scene of riotous disturbances, the army
in a state of demoralization, anarchists,
radicals, and monarchists seeming to be
working hand in hand to precipitate a
reign of terror, the real Russian con-
servatives who accomplished the original
revolution practically without bloodshed,
again took control and effected a com-
plete reorganization of the Provisional
Government.
Kerens^ Saves the Situation
On July 20 it was announced that the
Premier, Prince Lvoff, had resigned, and
that Alexander F. Kerensky had been
appointed Premier, but would also tem-
porarily retain his portfolio as Minister
of War and Munitions. A new Govern-
ment was quickly formed. Kerensky was
made practical dictator, and his Govern-
ment received the complete indorsement
of the Joint Congress of Workmen's and
Soldiers' Councils and of the All-Russia
Council of Peasant Delegates, conferring
upon the new Premier and his Cabinet
unlimited authority.
The effect was electrical. Orders were
given to fire on deserters and runaways
at the front, and warrants were issued
for the arrest of revolutionary agitators
wherever they might be. Rear Admiral
Verdervski, commander of the Baltic
fleet, was seized for communicating a
secret Government telegram to sailors'
committees. Lieutenant Dashkevitch and
another executive committeeman of the
Workmen's and Soldiers' Council also
were arrested, the former on the charge
of inciting the Peterhof troops to remove
the Provisional Government.
The decision of the councils to resort
to the extreme measure of conferring
supreme and unrestricted power on the
Government was reached after a session
that lasted throughout the night of July
22, and was embodied in the following
resolution, which was passed by 252 to
57:
Recognizing that the country is men-
aced by a military debacle on the front
and by anarchy at home, it is resolved :
First — That the country and the revo-
lution are endangered ;
Second — That the Provisional Govern-
ment is proclaimed the Government of
National Safety ;
Third — That unlimited powers are ac-
corded the Government for re-establish-
ing the organization and discipline of the
army for a fight to the finish against
the enemies of public order and for the
realization of the whole program em-
bodied in the Governmental program just
announced.
A Ringing Proclamation
The Executive Councils of the All-
Russia Workmen's and Soldiers' and
Peasants' organizations issued the fol-
lowing proclamation on the 23d:
Fellow-soldiers : One of our armies has
wavered, its regiments have fled before
the enemy. Part of our front has been
broken. Emperor "William's hordes, which
have moved forward, are bringing with
them death and destruction.
Who is responsible for this humiliation?
The responsibility rests with those who
have spread discord in the army and
shaken its discipline, with those who at
a time of danger disobeyed the military
commands and wasted time in fruitless
discussions and disputes.
Many of those who left the line and
sought safety in running away paid with
their lives for having disobeyed orders.
The enemy's fire mowed them down. If
*:>4
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
this costly lesson has taught you nothing,
then there will be no salvation for Russia.
Enough of words. The time has come
to act without hesitation. We have ac-
knowledged the Provisional Government.
With the Government lies the salvation
of the revolution. We have acknowledged
its unlimited authority and its unlimited
power. Its commands must be law. All
those who disobey the commands of the
Provisional Government in battle will be
regarded as traitors. Toward traitors
and cowards no mercy will be shown.
Fellow-soldiers : You want a durable
peace. You want your land, your free-
dom. Then you must know that only by
a stubborn struggle will you win peace for
Russia and all nations. Yielding before
the troops of the German Emperor, you
lost both your land and your freedom.
The conquering, imperialistic Germans will
force you again and again to fight for
your interests.
Fellow-soldiers at the front: Let there
be no traitors or cowards among you.
Let not one of you retreat a single step
before the foe. Only one way is open
for you— the way forward.
Fellow-soldiers in the rear: Be ready
to advance to the front for the support
of your brothers, abandoned and betrayed,
fleeing from their positions in the regi-
ments. Gather all your strength for the
struggle for a durable peace, for your
land and your freedom. Without waver-
ing, without fear, without disastrous dis-
cussions, carry out all military commands.
At the time of battle disobedience and
wavering are worse than treachery. Your
ruin lies in them, the ruin of Russia.
Fellow-soldiers : You are being watched
by those who work for Russia and by
the whole world. The ruin of the Russian
revolution spells ruin for all. Summon up
all your manhood, your perseverance and
sense of discipline and save the father-
land.
Provisional Government's Action
The Provisional Government also
issued a proclamation on July 22 charg-
ing that the disorders were precipitated
to bring about a counter revolution by
the enemies of the country. Proceeding,
the proclamation said:
The Government firmly believes that the
crisis will lead to recovery, not death.
Strong in that belief, the Government is
ready to act with the energy and resolu-
tion the exceptional circumstances de-
mand. The Government regards as its
first and capital task the application of
its whole strength to the struggle against
the foreign foe and to the defense of the
new Governmental regime against every
anarchical and counter-revolutionary at-
tempt, without hesitating to take the most
rigorous measures in its power. At the
same time the Government reiterates that
not a drop of blood of a Russian soldier
shall be shed for any foreign end, as al-
ready proclaimed to the whole world. * * *
The Government considers it indispen-
sable immediately to proceed with a series
of measures putting the principles an-
nounced on May 19 into operation, and
adheres to the steps already taken to con-
vene a constituent assembly on Sept. 30.
The speediest introduction of autonomy
for municipalities and Zemstvos, based on
direct, equal, secret, universal suffrage,
and the extension of this principle to the
entire country is the Government's chief
problem in internal policy.
Military Disaster
The political crisis produced deeper
demoralization in the army, which dis-
regarded discipline and refused to re-
cognize military rule. A general re-
treat followed. The Germans and Aus-
trians steadily advanced through Galicia
and crossed the frontier before the Rus-
sian armies could be forced to make a
stand. The death penalty for treason or
mutiny was restored in the army on July
25, when Kerensky threatened to resign
unless this was done. The Government
on July 25 authorized the Minister of
the Interior to suspend the publication of
periodicals that incite to insubordination
or disobedience to orders given by the
military authorities.
On the 25th the Council of Workmen's
and Soldiers' Delegates and the Peasants
Congress issued another proclamation,
declaring :
Lack of discipline and open treachery
at the front are facilitating Field Mar-
shal von Hindenburg's new offensive.
The serious defeats inflicted on our army
are opening the way to the enemy for in-
creasing the general panic and preparing
the soil in which the poisonous seeds of
counter-revolution may come into full
bloom. Already an attack is being or-
ganized by the strong bourgeoisie ; al-
ready the jackals and hyenas of the old
regime are howling. * * *
We turn to you, our representatives,
with a passionate appeal. * * * Sup-
port the revolutionary authority ; try to
secure the full submission of working-
men, soldiers, and peasants to all the
decisions of democracy's majority. In-
spire them ; awaken enthusiasm in them.
Exert your entire will, your entire en-
ergy. Rally round our All-Russian cen-
tres and we will show the country and
RUSSIA PASSES THROUGH DEEP WATERS
435
the world that the nation which created
the greatest revolution in the world can
not and shall not perish.
By July 28 the situation had become
more hopeful. On that day General Nich-
olas Ruszky, formerly Commander in
Chief of the northern armies of Russia,
and General Gurko, ex-commander on
the Russian southwestern front, were
summoned to Petrograd. The retire-
ment of General Ruszky from command
of the armies of the north and of Gen-
eral Gurko from a group in the south
had involved the same principle, but from
different points of view — interference
with the Provisional Government by the
Council of Workmen's and Soldiers' Dele-
gates.
Pro-German Agitators Censured
As further exidence of the return of
reason the Executive Committee of the
Council of Workmen's and Soldiers' Dele-
gates adopted by an overwhelming ma-
jority (300 to 11) a resolution censur-
ing Lenine and his associate, Zinovieff,
and demanding that the Radical leaders
be tried. The resolution contains the fol-
lowing recommendations :
First— The whole revolutionary democ-
\ racy desires that the group of Maximalists
accused of having organized disorders or
incited revolts or of having received
money from German sources should be
tried publicly. In consequence, the Execu-
tive Committee considers it absolutely in-
admissible that Lenine and Zinovieff
should escape justice, and demands that
the Maximalist faction immediately and
categorically express its censure of the
conduct of its leaders.
Second— In view of the exceptional situ-
ation, the committees of Workmen's and
Soldiers' Delegates demand from all their
members and from all factions of which
they are composed, as well as from all
members of local councils, the putting into
absolute practice of all decisions adopted
by the majority of the central organiza-
tions.
It was disclosed on July 31 that the
crisis in Russia earlier in the month had
been the work of radicals like Lenine
working under German direction and
financed by Germans. A whole day before
the news of the crisis in Petrograd
reached the army Lenine's agents were
acquainted with it through traitors in the
wireless service. They spread a report
among the troops that the Maximalists
were in control of the Government and
that the war was at an end, hence the
army became demoralized and the Ger-
man advance was practically unopposed.
On Aug. 2 it was announced that
General Alexis A. Brusiloff, Commander
in Chief of the Russian Armies, had re-
signed. General L. G. Korniloff, Com-
mander in Chief of the Russian armies on
the southwestern front, was appointed
Generalissimo. General Tcheremissoff,
commander of the Eighth Army, was ap-
pointed to succeed General Korniloff on
the southwestern front.
Cabinet Reorganization
The Cabinet was disrupted on Aug. 3
by charges made against M. Tchernoff,
the Socialist Minister of Agriculture,
whose resignation was demanded by
Kerensky and his fellow-Ministers.
Kerensky then undertook the difficult
task of organizing a coalition Cabinet,
and was at length successful. The new
Cabinet was announced Aug. 7. Only
three of the original Ministers survived:
Kerensky, who was originally Minister of
Justice; Terestchenko, Minister of Fi-
nance, and Nekrasoff, First Minister of
Communications. In addition these four
Ministers were included from the first
Kerensky Cabinet of July 24: Tchernoff
resumed his portfolio of Agriculture;
Pieschehonoff, that of Supplies; Yefrem-
off, that of Justice, and Skobeleff, that
of Labor.
Four of the most prominent Parlia-
mentary Socialists — Kerensky, Skobeleff,
Tchernoff, and Pieschehonoff — were re-
tained, while extreme radicals, whether
Socialists or not, were dropped. Tseretelli,
who was the famous obstructionist
leader of the Council of Workmen's and
Soldiers' Delegates, in the Department of
Posts and Telegraphs, gave way to M.
Nikitine, a Social Democrat.
A feature of the new Cabinet was the
appearance of representatives of the
" bourgeoisie " class, who so long held
aloof and who appeared as Constitutional
Democrats — M. Oldenburg of the Acad-
emy of Sciences, M. Astroff, Mayor of
Moscow; M. Kartasheff, who succeeded
Nicholas Lvoff as Prosecutor of the Holy
Synod, and Golovine, who succeeded God-
neff as Controller of State.
436
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
There were four Parliamentary Social-
ists and one Social Democrat facing four
representatives of the new Constitutional
Democracy, which also had the support
of the non-Socialists who came over from
the late Cabinet — Terestchenko, Nekras-
off, Yefremoff, and Prekopovitch — who
swing the balance of power.
Conditions began to show improvement
from this time forth. On Aug. 11 the
Government showed confidence by an-
nouncing that commissions would be ap-
pointed in connection with the establish-
ment of iron discipline in the army. The
Government also prohibited the further
holding of all meetings or congresses
which they regard as dangerous from a
military viewpoint or as menacing the
security of the State.
Colonel Kolotkoffs Report
Causes of the military collapse were
set forth Aug. 10, in a report by Colonel
Kolotkoff to the Council of Workmen's
and Soldiers' Delegates, who placed the
responsibility on the former policemen,
gendarmes, and spies of Emperor Nich-
olas at the front.
Until the end of June, says Colonel
Kolotkoff, the army on the west front
was in excellent fighting trim technically,
and was beyond criticism as regards sup-
plies. There was an admirable plan to
advance, which would probably have led
to the reconquest of Vilna, but the police,
gendarmes, and spies of the autocracy
started a cownter-revolutionary cam-
paign, the first aim of which was the
dissolution of the army.
Large numbers managed to get elected
to company committees, and started a
propaganda against war, inciting soldiers
against officers and the Provisional
Government's commissaries. Later they
distilled vodka, and on the advance dosed
soldiers therewith. Criminal convicts,
who were sent to the army as were
deserters, demoralized the soldiers by
their example.
The Germans took advantage of these
conditions and flooded the Russian
trenches with spies in Russian uniforms,
finding this easy because many Russian
soldiers at the front do not carry docu-
ments of identity. Many of these Ger-
mans spoke Russian so well that they sat
at the officers' mess without exciting
suspicion. The spies organized fraterni-
zation. Soldiers born in provinces oc-
cupied by the enemy were allowed to
visit their homes, and after a1 short
absence returned to the trenches com-
pletely Germanized in sentiment.
The result was that as the attempt
was started to recover Vilna many
soldiers refused to participate in the
attack. How good was Russia's chance,
says Colonel Kolotkoff, is proved by the
fact that weakened Germans often ran
away, and the strange spectacle of Rus-
sians flying from fleeing Germans was
sometimes seen. The Germans realized
the situation first, and having an iron
discipline were able to turn the Russian
collapse to advantage.
Return of the Root Mission
The Root Mission returned from Rus-
sia early in August, and reported to
Washington Aug. 12. On that day, at a
public reception given by the citizens of
New York, Senator Root, head of the
mission, expressed supreme confidence
in the stability of the revolution. He
spoke as follows:
The extraordinary ease with which the
Czar's Government was removed was due
not merely to the fact that it was an au-
tocracy, but also to the fact that it did
not govern efficiently ; it was not up to
the job ; it had allowed Russia to drift
into a position where there was vast con-
fusion and they were on the verge of
bankruptcy, and the Government had be-
come, practically, merely a Government
of suppression, a Government of nega-
tives that ceased to lead the people, so
that the Czar and the bureaucracy were
slipped off as easily as a crab sheds its
hard shell when the proper time comes.
Now, into that state of affairs there
came intervention by that malevolent
power which is intermeddling with the
affairs of every nation upon earth, stir-
ring up discord, stimulating, feeding,
financing all the forces of evil— doing
it here among us now — that power that
finds its account in alliance with all evil
passions, all the sordid impulses of hu-
manity in every nation in the world, en-
tered into Russia. Thousands of agents
poured over the border immediately upon
the revolution.
Notwithstanding all this, in a country
with no Central Government that had
power to enforce its decrees, in a country
with no police, a country in which the
sanction and moral obligation of the
RUSSIA PASSES THROUGH DEEP WATERS
437
laws had disappeared with the disappear-
ance of the Czar, there reigned order to
a higher degree than has existed in the
United States of America during this
period.
Peoples Wonderful Stability)
In the first enthusiasm for freedom in
the liberation of political prisoners a great
many ordinary criminal prisoners were
also released, and they went about and
committed some depredations, which, of
course, all found their way into the news-
papers, but even with that the general
average of peace and order, of respect
for property and life in Russia was high-
er than could reasonably be expected
from any 1S0,000,000 people in the world
1 under any Government.
Now, that extraordinary phenomenon
called for a study, a careful study, not
merely from the newspapers or from talk-
ing with Government officials, but by
countless serious interviews and conversa-
tions with men of all grades and stripes
and -callings and conditions of life, and
those studies satisfied all the members of
this mission that the Russian people pos-
sessed to a very high degree qualities that
are necessary for successful self-govern-
ment. They have self-control equaled in
few countries of the world. They have
persistency of purpose; they have a most
kindly and ingrained respect— not only re-
spect, regard for the rights of others.
They will not willingly do an injustice to
any one, and that sense of justice carries
with it a broad character. They have a
noble idealism which is developed and ex-
hibited in the minds that are enlarged by
education, and they have a strong sense
of the mission of liberty in the world, and
they have an extraordinary capacity for
concerted action.
If their character is unequal to the task,
all the aid of all the great countries in
the world' cannot give them their freedom.
Freedom must find its foundation, its sure
foundation, within the people themselves,
and we think the Russians have that sure
foundation. * * *
No one can tell what the outcome will
be, but this is certain, that Russia, tired
of the war, worn and harried by war;
Russia, which_ has lost 7,000,000 of her
sons, every village in mourning, every
family bereaved, Russia has again taken
up the heavy burden ; she has restored
the discipline of her army; she has put
away the bright vision of peace and rest,
and returned yet again to the sacrifice
^ and the suffering of war in order that
she might continue free.
Former Emperor Nicholas and his
family were removed Aug. 15 from the
palace at Tsarskoe Selo to Tobolsk, Si-
beria. The official announcement, not
issued until the 19th, was as follows:
Owing to reasons of State, the Govern-
ment decided to transfer to a new resi-
dence? the ex-Emperor and ex-Empress,
who are detained under guard. The
place selected was Tobolsk, where they
were taken after requisite measures to in-
sure their safety. With them went of
their own free will their children and cer-
tain of their entourage.
Former Czar an Exile
Nicholas was very depressed in ap-
pearance, but the former Empress, Al-
exandra, who was seen walking for the
first time in months, seemed pleased at
the prospect of a change in surround-
ings.
An hour after the train arrived Nich-
olas appeared on the steps of the palace,
dressed in a Coloners uniform, with a
khaki blouse and with no decorations.
Without lifting his eyes from the ground
he entered an automobile, accompanied
by Prince Dolgoroukoff and Count
Benckendorff, former Court Marshal,
who thus far have shared the captivity
of the fallen ruler. They were followed
by the former Empress Alexandra, who
was accompanied by Countess Narysh-
ken, her close friend and former Lady of
the Court; all the four Grand Duchesses,
with their maids of honor, and finally
by Alexis, the former heir to the throne,
at whose side was the gigantic sailor,
" Derevenko," the protector of Alexis
since his birth, and his constant compan-
ion and playmate.
Tobolsk is a remote town of 20,000 in-
habitants in Western Siberia, far from
the railroad, and visited only by steam-
ers which ply the Irtish River. In former
times it was an administrative centre for
exiles banished to Siberia by the Russian
rulers. The climate is extremely severe
in Winter. Tobolsk recently achieved a
dubious publicity in revolutionary Rus-
sia as the birthplace of Gregory Ras-
putin, the mystic monk, who wielded a
remarkable influence over the ex-Emper-
or^ family up to the time of the priest's
assassination in Petrograd last Decem-
ber.
The Finnish Diet, under the influence
of Swedish members, on July 19 adopted
a bill refusing longer to recognize any
rights of Russia in Finnish affairs. The
438
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Provisional Government of Russia on July
25 refused to acknowledge the validity of
this measure. On Aug. 4 the Finnish
Senate by a vote of 7 to 6 adopted a
resolution declaring the action in pro-
claiming independence a mistake, and
asserting that the Provisional Govern-
ment was the legitimate organ of control.
This action, however, was not approved
by the Deputies of the Landtag, and seri-
ous disorders arose, resulting in clashes
between the Russian authorities and the
independents, in which a number of Finns
were killed and wounded.
The Ukraine National Assembly, which
has declared for autonomy, includes in
the request the following States to be
incorporated into the new Government:
Kiev, Poltava, Podolia, Volhyjiia, Tcher-
nikov, Khargov, Ekaterinaslav, Kherson,
Taurida, and Bessarabia.
The Russian Goy^rnment is disposed
to grant autonomy to all these dis-
tricts except Bessarabia, where the
Ukraine population is only 19 per
cent., and a plebiscite will be held
in that territory to determine the will
of the majority.
Paris Conference on Balkan Affairs
A CONFERENCE of allied diplomats
and military leaders held at Paris
to examine into the situation in
the Balkan Peninsula adjourned its last
sitting on July 26, 1917. Before separ-
ating, the members unanimously passed
the following resolution :
The allied powers, more closely allied
and more closely united than ever before
in defense of the rights of nations, espe-
cially those of the Balkan Peninsula, are
determined only to lay down arms when
they have reached the goal which in
their eyes is more important than all
others, that is, to render impossible any
return in the future of acts of criminal
aggression such as those for which the
autocracy of the Central Empires has
been responsible.
The conference reached an agreement
concerning the Greek territories at pres-
ent in military occupation. Great Brit-
ain, France, and Italy agreed to cease
simultaneously, as soon as possible, the
military occupation they were obliged to
undertake of territory in Old Greece,
Thessaly, and Epirus. The occupation
of the triangle formed by the Santi
Quaranta road, the frontier, and Epirus
will be continued provisionally, in view
of the maintenance of order, pending an
arrangement between Italy and Greece
regarding the re-establishment of civil
administration under the authority of a
Greek Commissioner.
Great Britain, France, and Italy will
retain for the period of the war the
naval arid military base at Corfu, which
will remain under Greek sovereignty.
Representatives of all the allied coun-
tries had been invited to this conference.
The decisions adopted were unanimously
confirmed, and a conference of the Min-
isters of Departments concerned met
shortly afterward in London to arrange
measures for their execution.
The Socialists in the War
Their Pacifist Activities
DURING the last month the Social-
ists of various countries have
caused a great deal of discussion
on account of their attempt to
hold an international conference at which
terms of peace were to be formulated.
As the Socialists include active pacifist
elements in all countries and have be-
come a focus of whatever strength there
is in any general movement for peace,
it is important to review their activities
since the beginning of the war, and to
grasp their point of view. Although the
action of the British, French, Italian,
and American Governments in refusing
passports to delegates has virtually-
broken up the proposed Stockholm Con-
ference, certain elements of socialism
continue their agitation for such a con-
ference, and are profiting by whatever
discontent and weariness the war is
producing.
Before the outbreak of the war at the
beginning of August, 1914, the European
Socialists had organized a revived " In-
ternational," which borrowed the name
and principles of an organization several
decades earlier, and the purpose of which
was to make war impossible by organiz-
ing general strikes in the different coun-
tries of Europe. It is of historic in-
terest that this scheme of universal
strikes was largely developed by Aristide
Briand, France's great war Premier, in
his earlier Socialist days.
When the war began the Parliamen-
tary strength of the Socialists in Europe
was as follows: In the German Reichs-
tag there were about 100 Socialist mem-
bers, of a total of 397; but the Socialists
represented 4,250,399 votes out of 12,-
260,731 who actually voted; that is, con-
siderably more than one-third, while
they had only about a fourth of the
Reichstag membership. But as under
the German Constitution the Reichstag
has no voice in the question of war or
peace, these Socialist members had no
opportunity at all to declare themselves
on the question of the invasion of Bel-
gium and France.
In the French Chamber of Deputies, of
a total of 602 members there were, at
the beginning of the war, 102 organized
Socialists and 30 independent Socialists.
In the Russian Duma, elected in 1912,
with a total of 383 members, there were
12 Social Democrats and 11 Labor mem-
bers, but the Socialist Party was strong
in the manufacturing centres. In the
Italian Chamber of Deputies, elected in
1913, with 508 members, there were 80
Socialists. There were also a few So-
cialists in the British House of Com-
mons.
When German armies invaded France
the Socialist members of the French
Chamber of Deputies frankly deserted
the International and supported the Min-
istry, of which M. Rene Viviani, who
afterward visited the United States,
was then the head. Socialist Ministers
like M. Albert Thomas, Minister of Mu-
nitions, were among the ablest members
of the successive French War Ministries
under Viviani, Briand, and Ribot.
Views of Various Leaders
In Germany Dr. Karl Liebknecht, at
one time leader of the powerful Socialist
Party, was the only member of the So-
cialist faction to vote against the war
credits demanded by the Imperial Chan-
cellor, Dr. Bethmann Hollweg. In the
Tagwacht, published at Berne, in Ger-
man Switzerland, Dr. Liebknecht wrote:
" It is painful to write at a time when
" the radiant hope of former days, the
" Social International, lies smashed amid
" its thousand expectations ; when even
" many Socialists of the belligerent coun-
" tries of this most rapacious war will-
" ingly put on the yoke of imperialism."
Dr. Liebknecht was severely rebuked by
the German Socialist Party for violating
the policies of their Reichstag caucus. He
aroused the enmity of the Imperial Gov-
ernment by declaring that " this war was
440
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
begun by a lie and is carried on by lies";
and he was finally prosecuted, con-
demned, and sentenced to a long prison
term on a charge of treason.
The Russian Socialist organ, Sovre-
menny Mir (the "Contemporary World,)
declared that " the present war is caused
"by the vital interests of capitalist na-
"tions; it is the inevitable way of solv-
" ing international conflicts in a bour-
" geois society. Russia's participation
" in this war is necessitated by the vital
" interests of the country, the impera-
" tive demands of its capitalistic develop-
"ment, and its social economic prog-
" ress."
An International Congress of Social-
ists was planned to meet at The Hague,
Holland, in July, 1915; but M. Vander-
velde, the Belgian Socialist leader, re-
fused pointblank to take part in it, as
this would have involved meeting Ger-
man Socialists. The French Socialists
also refused to attend.
On July 27, 1916, the National Com-
mittee of the American Socialist Party
began the preparation of a party plat-
form, to be adopted by a mail referen-
dum vote, and containing the following
among other planks:
That all laws for the increase of the
army and navy be repealed.
That power be taken from the President
to lead the nation into war * * * that
no war be declared or waged without a
referendum vote of the people, except
for the purpose of repelling invasion.
That the Monroe Doctrine be aban-
doned.
On July 31, 1916, an International So-
cialist Conference of six neutral nations
— the United States, Spain, Sweden,
Denmark, Argentina, Holland — was held,
at which the Dutch Socialist leader,
Pieter Jelles Troelstra, presided. Reso-
lutions were passed demanding the re-
establishment of the independence of
Belgium and Poland and a democratic
federal union of the Balkan States; an
economic war after the war was con-
demned, and protests were recorded
against the sentences of Dr. Liebknecht
and others.
On Aug. 7, 1916, the National Council
of French Socialists, assembled at Paris,
voted by 1,824 to 1,075 votes to sever
international relations with the German
Socialists. "
Socialist Split in Germany
On Jan. 13, 1916, the German Social-
ist caucus censured Dr. Liebknecht for
his opposition to the war policy of the
Imperial German Government. On March
24, 1916, eighteen of the Socialist mem-
bers of the Reichstag broke away from
their comrades and founded an indepen-
dent Socialist group, with the title of the
Social Democratic Labor Union. Under
the leadership of Philip Scheidemann,
eighty-nine Socialist members of the
Reichstag continued to support the Im-
perial war policy and to vote war credits.
On Oct. 11, 1916, speaking in the
Reichstag, Scheidemann said : " We de-
" clare openly and clearly that the na-
" tion wants peace. * * * " Hugo
Haase, leader of the dissenting minority
of eighteen Socialists, said : " Millions
" are looking to the Reichstag for a
" glimmer of peace. * * * Our dream
" of domination in this war will never
" be realized. An agreement must be
" sought without hesitation in order to
" save the people from the worst. * * * "
These speeches were followed by Chan-
cellor Bethmann Hollweg's " peace ges-
tures " on Nov. 9 and Nov. 30, 1916.
On March 1, 1917, the British Social-
ists, refusing an invitation to a Social-
ist conference, voted that " the weakness
" of the German Social Democratic Party,
" whose leaders, despite pledges made in
" Paris and Brussels, vigorously support-
" ed the Junker and capitalist army of
" aggressive militarism, destroyed at a
" blow" all the mutual international con-
" fidence between the Socialists of all
" nations."
The Russian Revolution
On March 15, 1917, Nicholas II. signed
an act of abdication for himself and his
son, the Grand Duke Alexis, and named
his brother Michael as his successor. The
Grand Duke Michael refused to accept
this nomination until it should be evident
that such was the will of the Russian
people.
A Provisional Government, under the
Presidency of Prince George E. Lvoff,
was then formed of leaders of the Lib-
THE SOCIALISTS IN THE WAR
441
eral and Socialist Parties in the Duma,
Paul Milukoff , Michael Rodzianko, Alex-*
ander Gutchkoff and Alexander Kerensky
being the most prominent.
The Provisional Government, however,
found itself opposed at every step by
the Socialist Council of Workmen's and
Soldiers' Delegates, with Nicholas Tsch-
eidze, a native of Georgia in the Cau-
casus, at its head. This council claimed
to represent revolutionary Russia and,
as such, to dictate all policies of the Pro-
visional Government. It issued two or-
ders to the army, calling on each unit
(company, battalion, regiment, brigade,
division and corps) to form a deliberative
council to decide all questions and to
answer for the discipline of that unit.
Army units were also invited to elect
their own officers, but it was later said
that this should apply only to the regi-
ments in Petrograd and Moscow that had
helped to bring about the revolution.
Gutchkoff, the Minister of War, accepted
the measure thus dictated by the Council
of Workmen's and Soldiers' Delegates,
embodied it in a Ministerial order and
distributed it to all sections of the Rus-
sian Army.
This order at once destroyed the au-
thority of the officers and dislocated the
discipline of the Russian armies. It
caused an immediate and forceful pro-
test from the highest and best-known
Generals, with General Brusiloff at their
head, with the result that Gutchkoff was
forced to resign, Alexander Kerensky
taking his place as War Minister and
declaring that he intended to introduce
iron discipline once more into the army.
The continual pressure of the Social-
ist Council of "Workmen's and Soldiers'
Delegates, with violent demonstrations
organized by Socialists in the streets of
Petrograd, made the work of the Pro-
visional Government almost impossible,
with the result that first Paul Milukoff,
and later Prince Lvoff, Rodzianko, and
all the Duma leaders were forced out of
the Provisional Government, which be-
came almost completely Socialistic.
Immediately after the revolution the
Provisional Government issued orders
liberating all political exiles in Siberia
and inviting all those who had left Rus-
sia for political reasons under the im-
perial rule to return. Bands of exiles at
once began to stream toward Petrograd
from Siberia, from the United States,
and from Switzerland. The Imperial
German Government did everything to
facilitate the return of certain of these
Russian exiles who had been living at
Berne and elsewhere in German Swit-
zerland, providing them with passports,
and expediting their passage through
Germany, although they were citizens of
a country then at war with Germany.
Two conspicuous members of this Ger-
man-Swiss group were Nikolai Lenin and
Chernoff, later a member of the Minis-
try.
The arrival of certain of these Russian
Socialists, whose return had thus been
facilitated by Germany, was the signal
for violent disturbances and anarchistic
outbreaks at Petrograd and elsewhere.
The garrison of Schluesselburg, and later
the garrison of the great naval base at
Eronstadt, in the Neva River below Pe-
trograd, declared themselves indpendent
republics and refused, for some time, to
recognize the authority of the Provis-
ional Government.
Nikolai Lenin organized demonstra-
tions of armed anarchists and Socialists
in the streets of Petrograd, denounced
the Provisional Government, threatened,
and even attempted, to kidnap members
of the Ministry, and did everything that
was possible to bring Russia to ruin
and confusion.
When he was at the height of his
power, he delivered before the Council
of Workmen's and Soldiers' Delegates a
violent address, urging Russia to con-
clude a separate peace with Germany,
" without annexation or indemnity."
This was on June 22. When this ha-
rangue was concluded, M. Veirensky — ac-
cording to a special cable from Ambas-
sador Francis, representative of the
United States at Petrograd — announced
that he would repeat Lenin's speech, and
proceeded to read a document almost
identical with it. When M. Veirensky
had concluded, he announced that he had
been reading an intercepted radiogram
from Germany, signed by Prince Leopold
of Bavaria, German commander on the
Russian front. A few days later Gen-
4H
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
eral Brusiloff announced, through an of-
ficer of his staff, that he had conclusive
evidence that Lenin was the agent in
Russia of the German General Staff.
Other members of the Socialist group
who returned through Germany were im-
plicated; it was announced that one of
them had to his credit a sum of 2,000,-
000 rubles, to be used as a German cor-
ruption fund. It was further said that
large sums of gold had been withdrawn
from the German Reichsbank, to be used
for corruption work in Russia. There
were further anarchist and Socialist ex-
tremist plots in Petrograd, leading to
street fighting, during which Lenin dis-
appeared, fleeing, it was said, to Fin-
land and thence, through Sweden, back
to Germany.
Disastrous Military Results
On July 1 the Russian Army began an
offensive in Galicia, under the personal
leadership of General Korniloff. At first
he carried everything before him, captur-
ing Halicz and sweeping forward close
to Dolina in the Carpathian foothills.
Then, under very slight Austro-German
pressure, the Russian armies imme-
diately to the north and south of Kor-
niloff's army broke and ran. This ac-
tion, which was directly traced to the
orders subversive of discipline, emanat-
ing from the Socialist Council of Work-
men's and Soldiers' Delegates, began a
disastrous retreat which, by the first
week in August, had practically lost the
whole of Galicia, threatened Moldavia,
and gravely menaced Russian Bessarabia
and even the great seaport of Odessa.
The Socialist Council had already
driven every conspicuous member of the
Duma Provisional Government to resign.
It had further undertaken to bring pres-
sure on all the Entente Powers to revise
their war aims in conformity with the
Socialist formula, " peace without an-
nexation or indemnity," which had been
indorsed by the German commander,
Prince Leopold of Bavaria, and which
had been cordially indorsed by Field
Marshal Hindenburg in another radio-
gram to the Petrograd Council of Work-
men's and Soldiers' Delegates.*
■ \
* See The New York Times, June 8, 1917.
The Stockholm Conference
The German majority Socialists in the
Reichstag, 89 in number, under the lead-
ership of Philip Scheidemann, had, as
*we saw, accepted the imperial war pro-
gram of the Chancellor, which was at-
tacked by the minority group under the
leadership of Hugo Haase. Shortly
after the split, which took place nine
days after the abdication of Nicholas II.,
it was openly said that Scheidemann was
cordially co-operating with the Chancel-
lor in his effort to bring about the peace
which was desired by Germany, the peace
supported by the Chancellor in his
Reichstag speeches of Nov. 9 and Nov.
30, 1916.
A plan for an International Confer-
ence of Socialists, to meet at Stockholm,
to discuss the basis of peace, came to the
front in the following months, and was
warmly accepted by the Petrograd So-
cialist Council of Workmen's and Sol-
diers' Delegates. The proposed Stock-
holm Conference at once became an in-
ternational storm centre. On the one
hand, it was said by Socialists that to
refuse to take part in this conference
would be to offend the Socialist Council
of Workmen's and Soldiers' Delegates at
Petrograd and, perhaps, might drive the
Council and the new Russia into the
arms of Germany. On the other hand,
it was said that this conference, at which
the German Government would be rep-
resented by Philip Scheidemann, was
nothing but a German stratagem to
bring about " a German peace."
The Stockholm Conference was several
times postponed. English Socialists and
Labor groups elected delegates, but the
British Seamen's Union absolutely re-
fused to navigate any ship that carried
them, so that they were unable to sail.
Opinion in France was divided. There
was a decided unwillingness to meet Ger-
man Socialists at Stockholm; but there
was an almost equal reluctance to allow
the Russian Socialists to meet their Ger-
man " comrades " with no Entente So-
cialists present to counsel and safeguard
them.
The State Department of the United
States more than once refused to issue
THE SOCIALISTS IN THE WAR
443
passports to delegates chosen by the So-
cialist Party of the United States.
American Socialist Party
Meeting at St. Louis on April 14, dele-
gates of the Socialist Party of the United
States addressed this open letter to " the
Socialists of the Belligerent Countries":
Comrades : Now that the people of the
United States have been forced by their
ruling class into this world cataclysm, as
you have been heretofore by your own
rulers, we, the Socialists of the United
States, feel it our right and duty to ad-
dress you on this most momentous sub-
ject.
We wish to say at the outset that the
workers of this country have no enmity
toward the workers of Germany, and that
we, the Socialists of the United States,
feel that the great affliction now shared
in common by the workers of the United
States and Germany should, and we hope
that it will, strengthen that consciousness
of a common brotherhood between them
which will ultimately bring about peace
between these two countries, and a gen-
eral world peace with it.
"We also wish to convey to you our firm
determination, and we pledge ourselves
to do our duty and make the sacrifice
which may be necessary, to force our
masters to conclude a speedy peace, and
we hope and expect that, whatever may
have been the policies which some of you
may have followed in the past, you will
henceforth adopt rigorous measures to
force your masters to the same course of
action.
We therefore call upon you to join
hands with us so that all of us may use
all the means at our disposal in a com-
mon effort to bring about a general peace
which will be just and lasting, without in-
demnities, and without any forcible an-
nexations of territory by any of the bel-
ligerents, whether avowed or sought to be
hidden by some less offensive term that
may be invented for the purpose ; so that
no nation may be deprived of any part of
its liberty or made in any way dependent,
politically or economically, upon any other
nation ; and that no change of territory
shall take place without the consent of its
inhabitants, freely and unmistakably ex-
pressed.
Down with war ! Down with misery and
hunger and mass murder, must be the war
cry of the proletariat. Long live peace !
Long live the brotherhood of nations and
the solidarity of the proletariat !
British Labor and Stockholm
On Aug. 11 a conference of the British
Labor Party was held at Westminster, to
vote on the question of sending delegates
to the postponed Socialist Conference at
Stockholm.
James Ramsay Macdonald, Socialist
Member of Parliament, made a vigorous
plea to the delegates to " bury the past,
" go to Stockholm, lay your case before
" the conference, hear the other side dis-
" cuss matters generally, and return with
" the basis of peace in your pockets."
Arthur Henderson, Minister without
portfolio, urged the sending of delegates
to Stockholm for consultation, but not to
discuss peace terms.
G. N. Barnes, Minister of Pensions,
spoke against attending a conference at
which delegates from enemy countries
would be present, saying that the United
States, Belgium, France, and Italy were
not sending delegates. George Henry
Roberts, Labor Member of Parliament,
made a strong fighting speech against
delegates going to Stockholm. When a
vote was taken, it was found that votes
representing 1,046,005 members had been
cast in favor of sending delegates to
Stockholm, to a consultative conference,
with 550,000 votes against this.
On Aug. 11 it was also announced that
Alexander Kerensky, Premier of Russia,
had declared that the sending of Russian
delegates to the Stockholm Conference
was against the best interests of Russia.
Arthur Henderson was strongly criticised
for concealing this fact from the mem-
bers of the Labor Conference, which had
voted to send delegates to Stockholm
largely because this was believed to be
the desire of Russia. Arthur Hender-
son's resignation from the British War
Cabinet was demanded.
On Aug. 13 Andrew Bonar Law, the
Government spokesman in the House of
Commons, announced that the Govern-
ment had decided not to grant permission
to the British delegates to go to the
Stockholm Conference. He added that
the same decision had been made by the
United States, France, and Italy.
American Federation of Labor
Samuel Gompers, President of the
American Federation of Labor, on Aug.
3 cabled as follows to W. A. Appleton,
Secretary of the General Federation of
Trade Unions, and M. Jouhaux, Secretary
of the French Federation Generale du
444
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Travail, in answer to their inquiry as to
whether American labor intended to be
represented at the Stockholm Confer-
ence:
Jouhaux having asked my opinion upon
a conference of labor representatives of all
countries, I am replying as follows :
In responding to your request for my
opinion of an invitation to a conference
of labor organizations of all countries,
without hesitation I answer that such a
conference cannot at this time or in the
near future be productive of good, and as
far as the American Federation of Labor
is concerned it will not send representa-
tives. New and more favorable results
must develop before a conference of labor
of all countries can advantageously be
held.
Mr. Gompers on Aug. 13 attacked the
Workmen's Council, a branch of the Peo-
ple's Council of America, which declared
it represented American labor in an ef-
fort to foster a peace movement. He
wrote :
It has been the constant claim of the
People's Council that it represented labor.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
It is true that there are some few local
unions affiliated with the People's Coun-
cil, but when it is considered that there
are about 15,000 local unions in America
it will be seen that even a half hundred
that may be affiliated with the People's
Council is an insignificant number.
The American labor movement as a body
is loyal .to America and steadfast in its
determination to help secure victory for
this country and the cause of democracy.
In pursuing this course it must be recog-
nized that it is necessary for the labor
movement to take steps from time to time
to preserve working standards. This, as a
matter of fact, is necessary to the most
effective conduct of the war. It has noth-
ing to do with those anti- American, pro-
Kaiserist activities of which the People's
Council is the promoter, and is, in fact,
exactly in opposition to them.
It is our purpose to try, by educational
methods, to bring about a more American
spirit in the labor movement, so that what
is now the clear expression of the vast
majority m*y become the conviction of all.
"Where we find ignorance, we shall edu-
cate; where we find something worse, we
shall have to deal as the situation de-
mands. But we are going to leave no
stone unturned to put a stop to anti-
American activities among workers.
• The American Federation of Labor is
the organized labor movement of America.
There is no other. Its position is clear.
It is loyal. It was so expressed in the
manifesto issued at the Washington Con-
ference of March 12, and there has been
no change since. No other organization
can express the wishes of the American
labor movement, and the pretenses of the
so-called People's Council in that direc-
tion are nothing short of ridiculous.
The People's Council is an organization
that is for the most part evidently alien
in membership — so far as it has member-
ship— led by men who have never been
known as labor men, though some of them
have made frantic claims to having been
labor men for various reasons. Money
evidently is plentiful, and the work of un-
doing America proceeds merrily. Amer-
ican labor must denounce any such move-
ment, and any such foreign propaganda.
I suggest that the methods of the or-
ganization are entirely German in char-
acter and that undoubtedly the Kaiser is
greatly cheered by the reports he gets of
the People's Council activities. We shall
do our best to put an end to operations of
that kind.
The French Socialists
The French Socialist Party decided on
Aug. 12 to send delegates to Stockholm.
Two days later it was announced that
the French Government would refuse to
issue passports to such delegates. The
official declaration of the party, in an-
nouncing its action, was as follows:
The (Socialist) party does not go to
Stockholm in search of a peace of com-
promise which would leave the fate of the
peoples in suspense and at the mercy of
fresh wars. It goes to declare that re-
spect for the peoples' right, respect for
treaties, and an engagement henceforth
to submit every possible conflict to the
justice of nations, can alone constitute an
acceptable peace.
It goes to ask Socialists — all Socialists —
whether they condemn the Governments
responsible for violations committed at the
outbreak of the war, and if, after pro-
nouncing such condemnations, the Social-
ists— all Socialists — will take action
against the Governments in order to
shorten the war by saving the honor and
lives of the people.
It goes to demand that the Governments
which still refuse should be obliged by
Socialist action to make known their war
aims and whether they are prepared to
make reparations in accordance with the
rights of the peoples, and to declare pub-
licly if they still intend using the war map
as a means of reaching peace.
It goes to demand whether the Socialists
Who persist in giving moral and material
aid to the guilty Governments can still re-
main members of the Internationale, and
whether the Internationale will not recog-
nize as its own only those who, by de-
nouncing those responsible, show thereby
that they are resolute to accomplish acts
which will give life to the Internationale,
THE SOCIALISTS IN THE WAR
445
while at the same time they will conduct
the peoples toward a beneficent peace.
The Stockholm Conference, which had
been called for Aug. 15, could no longer
claim international representation when
the leading Entente Governments refused
passports to the delegates, and thence-
forth ceased to occupy public attention.
Peace Program of Belgian Socialists
M. Vandervelde's Manifesto
The attempts of the International Socialists to hold a peace convention at Stockholm in
the early Summer of 1917 proved abortive, though the movement at length received the sanc-
tion of the Petrograd Council of Workmen's and Soldiers' Delegates, which issued a call
embodying the catch-phrase, " No indemnities, no annexations." The one noteworthy result
of this action — up to the middle of August — is found in the striking document issued July 5
by the Belgian delegates, M. Vandervelde and M. de Brouckere, through the medium of
the Dutch-Scandianavian Committee at Stockholm. It is a manifesto addressed primarily
to the Russian leaders, and tells exactly what Belgian Socialists think on the subject of
" No indemnities, no annexations." It is here placed on record in a condensed English
translation as one of the historic utterances of the war.
THE war appears to us to be less a
war between peoples than a strug-
gle, probably decisive, between two
political principles. It is in this sense
that it has been justly called civil war
within the society of nations. The Rus-
sian revolution and the entry of the
United States have had the effect of
ranging on one side all the free nations,
that is to say, those who have already
effected their democratic revolution, and,
on the other hand — almost entirely iso-
lated— the last three semi-feudal, semi-
absolute powers — namely, the Empire of
the German Emperor, that of the Sover-
eign of Austria-Hungary, and that of- the
Grand Turk.
In the deliberate execution of a long-
cherished project, these powers have let
loose war on the most villainous pretexts
and for the most wretched of causes.
Imperialism has been able to carry out
its plan, thanks to a popular passivity
which would have been inconceivable in
any other country. Attack and invasion
have placed upon us the burden of the
most crushing of tyrannies — the German
military tyranny, whose object, as defined
by Bismarck, is to leave a people only
their eyes with which to weep.
Belgian socialism has not for one
moment believed that it ought to bow
before external oppression when our vil-
lages were burned, our women insulted,
and our dearly acquired liberties brutally
oppressed. It has not admitted that it
was " a simple bourgeois quarrel, which
ought to leave the proletariat indiffer-
ent." If it had abandoned the struggle
under the pretense that the soldiers of
William II. were too numerous and his
guns too powerful, it would have been
dishonored in its own eyes. It has never
reckoned cowardice among revolutionary
virtues.
Defense against aggressive imperial-
ism implies for us something more than
the mere repulse of the invader. The
destruction of German imperialism might
have been the business of the Germans
alone, if their imperialism had stayed at
home. But it crossed our frontiers, and
we want to break the power of our
tyrant. Our desire is as legitimate as
that of the Russians, who have broken
the power of their tyrant; and the fact
that our tyrant is enthroned at Berlin is
not sufficient reason for changing our
opinion.
We cannot conceive any possible last-
ing peace if Hohenzollern and Hapsburg
retain their powers. The greatest present
danger is that of seeing free countries
accept a precarious peace. We could not
lend ourselves to this without betraying
our deepest convictions as Socialists.
We adhere to the Petrograd formula of
" no annexations and no indemnities."
But refusal of " annexations " does not
imply maintenance of the territorial
status quo. If, in accordance with the
wishes of the inhabitants, Alsace-Lor-
446
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
raine were restored to France we should
not consider it an " annexation," but a
" disannexation." In the same way the
unification of Poland and the completion
of Italian and Serbian unity, as desired
by the peoples concerned, would not be
" annexations." Near Stavelot there are
Walloon villages which appear to desire
once more to become Belgian. The peace
treaty might accept their aspirations.
This, too, would apply to Luxemburg,
with its 200,000 inhabitants, if it should
consider that a return to Belgium, from
whom it was separated in 1839, would be
to its advantage.
While we repudiate the exaction of
" indemnities " such as Bismarck in 1871
levied on France and such as Germany
is continually imposing on occupied Bel-
gium, we could not recognize a peace that
sanctioned the exactions of the invader.
For Belgium this question is vital.
The Germans have by menaces, compul-
sion, and violence exacted from our towns
many millions of pounds in cash. Since
the occupation they have levied monthly
for the needs of the army a contribution
of $10,000,000, and for some time past
have raised the sum to $12,000,000. They
have levied several hundred millions in
foodstuffs, in kind, and in raw materials
and machinery. In the interest of mili-
tary operations they have done countless
deeds of destruction, and, in many cases,
simply in order to terrorize the popula-
tion and to gain future economic advan-
tage by suppressing an embarrassing
competitor.
The Belgian Nation will have to in-
demnify the victims of these acts of vio-
lence, and this charge upon it must be
added to all those we have just enume-
rated. Would it not be the height of
iniquity to make the victim bear this bur-
den at the risk of seeing him succumb
under the weight of peace? Does not jus-
tice demand reparation from those guilty
of outrage in so far as the outrage may
be reparable?
On Aug. 4, 1914, the German Chan-
cellor acknowledged in the Reichstag that
Germany was violating the rights of Bel-
gium and owed her reparation. We are
firmly convinced that the Russian democ-
racy will not be less solicitous than was
the representative of the Kaiser of the
clear rights of an oppressed nation.
As for the " right of nations to dispose
of their own destinies," it would be as
tyrannous to keep by force in Austria-
Hungary populations like those of Bo-
hemia, Transylvania, or Bosnia, which
aspire to other national destinies, as it
would be to attach Belgium by force to
the German Empire. Indeed, we could
hardly describe Germany as free, in this
sense, so long as the semi-absolutism of
the Hohenzollerns endures. We consider
that a democratic Constitution for Ger-
many is not only a right to which the
Germans are entitled, but that it is also a
condition upon the fulfillment of which
other nations are entitled to make their
adhesion to a general peace depend. A
treaty guaranteed only by an Emperor
who is accustomed. to hold his word cheap
would be merely another scrap of paper.
We do not, of course, refuse to meet the
Germans; but what we decline is to as-
sociate ourselves with German Socialist
supporters of the imperialism of the Em-
peror William and of the Emperor
Charles. We should not object to con-
certed action with those in the Central
Empires who oppose a policy of aggres-
sion and of conquest, and who in effect
pursue the same end as we ourselves.
We should not decline to meet the Ger-
man majority Socialists if they renounced
the error of their present ways, and took
an open and manly part against their
Emperors. But, pending such action on
their part, we should regard a meeting
with them as not only useless but danger-
ous to the international democratic cause
— dangerous, since it would tend to ac-
credit the illusion that a just and lasting
peace is possible before aggressive im-
perialism has been destroyed; and be-
cause the maintenance of false hopes of
an impending equitable solution relaxes
effort and strengthens the current that
is carrying the weak-willed toward a
peace at any price.
This is why, following the example of
the French and British representatives,
we urged that admission to the proposed
conference should be conditional upon
frank adhesion to an anti-imperialist pro-
gram.
German Socialism and World War
By Richard Dobson
GERMAN Social Democracy began
. with Ferdinand Lassalle, who, in
1844, went to Paris, and there
came under the influence of
French socialism. In 1848 he worked on
the staff of Karl Marx's Neue Rhenische
Zeitung. He took an active part in revo-
lutionary social agitation, and during the
reactionary period devoted his time and
tenacity to scientific social research.
German socialism in the middle of the
nineteenth century was an academic
theory, which appealed largely to college-
bred, middle-class people, with quite a
large sprinkling of workingmen. Las-
salle converted this academic theory of
socialism into practical social democ-
racy. His brilliancy as an orator,
coupled with his acumen and learning, en-
abled him to make a series of propa-
ganda tours that proved to be personal
as well as national triumphs.
Lassalle organized the Allgemeiner
Deutscher Arbeiterverein, or General
Labor Union of Germany, of which he
was the first President. The aims of
the union were to secure manhood suf-
frage for the election of members of the
popular branch of the Federal Parlia-
ment. Seven years later Lassallener
and Eisenacher, social warring factions,
came to a common peace, and thus be-
came the Social Democratic Party of
Germany.
The Socialists of France, of Russia, of
Italy, and of Great Britain ascribe to
the Social Democracy of Germany much
of the blame for the war that is now
devastating Europe and paralyzing the
world. They were astonished and be-
wildered at the action of Germany's
great democratic party in that ominous
month of August, 1914. Only eight
days before the war broke out the Ger-
man Socialists denounced Austria as a
world disturber when she sent her im-
possible ultimatum to Serbia. And then
this same German Socialist Party, after
eight days had passed, voted unanimous-
ly in favor of the German war credit
through its 110 members in the Reichs-
tag! The reason given by these Depu-
ties was that they were supporting the
defense of Germany against a conspiracy
of the nations of Europe, instigated and
abetted by Great Britain. There was
not a word of complaint from the Ger-
man Social Democracy when the Im-
perial Chancellor, at the same Reichstag
sitting, announced that the German
Army had already invaded Belgium, a
somewhat singular beginning for a coun-
try on the defensive and fighting for its
existence.
In a secret conference of the German
Social Democrats held the day before
the regular sitting of the Reichstag,
fourteen members had voted against sup-
porting the war credit. Herr Haase, one
of the fourteen, had actually been chosen
to be their spokesman before the as-
sembled Reichstag. Later Herr Haase
confessed that party discipline forced
him to betray his conscience.
Split on War Credit
On Dec. 2, 1914, the Socialist members
opposed to the second war credit had
increased from fourteen to seventeen.
On this occasion Dr. Liebknecht voted
against the war credit. In March, 1915,
thirty-two Socialist 'members of the
Reichstag voted against the so-called
War of Defense. In the Neue Zeit, Karl
Kautzky was busy expounding the right
of the minority to independent action.
The following declaration was made by
Herr Geyer in the Reichstag on Dec. 21,
1915:
For myself, and in behalf of nineteen col-
leagues, I have to declare that the military-
dictatorship which ruthlessly suppresses all
endeavors for peace and seeks to sacrifice
every free expression of opinion makes it
impossible for us to discuss our attitude on
the war credit outside of this House. Just
as we oppose the conquest plans of other
Governments, so we are determined to op-
pose the ominous scheme of our own annexa-
tion politicians, who are also a hindrance to
the opening of peace negotiations. The Im-
perial Chancellor was requested by the So-
cial Democratic Party to make a peace offer,
448
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
as the Central Towers were in a most favor-
able military situation and could have taken
the first steps toward peace. The Chan-
cellor, however, bluntly refused, and this
horrible war goes on. Every day brings new
and unutterable sorrow. A policy which does
not exert all its powers to end this nameless
misery, a policy which in its entire activity
is utterly opposed to the interests of. the
masses, cannot command our support any
longer. Our desire to give the evident long-
ing for peace in all countries a mighty im-
pulse, our own will for peace and our an-
tagonism to all plans of conquest, do not
permit us to vote for the war credit. We
vote against it.
On the very day that Herr Geyer made
this declaration of the Socialist minority,
the Socialist Party as a whole condemned
the separate action, and on Jan. 8, 1916,
the party in a full council passed a vote
of censure on the dissidents.
The Socialist press, comprising sev-
enty-seven daily newspapers, besides a
number of monthly and fortnightly publi-
cations, was divided into two camps. One
supported the policy of the majority So-
cialists, and the other favored the minor-
ity, which demanded a return to the pre-
war policy: " Diesem System Keinen
Mann und Keinen Groschen "— " We will
not vote a man or a farthing for this sys-
tem." The Socialist majority, however,
whose aims and ideas practically agreed
with the German Government, enjoyed a
considerable advantage over their minor-
ity brethren.
Radical Utterances
In the early months of 1916, anony-
mous pamphlets were circulated through-
out the empire under such titles as " End
the Winter Campaign," "Europe's Pro-
letarians," " Annexation Madness," " The
Policy of Dogs." A passage from the
latter reads as follows:
David Landsberg and socialism have sur-
passed the public prosecutor and put the
Police President to shame. Woe to us Social-
ists if these fellows had administered Bis-
marck's anti-Socialist law. They would have
sent the Socialist members of the Reichstag
and the editors of the newspapers to penal
servitude. They would have hanged August
Bebel and Liebknecht the elder on the public
gallows.
He is a dog who licks the boots which have
kicked him for several decades. He is a dog
who wags his tail with the muzzle of mili-
tary law over his face. He is a dog who ab-
jures the entire past of his party and every-
thing which has been sacred to it for a gener-
ation, and spits upon it all, at the order of
the Government. Therefore, David Landsberg
and their set are dogs, and when the day of
reckoning comes, the German working classes
will give them the kick they deserve.
On March 24, 1916, a crisis came in
the history of Social Democracy in the
Reichstag. A vote was asked for by the
Imperial Chancellor to cover the Govern-
ment war expenditures in April, May,
and June. The vote was supported by
the Socialist majority and negatived by
the minority. In special session the ma-
jority Socialists voted to exclude the mi-
nority from any further common action
with the party. The resolution passed
by a vote of 58 to 33.
Liebfynechfs Daring Speech
Dr. Liebknecht's exclusion from the
party was a separate matter. In fact, he
and Herr Ruhle had acted as indepen-
dents since December, 1914. On April 8,
1916, Dr. Liebknecht succeeded in getting
the floor of the Reichstag, and this is the
substance of what he said:
Gentlemen, the principal work of the State
Secretary, whose salary we are asked to
vote, was his activity for the war loan dur-
ing the last year. I intend to devote a little
criticism to these activities. The new loan
has brought 1,400,000,000 marks less than the
preceding one, but still a grand total of
10,000,000,000. What methods were employed
to obtain this success? Gentlemen, last
Autumn the Imperial Exchequer issued some
propaganda pamphlets which placed the
methods by which the English Government
was financing the war in a very unfavorable
light. Any one who read these pamphlets
critically saw at once that the charges made
against the English Government covered ex-
actly the same methods employed by the
German Government, a fact which, of course,
was not allowed to be stated in public or in
the press. [Excitement in the Reichstag.]
In regard to our loans, it has been said
that our system is one of inbreeding— that
the practice of obtaining loans on a former
loan in order to invest the capital thus ob-
tained in another new war loan is a sort of
" perpetuum-mobile." In a certain sense the
loans may be compared to a merry-go-round.
To a large extent it means simply the cen-
tralization of public wealth in the Exchequer.
[Great disturbance, followed by cries of
" Treason! "]
I have the right to criticise. The truth
must be spoken and you shall not hinder me.
[Long continued uproar. The President of
the Reichstag intervened, and Dr. Liebknecht
continued :] Gentlemen, you represent cap-
ital. I am a Socialist-Democrat and repre-
GERMAN SOCIALISM AND WORLD WAR
449
sent International Proletarians. [Great up-
roar and pandemonium.]
During the uproar Dr. Miiller of
Meiningen went to the tribune and
snatched Dr. Liebknecht's notes from his
hands and threw them on the floor. Dr.
Liebknecht undertook to pick up his.
notes, and when he returned to the trib-
une to continue his speech the Presi-
dent ruled him out of order because he
had, according to German procedure,
forfeited his rights to continue by leav-
ing the tribune.
Shortly after this exciting affair Dr.
Liebknecht was sentenced to prison for
four years and one month on various
charges, including high treason and re-
sistance to authorities. Later Herr
Konrad Hanische, in his work, " German
Social Democracy In and After the
World War," said: "It is utterly im-
possible to obtain a clear picture of the
Social Democratic Party on account of
the strangling influence of martial law,
and, further, a large number of the
members are with the colors." Accord-
ing to Herr Hanische, the Social Demo-
cratic minority faction finds its great-
est support in Berlin, on the lower
Rhine, in Northern Bavaria, Thuringia,
and Saxony. The majority faction finds
its chief strength in Hanover, West-
phalia, and Hamburg.
Majority's War Creed
At a private session held in Berlin by
the Social Democracy in September,
1916, the following resolutions were car-
ried by a vote of 251 to 5, the Social
Democratic minority not voting or tak-
ing any part in the procedure:
First— It is a duty to defend one's country.
The present war is a war of defense.
Second— The Socialists are determined to
continue the struggle till the enemy is pre-
pared to make a peace which guarantees Ger-
many's political independence, territorial In-
tegrity, and free economic development.
Third— We condemn unreservedly the action
of those who say the war is one of German
aggression. Such persons only strengthen
the hands of the enemy.
Fourth— The ideal of a permanent world
peace is still the guiding star of our policy.
Fifth— We shall work for the revival of the
International Socialist League after the war.
Since that action nothing occurred to
reconcile the two socialistic factions until
the beginning of 1917. Herr Scheide-
mann and Herr Ebert in December, 1916,
visited the Dutch Socialists, and it was
suspected by the minority faction of the
German Social Democratic Party that
they were in collusion with the Imperial
Chancellor. The German peace proposi-
tion submitted to President Wilson, and
through him to the Entente Allies, in-
creased that suspicion.
The Pan German Deutsche Tageszeit-
ung stated that Herr Scheidemann plead-
ed in a speech at Hamburg for a world
peace based on the status quo ante, each
nation paying its own costs. The Ger-
man minority Socialists criticised Ger-
many's peace note on the ground that no
terms were stated, and another Socialist
Party organ declared the whole German
peace note proposition to be an unmiti-
gated swindle. On Dec. 22, 1916, four
mass meetings arranged by Social Demo-
crats in Leipsic were suppressed by the
police.
Herr Scheidemann s Defense
In defending the action of the majority
faction and its support of the Govern-
ment's war policy, Herr Scheidemann
says:
The German Reichstag has not the con-
stitutional right to vote for or against a
war. The decision for peace or war is in
the hands of the Kaiser. By refusing to
vote the war credit we could not have un-
done the declaration of war or hindered the
progress of military events. * * * The
war is a struggle for the world's feeding
grounds. Three of the leading factors in
the war have been : First, the future of
Constantinople and the Near East; second,
England's despotism of the world's markets,
and, third, the severance from European
markets of Serbia by Austria. * * * We
knew what a Russian victory would mean
for the German people, and especially for
the German workingmen's movement. It was
our sacred duty to prevent it by all means
in our power, and coming generations will
appreciate these services to world history
by the German Nation. If we could not
prevent the war, then it was our duty to do i
everything to prevent defeat.
Dr. Lensch, referring to the Socialist
Party declaration at the outbreak of the
world war, says: "We have always said
we would not leave the Fatherland in
the lurch in the hour of danger. Ger-
man Social Democrats will remember
450
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
that for forty years they have con-
stantly voted against every credit for
military purposes, excepting the special
taxes imposed on the richer classes in
1913 for the increase of the German
Army." Dr. Lensch admits that the
German Social Democratic Party's action
in supporting the war was illogical in
view of its history, but morally right in
all other respects.
August Bebel, a Socialist leader in the
Reichstag, at the beginning of the war
said :
The Social Democrats recognize that,* under
present conditions, the nation cannot be left
helpless; therefore they demand that every
man capable of bearing arms shall have the
right to carry a weapon, and in case the
Fatherland is attacked it shall be his duty to
defend it. The party demands that all males
from the age of ten shall receive military
training. No Social Democrat doubts that the
German, irrespective of rank, shall do his
full duty in war.
The majority Socialists, in defense of their
attitude to the war and military service, claim
that their opposition to militarism before the
war was mostly intended as a criticism of the
existing system. They, the German Demo-
cratic Socialists, are in favor of every man
being a soldier, but they oppose Germany's
army system, the ill-treatment of the common
soldier, and the methods of taxation by which
the army expenditure is met.
The Minority's Attitude
The minority Socialists, on the other
hand, consider the pre-war opposition to
militarism as a genuine, whole-hearted
rejection of war and everything connect-
ed with it. One of the minority So-
cialists says:
The German military State is to me nothing
but a State which oppresses its subjects from
the cradle to the grave. Our sons are sworn
at and maltreated in the gay uniform, and
on the slightest show of resentment con-
demned to imprisonment; in a word, slowly
tortured to death. In fact, we often saw that
our soldiers were unworthily treated, and that
the iron discipline and the popinjay trappings
of the army made militarism unpopular.
This all lies in the nature of the thing, and
cannot be rooted out ; but many soldiers
learned in the army the discipline and order-
liness which were missing from their home
life.
Concerning international socialism and
its relation to German socialism, Dr.
Lensch thus queries : " What did the In-
ternational Socialists in other lands do
in 1914 to prevent their own countries
from going to war with Germany? " Dr.
Lensch charges the French Socialists
with believing false reports of German
atrocities, especially as perpetrated in
Belgium, and as reported by Jules Guesde
and Marcel Sembat. He is still more in-
censed against the English Socialists, of
whom he says : " They are worse than the
French, for they identified themselves
with the ruling classes in England and
took over to themselves their catch-
phrases in order to hammer them into the
heads of the masses; they carried on a
regular agitation in favor of the war,
conducting it with the intensity of an
election campaign. * * * Any slander,
any stupidity was good enough for the
English Socialists with which to /be-
smirch the German Government.'*
Nearly all the German socialistic writ-
ers of the minority or Liebknecht faction
are in favor of an individual national-
ism giving every other section of the
human family the right to develop its
own national idea. Dr. E. David, how-
ever, in " Social Democracy in the World
War,*' says: "The existence of a nation
cannot be regarded as an end in itself.
There are aims beyond its limits which
every nation must have and serve." An-
other member of the majority camp
says : " In this war we have become con-
scious of the fact that the German
' State ■ idea has justified itself, from
both the organizing and military point
of view, in spite of its beauty spots and
its political infirmities. We have be-
come aware of the enormous forces em-
bodied in the State. Because its activi-
ties often displease us we had become
accustomed to look upon the State, to-
gether with the whole of its social in-
stitutions, as being inwardly decayed and
rotten. The war has thoroughly cured
us of the error."
Collectivism in Germany
Dr. Lensch, one of the leading apostles
of German socialism, declares that Ger-
many stands for collectivism, while Eng-
land stands for individualism, adding:
All German Socialists plump their line by
the former. While great leaders of armies
have come to the front, no towering political
leader has as yet appeared on either side. It
is as if the spirit of history wished to make
evident that this is the end of individualism.
GERMAN SOCIALISM AND WORLD WAR
451
At a time when armies are counted by mil-
lions, and whole nations wage war ; when the
battle is fought not only by the man in uni-
form, but by the wives and children at home,
the importance of the individual diminishes
before the totality and its organization.
It is along the lines of mass warfare that
the German revolution is developing in the
present world war, thus distinguishing itself
from the French revolution and the great
English rebellion. The fundamental idea of
both of the latter movements was individual-
ism, and it was no mere chance that striking
individualities stood in the forefront, Na-
poleon in the one and Oliver Cromwell in the
other. At the head of the German revolution
stands Bethmann Hollweg, and it is only
necessary to name these three names in a
breath to realize the changed conditions. Yet,
although Napoleon failed to shake England's
world supremacy, Bethmann Hollweg has ac-
complished that end. Wherein lies the dif-
ference? The French Emperor was not in a
position to fight England from the plane of
a higher social system. France's system was
at that time of the same type as England's,
that is, based on individualism. Modern Ger-
many, on the othe^ hand, represents a higher
and more progressive principle ; that of social
organization, and although the system is still
in its infancy, it has proved itself so vastly
superior to obsolete individualism that Eng-
land's war power has been shaken to its
foundations.
The importance of the individual is diminish-
ing, in proportion as that of social organ-
ization increases. The individual principle
attained its highest ideal in England and
France, where, in fact, it broke up the com-
munity into so many atoms. Now, it is the
historical task of the working classes to
change the trend of history in the opposite
direction, for the atomized system threatens
them with economic misery and political
helplessness.
It is fitting, too, that this change should
become most apparent in Germany, the mis-
ery of whose economic past had crippled the
country, prohibiting the complete victory of
individualism as in England. Our State was
compelled by toil and trouble to make good
the blessings which England enjoyed through
the mere force of circumstances. But it was
exactly that economic poverty which devel-
oped in Germany the principle which sup-
plies it now with vitalizing powers capable
of waging a world war against the greatest
land and sea powers which our planet has
ever seen— that is, the principle of organiza-
tion. What was looked upon as a curse has
become our greatest blessing. The social
system based upon the individual stands to-
day on its last legs. A new epoch, and with
it a new social ideal, has dawned. Germany
is the herald of the new day.
In the above is revealed the real force
which has united all Germany in the
present war, making patrician and ple-
beian as one. The super-German idea
and the super-German temper, even
among Socialists, have lent themselves
to the Pan German leaders' scheme of
conquest.
Editorial Note.— At the time when the
Reichstag granted the latest German war
credit both wings of the Socialist Party
voted against the bill, indicating growing
dissatisfaction with the Government's war
policy.
[German Cartoon]
MMM
—From Lustige Blaetter, Berlin.
Another " hospital ship " that will have to be torpedoed.
The Appalling Waste of the War
By Hall Caine
(Special Cable to The New York Times)
Copyright, 1917, by Ths New Yokk Times Company. Copyright in Canada
WHEN the war began, the great
soldier who took the death of a
sailor in the stormy waters of
the northern seas was reported
to have said it would last three years. It
has already lasted so long, and is still
going on. When will it end, and what is
to come of it?
" If Adam," said Luther, " could have
seen in a vision what horrible instru-
ments his children were to invent to
torture and to destroy -each other he
would have died of grief." Coming four
centuries later, we may go further than
that. If Adam could have foreseen what
we are now seeing he would have prayed
for death that he might never propagate
his species.
Three years ago today (July 28) one
of the oldest and feeblest of men, being
crowned in the name of God and exer-
cising the vicarship of Christ in his coun-
try, signed with his trembling hand the
proclamation which plunged the world
into this war. History will concern itself
With the cause of his act, but the motive
assigned for it was that a member of
his family, a worthy but quite common-
place Austrian gentleman, as I have
reason to know and say, had been foully
done to death. For that crime millions
have since died, millions been wounded,
and millions on millions have been
brought down to the depths. One wonders
what mad game the world has been play-
ing.
Bloodshed is indeed the staple of his-
tory, and history is the story of how
often and with what merciless brutality
the children of men have slain each
other. But if we could detach ourselves
from all thought of the impulses with
which we are prosecuting this war, all
questions of the righteousness of our
cause, and conceive of God walking not
in the garden but in the desert of this
war-worn world to make a reckoning of
the good and bad in the doings of the
last three years, what audit it would
seem to be, what lesson such as history
never before supplied for people who
have been saying that war has a nobil-
ity and grandeur of its own, that it is
productive of more than evil, and is a
beneficial influence in the betterment of
mankind !
The Loss to Civilization
Think first of the injury the war has
inflicted on the ordinary conditions of
civilized existence. During forty-odd
years preceding Aug. 2, 1914, the chief
activities of Europe in science, law, leg-
islation, literature, art, and general in-
dustry were directed toward protecting
and purifying human life, making it more
clean and sweet and secure. There never
has been a great war that has not
lowered the standard of existence, but
during the last three years, by the new
necessities of modern warfare, from five
to twenty-five millions of human creat-
ures have been living a great part of
their lives in holes in the ground, ex-
posed to uncleanness and disease that
belong to the condition of savage man.
Think next of the loss the war has in-
flicted on the world's wealth — not wealth
that is represented by title deeds or pass
books or gold and silver coins in the
strong-rooms of banks, but only the
wealth that is necessary to the well-
being of the race, the natural wealth
that comes from the soil at the call of
the sun and rain and changing seasons
and the plow in the hands of man. There
has never been a great war that has not
diminished the sum of this natural
wealth, but the present war, by the very
number of nations engaged in it, has
probably come nearer than any previous
one to starving a large part of the
human family. Will the world recover
from this three years' loss of its natural
wealth? Nature works no overtime, the
THE APPALLING WASTE OF THE WAR
453
thousand^ sunrises since August, 1914,
can never come again.
Fruits of Labor Destroyed
Then think of the loss to the world in
human labor. Every great war has, in
some measure, paralyzed industrial
enterprise, but the necessities of modern
warfare have gone near to killing it
by submerging nearly all industrial
enterprise in one sole work of producing
these munitions of war which have now
to be supplied in illimitable quantities.
The ordinary progress of civilization in
Europe has for the last three years been
brought well-nigh to a standstill. This,
too, is a loss that is irretrievable. It has
yet to be seen if the energies of the
world can ever make up for it. But the
waste of human labor is the least part
of the world's injury.
If the output of all the munition fac-
tories in the world since August, 1914,
had been sunk to the bottom of the sea
that would have been waste enough; but
think of the uses their products have
been put to. As man does not live by
bread alone, his first duty after the
necessities of food and clothing have
been satisfied is to surround himself
with those things of beauty and sanctity
which link his life with the past and
carry it on to the future. But the busi-
ness of war is to batter down and burn
up all such sacred and historic monu-
ments, and never before has it done its
work so ruthlessly. Peace builds cities;
war destroys them. The big guns and
high explosives of modern warfare,
thundering and pounding on the habita-
tions of man, have left vast tracts of
Europe more bare and barren than the
fiery desert. Large parts of Belgium,
Northern France, Serbia, and Galicia,
lately so full of life and fruitfulness,
now look as if the rake of hell had gone
over them. Where there were homes and
inns and churches in which people lived
and loved and laughed from generation
to generation, there is only a wilderness
of empty space whereon no stone stands
upon another. Nothing like this has
happened before in all the mad history
of war; neither earthquake nor eruption
ever wrought such ruin. It is irrepar-
able; no indemnity can restore what has
been wrecked. Northern Europe may be
rebuilt, but then it will be another
Europe. The past that was alive in it
is dead.
The Misery of the War
Then think of the misery which scenes
like these involve. Misery is the camp
follower of all wars. There never has
been a great war without its train of
suffering. But the suffering of the
last three years seems to have had no
parallel in the human story. Whole
nations have been plunged into it, and
the greatest suffering has been that of
the small and the powerless.
Man that is born of woman must needs
feel the ties of blood and brotherhood.
Hence he gathers his children together
into groups that have the same faith and
the same customs and speak the same
dear tongue. That in the mysterious
workings of Providence is the origin of
national spirit and love of motherland.
It is totally undisturbed by any thought
of whether she is big or little, strong or
weak. My country is my mother, and,
therefore, I love her and think her the
fairest spot the sun shines upon. But
when war comes in the armor of great
nations, it has usually no use for such
emotions. Faith, custom, language, and
kindred count for nothing against mo-
mentary military advantage or even the
lust of a little earth. That was what
happened three years ago when Austria
marched over Serbia and Germany over
Belgium, driving the native-born people
with their women and little children
from their smoking homes and scatter-
ing them over the world. For this, too,
there can be no possible reparation.
Misery cannot be paid for. Belgium will
regain her sovereignty and material
amends will be made to her, but when
peace is proclaimed the Belgians will go
back, not to a country, but to a cemetery.
Every step of their homeward way will
be, as the Prime Minister finely said, a
station of the cross to the scene of Cal-
vary, and if their resurrection is to
come, as God grant it may, it will be
peace, not war, that will bring it.
Then think of the injury the world has
sustained during the last three years
from loss of population. For the propa-
454
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
gation of the race and the happiness and
general well-being of the human family
nature wants her youngest, strongest,
bravest, and most resourceful. But these
are precisely what war demands for its
work of bloodshed and destruction, de-
spoiling the world of the flower of its
manhood. It condemns some to enforced
celibacy, some to lifelong injury, and
many to death. Every great war has com-
mitted this mad crime against the world
and its Creator, but surely no war before
the present one has done it so deliber-
ately, so self-consciously, so shamelessly,
and on so great a scale. For this, too, no
reparation is possible. Gold and silver
cannot pay for the loss of flesh and
blood ; no accession of territory can atone
to us for the lives of our dead that lie
under their wooden crosses along the sea
in Flanders. The everlasting surf of
proud if scorching tears that washes that
consecrated coast will not be stayed by
indemnities and annexations. When
peace comes after all this sacrifice of life
she must bring more than the conquering
sword in her hand, or the victory will be
in vain.
Then think of the wrong this war has
done to the moral sense of mankind.
Every war, whatever its necessity or jus-
tification, is an outrage on humanity,
but war in our time as never before in
man's history is crime. In the past ages
there has been much to excuse it. Dif-
ferences of language, conflicts of faith
and divisions of space, not to speak of
more sinister evils, have been sufficient
to create an atmosphere of mistrust and
suspicion in which wars have been bred,
but modern education, travel, commerce,
literature, and, above all, science, with
its mysterious and angelic power, as in
the telegraph, of bringing people in a
moment into the same place, ought to
have broken down the barriers that
separated the nations by showing them
that they were members one of another,
with the same joys and sorrows, the same
weakness in the presence of man's re-
lentless enemy, the elements, and the
same dependence on the Merciful Father
who is over all. They have not done so.
War has come with its insensate brutali-
ties and in a day all the barbed wire
fences of ignorance and prejudice have
been set up afresh, charged with re-
doubled currents of hatred and malice
and lust of blood.
Had one-tenth of all the lives destroyed
by this three years' war been swallowed
up by flood or earthquake, by another
and more frightful Messina, Galveston, or
San Francisco, what a wave of human
brotherhood would have swept over the
nations, making the whole world kin!
But man, not nature, has been the author
of this tragedy. So the people in Ger-
many rejoice over the sinking of the
Lusitania and illuminate the streets of
Berlin after the slaughter of little
children in London. What a moral
catastrophe! Can humanity ever recover
from it after the bitterness of the last
three years? Is any reconciliation of
peoples possible? If not, is real peace
conceivable? When the end comes, will
it only be a cessation of activities?
Shall we of the allied countries ever
be able to take the hand of a German
again? In looking to the future of the
civilized nations must we always think
and feel as if one hundred millions of
our fellow-creatures did not exist? Some
of us who are not visionaries used to
dream of a day when humanity would
step out of darkness and put on the
armor of light. Is that to be another of
our dead joys and buried hopes on the
road of life?
A Glimpse at the Future
And then think finally of the wrong
this three years' war has done to re-
ligion. For two thousand years faith has
been working for the Christianization
of the world. It has been a long and
almost hopeless labor in the past with so
many temporalities to contend against,
so many pagan impulses to overcome. If
there is one thing certain about Jesus
Christ it is that chief among his purposes
was that of bringing war to an end, of
substituting for the force of arms the
force of righteousness. Painfully through
the ages has religion toiled after that
great ideal, although again and again it
has been compelled to see the vicars of
Christ girding themselves with the sword
in spite of the rebuke of Gethsemane.
But in these later days we were tell-
THE APPALLING WASTE OF THE WAR
4a5
ing ourselves that in spite of all the
machinations of military despotism the
gospel of peace was sweeping through
the world. We held conferences to
celebrate its victorious advance, and
great German theologians like Harnack
came to England to preach the doctrine
of universal pacification. Down to the
first days of August, 1914, we were
praying in our churches with a fervor
and conviction never felt before that God
would give us peace in our time, that He
would grant to all nations a spirit of
unity and concord, that He would save
us from violent and untimely deaths, and
above all that His Kingdom might come
on earth, even as it is" in heaven.
And then — what then? At the first
blast of war the gospel of peace was
gone, nations were hardening their
hearts, clergy, under holy orders from
the Prince of Peace, were shouldering
rifles and going out to kill. The Har-
nacks of Germany, with a blasphemy
never known before in written or spoken
words, were calling on God to strengthen
their arms that they might kill more and
more Englishmen. And then there came
three years of rapine, murder, slaughter,
rape, and every horror known to hell.
What a shock if the dead were to awake
after their long dream of heaven that
was to right the wrongs and heal the
wounds of their lives on earth to find
there was no heaven and no healing.
Could the shock be greater? Were our
dreams a delusion ? The law of love which
proceeded from the Cross, was it incon-
sistent with the laws of life ? Did it fail
us at the last moment? Is the Chris-
tianization of the world further off than
ever? Are there two Christianities — one
for the individual man and the other for
the State? Will God's Kingdom ever
come? Is it useless and foolish to hope
for the commonwealth of humanity, the
League of Nations, for the protection of
the world's peace?
Is peace impossible, and will the war
last as long as man?
Thank God, there is reason to think
that the darkest hour is the hour be-
fore dawn, and out of the very blackness
of the present I see hope for the future,
such a hope as the world has never
known before. Man's days are as a
span, yet I think some of us will live
to see not only peace but the end of war.
Secretary Lansing on Our War Aims
The United States, for the Sake of Its Own Liberty,
Must Fight Until German Autocracy Is Broken
Robert Lansing, Secretary of State, de-
livered a noteworthy address to 1,600 can-
didates for commissions as reserve offi-
cers at Madison Barracks, Sachet Har-
bor, N. Y., on July 29, 1917. After a few,
introductory sentences, he plunged into
his theme, saying:
WE are living in the most mo-
mentous time in all history, in
a time when the lives and des-
tinies of nations are in the
balance, when the civilization which has
taken centuries to build may crumble
before the terrible storm which is sweep-
ing over Europe. We are not only living
in this critical period, but we, as a nation,
have become a participant in the strug-
gle. Having cast our lot on the side of
the powers allied against the Imperial
German Government, we will put behind
our decision the full power and the re-
sources of the Republic. We intend to
win in this mighty conflict, and we will
win because our cause is the cause of
justice and of right and of humanity.
I wonder how many of us comprehend
what the outcome of this war means to
mankind, or, to bring it nearer to each
one of us, what it means to our country.
I sometimes think that there prevail very
erroneous impressions as to the reasons
why we entered the war, not the imme-
diate reasons, but the deep underlying
reasons which affect the life and future
456
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
of the United States and of all other lib-
erty-loving nations throughout the world.
Of course, the immediate cause of our
war against Germany was the announced
purpose of the German Government to
break its promises as to indiscriminate
submarine warfare and the subsequent
renewal of that ruthless method of de-
struction with increased vigor and bru-
tality.
While this cause was in itself sufficient
to force us to enter the war if we would
preserve our self-respect, the German
Government's deliberate breach of faith
and its utter disregard of right and life
had a far deeper meaning, a meaning
which had been growing more evident as
the war had progressed and which needed
but this act of perfidy to bring it home
to all thinking Americans. The evil char-
acter of the German Government is laid
bare before the world. We know now
that that Government is inspired with
ambitions which menace human liberty
and that to gain its end it does not hesi-
tate to break faith, to violate the most
sacred rights, or to perpetrate intolerable
acts of inhumanity.
Proof of German Perfidy
It needed but the words reported to
have been uttered by the German Chan-
cellor to complete the picture of the
character of his Government when he
announced that the only reason why the
intensified submarine campaign was de-
layed until February last was that suf-
ficient submarines could not be built
before that time to make the attacks on
commerce efficient. Do you realize that
this means, if it means anything, that
the promises to refrain from brutal sub-
marine warfare which Germany had
made to the United States were never
intended to be kept, that they were only
made in order to gain time in which to
build more submarines, and that when
the time came to act the German
promises were unhesitatingly torn to
pieces like other " scraps of paper " ?
It is this disclosure of the character
of the Imperial German Government
which is the underlying cause of our
entry into the war. We had doubted, or
at least many Americans had doubted,
the evil purposes of the rulers of Ger-
many. Doubt remained no longer. In
the light of events we could read the
past and see that for a quarter of a
century the absorbing ambition of the
military oligarchy, which was the master
of the German Empire, was for world
dominion. Every agency in the fields of
commerce, industry, science, and diplo-
macy had been directed by the German
Government to this supreme end. Philos-
ophers and preachers taught that the
destiny of Germany was to rule the
world, thus preparing the mind of the
German people for the time when the
mighty engine which the German Gov-
ernment had constructed should crush all
opposition and the German Emperor
should rule supreme.
For nearly three years we have
watched the conduct of the Imperial
Government, and we have learned more
and more of the character of that Gov-
ernment and of its aims. We came very
slowly to a realizing sense that not only
was the freedom of the European nations
at stake but that liberty throughout the
world was threatened by the powerful
autocracy which was seeking to gratify
its vast ambition.
Not impulsively, but with deliberation,
the American people reached the only
decision which was possible from the
standpoint of their own national safety.
Congress declared that a state of war
existed between the United States and
the Imperial Government of Germany,
and this country united with the other
liberal nations of the earth to crush the
power which sought to erect on the ruins
of democracy a world empire greater
than that of Greece or Rome or the
Caliphs.
Quotes President's Slogan
The President has said, with the won-
derful ability which he has to express
aptly a great thought in a single phrase,
that "the. world must be made safe for
democracy." In that thought there is'
more than the establishment of liberty
and self-government for all nations;
there is in it the hope of an enduring
peace.
I do not know in the annals of history
an instance where a people, with truly
SECRETARY LANSING ON OUR WAR AIMS
457
democratic institutions, have permitted
their Government to wage a war of ag-
gression, a war of conquest. Faithful to
their treaties, sympathetic with others
seeking self-development, real democra-
cies, whether monarchical or republican
in their forms of government, desire
peace with their neighbors and with all
mankind.
Were every people on earth able to
express their will there would be no wars
of aggression, and, if there were no wars
of aggression, then there would be no
wars, and lasting peace would come to
this earth. The only way that a people
can express their will is through demo-
cratic institutions. Therefore, when the
world is made safe for democracy, when
that great principle prevails, universal
peace will be an accomplished fact.
No nation or people will benefit more
than the United, States when that time
comes. But it has not yet come. A great
people, ruled in thought and word as
well as in deed by the most sinister Gov-
ernment of modern times, are straining
every nerve to supplant democracy by
the autocracy which they have been
taught to worship.
When will the German people awaken
to the truth? When will they arise in
their might and cast off the yoke and
become their own masters? I fear that
it will not be until the physical might of
the united democracies of the world has
destroyed forever the evil ambitions of
the military rulers of Germany and
liberty triumphs over its arch enemy.
And yet, in spite of these truths which
have been brought to light in these last
three years, I wonder how many Amer-
icans feel that our democracy is in peril;
that our liberty needs protection; that
the United States is in real danger from
the malignant forces which are seeking
to impose their will upon the world, as
they have upon Germany and her de-
ceived allies.
Let us understand once for all that
this is no war to establish an abstract
principle of right. It is a war in which
the future of the United States is at
stake. If any one among you has the idea
that we are fighting others' battles and
not our own, the sooner he gets away
from that idea the better it will be for
him, the better it will be for all of us.
Germany Menaces America
Imagine Germany victor in Europe
because the United States remained
neutral. Who, then, think you, would
be the next victim of those who are seek-
ing to be masters of the whole earth?
Would not this country, with its enor-
mous wealth, arouse the cupidity of an
impoverished, though triumphant, Ger-
many? Would not this democracy be
the only obstacle between the autocratic
rulers of Germany and their supreme
ambition? Do you think that they would
withhold their hand from so rich a
prize ?
Let me, then, ask you, would it be
easier or wiser for this country single-
handed to resist a German Empire flushed
with victory and with great armies and
navies at its command than to unite with
the brave enemies of that empire in end-
ing now and for all time this menace to
our future?
Primarily, then, every man who
crosses the ocean to fight on foreign
soil against the armies of the German
Emperor goes forth to fight for his coun-
try and for the preservation of those
things for which our forefathers were
willing to die. To those who thus offer
themselves we owe the same debt that
we owe to those men who in the past
fought on American soil in the cause
of liberty. No, not the same debt, but a
greater one. It calls for more patriotism,
more self-denial, and a truer vision to
wage war on distant shores than to repel
an invader or defend one's home.
I know that some among you may con-
sider the idea that Germany would at-
tack us if she won this war to be im-
probable; but let him who doubts remem-
ber that the improbable, yes, the impos-
sible, has been happening in this war
from the beginning. If you had been told
prior to August, 1914, that the German
Government would disregard its solemn
treaties and send its armies into Belgium,
would wantonly burn Louvain, would
murder defenseless people, would extort
ransoms from conquered cities, would
carry away men and women into slavery,
458
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
would, like Vandals of old, destroy some
of history's most cherished monuments,
and would with malicious purpose lay
waste the fairest fields of France and
Belgium, you would have indignantly de-
nied the possibility. You would have ex-
claimed that Germans, lovers of art and
learning, would never permit such foul
deeds. Today you know that the unbe-
lievable has happened, that all these
crimes have been committed, not under
the impulse of passion, but under official
orders.
Atrocities and Iron Crosses
Again, if you had been told before
the war that German submarine com-
manders would sink peaceful vessels of
commerce and send to sudden death men,
women, and little children, you would
have declared such scientific brutality to
be impossible. Or, if you had been told
that German aviators would fly over
thickly populated cities scattering mis-
siles of death and destruction, with no
other purpose than to terrorize the inno-
cent inhabitants, you would have de-
nounced the very thought as unworthy
of belief and as a calumny upon German
honor. Yet, God help us, these things
have come to pass, and Iron Crosses
have rewarded the perpetrators.
But there is more, far more, which
might be added to this record of un-
believable things which the German Gov-
ernment has done. I only need to men-
tion the attempt of the Foreign Office
at Berlin to bribe Mexico to make war
upon us by promising her American ter-
ritory. It was only one of many in-
trigues which the German Government
was carrying on in many lands. Spies
and conspirators were sent throughout
the world. Civil discord was encouraged
to weaken the potential strength of
nations which might be obstacles to the
lust of Germany's rulers for world
mastery. Those of German blood who
owed allegiance to other countries were
appealed to to support the Fatherland,
which beloved name masked the military
clique at Berlin.
Some day I hope that the whole tale
may be told. It will be an astounding
tale, indeed. But enough has been told
so that there no longer remains the
shadow of a doubt as to the character
of Germany's rulers, of their amazing
ambition for world empire and of their
intense hatred for democracy.
The day has gone by when we can
measure possibilities by past experi-
ences or when we believe that any physi-
cal obstacle is so great or any moral in-
fluence is so potent as to cause the Ger-
man autocracy to abandon its mad pur-
pose of world conquest.
It was the policy of those who plotted
and made ready for the time to ac-
complish the desire of the German rulers
to lull ' into false security the great
nations which they intended to subdue,
so that when the storm broke they would
be unprepared. How well they succeeded
you know. But democracy no longer
sleeps. It is fully awake to the menace
which threatens it. The American people,
trustful and friendly, were reluctant to
believe that imperialism again threatened
the peace and liberty of the world. Con-
viction came to them at last, and with it
prompt action. The American Nation
arrayed itself with the other great de-
mocracies of the earth against the genius
of evil which broods over the destinies of
Central Europe.
America s High Resolve
No thought of material gain and no
thought of material loss impelled this
action. Inspired by the highest motives,
American manhood prepared to risk all
for the right. I am proud of my country.
I am proud of my countrymen. I am
proud of our national character. With
lofty purpose, with patriotic fervor, with
intense earnestness, the American de-
mocracy has drawn the sword, which it
will not sheathe until the baneful forces
of absolutism go down defeated and
broken.
Who can longer doubt — and there have
been many who have doubted in these
critical days — the power of that eternal
spirit of freedom which lives in every
true American heart?
My friends, I am firmly convinced that
the independence of no nation is sure,
that the liberty of no individual is sure,
until the military despotism, which holds
the German people in the hollow of its
VICE-ADMIRAL SIR ERIC GEDDES
The new First Lord of the British Admiralty, in succession to Sir
Edward Carson. Sir Eric Geddes was previously Controller of the
Navy. As a Minister he has had to be elected to Parliament
(Photo Press Illustrating Service)
SECRETARY LANSING ON OUR WAR AIMS
459
hand, has been made impotent and harm-
less forever. Appeals to justice, to moral
obligation, to honor, no longer avail with
such a power. There is but one way to
restore peace to the world, and that is
by overcoming the physical might of Ger-
man imperialism by force of arms.
For its own safety, as well as for the
cause of human liberty, this great Repub-
lic is marshaling its armies and prepar-
ing with all its vigor to aid in ridding
Germany, as well as the world, of the
most ambitious and most unprincipled
autocracy which has arisen to stay the
wheels of progress and imperil Christian
civilization.
It is to this great cause you, who are
present here tonight, like thousands of
other loyal Americans, have dedicated
yourselves. Upon each one of you much
depends. You are going forth into foreign
lands, not only as guardians of the flag
of your country and of the liberties of
your countrymen, but as guardians of the
national honor of the United States.
American character will be judged by
your conduct, American spirit by your
deeds. As you maintain yourselves coura-
geously and honorably, so will you bring
glory to the flag which we all love as the
emblem of our national unity and inde-
pendence.
Reward of the Soldier
It is in the toil and danger of so great
an adventure as you are soon to experi-
ence that a man's true character will be-
come manifest. He will be brought face
to face with the realities. The little
things which once engrossed his thought
and, called forth his energies will be for-
gotten in the stern events of his new life.
The sternness of it all will not deprive
him of the satisfaction which comes from
doing his best. As he found gratification
and joy in the peaceful pursuits of the
old life, so will he find a deeper gratifica-
tion and a greater joy in serving his
country loyally and doing his part in
molding the future.
And when your task is completed, when
the grim days of battle are over, and you
return once more to the quiet life of your
profession or occupation, which you have
so generously abandoned at your coun-
try's call, you will find in the gratitude
of your countrymen an ample reward for
the great sacrifice which you have made.
If enthusiasm and ardor can make suc-
cess sure, then we, Americans, have no
cause for anxiety, no reason to doubt the
outcome of the conflict. But enthusiasm
and ardor are not all; they must be
founded on a profound conviction of the
righteousness of your cause and on an
implicit faith that the God of Battles will
strengthen the arm of him who fights for
the right.
In the time of stress and peril, when
a man stands face to face with death in
its most terrible forms, God will not
desert him who puts his trust in Him.
It is at such a time that the eternal
verities will be disclosed. It is then, when
you realize that existence is more than
this life and that over our destinies
watches an all-powerful and compassion-
ate God, you will stand amidst the storm
of battle unflinching and unafraid.
There is no higher praise that can be
bestowed upon a soldier of the Republic
than to say that he served his country
faithfully and trusted in his God. Such
I earnestly hope will be the praise to
which each of you will be entitled when
peace returns to this suffering earth and
mankind rejoices that the world is made
safe for democracy.
War for American Honor and Lives
Senator Borah on Our War Aims
Senator Borah of Idaho delivered a remarkable speech in the Senate on July 26, 1917,
during the debate on river arftl harbor appropriations, in which he warned Congress and the
nation against useless expenditures, at the same time stating just what were the issues for
which Americans were about to offer their blood and treasure on the battlefields of Europe.
All the essential parts of the speech are given below.
The debate having brought Mr. Borah
to the point vjhere he warned the Senate
that the- millions of waste in the River
and Harbor bill might be a cause of dis-
aster, he continued:
ENGLAND has up to the present
time issued war "bonds to the
amount of $18,740,000,000. France
has issued $10,532,000,000 of
bonds, Germany has issued $13,400,000,-
000 of bonds, Russia has issued $7,896,-
000,000 of bonds, Italy has issued $2,520,-
000,000 of bonds, Austria has issued $3,-
659,000,000 of bonds, and the United
States will add to it this year in the way
of bonds in all probability to the amount
of at least $10^000,000,000. You have, Mr.
President, the stupendous, almost in-
comprehensible burden of $66,747,000,000
in the way of bonded indebtedness upon
the countries named that are engaged in
this war. Calculate the annual interest
on this and you get some conception of
this burden. * * *
In view of the fact that the countries
with which we are now allied are raising
apparently every dollar that they can,
but must necessarily vote these large
issues of bonds, and in view of the fact
that we have already incurred obliga-
tions or provided for expenditures ap-
proaching $17,000,000,000, as a matter of
patriotism, in the simple discharge of the
most simple duty which devolves upon
us we ought to insist that every item of
appropriations which passes through this
body shall have stamped upon it " neces-
sity "; that no item which cannot be said
to be absolutely necessary to the success-
ful carrying on of the war ought to>pass,
and that to pass it would be an act in
disregard of the imminent urgency which
confronts this country.
Mr. President, there never has been a
time in this struggle, from the first day
of August, 1914, until this present hour,
when the outlook was so serious and
menacing to the Allies as it is at this
time. There has never been an instant
WILLIAM E. BORAH
SENATOR FROM IDAHO
so calculated to call forth patriotic effort,
to enlist the unselfish zeal of those who
have to do with the guiding of their
country's affairs as this present time.
Russia has for all practical purposes at
this hour, for the present at least, passed
out of the conflict. Her internal diffi-
culties have made it practically impos-
sible for her to be of effect upon the
fighting line. That vast body of people,
upon whom all interested in this war
upon the side of the Allies depended so
WAR FOR AMERICAN HONOR AND LIVES
461
much and from whom they expected so
much has by reason of the situation at
home practically left the battle front.
NeT» Crisis Due to Russia
What does that mean to the people of
the United States ? Could a more serious
message come over the wires at any time,
one involving more nearly the lives of
millions of our boys, than the fact that
Russia is breaking down? If there is
efficacy in prayer in such things as these,
the American people may well offer up a
silent prayer at this hour for the
guidance and the preservation and the
success of Kerensky. If this gallant
leader, standing now at the head of his
disorganized forces, meets either the
assassin's bullet or failure in other ways,
it means a leaven which will disorganize
and demoralize the situation beyond any
power that language can portray. It
means, Mr. President, that in all proba-
bility a million American boys in addi-
tion will find graves upon European soil.
No more serious situation, Sir, could
confront warring nations than that which
confronts the Allies at this hour. In the
minds of some it may not be considered
wise to say so, but the situation is here,
and I am one of those who believe that
we should speak truthfully and plainly
to those who must pay our taxes and
fight our battles. The hour of sacrifice
has arrived, and, being here, will the
Senate of the United States linger and
parley, Sir, over money to go into Fish
Creek, Tombigbee Creek, or some other
inconsequential and worthless water-
ways? Will the American Senate delay
for a single hour to cut away all un-
necessary .and idle things which impede
progress or add unnecessary burdens and
meet this situation as it is necessary for
us to meet it in order to solve the prob-
lem ? Shall we rise to the invitations of
this solemn and awful hour or shall we
still trifle with selfish and immaterial
matters as the storm comes on?
But that is not all, Mr. President. Not
only has Russia for the present time
passed out of this war, but the submarine
problem, which, it was hoped a few
weeks ago, might by this time be well
upon its way to a successful solution, in-
stead of being favorable to the Allies is
distinctly favorable to the Teuton powers.
I read in the reliable papers this morn-
ing that, instead of the amount of ton-
nage sunk decreasing, it is increasing
day by day, and thus, while the Russian
forces are breaking away from the fight-
ing line, the submarines of the Teuton
powers are spreading havoc upon the
seas, and France is being fought almost
to her knees, though displaying again
and again courage and heroism such as
have never been excelled in the history of
the world.
[Here Mr. Borah reviewed the work of
German submarines, estimating the sink-
ings at 9,000,000 tons a year, and con-
tinued] :
Americas Peace Terms
This is not a propitious time, gener-
ally speaking, to discuss peace or to pro-
pose peace if we intend to have that
peace which is permanent and which en-
dures. With an enemy that is apparently
marching on to victory, we shall hardly
be listened to upon their part; we can-
not discuss peace with them; * * *
but I think this much ought to be said,
lest I be misunderstood: I am not so
sure but that the time has come when the
American people should have presented
to them more definitely and specifically
the terms and conditions upon which we
are fighting the war and the terms and
conditions upon which we would cease to
fight it. I believe that there ought to be
laid before our people a more specific
program as to what we propose to attain,
as to what we propose to accomplish, and
as to the terms and conditions upon
which the war, so far as America is
concerned, can end. I think we ought to
say in as clear terms as possible just
what America demands as a prerequisite
of peace.
I say this, not, Sir, with the view of
dealing with Germany or with the ex-
pectation that she would accept from us
at this time any proposal which we might
submit, but I say it in behalf of our own
people and of permitting them to know
definitely and specifically the things for
which they are expected to fight and the
things which shall constitute the end of
their task. We cannot carry on this war,
462
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
in my judgment, without a thoroughly-
aroused and sustained public opinion in
favor of the war, which does not at this
time exist ; and one of the reasons, in my
opinion, why it does not exist is because
of the nebulous and uncertain terms and
conditions upon which we, are supposed
to be in the war, and the; utter want of
knowledge as to what conditions will take
us out of the war. No one seems to know
what will constitute the end. America
ought to hold the reins of peace every
hour and at all times.
The Real American Issue
Mr. President, Viviani, in that remark-
able address bidding farewell to the
American people, told us that the great
mistake the German Government made
was in not knowing the French and Eng-
glish people ; that they sent their Ambas-
sadors to France and England to study
government and to practice the arts of
diplomacy, but they misunderstood or did
not read at all the noble qualities of the
masses. Let us not as a Government
make that same fatal mistake with refer-
ence to our own people. Let us keep in
mind that the ways of Government and
the paths of diplomacy overshadowed by
no sacrifice are often far from the sad
and dusty lanes down which the people
march to war. Government and diplo-
macy may be. interested in the future of
Constantinople and the Bagdad Railway,
but out yonder in the open, where every
move toward war means sorrow and sac-
rifice, where families are to be separated
and broken, where husband and brother
and son are to be offered upon the altar,
that altar must be our country — you
must speak to them of things of home
and of the flag, you must give them an
American issue for which to die.
After we have declared war and
taken the steps upon the part of the
Government which necessarily follow,
we come then to deal with another
world entirely. We leave the field of
form and formality and find ourselves
in the world of the concrete, of the real,
where hearts throb and grieve and men
are preparing to suffer and die. From
this forward you must deal with the
man on the street, in the field, and in
the factory; the man of simple and
fixed but noble national instincts; the
man, bless God! in whose moral and in-
tellectual fibre are ingrained the teach-
ings and traditions and aspirations of a
century of national life — a national life
separate, distinct, exceptional, and sub-
lime.
Fighting for Our Own Rights
You will not change these things over
night. The American citizen must live
his character; you cannot transplant in
a few weeks the habits and ideas, the
methods and ways, of other people. We
have our allies, and with them a com-
mon purpose; but America is still
America, with her own institutions, her
individuality, the moral and intellectual
conceptions of her own people; she is
still a sun and not a satellite.
Sir, if our' own institutions are not at
stake, if the security of our own country
is not involved, if we as a people and
as a nation are not fighting for our
own rights and the honor and lives of
our own people, our declaration of war
was a bold and impudent "betrayal of a
whole people, and its further continu-
ance a conspiracy against every home
in the land. * * *
A few weeks ago Russia made a dec-
laration in favor of peace based upon no
indemnities and no annexations. It found
no response from any one of her allies.
In my humble judgment, the United
States could not have taken a more im-
portant and effective step than to have
indorsed the proposition which Russia at
that time put out to the world. Some
noted exceptions, some of which, I have
no doubt, Russia herself would have ac-
cepted, could have been noted, but the
principle maintained. It is my opinion
that if the United States had taken a
bold stand at that time in favor of that
principle Russia would be in 100 per
cent, better condition as a fighting force
today than she is. But the impression
immediately obtained that certain influ-
ences prevented the United States from
defining its position, waiting upon other
powers which were directing the course
of this war. And there is abroad in this
land now the belief that we must fight
WAR FOR AMERICAN HONOR AND LIVES
463
on and on until captured colonies and
certain territory are adjusted. Sir, I
warn you now, do not let that idea be-
come fastened in the minds of our people.
Because Americans Were Murdered
Mr. President, I can only speak for
myself and for myself alone. But speak-
ing for myself* I did not vote for war
out of sympathy for France, much as I
sympathize with and greatly as I admire
that brave and chivalrous people. I voted
for war because our own rights had been
trampled under foot, because our own
people had been murdered, and because
we were warned that the slaughter was
to be renewed. I could see nothing un-*
der those conditions in the future but
continued wrongs, dishonor, and complete
national degradation. I did not vote for
war that we might spread democracy
over Europe, though, in common with all
my countrymen, I presume, I would be
glad to see every King and every Em-
peror and every Prince exiled from
among men and the last vestige of dy-
nastic power swept into the refuse of
history.
I voted for war to preserve and make
safe our own blessed Republic, to give
honor and dignity and security to this
democracy of ours, and to keep it if we
could as our fathers transmitted it, whole
and triumphant. I felt that self-respect
was the very breath of life of a democ-
racy, that while other Governments might
continue on in humiliation, and even in
degradation, without self-respect a dem-
ocracy could not long endure. I felt that
a free Republic living alone and existing
only in the affection and the devotion
of the citizen could not long survive the
day when that Republic should refuse to
defend the rights and protect the lives
of its citizens. So I voted for war be-
cause the most vital thing in our na-
tional life was and is involved, and for
no other reason on earth would I have
cast that vote and aided in plunging our
nation into the midst of this world con-
flict.
As I view it, from that hour this was
no longer a European war to settle and
adjust European affairs, to rehabilitate
European nations, but an American war,
to be carried on, prolonged, or ended
according to American interests, and to
be adjusted upon American principles,
and to settle, once and we hope for all
time, that while slow to wrath we are
swift to avenge those wrongs which chal-
lenge national honor and imperil the se-
curity of our own people.
America Will Make No Difference"
Dr. Kahl, a Professor of Law at the University of Berlin, delivered a lecture
in July on " The Turning Point of the World War." He was reported as saying:
The turning point of the war has arrived — that is to say, the climax is
passed, and the scales are fixed in our favor. We can say deliberately that
the German victory is waving to us. Our enemies are many. Our latest
enemies have been forced to come in as economic satellites of our main ene-
mies. It is only the old enemies that seriously count in calculations about
the result and end of the compaign; among them is Wilson, who was always
playing false. Such a nature as his is repulsive to the German character.
At the turning point of the world war, however, the fact that we are at war
with America will make no difference — not even if the much-trumpeted
200,000 men come over the sea. With just conviction and hope we can cry
to the peace hypocrite on the warpath, " Too late ! "
The Battle of the Chancelleries
British Premier's Attack on New German Chan-
cellor's First Speech Opens a Many-Sided Debate
PREMIER LLOYD GEORGE, speak-
ing at a patriotic demonstration
in Queen's Hall, London, on Bel-
gium's Independence Day, July 21,
1917, characterized the recent speech of
the German Chancellor, Dr. Michaelis,
as a sham, facing both ways, and de-
clared that he did not wish the Germans
to " harbor any delusions that they are
going to put Great Britain out of this
fight until liberty has been re-established
throughout the world." The German
speech in question was delivered in the
Reichstag on July. 19, and its essential
portions will be found in the August
issue of this magazine. Toward the end
of his speech Mr. Lloyd George said that
the Germans were making the same mis-
take in underestimating America's efforts
in the war as they had made about
Great Britain in the beginning:
They said that we wouldn't fight, and If
we would we couldn't. We had no army
and we couldn't raise one, and they
needn't worry about Britain. I think
they have discovered their mistake about
us, and now they are just going through
the same process with America.
I want to put this to them: If Great
Britain, not a very large country, while
she is maintaining and equipping and even
building up equipment for an army of
millions afield and in reserve in full
fighting array, while she is maintaining
the largest navy in the world, can or-
ganize in the third year of an exhausting
war to turn out millions of tons of new
shipping, is America, with twice the popu-
lation of this country, with endless natural
resources, going to be beaten merely be-
cause she puts forth no effort? The man
who talks like that knows not America;
otherwise he would not say it.
Brighter Days for Belgium
The other essential portions of Mr.
Lloyd George's speech are as follows:
Three years — even of agony— are not long
in the life of a nation, and the deliverance
of Belgium is assuredly coming, and when
it comes that deliverance must be com-
plete. France owes it, Britain owes it,
Europe owes it, the civilization of the
world owes it to Belgium that her de-
liverance shall be complete.
What have we got in the way? There is
a new Chancellor. The Junker has thrown
the old Chancellor into the waste-paper
basket with his scrap of paper and they
are lying there side by side. You will not
have to wait long before Junkerdom will
follow. What hope is there in his speech
of peace— I mean an honorable peace,
which is the only possible peace? It is a
dexterous speech. A facing-all-ways
speech. There are phrases for those who
earnestly desire peace— many. But they
are phrases which the military powers of
Germany will understand — phrases about
making the frontier of Germany secure.
That is the phrase which annexed Al-
sace-Lorraine ; that is the phrase which
has drenched Europe with blood from
1914 ; that is the phrase which, if they
dare, will annex Belgium ; and that is the
phrase which will once more precipitate
Europe into a welter of blood within a
generation unless that phrase is wiped
out of the statesmanship of Europe.
Hcrr Michaelis's Phrases
There are phrases for men of democratic
mind in that speech— many. He was calling
men from the Reichstag to co-operate
with the Government; they were even to
get office, men of all parties and ljien of
democratic sentiment. But there were
phrases to satisfy the Junkers— to other
men nothing. There was to be no parting
with imperialistic rights. Ah ! They will
call men from the Reichstag to office, but
they will be not Ministers, but clerks. It
is the speech of a man waiting on the
military situation, and let the Allies-
Russia, Britain, France, Italy, all of them
—bear that in mind. It is a speech that
can be made better by improving the
military situation. If the Germans win in
the west, if they destroy the Russian Army
in the east, if their friends the Turks
drive Britain out of Mesopotamia, if the
U-boats sink more merchant ships, then
that speech, believe me, means annexation
all round and military autocracy more
firmly established than ever. But, on the
other hand, should the German Army be
driven back in the west, be beaten in the
east, and should their friends the Turks
fail in Bagdad, and the submarines be a
failure on the high seas, that speech is all
right. We must all help to make that a
good speech. There are possibilities in it
of excellence. Let us help Dr. Michaelis;
THE BATTLE OF THE CHANCELLERIES
465
let us give our assistance to the new-
Chancellor to make his first speech a real
success. But for the moment it means
that the military party has won.
Guarantees of Peace
I want to repeat In another form a
statement which I made before. What
manner of Government they choose to
rule over them is entirely the business of
the German people themselves; but what
manner of Government we can trust to
make peace with is our business. De-
mocracy is in itself a guarantee of peace,
and if you cannot get it in Germany then
we must secure other guarantees as a sub-
stitute. The German Chancellor's speech
shows, in my judgment, that those who
are in charge of affairs in Germany have
for the moment elected for war.
There is no hope for Belgium in that
speech. It is not even mentioned. The
phraseology is full of menace to Belgium.
All that about making their frontiers
Secure— which took Metz and Strasburg
away, and will take Liege and the control
over Antwerp again— that is not a phrase
of good omen for Belgium. All that about
the necessity of seeing that the economic
interests of Germany are secure means
that, even if they restore Belgium, their
restoration will be a sham. The deter-
mination of the Allies is this, that Bel-
gium must be restored as a free and an
independent people. Belgium must be a
people and not a protectorate. We must
not have a Belgian scabbard for the Prus-
sian sword. The sceptre must be Belgian,
the sword must be Belgian, the scabbard
must be Belgian, the soul must be Belgian.
I read that speech, as it was my duty
to read it once, twice, thrice, to seek
anything in it which would give hope for
an end of this bloodshed, and I see a sham
independence for Belgium, a sham de-
mocracy for Germany, a sham peace for
Europe ; and I say Europe has not sacri-
ficed millions of her gallant sons to set
up on soil consecrated by their blood a
mere sanctuary for shams.
Vanishing German Illusions
The German Chancellor tries to stimu-
late the courage of his people by doping
them with illusions. Germany will find
that her new hopes are just such illusions
as the others that have been dispelled.
Paris in six weeks— that is gone. The cir-
cumvention of our blockade by opening
up the route to Bagdad and to the reserves
of the East— that is gone. The Zeppelin
raids— where are they? And now it is the
Turks and the U-boats, both equally bar-
barous and good company, the one for the
other. The U-boats are to put England
out of business. Owing to the submarine
attacks, according to the German Chan-
cellor, we cannot last much longer. I am
sorry to disillusion him at the outset of his
career. But truth compels me to do it.
Gradually, but surely, we are increasing
our production and decreasing our losses
in ships.
We are a slow people ; we' are not very
quick at the outset, but we are difficult to
beat when we begin ; and certainly I think
Germany has underrated our intelligence,
our industry, and our determination. * * *
There has been a change, a more sig-
nificant change than that of the substitu-
tion of Dr. Michaelis for Bethmann Holl-
weg, and that is the change which has
been announced just a few hours ago. That
brilliant young Russian statesman, the
outstanding figure of the Russian revolu-
tion, the man whose inspiration has re-
generated and revived Russian military
forces, has succeeded to the leadership of
the Russian democracy. In the great
coming struggle in the east and in the
west, every German soldier must know
in his heart that if he falls he will be
dying for military autocracy in fighting
against the federation of free peoples.
On the other hand every Belgian soldier,
every French soldier, every Russian sol-
dier knows that he is risking his life for
the freedom and independence of his native
land. Every British, every American,
every Portuguese soldier knows that he
will be fighting side by side with the
others for international right and justice
throughout the world, and it is that grow-
ing conviction more even than the knowl-
edge of vast unexhausted resources which
gives them all heart— it gives us heart
— to go on fighting to the end, knowing
full well that the future of mankind is our
trust to maintain and to defend.
Commons Rejects Resolution
The attitude of the British House of
Commons toward a peace move initiated
by Germany was shown July 26, when by
a vote of 148 to 19 it defeated the follow-
ing resolution, moved by James Ramsay
Macdonald, Socialist and Labor Member
for Leicester:
That, .in view of the resolution passed by
the representatives of the German people
assembled in the Reichstag, to the effect
that, putting aside the thought of ac-
quisition of territory by force, the Reichs-
tag is striving for a peace of understand-
ing and lasting reconciliation of nations;
that with such a peace, political, economic,
and financial usurpation are incompatible,
also that the Reichstag repudiates all
plans which aim at the economic isolation
and tying down of nations after the war,
this House declares that this statement ex-
presses the principles for which this
country has stood throughout, and calls
upon the Government, in conjunction with
the Allies, to restate their peace terms
accordingly; and, further, it declares
that the Allies should accept the Russian
406
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
proposal that the forthcoming, allied con-
ference on war aims shall comprise repre-
sentatives of the peoples and not solely
spokesmen of the Governments.
Former Premier Asquith, in discussing
the resolution, welcomed the news that a
conference would be held early in the
Autumn on the invitation of the Russian
Government. Nothing but good could
come of a plain restatement of the Allies*
aims in a good cause. Two new facts of
the present year, first, that Russia had
ceased forever to be autocratic, and, sec-
ond, the appearance, with all her moral
and material forces, of the United States
in the struggle, had a direct and practi-
cal bearing upon the opinion of the world
as to the sincerity of the Allies' aims. He
continued:
Earnestly as we desire peace, no peace
is worth having which would restore,
under some thin disguise, the precarious
status quo ante bellum and would leave
countries like Belgium, Serbia, and Greece
at the mercy of dynastic intrigue or
under the menace of military coercion.
It would be premature and futile to
grapple in detail with the geographical
problems eventually to be solved.
The principle clearly agreed to by every
one of the Allies is that in any rearrange-
ment made the governing principle ought
to be the interests and the wishes of
the populations affected. But is that
principle acceptable to the Central
Powers? Is Germany prepared not only
to evacuate Belgium but to make repara-
tion for the colossal mischief and damage
which accompanied her devastating occu-
pation and the practical enslavement of
a large portion of the Belgian people?
Is she prepared not only to do that but
to restore to Belgium not a pretense of
but absolute independence?
Other Official Replies
The speech of Bonar Law dealt large-
ly with the Russian crisis. He said that
all the nations engaged were staggering
under the blow, but that the resources
of the Allies were sufficient to make it
absolutely certain that, unless their
hearts failed them, they must secure the
results for which they had entered the
war. The struggle had reached a point
where it was a question of staying power,
and in this matter he had absolute con-
fidence in the Allies.
Another official reply to Chancellor
Michaelis is contained in the latter part
of a summary of war events prepared for
The Associated Press by Sir Edward
Carson, British Minister without port-
folio, under date of July 29. After de-
claring that the Russian revolution and
the entry of the United States into the
war were the two great events of the
year, he said:
The immediate effect of the Russian
revolution, from a military point of view,
gives cause for great anxiety and has, up
to the present, proved disastrous. But it
must be borne in mind that the Govern-
ment of the late Russian Emperor was
hatching positive treachery to the alli-
ance and would have caused much greater
disaster to us by concluding separate
peace with Germany.
The revolution, even from a military
point of view, has been far better than
the regime which it displaced. And, from
a political and social point of view, we in
England welcome it without reserve. We
are confident that the inevitable disturb-
ance which accompanies every revolution
When the seat of existing authority is
overturned will settle into constitutional
order based on free democratic institu-
tions and that as soon as this is brought
about the ingrained patriotism of the Rus-
sian people, combined with their splendid
military qualities, proved on a thousand
battlefields, once more will bring that
great country into line in effective co-op-
eration with her allies in striking at the
common enemy of all.
The Russian revolution, moreover, has
drawn a clear-cut line between the con-
tending nations, ranging them as the de-
fenders of democracy on one side and as
its assailants on the other. This aspect
of the struggle, of course, has been most
strongly emphasized by the action of
America in joining the alliance against
the Central Empires and Turkey.
Americas Momenlous Decision
The momentous decision of the United
States that no alternative remained to her
but to take up arms against Germany is
one of the greatest events in the history
of the world. Previous to taking it she
had proved by a long course- of patient
statesmanship how deeply seated was her
abhorrence of war and her idealism in the
conduct of international affairs. Nothing
but persistent and openly avowed" adop-
tion by Germany of a policy of public
crime and flagrant violation of neutral
rights would have driven America into
the war.
The utterances of President Wilson have
nobly vindicated the moral basis of the
alliance against Germany, and we have
full confidence that America's moral sup-
port will, in good time, be backed by ma-
THE BATTLE OF THE CHANCELLERIES
467
terial aid of overwhelming' power which
will make an end of all doubts as to the
completeness of the victory attainable by
the Allies.
We feel sure that the American people
realize as clearly as we do ourselves that
no peace can be lasting which is not the
fruit of a complete and unquestionable
military victory. The new German Chan-
cellor has shown that neither the German
Government nor the German people is yet
prepared for any such peace. They still
hope to make civilization and democracy
surrender to the black flag.
It would be foolish to deny that the
submarine menace is an exceedingly grave
one ; but it will be defeated as every other
German expedient has been defeated in
the three years of war we now have
passed through.
We enter on the fourth year in a spirit
of confident determination to see this
thing through until we have attained the
aims we proclaimed at the beginning,
which could not be better summarized
than in President Wilson's pregnant
phrase to " make the world safe for de-
mocracy."
Reply of Dr. Michaelis to Lloyd George
Dr. Georg Michaelis, the German Im-
perial Chancellor, summoned a large
number of newspaper men to his office
in Berlin on July 29 and made the fol-
lowing declaration and countercharges:
The speech of David Lloyd George, the
British Premier, at Queen's Hall, London,
and the recent debate in the British House
of Commons again have proved with in-
disputable clearness that Great Britain
does not desire peace by agreement and
understanding, but only a conclusion of
the war which means the enslavement of
Germany to the arbitrary violence of our
enemies.
Proof of this may be seen in the fact
that Sir Edward Carson recently declared
in Dublin that negotiations with Germany
could begin only after the retirement of
German troops beyond the Rhine. In re-
sponse to a question put by Commoner
Joseph King, A. Bonar Law, the spokes-
man of the British Government in the
House of Commons, modified this declara-
tion by fixing the standpoint of the British
Government as being that if Germany
wanted peace she first of all must declare
herself willing to evacuate the occupied
territories.
We possess clear proofs that the enemy
gives assent to a declaration going even
further than that impudently made by Sir
Edward Carson. You all know that de-
tailed information regarding the French
plans of conquest, approved by Great
Britain and Russia, has been circulated
for weeks past in the neutral press and
that it has not been denied up to the
present.
Says French See£ Conquest
It would be of the greatest importance
for the enlightenment of the whole world
regarding the true reasons for the con-
tinuation of the sanguinary massacre of
nations for it to be known that written
proofs of our enemies' greed for conquest
have since fallen into our hands. I refer
to reports of the secret debate on June 2
in the French Chamber of Deputies.
I ask the French Government this
question : Does it deny that ex-Premier
Briand and Premier Ribot, in the
course of that secret sitting, at which
were present Deputies Moutet and Cochin,
who had just returned from Petro-
grad, were forced to admit that France,
shortly before the Russian revolution, had
come to an agreement having in view vain
plans of conquest with a Government
which Premier Lloyd George described in
his last speech as a " corrupt and nar-
row autocracy"?
I ask if it is true that the French Am-
bassador at Petrograd, in response to a
request sent by him to Paris, received in-
structions to sign a treaty prepared in ad-
vance by M. Doumergue (ex-Premier and
Foreign Minister) after negotiations with
the Russian Emperor?
Is it true or not that the French Presi-
dent at the instance of General Berthelot,
head of the French military mission to
Rumania, formally intrusted him with a
mandate, and that M. Briand afterward
sanctioned this step?
This treaty assured to France her fron-
tiers, but amended on lines of previous
wars the conquest of 1870 to include,
besides Alsace-Lorraine, Saarbriicken and
vast territorial modifications on the left
bank of the Rhine.
As desired by France when M. Terest-
chenko (the Russian Foreign Minister)
took office, the Russian Government pro-
tested against the French aims of con-
quest, which also included that of Syria,
and declared that new Russia no longer
would be willing to take part In the
struggle if it learned of these French war
aims.
Professes to Quote Briand
Wasn't it the principal object of Albert
Thomas (member of the French War
Council) on his journey to Russia to
overcome this remorse of M. Terest-
chenko? The French Government will
not be able to deny all this, and it will be
obliged to confess, although it may do so
only tacitly, that M. Briand was the ob-
468
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Ject of stormy attacks during the secret
session ; that Premier Ribot was obliged
to produce the secret treaty in response to
the demand of M. Renaudel, (leader of
the majority Socialists in the French
Chamber,) and also that M. Briand, in
the course of the excited debate which en-
sued, declared that revolutionary Russia
was obliged to carry out what Imperial
Russia had promised and that it did not
matter to France what was said by the
lowest classes in Russia.
It Is characteristic that Deputy Moutet,
according to his own statement, replied in
Russia to the question whether Alsace-
Lorraine was the only obstacle to peace
by saying he could not answer the question
in that form and that Russia ought to
take into consideration the fact that the
Russian revolution had been purchased by
French blood.
The admission of Deputies Cochin and
Moutet that the Russian representatives
had declared in the course of the negotia-
tion that they attached no importance
to Constantinople throws clear light on
Russian sentiment. The delegates from
the Russian armies also are in agreement
with this.
Regardless of this manifest proof of the
revulsion of the Russian people against a
policy of aggrandizement, Premier Ribot
refused in the secret session of the French
Chamber to undertake any revision of the
French war aims and announced the fact
that Italy also had received guarantees of
great territorial aggrandizements.
In order to divest their ambitions on
the left bank of the Rhine of a character
of greed and conquest, he announced the
necessity of a buffer State, but the Oppo-
sition speakers cried out amid a din of
contradictions : " It is disgraceful ! "
I would like also to mention that Pre-
mier Ribot, after a pacifist speech by
Deputy Augagneur, replied that the Rus-
sian Generals had declared that the Rus-
sian armies never were in better con-
dition or better equipped than then. Here
appears in perfect clearness the desire to
let the Russian people go on shedding
their blood in behalf of the unjust ambi-
tions of France.
This desire has been fulfilled, but not as
Premier Ribot anticipated, for we ean
hardly presume he had such an absolute
lack of humanity as that ; though fore-
seeing the failure of the Russian offensive,
he yet insisted upon it, thinking it would
give another hour's respite pending the
entry of America into the war.
The enemy press endeavors to force
upon my inaugural speech the interpreta-
tion that I only consented to the majority
resolution with an ill-concealed reserva-
tion of Germany's desires for conquest.
I am obliged to deny the imputation as
to an object of which there can be no
doubt. Besides, the resolution implies—
which is quite clear— that the enemy must
also renounce any ideas of conquest.
Dr. Michaelis added that it was mani-
fest Germany's enemies were not in the
least considering such renunciation and
that* the French meeting held in secret
was fresh proof that her enemies were
responsible for the prolongation of the
war and were "actuated by lust of
conquest."
"The conspicuousness of the justice
of our defensive war," the Chancellor
concluded, "will steel our strength and
determination in the future."
Supported by Count Czernin
Count Ottokar Czernin von Chudenitz,
the Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister,
gave out a similar statement at Vienna
on the same day, declaring that the Dual
Monarchy would fight to the last ex-
tremity if the Entente Powers refused
to accept the suggestion of Dr. Michaelis
and enter into negotiations on the basis
of a peace by understanding. He also
replied to Mr. Lloyd. George's speech of
July 21 and said that the British Premier
was mistaken when he called the Reichs-
tag resolution a " peace bluff." He said :
I must reply to Premier Lloyd George
with the question: What are we finally
to expect from the Entente? What we
desire is quite evident from the well-
known declarations made in Vienna and
from the demonstrations by the German
people showing that a complete agree-
ment exists to the very last detail between
Vienna and Berlin.
What the Chancellor and the Reichstag
declared is what I described months ago
as an honorable peace, which the Vienna
Government is ready to accept and where-
by it seeks a lasting reconciliation of the
nations. But there also exists the com-
plete agreement that we never shall accept
a peace which is not honorable for us.
If the Entente does not wish to enter
negotiations on the basis which we have
clearly indicated, we shall continue the
war and fight to the last extremity.
I don't care whether this admission is
regarded as a sign of weakness or of
strength. To me it seems only a sign of
common sense and morality, which revolt
against the idea of prolonging the war.
I am absolutely convinced the Entente
will never succeed in crushing us ; and,
since in our position of defense we have
no intention of crushing the enemy, the
war will end sooner or later in a peace
by understanding. But, to my way of
REPLY OF DR. MICHAELIS TO LLOYD GEORGE
4C9
thinking, the natural conclusion is that
the further sacrifices and suffering im-
posed on all humanity are useless, and
that it is necessary, in the interests of
humanity, to reach a peace by under-
standing as soon as possible.
As we have fought in conjunction with
our faithful allies, so we shall make
peace in conjunction with them, now or
later, and we shall fight in conjunction
with them to the last extremity unless the
enemy shows a willingness to understand
our viewpoint.
I shall not put the question who was
responsible for the war, because it is
useless to discuss the past in this con-
nection. But I shall speak of the future,
and I wish to -express the desire that the
world may succeed after the conclusion of
peace in finding adequate means and ex-
pedients to prevent forever the recurrence
of such a frightful war.
■ The democratization of Constitutions is
the great demand of the time. Both in
Austria and in Hungary the Governments
are putting their hands to this great
work, but they are against intervention
from the outside. We do not intervene in
the internal affairs of other States, and
we demand complete reciprocity in this
matter.
Balfour *s Guarded' Statement
The following day, July 30, Arthur J.
Balfour, British Foreign Minister, took
part in a discussion in the House of
Commons regarding Lord Robert Cecil's
recent statement that " the dismember-
ment of Austria was not one of Great
Britain's war aims." Mr. Balfour said
it would not be wise for the Government
to declare the details of its policy at this
juncture. With respect to the Jugoslav
and Austrian question it was impossible
to foretell the position in which the
world would find itself when that issue
came to be decided. " As everybody
" knows," he said, " we first entered the
" war to defend Belgium and prevent
" France from being crushed before our
" eyes." If France now asked for Alsace-
Lorraine, he saw no reason why Great
Britain should not assist her until she
got back into the position which existed
before the attack engineered against her
by Bismarck in 1871, namely, that she
" obtain restoration of that of which she
" was violently robbed more than forty
"years ago." He added: "As long as
" France fights for Alsace-Lorraine we
"shall support her."
As for the democratization of Ger-
many, Mr. Balfour continued, nobody
was foolish enough to suppose that it
would be possible to impose upon Ger-
many a Constitution made outside of
Germany. He added:
Germany must work out her salvation.
You do not mend matters by imposing a
Constitution, even if you have the power.
Nations must make their scheme of lib-
erty for themselves, according to their
own ideas, and based on their history,
character, and hopes.
But if it is true that the great power of
German imperialism is still depending
upon the belief— the belief driven into the
German Nation by the wars of 1866 and
1870— that only under the imperial system
can Germany be great, powerful, and
rich, then if experience shows that the
imperialistic system can produce not
merely a triumph one time but inevitably
lead to corresponding disaster at another,
it may well be that those views which
found German teachers for more than a
generation before the Bismarckian dom-
ination will revive with new lustre and
new strength, and that Germany, with all
her powers of organization and all her in-
herited cultivation, will be added to those
nations which before the war could
hardly conceive how a universal war of
this sort could be deliberately provoked in
order to further the commercial or polit-
ical interests of any single community.
When Germany has come to the level of
the United States and Great Britain in
that respect we may hope that one of the
great disturbers of the peace will forever
be eliminated. I do not know who will
venture to say for a moment that, looking
at the internal condition of Germany as
far as we are allowed to see it at the
present time, the ideas of which I have
been speaking will really grow in such
fashion as to raise legitimate hopes that
in our lifetime we shall see that estab-
lished. But I am sure that if it is not
estabfished the security of Europe will
not be established either.
The "Potsdam Plot" and Countercharges
The London Times on July 28 published
an article from a " well-informed corre-
spondent " tending to show that the die
had been cast for war at a secret meet-
ing in Potsdam on July 5, 1914. The
Leipziger Volkszeitung had published
470
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
eight days earlier a report of Hugo
Haase's speech in the Reichstag contain-
ing a reference to "the meeting of July
5, 1914," as one of the matters which
would have to be explained before the
origin of the war could be fully under-
stood. The correspondent of The Times
wrote:
This is the first public reference to a
date which probably will become the most
famous of the fateful month of July, 1914.
I have it on authority which it is diffi-
cult if not impossible to doubt that the
meeting referred to was a meeting held at
Potsdam on the date named. There were
present the Kaiser, Dr. von Bethmann
Hollweg, Admiral von Tirpitz, General
von Falkenhayn, Dr. "William von Stumm,
Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs ;
Archduke Frederick of Austria, Count von
Berchtold, Austrian Foreign Minister;
Count Tisza, Premier of Hungary, and
General Conrad von Hoetzendorf. It
appears that von Jagow and Count Moltke
were not present.
The meeting discussed and decided on
all the principal points in the Austrian
ultimatum which was to be dispatched to
Serbia. Eighteen days later it was recog-
nized that Russia would probably refuse
to submit to such a direct humiliation,
and that war would result. That conse-
quence the meeting definitely decided to
accept. It is probable but not certain
that the date of mobilization was fixed
at the same time.
The Kaiser, as is well known, then left
for Norway with the object of throwing
dust in the eyes of the French and Rus-
sian Governments. Three weeks later,
when it became known that England
would not remain neutral, Bethmann Holl-
weg wished to withdraw, but it was too
late. The decision of July 5 was irrevoc-
able.
The peculiar way, or rather ways, in
which the facts have become known can-
not as yet be told, but it is certain that
most of Haase's hearers were fully aware
of the meaning of his reference to July 5,
for the subject appears to have been dis-
cussed more fully at a session of the
Budget Committee of the Reichstag eight
weeks ago, when a Socialist Deputy, Herr
Cohn, challenged a certain Minister to
deny the facts. To the astonishment of
other Deputies, the Minister did not deny
the facts, but declined to make any state-
ment. The incident created an immense
sensation in the Reichstag.
The Berlin Government, through its
semi-official news agency, denied this
charge in the following dispatch dated
Aug. 1:
The Wolff Bureau is authorized to de-
clare the statements, with all their de-
tails, pure inventions. Neither on the
day named nor on any other day in July
did such a joint conference occur, either
with or without the participation of the
Emperor. Moreover, we again declare
that the German Government abstained
from any intervention in drafting the
Austrian ultimatum to Serbia and that
the German Government was completely
ignorant of the contents of the ultimatum
before its dispatch. The Times supports
its false allegations on statements made
by Deputy Cohn in the main committee
of the Reichstag. The statement of the
Deputy was immediately refuted in com-
mittee by the Government as incorrect.
Ribot Answers Countercharge
Dr. Michaelis, as has been seen, came
back with the countercharge that France
and Russia had made a secret treaty
aiming at conquest. Premier Ribot re-
plied to the latter on July 30, in the
French Chamber of Deputies, saying:
I wish to reply to the singular speech
which Dr. Michaelis thought fit to invite
the Berlin journalists to hear. The Ger-
man Chancellor publicly commanded the
French Government to declare whether in
a secret sitting June 1 the French Govern-
ment had not made known to the Chamber
of Deputies the terms of a secret treaty
made before the Russian revolution
whereby the [Russian] Emperor bound
himself to support French pretensions to
German territory on the left bank of the
Rhine.
The Chancellor's version contains gross
inaccuracies and absolute lies, notably re-
garding the r61e he attributes to the
President of the Republic in giving an
order to sign a treaty unknown to Pre-
mier Briand. The Chambers know how
things passed. M. Doumergue, (former
Premier and Foreign Minister,) after a
conversation with the Emperor, demanded
and obtained M. Briand's authorization
to take note of the Emperor's promise to
support our claim to Alsace-Lorraine and
to leave us free to seek guarantees
against fresh aggression, not by annexing
territories on the left bank of the Rhine,
but by making an autonomous State of
these territories, which would protect us
and also Belgium against invasion.
We have never thought to do what Bis-
marck did in 1871. We are, therefore,
entitled to deny the allegation of the
Chancellor, who evidently knows of the
letters exchanged in February, 1917, at
Petrograd, and falsified since as his most
illustrious predecessor falsified the Ems
dispatch. Whenever the Russian Govern-
THE "POTSDAM PLOT" AND COUNTERCHARGES
471
ment is willing- to publish these letters
we have no objection.
The Chancellor refrained from speaking"
about my declaration March 21, wherein
I repudiated in France's name any policy
of conquest and annexation by force. He
has willfully forgotten my language May
22 in the Chamber, saying we were ready
to enter into conversations with Russia
as to the object of the war ; and if the
German people, whose right to live and
develop peacefully we do not contest,
understood that we wished peace founded
on the right of the people, the conclusion
of peace would thereby be singularly
facilitated.
Finally the Chancellor passed over in
silence the resolution unanimously voted
after the June secret session. * * *
What is the Chancellor seeking? He is
trying to hide the embarrassment which
he feels in defining Germany's objects
of. war and conditions whereon she would
make peace. He is trying especially to
turn aside attention from the terrible re-
sponsibility weighing on the conscience of
the Kafcser and his councilors.
It is on the morrow of the publication of
decisions made July 5, 1914, at a council
held at Potsdam, at which all conse-
quences of the ultimatum to be sent to
Serbia were discussed, and from which war
was bound to spring, that the Chancellor
is trying this diversion. There is some-
thing shameless, when one has such re-
sponsibilities, in demanding our intentions.
Assuredly it is not to Germany that we
address ourselves, but to all who are wit-
nesses or actors in the struggle' which we
have been maintaining for the last three
years and who know that there is in the
depth of the French people's soul a deep
attachment to the principles of justice,
respect for people's rights, and, I may
add at the risk of not being understood
by our enemies, true generosity.
The Russian Foreign Minister, M.
Terestchenko, also denied absolutely the
declarations attributed to him by Dr.
Michaelis. He issued a statement on
Aug. 1, saying:
The Russian Foreign Minister drew up
no protest nor made any special declara-
tions to the French Government beyond
a general declaration by the Provisional
Government respecting war aims, which
was generally made known May 18. This
declaration, which was sympathetically
received, will be thoroughly examined by
.the inter-allied conference to be held
shortly.
Cambon on Potsdam Council
Jules Cambon, who was the French
Ambassador to Germany when the war
broke out, and who is now General Sec-
retary of the French Foreign Office,
confirmed M. Ribot's statements. To an
Associated Press representative on Aug.
2 he said, in reference to the revelations
regarding the Potsdam Crown Council of
July 5, 1914:
I have reason to believe that these
revelations, which place at this date the
responsibility and initiative of the war,
conform to the truth, and I am not sur-
. prised that the German Government at-
tempts to divert the discussion by accus-
ing us of seeking annexations which are
absolutely contrary to the feelings of all
reasonable Frenchmen.
The purpose of Herr Michaelis was to
mislead the anti-annexationist elements of
Russia and the United States in attribut-
ing to France a desire to annex what had
never belonged to her. No Frenchman,
myself among them, who keeps the
memory of the sad wound of 1870 would
have dreamed of precipitating Europe into
a war to avenge this injury; but, since
war has been imposed upon us, it is
natural and just that we should profit
by it to retake what had been unjustly
torn from us.
In the region of the Sarre, to which
allusion has been made, are towns which
have been French for centuries and which
the treaty of 1814 recognized as ours.
Sarre Louis, for example, is the birth-
place of Marshal Ney, who in 1814 refused
before a court-martial to avail himself of
the argument of his lawyer, who would
have made him innocent of the crime of
treason by the fact that his birthplace
was no longer in France. Ney preferred
to be shot rather than to renounce his
French citizenship by judicial subtlety.
Washington dispatches on Aug. 2
stated, apparently with authority, that
the United States Government had for
sometime been in possession of proof that
the German Emperor and his advisers
had a? copy of the Serbian ultimatum in
their hands fourteen hours before it was
sent to Serbia. This charge, which fits
in with the story of the meeting of July
5, 1914, has been denied by the German
Government, but is said to have been ad-
mitted by Dr. Zimmermann under pres-
sure in the Reichstag. Dr. Zimmermann
was Under Secretary of Foreign Affairs
at the date in question.
Kaiser Disclaims Conquest
Emperor William on Aug. 1 took a
hand in the war aims debate of the Chan-
celleries by issuing a proclamation to
the German people, as follows:
472
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
To the German People: Three years of
hard fighting are behind us. With grief
we remember our dead, with pride our
soldiers now fighting, with confidence all
our workers, and with a heavy heart
those who are languishing in captivity ;
but, above all, our thoughts stand reso-
lute in the determination to prosecute
this righteous war of defense to a success-
ful termination.
The enemy is stretching out his hands
toward German territory, but he shall
never have it. New nations continue to
enter the war against us, but that doesi
not frighten us. "We know our strength,
and we are determined to make use of it.
They wish to see us weak and powerless
at their feet, but they shall not prevail.
They received disdainfully our words of
peace ; they did not know how Germany
could fight. Throughout the world they
have slandered the German name, but
they cannot extinguish the glory of Ger-
man deeds.
Thus we stand erect at the close of this
year, immovable, victorious, and intrepid.
Trials may still await us, but we shall
meet them with a grave mien and full
of faith. Throughout the three years*
achievement the mighty German people
has become firm in its resistance against
all that the power of the enemy can con-
ceive. If the enemy wishes to prolong the
sufferings of war, they will weigh more
heavily upon him than upon us.
For that which has been accomplished
on the front let us at home show our
gratitude by tireless toil. We must con-
tinue to fight and to furnish arms for it.
But our people may rest assured that
German blood and German zeal are not
being gambled with for an empty shadow
of ambition or schemes of conquest and
subjugation, but in defense of a strong,
free empire In which our children may
live in security.
Let all our actions and all our thoughts
be devoted to this fight. Let this be our
solemn promise of this day, Aug. 1, 1917.
WILLIAM, I. R.
On the same day the Kaiser issued the
following proclamation to the German
Army and Navy and to the German
colonial forces:
The third year of the war has come to
an end. The number of our adversaries
has increased, but their prospects of vic-
tory have not improved. You crushed
Rumania last year. The Russian Empire
once more trembles under your strokes.
Both countries sacrificed themselves for
the interests of others and are now bleed-
in to death. In Macedonia you forcibly
withstood the enemy's assaults. In
mighty battles on the western front you
remain the masters of the situation.
Your lines are firm, protecting your
beloved homes against the terrors and
devastations of war.
The navy has achieved good results. It
has threatened the enemy's command of
the sea and his very existence. Far from
home, a little German group is defending
a German colony against forces many
times superior.
Victory in the coming year will again
be on our side and on that of our allies.
Ours will be the final victory.
With a deeply moved heart I thank you
In my own name and in that of the
Fatherland for what you have achieved,
in this last year of the war. With ven-
eration we remember the fallen who gave
up their lives for the greatness and
safety of the Fatherland.
The war goes on. It is still being forced
upon us. We shall fight for our existence
in the future with firm resolution and
unfailing courage. As our problems mul-
tiply, so does our strength increase. We
are invincible. We shall be victorious.
The Lord God will be with us.
WILLIAM, I. R.
In the Field. Aug. 1.
British Sovereigns Message
King George V., on the occasion of the
third anniversary of the war, Aug. 4,
sent identical telegrams to the Presidents
and sovereigns of the United States,
France, Portugal, Italy, Japan, Serbia,
and Rumania, expressing " the unwaver-
" ing determination of the British Empire
" to pursue the contest until our joint ef-
" forts are crowned with success and our
"common aims attained."
His Majesty also expressed confidence
in the unwavering will of the allied peo-
ples and the heroism of their forces in
achieving a final victory, obtaining the
possibility of peaceful progress for hu-
manity. Similar telegrams were sent to
the Kings of Belgium and Siam and the
President of Cuba.
In his message to King Albert of Bel-
gium King George expressed his unshak-
able confidence in the ultimate restora-
tion of Belgium to her rightful position
among the free countries of Europe, add-
ing: " The unfailing spirit of her people
"under the grievous suffering inflicted
"upon them by their enemies will con-
tinue to inspire the joint efforts of the
"allied countries against the nation
" which has trampled them underfoot."
The London newspapers commemorated
the conclusion of three years of war by
long reviews and statements by members
THE "POTSDAM PLOT" AND COUNTERCHARGES
17&
of the Government and other leaders pro-
claiming the determination to fight to the
end. Some of these statements were
epigrammatic. Lord Robert Cecil said:
"The path to freedom lies through the
" German lines." Sir Edward Carson,
Minister without portfolio, said: " The
" Germans unsheathed the sword; they
" must not be allowed to put it back un-
" broken."
The Kaiser's Message to President Wilson
A Historic Cable Sent Aug. /0, 1914
A hitherto unpublished letter cabled
by the German Emperor to President
Wilson on "Aug. 10, 1914, giving the
Kaiser's own version of how the world
war began, was made public on Aug. 5,
1917, as part of the first installment of
former Ambassador Gerard's book, " My
Four Years in. Germany," which was
published serially in The Philadelphia
Public Ledger. The original, in the
Kaiser's own handwriting, was repro-
duced. By official request in Berlin, Am-
bassador Gerard had suppressed the
message, which the Kaiser had given him
for publication. It is now made public
with President Wilson's permission.
-The document is one which historians
will study word by word for its light on
the hidden motives back of Germany's
action in the diplomatic crisis at the out-
break of the war. The Kaiser's plain ad-
mission that Belgian neutrality " had to
be violated by Germany on strategical
grounds," his "apparent belief of the false
assertion that France was preparing to
invade Belgium, and his statement that
King George gave promises which Sir
Edward Grey refused to fulfill — these
are a few of the many points of interest
in it. Here is the text of the letter:
For the President of the
United States Personally:
10/VIII 14.
1. H. R. H. Prince Henry was received
by his Majesty King George V. in London,
who empowered him to transmit it to me
verbally that England would remain neu-
tral if war broke out on the Continent in-
volving - Germany and France, Austria
and Russia. This message was telegraphed
to me by my brother from London after
his conversation with H. M. the King,
and repeated verbally on the 29th of July.
2. My Ambassador in London trans-
mitted a message from Sir E. Grey to
Berlin saying that only in case France was
likely to be crushed England would inter-
fere.
3. On the 30th my Ambassador in London
reported that Sir Edward Grey in course
of a " private '* conversation told him
that if the conflict remained localized be-
tween Russia — not Serbia — and Austria,
England would not move, but if we
" mixed " in the fray she would take
quick decisions and grave measures ; i. e.,
if I left my ally Austria in the lurch to
fight alone England would not touch me.
4. This communication being directly
counter to the King's message to me, I
telegraphed to H. M. on the 29th or 30th,
thanking him for kind messages through
my brother and begging him to use all his
power to keep France and Russia — his
allies — from making any warlike prepara-
tions calculated to disturb my work of
mediation, stating that I was in constant
communication with H. M. the Czar. In
the evening the King kindly answered
that he had ordered his Government to
use every possible influence with his
allies to refrain from taking any provoc-
ative military measures. At the same
time H. M. asked me if I would transmit
to Vienna the British proposal that Aus-
tria was to take Belgrade and a few other
Serbian towns and a strip of country as
a " mainmise," to make sure that the
Serbian promises on paper should be ful-
filled in reality. This proposal was in
the same moment telegraphed to me from
Vienna for London, quite in conjunction
with the British proposal ; besides, I had
telegraphed to H. M. the Czar the same
as an idea of mine, before I received the
two communications from Vienna and
London, as both were of the same opinion.
5. I immediately transmitted the tele-
grams vice versa to Vienna and London.
I felt that I was able to tide the question
over and was happy at the peaceful out-
look.
6. While I was preparing a note to H.
M. the Czar the -next morning, to inform
him that Vienna, London, and Berlin were
agreed about the treatment of affairs, I
received the telegrams from H. Ei the
Chancellor, that in the night before the
Czar had given the order to mobilize the
whole of the Russian Army, which was, of
course, also meant against Germany ;
whereas up till then the southern armies
had been mobilized against Austria.
7. In a telegram from London my Am-
bassador informed me he understood the
British Government would guarantee
neutrality of France and wished to know
whether Germany would refrain from at-
tack. I telegraphed to H. M. the King
474
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
personally that mobilization, being already-
carried out, could not be stopped, but if
H. M. could guarantee with his armed
forces the 'neutrality of France I would
refrain from attacking her, leaving her
alone, and employ my troops elsewhere.
H. M. answered that he thought my offer
was based on a misunderstanding ; and,
as far as I can make out, Sir E. Grey
never took my offer into serious consider-
ation. He never answered it. Instead,
he declared England had to defend Bel-
gian neutrality, which had to be violated
by Germany on strategic grounds, news
having been received that France was
already preparing to enter Belgium, and
the King of the Belgians having refused
my petition for a free passage under
guarantee of his country's freedom.
I am most grateful for the President's
message.
WILLIAM, I. R.
The existence of such a letter was
promptly denied by the German Govern-
ment. The semi-official Norddeutsche
Allegemeine Zeitung printed an article
on Aug. 13 saying: "We are in a posi-
tion to declare that no such telegram
from the Emperor exists." The United
States Government responded by pub-
lishing, without comment, the text of the
cable letter as received in Washington
three years ago. It differed in no essen-
trial from the version printed above.
Kaiser1 s Excuse Contradicted
The Kaiser's assertion that Belgian
neutrality was violated because " France
was already preparing to enter Belgium"
has been contradicted by one of Ger-
many's leading military historians, Lieut.
Gen. Baron von Freytag-Loringhoven,
head of the Supplementary General Staff
of the German Army. In an article pub-
lished by official sanction in the German
press early in August, 1917, the Baron
stated that France was caught unawares
by the invading armies, greatly to the
German advantage. His narrative of
events in August, 1914, contains this
passage :
The French main concentration was
originally accomplished between Belfort
and the Belgian frontier, and the first
Indication that we contemplated a Ger-
man advance through Belgium resulted in
a shift to the left. * * * The Entente
Allies recognized only on Aug. 17 that
strong German forces also were advanc-
ing in a wide enveloping movement on the
left bank of the River Meuse, where pre-
viously they had assumed that only an
army of cavalry, strengthened by some
infantry, was present.
In consequence of the original erroneous
concentration directed toward the east, the
French Fifth Army did not succeed in ad-
vancing beyond the line of Dinant-Charle-
roi by Aug. 22, and was forced to content
itself with holding the passages of the
Rivers Sambre and Meuse.
General von Freytag-Loringhoven de-
clares that the Germans retreated from
the Marne because they were too weak
to break through the French lines. But
he argues that, although final success
was missed there, Germany, by seizing
the opportunity of a daring advance
through Belgium, avoided war on her
own territory.
The Kaiser Contradicts Himself
Stephen Lauzanne, editor of the Paris
Matin and a member of the French Mis-
sion to the United States, wrote the fol-
lowing comment on the Kaiser's letter
when it was made public:
In the letter written by Kaiser Wil-
helm to President Wilson on Aug. 10,
1914, we find the following passage:
While I was preparing a note to H. M.
the Czar next morning (July 31) to in-
form him that "Vienna, London, and Ber-
lin were agreed about the treatment of
affairs I received the telephone messages
from H. E. the Chancellor that, in the
night before, the Czar had given the order
to mobilize the whole of the Russian
Army, which was, of course, also made
against Germany ; whereas, up till then
the southern armies had been mobilized
against Austria.
It is not the first time that a similar
assertion is made by the German rulers.
In an official document issued from Ber-
lin last year we read the following lines:
History's verdict will not pass over the
complete mobilization of Russian forces,
which meant war against Germany.
And in his maiden speech at the
Reichstag Dr. Michaelis, the new Im-
perial Chancellor, declared that " the
Russian mobilization was the real cause
of the war," because that mobilization
obliged Germany, for her safety, to take
military precautions.
Unfortunately, all these assertions —
M. I. TERESTCHENKO
Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Russian Provisional Government.
He was Minister of Finance in the first Russian Cab-
inet after the Revolution
(Photo Press Illustrating Service)
THE KAISER CONTRADICTS HIMSELF
475
letter of the Kaiser, official com-
muniques, speech of the Chancellor— are
entirely untrue, and constitute one of
the most audacious and impudent lies.
The Germans, who are masters in the art
of falsification, may falsify history and
geography; but they will find it more
difficult to falsify chronology and to
prove that a fact which takes place at 10
o'clock in the morning is posterior to a
fact which took place at 6 in the evening.
The truth, the undeniable truth which
all historians will be obliged to admit,
is that the German mobilization took
place before the Russian mobilization,
and this is undeniably proved by German
documents.
On July 31, 1914, at noon, took place
in Germany what is called the " Kriegs*
gefahrzustand " — that is, the official
proclamation of danger of war. It is
the first preliminary measure to the
complete mobilization of the German
forces. It took place at noon; it was
placarded at noon all over Berlin, an-
nounced by special editions of the papers,
and telegraphed through the empire. A
few hours later, at 4 P. M., the German
Kaiser telegraphed to King George of
England, (the telegram has been pub-
lished in the German White Book,) and
this is what he says:
Many thanks for your kind communica-
tion. * * * I have just heard from the
Chancellor that intelligence has just
reached him that Nicholas, this evening,
has ordered the mobilization of his entire
army and fleet. He has not even awaited
the result of the mediation in which I am
engaged, and he has left me completely
without information. WILLIAM.
Now this is extremely clear. At noon
the Kaiser proclaims the " Kriegsge-
f ahrzustand " and at 4 P. M. he just
hears that the Chancellor has just
learned that the Czar hasj in the evening,
ordered the mobilization of the Russian
Army. The " Kriegsgef ahrzustand " is
therefore undoubtedly anterior to the
Russian mobilization, and undoubtedly
the Kaiser lies when in his letter to
President Wilson he writes:
While I was preparing a note in the
morning I received the telephone messages
from the Chancellor that in the night be-
fore the Czar had given the order to
mobilize the whole of the Russian Army.
He lies, because he has himself avowed
in his telegram to King George that
it was not in the morning, but in the
evening, that the news had reached him
through the Chancellor that Nicholas
had just ordered the mobilization of his
army. The Kaiser has indeed tele-
graphed too much in those tragic hours
of 1914, and he has forgotten what he
telegraphed, or he has not taken the
trouble of comparing his telegrams. To
King George he wires that the Russian
mobilization has taken place in the* even-
ing of July 31. To President Wilson he
writes that the Russian mobilization
has taken place in the evening of July
SO. Historians may compare and choose.
But what is the value of the assertions
of a man who says one thing in a tele-
gram and another thing in another tele-
gram?
But there is something more. In his
telegram to King George the Kaiser
complains that the Czar had left him
"without information.*' This is another
lie, because before mobilizing his army
the ex-Czar sent four telegrams to the
Kaiser of Germany. The last one was
couched in the following terms:
Tsarskoe Selo, July 29, 1914.
To H. M. the Kaiser of Germany :
Thanks for your telegram, which is con-
ciliatory and friendly, whereas the official
message presented today by your Ambas-
sador to my Minister was conveyed in a
very different tone. I beg you to explain
this divergency. It would be right to give
over the Austro-Serbian problem to The
Hague Tribunal. I trust in your wisdom
and friendship. NICHOLAS.
Not only did the Kaiser not answer
that telegram, but he suppressed it. And
in the official German White Book, giv-
ing all the documents about the war, the
last telegram of the Czar has disap-
peared. The reason given by the Ger-
man officials for suppressing the tele-
gram is the following: They say that
it was not interesting!
History will decide if the proposal of
the Czar to give over the whole Austro-
Serbian problem to The Hague Tribunal
was or was not interesting. But it is
not necessary to wait for history to de-
cide what degree of confidence must be
placed in assertions of the German
Kaiser.
Russia Renews Pledge to Her Allies
Foreign Minister Terestchenko on Aug.
2 sent the following telegram to Russian
diplomatists accredited to the allied
powers :
At a moment when new and grave mis-
fortunes are threatening- Russia we con-
sider it our duty to give to our allies who
have shared with us the burden of trials
in the past a firm and definite explanation
of our point of view regarding the conduct
of the war. The greatness of the task
of the Russian revolution corresponds to
the magnitude of the change which it
caused in the life of the State. Reorgani-
zation in the face of the enemy of the
entire Governmental system could not
be effected without serious disorders.
Nevertheless, Russia, convinced there is
no other means of safety, has continued
in accord with the Allies' common action
on the front.
Fully conscious of the difficulties of the
task, Russia has taken up the burden of
conducting active military operations dur-
ing reconstitution of the army and the
Government. The offensive of our armies,
which was necessitated by a strategical
situation, encountered insurmountable ob-
stacles on both fronts and in the interior
of the country. The criminal propaganda
of irresponsible elements was used by
enemy agents and provoked a revolution in
Petrograd. At the same time part of the
troops on the front were seduced by the
same propaganda, forgot their duty to
the country, and facilitated the enemy's
attempt to pierce our front.
• The Russian people have been stirred by
these events. Through the Government
created by the revolution and an un-
shakable will the revolt was crushed and
its originators were brought to justice.
All necessary steps have been taken at the
front for restoring the combative strength
of the armies.
The Government intends bringing to a
successful end the task of establishing an
administration capable of meeting all dan-
gers and guiding the country in the path
of revolutionary regeneration. Russia will
not suffer herself to be deterred by any
difficulty in carrying, out the irrevocable
decision to continue the war to a final
triumph of the principles proclaimed by
the Russian revolution.
In the presence of an enemy menace the
country and the army will continue with
renewed courage the great work of res-
toration as well as the preparation on the
threshold of the fourth year of the war
for the coming campaign. We firmly
believe that Russian citizens will combine
all efforts to fulfill the sacred task of
defending their beloved country and that
the enthusiasm which lighted in their
breasts a flame of faith in the triumph
of liberty will direct the whole invincible
force of revolution against the enemy who
threatens the country.
Italy's* Position Defined by Baron Sonnino
Baron Sonnino, Italian Minister of
Foreign Affairs, delivered an important
address at the reopening of Parliament
on June 20, defining Italy's position on
the Balkan issues and other war ques-
tions. He began with a tribute to Amer-
ica's entry into the war, saying: " The
" justice of our cause could not have re-
" ceived a more solemn, a more manifest,
" sanction than this given by a nation
" which, within the limits of national
" dignity, tried everything to avoid war."
Concerning the problems and aims di-
rectly affecting Italy he said:
Last March the Italian Government,
together with the other Allies, formally
recognized the Provisional Russian Gov-
ernment. The Italian Ration and the
Parliament follow with intense interest
the course of events of their great ally
in its hew life of liberty. "We must trust
that the noble Russian people will find in
the principles of democracy the strength
necessary to overcome all the difficulties
inherent in its racial and constitutional
transformation, and that the sure instinct
of the people will be on its guard against
all enemy tricks which aim not only to
make their own political and military
interests prevail but also to undo the
free organization of Russia. Russia,
however, will find her best protection in
a vigorous prosecution of the war and in
her complete accord with her allies. The
sad- case of Rumania had a profound echo
among us, who have with her common
ideals and aspirations. Rumania, how-
ever, not unmindful of her traditions and
conscious of the justice of her cause, will
find the power necessary to overcome the
difficulties of her present situation.
No peace will be agreeable to us which
does not assure the restoration of three
unhappy nations that have seen their ter-
ritory invaded and devastated, but who
live with full confidence in the future-
Belgium, Serbia, and Montenegro. Also
ITALY'S POSITION DEFINED BY BARON SONNINO
477
the restoration of the independence of
Poland is an essential clause of our peace
terms. The rights of nationality must be
protected. It is in moments of danger
that the bonds between nations become
stronger.
The recent proclamation of the inde-
pendence of Albania has publicly con-
firmed the special concern of the Italian
Government toward that country, the
interests of which, in connection with our
direct and safe possession of Valona, are
intimately bound to the general problem
of the settlement of the Adriatic— a vital
question for Italy. We want the inde-
pendence of Albania in agreement with
the general principles on which our alli-
ances are based and which have been re-
cently repeated so eloquently by the Uni-
ted States and by the new Russian Gov-
ernment. Italy, in regard to Albania, has
no other aim than that of preventing a
possible Interference of a third power.
Italy guarantees the absolute autonomy
of Albania and will protect her interests
and aspirations in the conferences of the
nations. It will be the province of the
peace conference to determine the exact
boundaries of Albania. While the war is"
on it is necessary that the General Staff of
the Italian Army have the direction of all
affairs, always, however, with due re-
gard to the existing usages and interests
of the Albanian people. After the war
Albania will decide for herself.
Military necessity has forced the three
protecting powers to take in regard to
Greece such measures as have resulted in
/the abdication of King Constantine and
the assumption of the throne by his sec-
ond son, Alexander. Italy, not being in
the number of the protecting powers, had
no part in all this, although — it is well to
say it— the Italian Government in this cir-
cumstance, as well as in the general di-
rection of the war, has been in full agree-
ment with its allies. It is to be hoped
that Greece has now reached such a con-
dition in its internal affairs as not to en-
danger any longer the military position
of the allied armies in Macedonia. We
wish well to the new King, fully con-
vinced that Italy and Greece must pro-
ceed together in the development of their
political and economic activities toward
those glorious ends to which their his-
torical traditions and their ancient civili-
zation call them. •
Against Turkey England has recently
undertaken a new vigorous military action
in Palestine, in which the bravery of the
British Army has already been demon-
strated. The Italian flag is represented
in that expedition— a fact which responds
to a high international political and moral
interest. The constant care of this Gov-
ernment and of our allies is this— to
strengthen our unity of action and har-
monize our respective interests.
The Mediterranean interests of Italy are
essentially based on the principle of equi-
librium and equality among the powers.
We have the greatest guarantees that
these interests will be equally protected
and safeguarded.
Lately many efforts from many sides
(from the enemy also) have been made to
have all the elements of the future peace
inclosed in a short formula. It is worth
while to remember the wise words which
the President of the United States ad-
dressed to Russia a few days ago : " All
wrongs must be redressed and their re-
currence made impossible." One cannot
do this with highly sounding words or
pleasing phrases. The general situation
is very complicated, because it includes
problems of difference of race, civiliza-
tion, geographical position, traditions, as-
pirations. A short formula cannot cover
the whole ground of so many cases. Com-
plicated problems exclude a priori the
simplicism of a formula that covers every-
thing. Thus the formula of " no annexa-
tions and no indemnities " is purely nega-
tive if it is separated from the positive
principles of liberty and independence of
all nations. The negative policy of no in-
demnities and no annexations without
a guarantee that peace and inter-
national justice will be maintained would
amount to the same as to admit that all
the iniquities and violences of the past are
to be continued forever.
Italy's War Aims Explained
A prominent Admiral of the Italian
Navy recently gave to Whitney Warren
in Paris the following succinct and il-
luminating statement of Italy's war aims
on both sides of the Adriatic:
In centuries of servitude we learned to
suffer, but not to submit. We are fight-
ing to complete our union, and rather than
forego it we prefer to die. The Trentino
and Trieste are doors to our home where-
of the foreigner has taken possession,
which prevents us from closing them
against robbers. If New York and San
Francisco were occupied by the Germans,
would Americans have acted differently
from the Italians? And what is repre-
sented by the Trentino and Trieste on land
is represented by the Adriatic on the sea,
for the sea frontiers of Italy are greater
than her frontiers on land. By sea Italy
breathes and lives. The Tyrrhenian and
the Adriatic are her two lungs. If you
take a lung from a man he may not die
immediately, but he will be short of .
breath. If you take the Adriatic from
Italy she will die of suffocation.
It is only necessary to glance at the
map to see that without Dalmatia and
478
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
the chain of islands along the coast Italy-
can never be secure on the Adriatic. Dal-
matia and those islands belonged to
Venice. By their possession she assured
herself and Europe against the Turkish
pirates in the sea. When Venice fell, and
Austria ravished the heritage of Saint
Mark, Italy was not yet freed from her
long bondage. This heritage in the hands
of the usurpers formed an integral and
. indivisible part of the great Italian moth-
erland too feeble to break the bonds
asunder.
Everywhere Austria found traces of Ital-
ian culture on the coasts and among the
islands. Ancient monuments and modern
houses, churches of old and churches of to-
day, language, customs, civilization — all Is
Latin, all part of the Italian motherland.
But little by little Austria by persecution
and confiscation replaced the Italians of
these regions by Germans or Croatians
from the interior. Our houses, our altars,
our monuments are now occupied in great
measure by foreigners of another tongue
and another civilization, who do not
realize what they have torn from us, who
understand neither the language of our
country nor its ruins. They only know
they are there because there is the key
to the sovereignty of the Adriatic. The
Italians left in Dalmatia struggle still to
save what remains of their country and
Invoke her aid, but their voices become
more feeble as their numbers decrease.
We must strike now, for soon it will be
too late, our thousand-year-old Latin civ-
ilization will be abolished by these
spoilers.
To these reasons must be added another
of military order. Our dreadnoughts are
shut up in Tarento because we do not
possess a harbor large or deep enough on
the Adriatic to hold a large squadron,
whereas Austria dominates the whole
upper Adriatic from Pola, the middle Adri-
atic from Setenco and Spalato, the lower
Adriatic down to Corfu from Cattaro, and
every channel, every isle affords excellent
shelter for a large and powerful fleet.
Thus Austria can overcome the inferiority
of her fleet to those of Italy, France, and
England. At any moment she can bring
out her vessels from any point of the mag-
nificent coast she has stolen from us, and
we have no port at all to harbor our big
ships.
I have spent all my life on the sea and
now I have the honor to command all the
mobilized naval forces of my country. I
can therefore speak with full knowledge
of the subject, as I base my arguments
not on theory, but on experience. Where-
as the Italian coast from Venice to
Otranto is entirely low-lying, without
ports, without anchorages, and wholly ex-
posed to the north wind, the CurzoLari
Islands and Dalmatia offer vast and nu-
merous points of refuge both from the
enemy and from bad weather. No matter
where the Austrian ship is in the Adriatic,
she can always find shelter by steaming a
few miles and reaching one of the nu-
merous channels to the interior. But our
vessels can only take refuge at Venice or
Brindisi, our only natural naval ports.
Brindisi and Venice are 800 miles apart
and impracticable for great modern war-
ships. So that the enemy can use the
islands as a bridge between Dalmatia and
Italy and cross it to attack us just as he
can choose his own moment and withdraw
before we can pursue him, because Brindisi
and Venice are too distant for us to arrive
in time. Besides, each lofty peak of the
Curzolari Island mountains is an excel-
lent signaling station to sweep the whole
surrounding ocean. On the Italian side
the reverse is the case ; our view extends
rbut a few miles.
For these reasons the words Dalmatia
and Adriatic evoke the following thought
in all. Italians today: We cannot use the
sea which bathes half of our country be-
cause all advantages are on the opposite
coast. Austria was for many centuries
without the Adriatic, yet she was pow-
erful and prosperous because she was not
a seafaring but essentially a contintental
nation. We, on the contrary, by our
geographical situation, are exclusively a
maritime nation. We never have been
able to live without the Adriatic, and now
that we are threatened to be deprived of it
forever we will fight for it to the death.
Italy does not demand territorial con-
quests ; she wants simply to get back
what belongs to her, what is necessary for
her existence. If we had nourished the
idea of conquest would we not have joined
our former allies to profit by the advan-
tages they held out? A vast colonial em-
pire, the riches of Corsica, Nice, and
Savoy — was not that a tempting bait for
our ambition? And remember that at
the time Italy entered the war everything
pointed to a victory for the Central Pow-
ers. But to these promises Italy preferred
the Carso, the Trentino, and the Curzolari
Islands. We're not waging a war of con-
quest, but struggling to turn out the in-
truder in our home, to deliver our own
sons, to save Latin civilization.
Germany's Attitude Toward Restoration
Premier Lloyd George spoke on Aug.
4, 1917, at a great patriotic meeting held
in Queen's Hall, London, to mark the
third anniversary of the war. He as-
serted that the German ambition for
world conquest had been checked, and
that before Great Britain entered a peace
conference the Germans must learn the
full meaning of the word " restoration."
Denouncing the peace talk of the German
Emperor and of Chancellor Michaelis as
a subterfuge for German war lords to
gain time, he shouted:
There must be no next time. Don't let
us repeat this horror. Let us be a gen-
eration that manfully, courageously, and
resolutely eliminated war from among
the tragedies of human life. Let us make
victory, at any rate, so complete that
national liberty, whether for great na-
tions or for small nations, can never be
challenged.
The nations of the world have been
climbing painfully up the steps that lead
to national independence and self-respect,
and now comes a great power with brute
force to thrust the nations back crushed
and bleeding into the chasm of servitude.
That is what we have been fighting.
They talk glibly of peace, but stammer
and stutter when they come to the word
" restoration." It has not yet crossed
their lips in its entirety. We have chal-
lenged them. They cannot say it.
Pointing to the soldiers in the audience,
the Premier said they were " gradually
curing the Kaiser of his stuttering." He
went on:
So far he has not learned the alphabet
of peace, not the first letter of that
alphabet. " Restoration "—that's the first
letter. Then we will talk.
What do they mean? Do they mean
peace when they talk it? The truth is,
the Prussian war lords have not yet
abandoned their ambitions. They are not
discussing that. They are only discussing
the postponement of those ambitions. * * *
The allied powers at the first moment
felt instinctively that a great menace to
human liberty had appeared on the hor-
izon, and they accepted the challenge.
America saw it and joined us. That is
what the Germans have been striving
against for three years, and not without
success.
War is a ghastly business, but it is not
as grim as a bad peace. There is an end
to a horrible war, but a bad peace will go
on and on, staggering from one war to
another.
On all the roads ever confronted there
are ups and downs, and no doubt the
Russian collapse is rather a deep glen,
and I am not sure that we have reached
its darkest level, but across the valley "
I can see the ascent.
The Germans claim to be satisfied with
the last battle. All I can say is that
Field Marshal Haig has secured all his
objectives. We had enough guns to smash
lines- upon which for three years the Ger-
mans had expended willing and forced
labor, and if the Germans are pleased
with the battle, we will let it continue
thus, to our mutual satisfaction.
The course the advance is taking is the
British method of saving life, and it is
the duty of the nation to stand behind
the army, patient, strong, and united.
In this way we will win. The nation that
turns back or falters before it reaches
its purpose can never become a great
people.
Angry Retorts from Germany
An extraordinary outburst of anger in
the German press followed Mr. Lloyd
George's " restoration " speech. The
Hamburger Fremdenblatt called the ad-
dress rubbish, an agitator's speech of the
lowest sort, almost hysterical, and full of
reckless calumnies and misstatements.
The Kolnische Volkszeitung, after calling
the British Prime Minister a war fanatic
and an agitator, declared that the curses
of the whole world would soon " follow
" to Hades this man of demoniacal energy
" and humdrum, narrow outlook." The
Frankfurter Zeitung, usually moderate
in its tone, called Lloyd George a circus
clown and added that Germany would
not have the word restoration dictated
to her. " We can reach the exact mean-
" ing of that word," it continued, " only
" by assuming that restoration, at Eng-
land's command means destruction for
" us. Nothing in the speech shows the
" way to peace. Lloyd George talks of
" victory with the Russian defeat and the
"failure in Flanders staring him in the
" face." The Lokal-Anzeiger of Berlin
called him a senseless dictator and said:
" We are victors in the East and in the
" West. Germany is not concerned about
" restoration and is not afraid to con-
tinue the war."
Count zu Reventlow, commenting in
the Deutsche Tageszeitung, wrote that
480
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Lloyd George was trying to distract Eng-
land's attention from the Entente failure
in Flanders, adding:
He uses strong" words in speaking- of
weakened German nerves. He wants to
teach the Kaiser the pronunciation of the
word restitution, of course, in the Eng-
lish sense, which is synonymous with the
restitution of English domination over
Belgium. The conquest of Belgium by
English arms has failed, and that is why
the Premier now tries to reconquer it
with his mouth. He prefers that as the
safer method. But we need not bother
about this. "We have but one aim — the
security of our frontiers — which can only
be achieved by victory.
At a reception in the Reichstag build-
ing on Aug. 4, the anniversary of the sit-
ting of Aug. 4, 1914, addresses were
made by Parliamentary and military
leaders, after which Dr. Michaelis, the
Imperial Chancellor, said in part:
We all know what we want. We will
hand our patrimony intact to the future
generations. We will guarantee our
children and grandchildren against the
misfortune of a war like this. We will
preserve our country by a strong and wise
peace, in order that the German race
may retain sure ground for its healthy
and vigorous development. The gentle-
men who preceded me showed that our
strength is not paralyzed ; that our will
is as strong as it was in 1914. The heav-
iest sacrifices deserve the highest reward.
Let us swear fidelity to the Emperor and
the empire. Long live the Fatherland,
the Emperor, and the empire !
A telegram to the Chancellor by Field
Marshal von Hindenburg on that occasion
said:
Firmly consolidated in the interior and
unshaken on all the fronts, Germany
braves the exasperating thrusts of her
ancient and her new enemies. The Ger-
man Army is fighting far in the enemies'
country and is marching with unbroken
strength to new successes. It enters the
iourth year of the war supported by con-
fidence as firm as a rock that our home
spirit and united perseverance will remain
alive, which is a guarantee of victory and
of an honorable peace to our nation.
Boasts of Occupied Area
A review of the third year of the war
printed in the Berliner Tageblatt called
attention to what the writer regarded as
Entente weakness and sought proof of
German success in figures regarding
conquered territory:
The past year has been fruitful of many
instructive results. Above all it may be
asserted that the Entente no longer has
the disposal of unlimited production and
supplies of ammunition as was the case
during the Somme battle. This cessation
of munition reinforcement has had a
noticeable effect on the western front.
And whereas the material resources of
our opponents have not increased and the
strength of France has become visibly
diminished we still are unimpaired in our
strength and more strongly fortified than
ever before.
He who is willing to be guided solely by
the facts and will not permit himself to
be deceived by illusions must admit that
the ambition of our foes to crush us is
today less justified than at any other
period, and because this is so we may be
permitted to express the hope that com-
mon sense and a sincere desire for peace
may finally assert themselves in the
ranks of our opponents.
The German people, through its ac-
credited representatives, has plainly an-
nounced to the world at large its readi-
ness for peace. We hope this expression
will be appreciated in its full importance
on the other side.
The following offers an approximate
picture of the area of occupied territory
which now is held by the military forces
of the Central Powers measured in square
kilometers.
Belgium, 28,980; France, 19,220; Russia,
280,490; Rumania, 100,000; Serbia, 85,807;
Montenegro, 14,180; Albania, 20,000. Total,
548,737.
This total is opposed by 900 square
kilometers of land held by the French
and the Austro-Hungarian territory in
Russian possession, measuring 29,500
square kilometers. The latter figure no
longer holds good. It has been dimin-
ished by fully GO per cent., and is likely
to fall away entirely in the near future.
Attitude of Socialists
Vorwarts, the organ of the majority
Socialists, on the third anniversary of
the war, published an article replying to
Socialists in other lands who were call-
ing upon the German members to with-
draw their support from the Kaiser and
his military machine. The paper said
in part:
How could they expect us to hail the
invasion of a hostile army in our own
country and joyously greet our own
armies' defeat just to satisfy a real or
imaginary sense o€ justice? It is mis-
erable hypocrisy to ask us to recognize
the czarism of the past and the clamor
for Alsace-Lorraine and the Saar district
at present as the embodiment of ideal
justice. Must not foreign conquest be as
GERMANY'S ATTITUDE TOWARD RESTORATION
481
repulsive to us as to our enemies? Are
we expected to recognize evil only at
home and not to see the crimes of others?
If the attitude of the German social
democracy is so badly misunderstood in
hostile countries it is only a sign of the
fearful devastation which this war has
caused within the province of the most
natural and human sense of justice. No
man who has preserved that sense, on
whatever side he stands, will ask another
people to sacrifice itself. Even their own
self-esteem ought to prevent our oppo-
nents from asking anything of the sort.
Fighting Forces of France
Statement of Andre Tardieu
Andre Tardieu, French High Commis-
sioner to the United States, made public
on July 30, through a letter to the Secre-
tary of War, many important facts re-
garding the present strength of France
as a fighting unit. After three years of
war, he said, France had 3,000,000 men
in the battle zone, a million more than at
the beginning. She also had one heavy
gun for every twenty -six meters of front
— that is one for every eighty-five feet on
the average. The increase in munitions
output is on a similar scale, as revealed
in detail in M. Tardieu's letter to Mr,
Baker, which follows:
July 30, 1917.
DEAR MR. BAKER: I brought to
your knowledge in a recent talk
the surprise I felt in reading so
often in American newspapers
some utterly inaccurate information re-
garding the military conditions pre-
vailing in Europe, and especially in
the French Army. In connection with
our conversation, I believe it would be of
interest to present to you some figures
which, better than any comments, will ex-
pose to you the reality; these figures will
show you France as she is, vigorous and
powerful, in spite of three years of suf-
fering without precedent in history.
I.— STRENGTH IN MEN
The strength in men, now present in
the zone of the armies alone, shows the
maximum figure reached during the war.
This figure, which amounts to a little
less than three millions of men, exceeds
by over a million the number of men ac-
tually in the said zone at the beginning,
and one must add to that figure the men
in the zone of the interior and in the
colonies. We are certain, with the re-
sources of our metropolitan and colonial
depots, to be able to maintain that num-
ber up to its present level for a long time
to come.
Our strength in men, by reason of a
better command and of better methods
of instruction, has shown since the be-
ginning of the war constantly decreasing
definitive casualties, (killed, missing, and
those taken prisoner.)
The following figures substantiate
this:
Casualties.
P. C.
Battles of Charleroi and of theMarne. *5.41
First six months of 1915 *2.39
Second six months of 1915 *1.68
First six months of 1916 *1.47
Second six months of 1916 *1.28
♦In proportion to the total mobilized
strength.
II.— FRONT HELD
For measuring the offensive and de-
fensive quality of the troops whose
numerical strength I have indicated
above, I can do nothing better than to
quote some more figures. The western
front has an extension of 739 kilometers:
27 kilometers are held by the Belgians.
138 kilometers are held by the English.
574 kilometers are held by the French.
The French Army holds accordingly
more than two -thirds of the western
front, that is to say, of the front where
the enemy has always directed its chief
exertion.
The German divisions in line on the
western front were, moreover, in June,
1917, distributed as follows:
42 opposite to the English.
81 opposite to the French.
A German division holds an average
front of 4 kilometers 700 meters; a
French division an average front of 5
482
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
kilometers 500 meters — that is to say,
one-sixth more.
III.— ARTILLERY
We were amply furnished with " 75s "
since the beginning of the war. The
number of these guns was constantly
increased; it is adequate to our needs.
As for the heavy artillery, we had in
August, 1914, 300 guns grouped in regi-
ments. In June, 1917, we had 6,000 of
them, mostly modern. During our present
offensive we have, on the average, one
heavy gun for 26 meters. If we sum
up all the trench, field, and heavy artil-
lery, we have one gun for eight meters in
the sector of attack.
Our output in munitions was arranged
in August, 1914, for 13,000 shots of
" 75s " a day. It is now arranged for
250,000 shots of " 75s " and 100,000 shots
of heavy guns.
To be equal to this enormous produc-
tion, invaded France did not hesitate, in
the midst of war, to create new industries
and to bestow on military industries the
best of its productive strength.
If you consider, on another side, the
weight- of the projectiles shot on the Ger-
man trenches during one of the last of-
fensives, you will find the following
figures for one lineal meter:
Kilos.
Field artillery 407
Trench artillery 203
Heavy artillery 704
High-power artillery 128
Total 1,442
Here below, lastly, come figures, on the
monthly expenditure in ammunition for
the "75s":
July, 1916 6,400,000
September, 1916 7,000,000
October, 1916 5,500,000
During the last offensive the expendi-
ture was 12,000,000 shots in all calibres.
I might also add that we completely
re-equipped and re-armed the Belgian,
Serbiafi? and Greek Armies.
I recall, likewise, that the number of
heavy guns given by us to the Allies ex-
ceeds 800.
IV.— FINANCIAL EFFORT
The financial effort cannot be sep-
arated from the military effort. Here,
below, are some more figures. France
has expended since the beginning of the
war the following sums:
Francs.
1914 8,040,000,000
1915 22,800,000,000
1916 32,640,000,000
1917 19,167,000,000
Total 82,647,000,000
She received from foreign countries
from the first of August, 1914, to the
first of January, 1917, 6,000,000,000
francs. During the same period she
loaned to several allied Governments
4,000,000,000 francs.
If France alone, which has only 38,-
000,000 inhabitants, and whose richest
and most populated provinces are in-
vaded, was by herself capable of such a
financial effort, it is because of the strict
discipline which she forced upon the em-
ployment of her resources; this discipline
also is proof of strength.
Such is the situation. Severe was the
ordeal; stronger is the national energy.
Now it is a question of striking the last
blow to the adversary. You will help us.
But, at the moment when the American
soldiers arrive in France, it is proper to
let them know that they will find to
receive them a country which, today as
well as during the last three years, bears
the principal exertion of our dreadful
foe; a country which maintains to the
maximum of her power, without hesita-
tion and without weakness, her strength,
her means, and her will.
Believe me, dear Mr. Secretary, very
sincerely yours, ANDRE TARDIEU,
Hon. N. D. Baker, Secretary of War,
Washington.
Results of Three Years of War
A Brief Review by Major Gen. Maurice
Major Gen. Frederick B. Maurice,
Chief Director of Military Operations at
the British War Office, summarized the
results of three years of war on July 28,
1917, as follows:
THE first year of the war, broadly
speaking, was an attempt by Ger-
many to put into effect elaborate
plans which her military strategists had
been preparing over the space of many
long years. The first phase was a con-
centrated attack on France and Belgium
during a certain allotted period of time,
in which the Germans estimated it would
be impossible for Russia to disturb them
in the east. The attack on France was
checked, first on the Marne, later on the
Yser and at Ypres, although France and
Belgium suffered severely in the process.
Germany then, according to her plan,
took the defensive on the western front
and turned her offensive effort eastward
in an effort to knock out Russia. Here
again she failed, although her attack
enormously weakened Russia's offensive
power.
In the Autumn of 1915 Germany defi-
nitely abandoned her old pre-war stra-
tegic scheme and started in on a new
plan developed since the war began,
namely, an effort to upbuild " Mittel-
Europa" as a great block composed of
four so-called Central Powers which
would command the road to the East.
The Autumn campaign of 1915 con-
sisted, in essence, of the furtherance of
this scheme by conquering Serbia, bring-
ing in Bulgaria, and halting our Darda-
nelles effort by rushing munitions, sup-
plies, and soldiers to the assistance of
the Turks.
By the Winter of 1915 Germany had
gone a long way toward realization of
her own ambition, and this point repre-
sents to my mind the grand climacteric
of Germany's offensive power. All this
time Great Britain had been building up
armies, and with the beginning of 1916
we, for the first time, had a real army
in the field.
With the Spring of 1916 Germany had
come to realize that the conquest of Rus-
sia was impossible — Russia was too mas-
sive to kill or crush. So the German staff
again turned on France, and the Verdun
attack was the result.
With the defeat of Germany at Ver-
dun came a turning of the tide, of which
further manifestation was seen in a suc-
cessful British offensive. Previous Brit-
ish military efforts had been, compara-
tively speaking, minor operations, or
operations undertaken in support of the
French. At the Somme we started our
new work, and really great, important
work it was, although a great deal of the
contemporary effect of the Verdun de-
feat and of the Somme victory was neu-
tralized by Germany's push into Ruma-
nia. The Rumanian push, however,
viewed in true historical perspective, was
merely a flash in the pan. The German
military power already was on the de-
cline, and her offensive strength was
nothing like what it had been the year
before.
The end of 1916 found the situation
between the two great groups of con-
testants about equally balanced, but with
the scales leaning slightly in favor of the.
Entente.
The year 1917 has presented a still
rosier picture. During the whole third
year of the war Germany and her allies
have attempted nothing on land. They
everywhere have been on the defensive.
The Turks lost Bagdad and the Sinai
Peninsula. On Germany's eastern frontier,
although the Russian revolution enor-
mously weakened Russia's military pow-
er, Germany was incapable of taking ad-
vantage of the situation. On the Austrian
front the Italians got in powerful blows.
In the west the British and French struck
repeatedly, and the Germans have been
powerless to answer back.
This is the pitiful state to which we
have reduced the great power whose
whole military gospel was summed up in
the phrase, "vigorous offensive." Ger-
484
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
many's military helplessness, owing to
the long strain on her man power, ma-
terial, and resources, is such that today
she barely is able to hang on, and her
only hope is that she may find some way
of similarly wearing us down and forc-
ing us out of the war before we get up
momentum to drive her back.
U-boat. She hopes against hope that the
U-boat will reduce the people of the En-
tente Powers to the same state of want,
privation, and suffering which she has
been enduring for months and years past.
She hopes to make the Entente people
cry enough and start peace parleys while
she still has got the big pawns with
At present Germany is banking on the which to bargain at a peace conference
General Robertson on the Situation
General Sir William Robertson, Chief
of the British Imperial General Staff, on
Aug. 4, 1917, reviewed the past three
years of war, and made the following
statement of the situation to a London
correspondent of The New York Times:
SUPPOSE we must conclude that no
army of millions can be broken and
crushed. Is the same thing to be
supposed of the nation behind the army ?
Surely we see in this tremendous contest
much more than a struggle of armed
forces. It is a sifting of nations, a trial
of character, a test of racial quality. The
workmen and workwomen of each nation
are engaged in the conflict, and the
forces in the field are only the hands
of a vast body in which every muscle
is being strained and tried.
Suppose you cannot roll up the flanks
of your enemy's army. Cannot you break
his heart? Suppose you can only drive
him yard by yard, hammering him back
to his frontiers month by month? Sup-
pose that is all you can do. Cannot you
destroy his civilian confidence and break
his political will? If that is the effect
of your strategy the decision is a mili-
tary decision. You have broken his will;
you have imposed your will upon him;
you have conquered his resistance.
But it is too early yet to say you can-
not destroy his defensive in the field
while his civilian will is still stubborn;
we on our side, at any rate, do not say
that.
Why should our people forget the
difference betwen 1914 and 1917? They
forget that Germany was ready three
years ago. We had our backs to the
Germans; we were within a few miles
of Paris. The French Government had
removed to Bordeaux. We were retreat-
ing— the French and English together —
with the loss of a few guns and with
many casualties.
What is the position today? We are
far north and facing north. We no longer
have our backs to the Germans, and we
are millions where before we were thou-
sands. We have driven them before us;
we have taken positions that , they re-
garded as matters of life and death, and
our guns are hammering them now as
they have never been hammered before.
It is too early to say that the de-
fensive in modern warfare is impreg-
nable. Military writers in Germany may
say so, but our men in France are not
laying down law on that subject. I
would say it is too early yet for such
dogmatism.
Let. us wait a few weeks. The guns
are speaking now; let them go on speak-
ing, and let us remember while we wait
that, whether or not vast armies can be
conquered in the field as they were con-
quered years ago, the will of nations can
be broken by hopelessness and despair.
If the army does not crack, the nation
behind it may crack.
Some one has got to give way in this
conflict on one side or the other. There
must be submission; and when you stop
to consider the numbers and resources of
each side, you may fairly conclude that
if the nations of the Allies are steadfast,
if the civilian heart is sound, submission
must come sooner or later from the Cen-
tral Powers. The material odds are on
our side at last, but quality is going to
win this war. Character will decide it.
America brings the hope of an earlier
end to all the frightful agony and loss of
GENERAL ROBERTSON ON THE SITUATION
485
this war. Without her we and our allies
should go on fighting to the end. We
are forced to do so. Our life depends
upon it. Europe would not be fit to live
in if we submitted it to the war lords of
Prussia. That would be the death of in-
ternational good-will.
But America should hasten the end.
That is the crowning mercy of her ap-
pearance on the battlefield. She has be-
gun splendidly. She is solemnly earnest,
and when she strikes her hardest it will
be with the supreme object of saving the
world for democracy and Europe from
further death. We may be pretty con-
fident that her blows will strike despair
into the hearts of the Prussian war lords,
troubled now lest their own people should
find them out.
Do not let us underrate the Germans,
because their cause is bad, because they
are guilty of provoking the war, and be-
cause their material resources are less
than ours. The whole German Nation is
as disciplined as an army. It is the army.
Germans have discipline in their blood,
discipline finely drawn to thinness. Do-
cility is a bad thing in peace, making for
slavishness, but it provides a people with
certain advantages in war.
Germany is strong because she is un-
democratic, and she is undemocratic be-
cause she has been drilled in iron disci-
pline. All those millions of people have
been forced to take the sword from the
hand of a King. Terrible as this disci-
pline is and formidable as it is, there is a
discipline more formidable still. I mean
the self-imposed, self-accepted discipline
of a free people.
What could be more magnificent than
the spectacle which America now pre-
sents to mankind? She has liberty in
her blood. She loathes despotism. She
could no more bend her knee to the yoke
of autocracy than she could turn her
broad rivers into puddles and her great
lakes into ponds. But look at her now,
submitting herself to the discipline of
war freely of her own will for the sake of
a moral issue.
It is not for me to prophesy. It is
not for me even to pronounce an opinion
on America's preparations, but I should
say that throughout the world freedom
breathes more freely and democracy is
more confident for the mere spectacle of
that vast nation imposing upon itself
the restraints and rigors of discipline. It
means now as much to the spirit of this
struggle as later its effects will mean in
the final grip.
Serbia Plundered by Conquerors
THE American Ambassador in Paris
received the following communica-
tion on July 24, 1917, from the
Serbian Legation there:
Mr. Ambassador: I am instructed by
my Government to inclose herewith to
your Excellency a memorandum relating1
to the economic exploitation of the Ser-
bian provinces occupied by the Austro-
Hungarian and Bulgarian authorities.
The economic exploitation which they
are practicing by means of the illegal
imposition of taxes, by the depreciation
of Serbian money, the abolition of the
moratorium, the sale of Serbian monopo-
lies, the introduction of fresh monopolies
by the violation of the rights of private
property, and by forced subscription to
the war loan, has but one object in view :
the economic ruin of occupied Serbia.
Taking as their justification Articles 23,
43, 44, 40, 48, 52, 53, and 56 of The Hague
Regulations, the Royal Government of
Serbia protests strongly against these ar-
bitrary measures on the part of the Aus-
trian and Bulgarian authorities, consti-
tuting, as they do, flagrant Violations of
the public international law.
I should be obliged if your Excellency
wouM be so good as to communicate this
protest to your Government.
I remain, &c,
VESNITCK.
The memorandum transmitted with the
note gives notice that Serbia reserves
the right of claiming at the time of peace
negotiations an indemnity correspond-
ing to the damage inflicted, both on the
Serbian State and its subjects, by these
flagrant violations of international law.
It is charged that more than 100,000,000
crowns have been illegally extorted, as
well as 6,000,000 crowns in the form of
486
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
forced subscriptions to Austrian war
loans and the Austrian and Bulgarian
Red Cross. Extracts from the memoran-
dum are:
Our law of the 29th July, 1914, with
regard to the moratorium, was abolished
by decree of the Military Government of
the 19th January, 1917. In virtue of this
decree, Austrian and German creditors
can legally and without hindrance claim
payment of all their debts plus 6 per cent,
interest, in quick installments, and in
either Austrian or Serbian money, (which
is accepted at only half its nominal
value.) The decree was passed at the
instigation of Austrian and German cred-
itors. It has ruined Serbian trade.
The Austrians have pillaged all the
houses in Belgrade and in other towns
where the owners were absent. Accord-
ing to reports received, such houses have
been completely ransacked. Private prop-
erty has never been so little respected
in any war. The royal palace has been
plundered.
The Ethnographical Museum and the
National Museum have been pillaged, and
all valuable objects taken away, contrary
to Article 56 of The Hague Regulations,
according to which museums are as invio-
late as private property.
The Bulgarians, like the Austrians, have
plundered all the houses abandoned by
their owners. At Monastir, for instance,
it was proved upon the entry of our
troops that the personal property of all
our officials had been carried away to
Bulgaria. The Bulgarians designate all
kinds, factories, buildings, furniture, and
other property belonging to those who
had emigrated from the occupied prov-
inces as unowned property, putting up
such property for sale or letting it on
lease for the benefit of their treasury.
The National Library, the University
Library of Nish, and the Library of the
School of Theology at Prizzen were taken
by the Bulgarians as war booty. The
books and manuscripts of all these libra-
ries were carried away to Bulgaria.
The Serbian Legation at Sofia was pil-
laged, and also the private belongings of
the Minister and his secretaries.
It must be especially remarked that
the Bulgarians have plundered to an ex-
tent and with an effrontery unexampled
in modern warfare. They have sold as
booty silk, calico, linen, glass, furniture,
kitchen utensils, agricultural implements,
and even tombstones.
The Austrians and Bulgarians, without
having formally annexed the occupied
provinces, behave as veritable sovereigns.
Their economic administration has an evi-
dent tendency to ruin the population.
The Marching Stars
By AUGUSTE VILLEROY
[Contributed to the Paris Figaro in honor of the first arrivals of United States troops
in France.]
Sous la voute d'un grand arc-en-ciel qui s'eploie,
Dans Padieu du dernier broiiillard qui se dissout,
Belle de certitude et chantante de joie,
L'Amerique la-bas tout entiere est debout.
C'est fait! La Liberte sainte, dont la statue
Triomphale brandit un astre en son poing clos,
Comme Jesus, de gloire eclatante vetue,
S'avance vers PEurope en marchant sur les flots.
Et nous voyons, du fond de Pespace enfin libre,
Fiddles au tragique et sacre rendez-vous,
Sur Pazur des drapeaux, ou leur lumiere vibre,
Des constellations qui s'en viennent vers nous!
A German Version of the Marne
Reviewed by a French Historian
JOSEPH REINACH IN LA REVUE DE PARIS
[Translated for Current History Magazine]
One of the great decisive battles of the world's history was fought three years
ago this month. The salvation of France and of democracy throughout the world
hung upon the outcome of a great series of engagements in which French and Eng-
lish soldiers, wearied by the long retreat from Mons and Charleroi, stood and fought
to the death with the pursuing German armies' in the neighborhood of Paris. The
action was on so vast a scale and extended through so many days that only when it
was all over could its full meaning be grasped as a great French victory — the battle
of the Marne. The world could not understand at first why the German armies had
swerved to the south and left Paris unharmed, and the details of the cause are only
now coming gradually to the light. Even the fact that the battle was a decisive Ger-
man defeat was denied or carefully concealed at first in Germany. The book dis-
cussed by M. Reinach in the following article was the first to admit the truth — indi-
rectly. The narrative of this German eyewitness, with M. Reinach's lucid French
comments, and with General Clergerie's supplementary account of how General Gal-
lieni's taxicab army issued out of Paris and surprised and defeated von Kluck, con~
stitutes one of the most valuable chapters yet written on the subject.
THERE appeared at Berlin in the
year 1916 a book, " The Battles
of the Marne," which made a
great stir in Germany. Extracts
from it had already been known through
the American newspapers. I have been
informed that the volume has been since
withdrawn by order from circulation. In
any case, it is almost impossible to find a
copy in neutral countries, even though
Germany has deluged them with a war
literature as voluminous as it is insipid.
The Belgian Minister of War has suc-
ceeded in getting a copy, which he has
had translated. He has asked me to
write a preface for it. M. Hanotaux,
on his part, intends to publish a critical
edition of it. The Revue Militaire Suisse
consecrated a short but substantial arti-
cle to it in August.
The book is anonymous. The author is
manifestly an authority and an eye-
witness. Necessarily, he claims to write
ad narrandum. In reality, it is to prove
that the battle of the Marne " was inter-
rupted for purely strategical motives ";
consequently, that it was not "an im-
mense victory " for the armies of France;
that General von Moltke's plan is one of
the greatest of all time, and that the
commander of the First German Army is
above all reproach. In all probability, he
is an officer of the staff of von Moltke
©r of von Kluck. I am inclined to believe
that he was attached to the latter, be-
cause of the very special attention which
he pays to the actions of the First Army,
and the eulogies which he lavishes on the
commander who was beaten at the
Ourcq. At times, one would say he
writes at von Kluck's dictation. But he
is equally attached to General von
Moltke, who was at the head of the Grand
General Staff from August, 1906, and
who was to be forced into retirement be-
fore the end of the first year of the war.
It is thus easy to understand how the
book should be first authorized and then
withdrawn. * * *
He explains the plan of the German
General Staff with great lucidity; a
strict defensive from the Swiss frontier
to the Donon; a defensive-offensive, ac-
cording to Marshal von Moltke's formula,
between the Donon and Verdun, where
the chief mission of the Fifth Army
will be to retain the enemy forces op-
posed to it; a vigorous offensive of the
first four armies which, starting from
the base Thionville-Aix-la-Chapelle, are
488
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
to penetrate France through Luxem-
burg and Belgium " in order to endeavor
later to extend the right wing more and
more toward the sea."
This movement of conversion " full of
genius " authorized the greatest hopes.
" In the great curve which, through
Brussels, Valenciennes, Compiegne,
Meaux, passed to the east of Paris, we
should throw the French armies back be-
yond the Aisne, the Marne, and, per-
haps, beyond the Seine, in order eventu-
ally to outflank them to the south of
Fontainebleau, and thus to roll up the
whole French battle line." Meanwhile,
reserve and Landwehr corps would pre-
vent later debarkation of English troops
between Calais and Dunkirk.
" So far as human foresight could tell,
this plan could have been carried out at
the end of September, 1914." Many
army corps would have been liberated,
and could have been hurled against Rus-
sia. * * *
It will have been observed that our
author indicates, as having formed a part
of the German plan, the passage " to the
east of Paris " after the first successes.
So that the German Staff did not hesi-
tate, we are told, on the morrow of the
battles of Mons and Charleroi, between
pushing straight on to Paris and seeking
the JFrench army on the Marne or on the
Seine. * * * It can be seen at once
what a brilliant exculpation of von Kluck
and von Moltke is contained in this af-
firmation. All Germany was convinced,
in August, and, with it, almost the whole
world, that her victorious armies had
Paris as their objective. " Nach Paris ! "
shouted all her soldiers, when entering
Belgium, and, later, all along our roads,
deafening and frightening all those who
saw them rushing forward at the rate of
forty kilometers a day. But the General
Staff and the Emperor himself were
already resolved not to attack Paris be-
fore having destroyed the French armies
" to the south of Fontainebleau."
Is this the truth ? I think so. Or is it
an invention, after the disillusion, after
the failure of the " plan of genius," and
the defeat? Evidently, this will not be
known for certain until the German
archives disclose to us the original plan
of the General Staff, as it was before the
war or during its first days. * * *
However great is the admiration of the
German author for the German plan, he
finds one fault with it: " The tasks im-
posed upon the armies of the centre and,
even more, those of the right wing were
really excessive." In fact, "not only
GENERAL VON KLUCK
were they to break the resistance of the
Belgians and their forts, but they were
also, through the stifling heat of August,
to execute an altogether extraordinary
march, before they could come to grips
with the French, who held good positions
chosen by themselves, and who had to
reckon with no supply problem." * * *
There are, as we know, other causes
for the German defeat on the Marne —
and our author himself will indicate
them; but these causes are manifestly
accurate. To march, in the hottest part
of the Summer, at the rate of forty kilo-
meters a day, and even though inspired
by victory and sure of an early triumphal
entry into the enemy's capital, would
have undermined the offensive vigor of
armies of steel and iron and sapped their
power of resistance. This was the case
of the soldiers of von Kluck and von
Biilow, when they arrived at the Ourcq
and the Marne. They were weary. With-
out doubt, our troops and the English
had also endured heavy fatigues; but
they had not had to pass through all
Belgium fighting. Thus the violation of
A GERMAN VERSION OF THE MARNE
489
Belgian neutrality, decided on for rea-
sons of strategy, weighed heavily at this
point also on the German armies. Final-
ly, it cannot be denied that the German
supply service became more difficult as
the invading armies got further from
their base. We, on the contrary, were
fighting near ours. It was an apprecia-
ble advantage.
Wine a Cause of Defeat
Must we add that the German armies
drank more as they ate less? The Ger-
man author is silent as to this, but there
are certain and numerous evidences of it.
These beer drinkers were not used to our
wines. Weary and sweating, they rushed
into our cellars. The wine of France
had its part in our victory.
The confession of this is found in the
notebook of an officer on von Kluck's
staff, a prisoner today. On Sept. 2 he
notes:
Our soldiers are worn out. For four days
they have been marching forty kilometers a
day. The ground is difficult, the roads are
torn up, trees felled, the fields pitted by
shells like strainers. The soldiers stagger
at every step, their faces are plastered with
dust, their uniforms are in rags ; one might
call them living rag-bags. They march with
closed eyes, and sing in chorus to keep from
falling asleep as they march. The certainty
of victory close at hand and of their tri-
umphal entry into Paris sustains them and
whips up their enthusiasm. Without this
certainty of victory they would fall ex-
hausted. They would lie down where they
are, to sleep at last, no matter where, no
matter how. Only the delirium of victory
keeps our men going. And, to give their
bodies a drunkenness like that of their souls,
they drink enormously. But this drunken-
ness also helps to keep them up. Today, after
an inspection, the General was furiously
angry. He wanted to put a stop to this col-
lective debauch. We have just persuaded
him not to give severe orders. It is better
not to be too strict, otherwise the army could
not go on at all. For this abnormal weari-
ness abnormal stimulants are needed. In
Paris we shall remedy all this. We shall
forbid the drinking of alcohol there. When
our troops are at last able to rest on their
laurels, order will be restored.
" They drink enormously." It is a
German officer who writes it, before the
battle. They kept it up during the bat-
tle, on the evenings of the battle, in our
villages of the Ile-de-France and Cham-
pagne, drinking enormously in our welK
filled cellars. One of the cavalry officers
who led the pursuit has told me that he
found the main street of a village so
strewn with wine bottles and broken
glasses that he had to make his way
through the fields. * * *
German Praise of Joffre
Our author underlines the importance
of the nomination of Gallieni, (as Mili-
tary Governor of Paris:) "One of " the
best Generals of Republican France, who
was absolutely the right man in the
right place." * * * But his admira-
tion goes especially to Joffre, the rea-
soned admiration of a soldier who does
not feel the need of diminishing his
enemy, thus diminishing himself by a
back stroke. It is natural that he calls
the victories of the Sambre and the Meuse
" prodigious." We do not deny that they
were great, and that they filled the world
with astonishment and anxiety. Let us
quote textually:
During the last third of August, 1914, the
defeats of the French and English, especially
on their left wing, had been so prodigious
that only a general of very high gifts could
have stopped the march of the Germans or
obliged the adversary to evacuate a part of
the territory occupied. The man who at-
tempted this was General Joffre. Gathering
all available reserves, a General with less
decision would, perhaps, have tried to stop
the enemy at several points. But a partial
success gained in this way would have had no
influence on the final result. Joffre imme-
diately saw that it would not do to stop at
half measures, and he found both the means
and the efficient secondary commanders to
carry out his ideas.
To begin with, Joffre did not allow
himself to be disturbed " by the messages
of misfortune which succeeded each other
without interruption," during the closing
days of August. He immediately recog-
nized " at the first glance " that, on the
one hand, " the strongly occupied line
between Belfort and Verdun could hold
at least for several days or weeks " and
" contain the German attack "; and that,
on the other hand, the danger to be
guarded against was that of the immense
enveloping movement— pursued " with a
rapidity that had never been reached by
armies of that size " — by the moving
right wing of the enemy. Sure of his
own right, Joffre therefore ordered the
400
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
splendid strategic retreat — according to
the expression of Marshal French — which
was to end in the victory of the
Marne. * * *
Difficulties of Germans
An uneasiness begins to show through
the following pages, in which the Ger-
man Army is seen growing weaker as
Joff re compels it to follow him still fur-
ther. We may suppose that the under-
standing of the famous manoeuvre was
reached by the German Staff only after
their defeat, and that the homage ren-
dered to Joffre is part of the special
pleading for von Moltke and von Kluck.
But this supposition is not essential, and
we may well believe that such able sol-
diers perceived the growing peril which
they could not avoid. In either case, we
can indorse almost all the views of the
German narrative.
The further the Germans advanced, and the
longer the French and English were able to
escape without engaging in a decisive action,
the more did the initial advantage of the
Germans pass into the hands of their adver-
saries. The Germans got further and further
from their base, and grew more and more ex-
hausted by their forced marches. They were
using up their munitions and their food sup-
plies with alarming rapidity, and the least
dislocation of the supply service might be-
come fatal to armies so vast as those which
the Germans launched, in the month of
August, against Belgium and the north of
France.
But Joffre, who, it must not be forgotten,
was fighting on interior lines, was coming
closer and closer to his supply bases. Every
day new, fresh troops were arriving behind
his lines of battle ; day by day the first lines
could be provided with food supplies and
munitions, and, finally, the French Staff
found itself in the agreeable situation of
bringing into battle far fewer wornout troops
than its adversary, who, for a month, had
been marching almost day and night. In
addition to this, it was a piece of good fortune
for the French that' their front, however thin
it might be at certain points, had not yet
been pierced.
When Joffre had taken the resolution only
to accept battle under particularly favorable
circumstances, he gave the order to his
subordinate commanders to withdraw before
the enemy and to march further and further
south. If his preparations had not been com-
pleted in time, he would eventually have ac-
cepted battle to the south of the Seine, and
have abandoned Paris. He then took meas-
ures to reinforce his threatened left wing and
centre, and, before all, to prevent the army
which was marching on the (German) ex-
treme right wing from outflanking his battle
line.
We are familiar with these measures;
it is not doubtful that the German in-
telligence department was acquainted
with them at the time when they were
taken, or very soon afterward. They
were " the creation of two new armies :
the Sixth Army, which, under the com-
mand of General Maunoury," should
have been formed, according to the initial
plan, in the neighborhood of Amiens, and
which "because of the rapid German
advance, was actually formed to the
northeast of Paris and in its vicinity";
the Ninth Army, " which was slipped in
between the Fourth and Fifth Armies,
and intrusted to General Foch, a very
able commander."
These armies were made up of divi-
sions, very accurately enumerated, some
of them brought by rail from Alsace and
Lorraine, " drawn from Castelnau's large
Second Army," from the First Army,
commanded by General Dubail, and from
the Second Army, under General Sarrail;
others were drawn from the Paris garri-
son and the Moroccan contingents. An-
other part of these measures was " the
submission to Joffre's orders of the
troops of the intrenched camp of Paris
which were commanded by General Gal-
lieni," the Sixth Army being at the same
time " put at the disposition of the Gov-
ernor of Paris, that is, indirectly intrust-
ed to the Commander in Chief," and this,
"because, at all times, unity of com-
mand has been one of the principal fac-
tors of success." Finally, " in order that
nothing might be neglected which could
contribute to the success of the great
plan, Joffre, who had already replaced
Ruffey by Sarrail, put the Fifth Army
under the orders of Franchet d'Esperey.
Swerving Aside From Paris
While Joffre's armies withdrew step
by step on the Marne, where they were
to halt on Sept. 5 and be joined by the
English army, " the German armies of
the right wing were marching forward
into France without a halt. It seemed as
though a wall of iron were ceaselessly
moving forward. A single thought ani-
A GERMAN VERSION OF THE MARNE
491
mated this colossal- gray mass; the an-
nihilation of the French field army, in
order to end at a stroke the war on the
western front. It was everywhere be-
lieved that Paris was the goal of the
German Generals, and every day the
newspapers announced the diminution of
the distance which separated the German
advance guard from the French capital.
And then suddenly — it was on Sept. 4 —
the German First Army, leaving Paris on
its right, swerved toward the south! "
The exclamation mark stands in the
German text, but, without doubt, only to
mark the final point. " The point is all."
The narrator has explained, as we have
seen, at the beginning of his narrative,
that " the passage to the east of Paris "
had been written beforehand in the plan
" full of genius " of Moltke, and not the
march upon Paris. This affirmation
must suffice as an answer to all the
criticisms which have been raised in the
sequel against the abandonment, assur-
edly only for a very brief period, in the
thought of the German Staff, but which
in fact became final, of the direct attack
against the capital. Magister dixit. Thus
the younger Moltke had decided. Thus
the elder Moltke had prescribed in his
famous note of 1859: "Even though the
fate of Paris decides everything, as in
1814," it would be right to "turn away
from Paris " in case a French army
should be gathered in the neighborhood
of Rheims. It would then be necessary
to attack the French behind the Aisne,
to throw them back across the Marne, the
Seine, the Yonne, and, finally, the
Loire. After that, we could march on
Paris.
I have said that this explanation ap-
pears to me genuine. It is, none the
less, singular that the author of this nar-
rative, so complete in other respects,
should make no allusion at all to the
tempest of recriminations which was
raised in Germany, after the defeat of
the Marne, against the movement "to
the east of Paris." It is comprehensible
that he should keep silent concerning the
intervention of the Emperor, who wished,
as I believe to be the case, that the Ger-
man army should march direct on Paris,
and concerning the opposition of Moltke,
who must have spoken of it to von Kluck,
to the imperial proposal. All the same,
he might try to justify the manoeuvre,
and to prove to German opinion that the
attack on Paris, far from leading to cer-
tain victory, might have led to disaster,
and that, therefore, the strategic rule
must be followed. Why does he not at-
tempt this demonstration, which I believe
to be sound?
His mere sketching it has sufficed to
bring about the suppression of his book,
or the prohibition of a second edition by
the higher authorities.
German Officer's Memorandum
In contrast with this, here is what may
be read in the notebook of the German
officer already mentioned, under date of
Sept. 3. The bulk of the army had taken
up its quarters in the forest of Ermen-
onwille. The columns were advancing
toward Betz:
We are leaving Paris on our right, and
we shall concentrate toward the southeast,
opposite the remnants of the Franco-English
army, which is trying, it is true, to reas-
semble its broken fragments in the plain of
the Marne. Our soldiers have no suspicion
that we are temporarily leaving the road to
Paris. They are counting so completely on
finding themselves at the gates of Paris to-
morrow, or the day after, that it would be
cruel to tell them the truth. They would lose
all their spring. Our soldiers believe that
the epoch of battles is ended, that the deci-
mated French Army is hiding, and that we
are going to enter Paris singing and drink-
ing.
Paris is not only the great triumph;
it is rest and peace:
One of our battalions was marching wearily
forward. All at once, while passing a cross-
road, they discovered a signpost, on which
they read : Paris, thirty-seven kilometers,
(twenty-three miles.) It was the first sign-
post that had not been erased. On seeing it,
the battalion was as though shaken up by an
electric current. The word Paris, which they
have just read, drives them crazy. Some of
them embrace the wretched signpost, others
dance round it. Cries, yells of enthusiasm,
accompany these mad actions. This sign-
post is their evidence that we are near Paris,
that, without doubt, we shall soon be really
there. This notice board. has had a miraculous
effect. Faces light up, weariness seems to
disappear, the march is resumed, alert,
cadenced, in spite of the abominable ground
in this forest. Songs burst forth louder, and
no longer the traditional songs, but Parisian
ditties, stupid enough in all conscience.
492
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Then on the next day, (Sept. 4,) Gen-
eral von Kluck himself comes to make a
visit of inspection to Lizy-on-Ourcq. The
officer of the notebook talks with a
Major in his escort. Is von Kluck only
the well-disciplined interpreter of the de-
cisions of Moltke, the supreme chief?
In any case, " he feels certain that the
Germans will soon crush the crumbs of
the French Army. The reports of spies
who have watched the retreat of the ene-
my army are very encouraging. They
are a dejected horde, discontented, with-
out any spring. There is no chance of
their regaining a biting edge. The Gen-
eral fears nothing from the direction of
Paris. We shall come back to Paris,
after having annihilated what is left of
the Franco-British army. The Fourth
Corps of reserves will be intrusted with
the triumphal entry into the great capi-
tal * * * "
On Sept. 5, the eve of the general at-
tack, the officer of the notebook records
that the high German command fore-
sees a flank attack, " although our recon-
noissances have not brought any certain
information on this point." Orders are
given to dig trenches, to hasten defensive
works. " These orders are very badly
executed." Von Kluck makes a tour of
inspection; "he is evidently very dis-
pleased." The soldiers work badly, or
not at all. They are " worn out by forced
marches,. or drunk." But there is some-
thing more: "Persuaded that they have
already attained complete success, they
are full of disillusionment when they
learn that they will have to dig defensive
trenches. Our soldiers have been too
much accustomed to singing hymns of
victory and triumph."
New Spirit of the French
This is very good military psychology.
Here is a German who can read more
than is in his books. Note the phrase
that follows : " If the French were not so
profoundly demoralized, they might be-
come very dangerous, for our First Army
is very far from possessing the energy
and discipline which were its strength
in Belgium and on the northern frontier
of France." Also, on Sept. 7, (battles
of Marcilly, Barcy, and Chambry,) and
Sept. 8, (capture of Chambry,) what
surprise: "The French troops appear to
be full of ardor. * * * Our men hold
the heights, but the French have be-
come demons, they charge in the face of
machine-gun fire, joyfully let themselves
get killed. * * * The valor of the
French is superhuman. * * * Like
spontaneous generation, troops appear
from all sides. * * * "
On Sept. 8 the officer of the notebook
writes :
Col. Gen. von Kluck has inspected the posts.
I saw him. His eyes, usually so brilliant, are
dull. He, so energetic in his whole attitude,
speaks in a faint voice. He is quite cast
down. I question the Major who accompanies
him. Our reconnoissances have just un-
masked considerable French formations. To-
day's battles have been terrible for us. And
all our armies, from the Marne to Alsace,
are bearing an unendurable burden. We must
parry this danger at any cost, even by re-
treat.
It was, writes the German historian
of the Marne, " to escape the danger of
being outflanked that the French Com-
mander in Chief had created a new army
on the extreme French left. This new army
the Sixth, and the German Fifth Army,
against which J of f re created it, were only
fighting on the Ourcq, for four days now,
in order to try to outflank each other.
Neither succeeded. However, von Kluck
was only able to stop Maunoury's turn-
ing movement by drawing strong rein-
forcements from Biilow, whose Second
Army was thereby greatly weakened;
the English, and the French Fifth Army,
under Franchet d'Esperey, concentrated
all their efforts on the point of least re-
sistance in front of them; the English
recrossed the Marne; the French Fifth
Army pushed north; thus the German
forces facing our Sixth Army on the
Ourcq were taken in the flank. * * *
Here is the German account:
Sept. 9 was a very critical day for Mau-
noury. The Germans had been marching un-
ceasingly for five weeks, they had fought
numerous battles, and lacked munitions and
even more, food. Yet, in irresistible assaults,
they had the force to throw the French back
at all points. Instead of yielding, they com-
pelled the French to yield ; instead of being
outflanked, they outflanked the French, and
even captured Nanteuil-le-Haudouin. But the
finest energy must grow weak when it is
not supported and refreshed. Reduced to
A GERMAN VERSION OF THE MARNE
493
corps, weakened and melted away by fighting-
and fatigue, even these valiant warriors lost
their power.
The French, on the contrary, who were only
a few kilometers from Paris, not only re-
ceived continual reinforcements, but were
further supplied with all kinds of munitions.
General Gallieni ceaselessly watched with
vigilant eye over the movements of the Sixth
Army, and made every imaginable effort to
furnish it, as rapidly as possible, with every
kind of support. He requisitioned thousands
of automobiles in Paris, and, during the
night, sent them to Maunoury with reinforce-
ments, which were brought to him by rail
from the interior and other parts of the
front. One of the most remarkable of these
transports was that of the Sixty-second Di-
vision (Zouaves) toward Creil and Senlis,
carried out in the night of Sept. 8-9, with a
view to hindering at all costs the outflank-
ing of the French left wing.
Finally, on the same day, Maunoury asked
that the division which he had lent to the
Marshal should be returned to him, because
the danger of being beaten by the cavalry
corps of General von Marwitz no longer ex-
isted for the three English corps. This Eighth
Division was sent, by rail, from Paris toward
Maunoury's extreme left wing.
On the evening of Sept. 9, in spite of all the
reinforcements they had received, the situa-
tion of the French Sixth Army was anything
but brilliant. But it had to hold its ground
at all costs, and could not withdraw even an
inch further, no matter what it might cost.
But on the German side the offensive power
was equally paralyzed. After all their efforts,
and all the prodigious battles of the last
days, the iron legions of von Kluck's army
had arrived at the extreme limit of what they
could give. On Sept. 9, toward noon, General
von Marwitz had to announce, with an un-
willing heart, to his chief that it was no
longer possible" for him to resist the whole
English Army and the French Eighteenth
Corps. To spare the blood of the English,
Marshal French had in fact asked his neigh-
bor on the right, the commander of the Fifth
Army, for a whole corps, the Eighteenth.
In accord with the Chief of the General
Staff, von Kluck was forced, unwillingly, to
give the order to cease fighting, because the
superiority of the enemy left wing grew
continually. During the night of Sept. 9-10
the German armies withdrew toward the
north in complete order. When, on the next
morning, the French wished to continue the
battle, von Kluck and his army had disap-
peared. Strong rearguards alone covered his
retreat and for a long time occupied Nanteuil-
le-Haudouin. * * *
Thus reads this early German admis-
sion of military defeat at the Marne.
A retreat in good order. * * * The
officer of the notebook writes : " At Lizy
the retreat is organized. * * * If that
helter-skelter can be called organization."
The anonymous narrator, as was to be
expected, remains faithful to his ill-
starred chief: " The skill with which the
Germans succeeded in withdrawing from
their adversary is evidenced by the fact
that von Kluck only abandoned a small
number of guns and almost no prisoners."
He also praises him for having retired to-
ward Compiegne and Soissons, and not
toward Rheims, for if he had bent toward
the east, " the Germans, when Antwerp
fell, would not have been in a position to
extend and carry their front as far as
the coast." This is accurate.
Necessarily, as von Kluck, with his
army of the extreme right wing, " served
in a certain way as guide for the other
armies," his retreat compelled that of
Billow's army, which, in its turn, involved
that of von Hausen's Saxon Army and
of the Guard, in the centre of the Ger-
man front. Duke Albert of Wurttem-
berg and the Crown Prince, not wishing
to lose contact, withdrew in their turn.
Foch the Storm Centre
Of all the battles in progress, that of
Sept. 9 before General Foch's army was
much the hardest and bloodiest. Von
Hausen's furious offensive was the ultima
ratio of Moltke, requiring of an action of
the centre a decision which he no longer
hoped to be able to win on his wings. And
Foch immediately proclaimed his faith
in the famous Order of the Day, like a
challenge, which destiny did not accept:
" The situation is excellent; I order that
the offensive shall be renewed. The key
of the day will be to debouch by Fere-
Champenoise." The very name of Fere,
like that of Mondement and Marais, fails
to appear in the narrative. Our centre
might not have broken on Sept. 10; Du-
bois, Humbert, Grossetti, and all the oth-
ers, firm in their reconquered positions,
were masters of the hour.
The marshes of Saint-Gond in their
turn witnessed a flanking manoeuvre
which had a decisive share in the victory.
The narrative admits, however, that
Langle de Cary's attack, on Foch's right,
against the Nineteenth German Corps —
the retaking of Sermaize and of the crest
west of Vassincourt — " had a certain in-
fluence on the course of the battle," and
" to a certain degree hastened the retreat
494
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
of the (German) centre." He also ad-
mits that the energetic resistance offered
by our Third Army " to the Crown
Prince's violent and able attacks," stopped
them on the heights of the Meuse and
between Verdun and Saint-Mihiel. " The
ring of iron around Verdun and the forts
of the Meuse was also slackened — for a
time."
Everything is linked together in the
manoeuvre of battle, but on condition
that no link bends or breaks. It would
have availed Maunoury nothing to hold
like a rock if Foch had yielded, nor Foch
to have pierced the German centre if
Maunoury had been enveloped on his left.
And everything would have smashed if
Franchet d'Esperey and French had not
pierced their hole between the First and
Second German armies, or if Langle de
Cary had been pushed back or Sarrail
had been repulsed on the extreme right
-wing.
Finally, the German writer, while he
still refuses to utter the word defeat,
marks in clear enough lines the failure of
Moltke's plan, which was " to smash the
French Army at the first shock, to cut
it into pieces and dislocate it." But, he
says, " Joffre succeeded still less in turn-
ing the Germans, in rolling up their
battle line and in throwing them out of
France, across the Rhine."
In other words, we lost the battle of
the frontiers; the Germans lost the battle
of the Marne. * * *
Significance of the Marne
These are the facts as they appear to
a German officer, who is not a Jomini,
but who understands what he sees and
whose mind is well balanced. The moral
significance of the Marne escapes him;
that of Valmy, as we know today, was
only revealed years later to Goethe.
" Moltke withdrew the front of the Ger-
man battle line about a day's march to
the north." That is all he sees. It was
"a battle interrupted for tactical reasons."
And Moltke had five motives. Two
have already been discussed, the ex-
haustion of the armies of the right wing
and the centre, which were " quite worn
out," and the defective supply of food and
munitions. In the third and the fourth
place, the Germans had discounted a more
rapid fall of the fortresses of Liege,
Namur and Maubeuge, and "the energetic
sortie of the Antwerp army," coinciding
with the battle of the Marne, held army
corps whose mere presence would have
been enough to make German victory
certain and " break the French line."
Finally, it was necessary, beginning with
the end of August, " before the deploying
of the German armies was completed," to
transport to the eastern frontier several
army corps from the western front and
from the interior of the empire, because
the Austrians had not been able to stand
up against the formidable thrust of the
Russians into Galicia and the Russians
had invaded East Prussia.
These three Russian and the Belgian
reasons are perfectly accurate.
The Russian mobilization was ordered
oh the night of July 30-31, a partial
mobilization of the four southern dis-
tricts— Kieff, Moscow, Kazan, Odessa —
as a reply to the mobilization of seven
Austrian army corps on July 27; the gen-
eral mobilization was ordered on July 31,
toward midday, in reply to the general
mobilization of Austria decided on in the
morning. The German Chancellor de-
livered an important speech (on Nov. 9,
1916) to establish the assertion that the
partial mobilization of Russia rendered
war inevitable. An impudent lie, but let
it pass, and suppose that Russia had
waited for the completion of her con-
centration before taking the offensive
against Prussia. This would have made
Germany safe on her eastern frontier.
Consequently, two or three army corps
which Hindenburg summoned would have
been on the Marne, on Sept. 9, or on the
Ourcq; and the wheel might have turned.
Hov> the Belgians Helped
The same reasoning applies to the
Third and Ninth German Reserve Corps,
which remained on the banks of the Dyle
and the Scheldt, where the Belgian Army
of the intrenched camp of Antwerp " was
working to draw them against itself and
to keep them far from the French battle-
field." There were two fine combats at
Impde and Hofstade, on the canal from
Louvain to Malines, on Aug. 24 and 25,
A GERMAN VERSION OF THE MARNE
495
during the battles of Mons and of the
Sambre. At the sound of the firing, the
Hanoverians set fire to Louvain, its Col-
legiate church and Halle aux Draps, with
the famous library. On Sept. 4, on the
eve of the battle of the Marne, there was
an engagement at Capelle-aux-Bois, a.
bloody check of the Germans, who took
vengeance for it by burning the village.
Moltke summoned from Belgium three
reserve divisions, replaced by a division
of Landwehr and a naval division. " The
moment for a contribution by the Belgian
Army to the operations of the allied
armies became from that time oppor-
tune." It was the offensive against the
German position, strongly organized, and
extending from the left bank of the Dyle
(from the village of Haecht) to the left
bank of the Senne and the town of Wal-
verthem, which is ten kilometers distant,
to the southeast of Termonde. The
battles of Sept. 9, 10, and 11 were so
clearly favorable to the Belgians that the
Germans sent for reserves taken from the
interior garrisons and the Sixth Reserve
Division, already on the march toward
France. They then counterattacked on
Sept. 12, and gained the advantage at the
cost of heavy losses.
When, on Sept. 13, the Belgian Army
withdrew on the intrenched camp, " the
aim which it had had in view was at-
tained "; the battle of the Marne had
been wpn.
Finally, it is clearly proved that the
German plan of a sudden attack had be-
gun to fail with the refusal of Belgium
to open its territories to the armies which
were rushing to attack us, and to the
heroic resistance of this noble people.
The German plan was strictly a hora-
rium. Every minute in it was deter-
mined. From the German frontier, op-
posite Aix-la-Chapelle, to the gap of the
Oise, on the French frontier — the source
of the Oise is in the Belgian province of
Namur — there are six days' march. But
the passage of the Germans across Bel-
gium in arms — halted before Liege and
before Namur, halted on the line of the
Gette, beaten on Aug. 12 on the edge of
the forest of Haelen, victorious on Aug.
18 and 19 at Aerschot — had lasted six-
teen daysy (Aug. 4-20.) The splendid ef-
fort of the Belgians had therefore made
ten full days late the arrival of the Ger-
man armies on the French frontier, from
which only eight marches separ-
ated them from the advanced forts of
Paris.
Thus the Russians and the Belgians,
not less than the English, conquered with
us on the Marne. The German author
is not mistaken about this. It still re-
mains for him to see that a battle which
ends in a retreat is a defeat, that the
violation of Belgian neutrality was at
once a political crime and a military
blunder, and that the war was premedi-
tated and intended by the German Em-
peror.
How Paris Was Saved
General Clergerie's Story of a Great Sally, the Battle of the
Ourcq, and von Kluck's Defeat
the moment when the latter, in the region
of the Ourcq, was preparing to envelop
the left wing of the French Army.
Here is a summary of that page of his-
tory, the story of an eyewitness:
From Aug. 26, 1914, the German ar-
mies had been descending upon Paris by
forced marches. On Sept. 1 they were
only three days' march from the ad-
vanced line of the intrenched camp, which
the garrison were laboring desperately to
GENERAL CLERGERIE, former
Ckief of Staff in the Military
Government of Paris and a close
associate with General Gallieni
in the tragic hours of August and Sep-
tember, 1914, officiated at the distribu-
tion of prizes to the boys of the Lycee of
Perigueux, July 14, 1917. In an informal
address he told how the army of the in-
trenched camp of Paris was led to attack
the right wing of the German Army at
496
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
put into condition for defense. It was
necessary to cover with trenches a circuit
of 110 miles, install siege guns, assure
the coming of supplies for them over nar-
row-gauge railways, assemble the food
and provisions of all kinds necessary for
a city of 4,000,000 inhabitants.
But on Sept. 3 the intelligence service,
which was working perfectly, stated,
about the middle of the day, that the Ger-
man columns, after heading straight for
Paris, were swerving toward the south-
east and seemed to wish to avoid the for-
tified camp.
" General Gallieni and I," continued
the speaker, " then had one of those long
" conferences which denoted grave events:
" they usually lasted from two to five min-
" utes at most. The fact is that the mili-
" tary Government of Paris did little talk-
" ing — it acted. The conference reached
" this conclusion : ' If they do not come to
" ' us, we will go to them with all the
" ' force we can muster.' Nothing re-
" mained but to make the necessary
" preparations. The first thing to do
" was not to give the alarm to the enemy.
" General Maunoury's army immediately
" received orders to lie low and avoid any
" engagement that was not absolutely
" necessary." Then care was taken to
reinforce it by every means. All was
ready at the designated time.
In the night of Sept. 3, knowing that
the enemy would have to leave only a
rear guard on one bank of the Ourcq,
General Gallieni and General Clergerie
decided to march against that rear guard,
to drive it back with all the weight of the
Maunoury army, to cut the enemy's com-
munications, and take full advantage of
his hazardous situation. Immediately
the following order was addressed to Gen-
eral Maunoury:
Because of the movement of the German
armies, which seem to be slipping- in be-
fore our front to the southeast, I intend to
send your army to attack them in the
flank, that is to say, in an easterly direc-
tion. I will indicate your line of march
as soon as I learn that of the British
Army. But make your arrangements now
so that your troops shall be ready to
march this afternoon and to begin a gen-
eral movement east of the intrenched
camp tomorrow.
At 10 in the morning a consultation
was held by Generals Gallieni, Clergerie,
and Maunoury, and the details of the
plan of operations were immediately de-
cided. In the afternoon an understand-
ing with the. English was reached at Me-
lun. General Joffre gave permission to
attack and announced that he would him-
self take the offensive on the 6th. On
the 5th, at noon, the army from Paris
fired the first shot; the battle of the
Ourcq, a preface to the Marne, had
begun.
General Clergerie then told what a pre-
cious purveyor of information he had
found in General von der Marwitz, cav-
alry commander of the German First
Army, who made intemperate use of the
wireless telegraph and did not even take
the trouble to put into cipher his dis-
patches, of which the Eiffel Tower made
a careful collection. " In the evening of
" Sept. 9," he said, " an officer of the in-
" telligence corps brought me a dispatch
" from this same Marwitz couched in
" something like these terms : ' Tell me
"' exactly where you are and what
"'you are doing. Hurry up, because
" < XXX * * *' The officer was greatly
" embarrassed to interpret those three
" Xs. Adopting the language of the
" poilu, I said to him : ' Translate it, u I
" am going to bolt." ' True enough,
" next day we found on the site of the
" German batteries, which had been pre-
" cipitately evacuated, stacks of muni-
" tions ; while by the roadside we came
" upon motors abandoned for the slightest
" breakdown, and near Betz almost the
" entire outfit of a field bakery, with a
" great store of flour and dough half-
" kneaded. Paris and France were saved.
" Von Kluck could not get over his as-
" tonishment. He has tried to explain it
" by saying he was unlucky, for out of a
" hundred Governors not one would have
" acted as Gallieni did, throwing his
" whole available force nearly forty miles
" from his stronghold. It was downright
" imprudence. Of course, it was Gallieni
" who was in the wrong! "
General Clergerie pointed the moral
for his youthful audience in these words :
" If you want France to be great, there's
only one way: Act."
A German Sailor's Account of the Jutland
Battle
PKRUG, one of the survivors of the
German flagship Lutzow, which
was sunk in the battle of Jutland
in June, 1916, published in July, 1917, a
pamphlet giving his view of the naval
engagement. His pamphlet, which ap-
peared at The Hague, is the first pub-
lished account of the battle by a German
sailor.
Torpedoed by a British warship early
in the engagement, the Lutzow, which
was the flagship of Admiral Hipper, was
hammered unmercifully by the big guns
of the British vessels, and soon became a
complete wreck, a " ship of the dead," as
Krug describes her.
According to his story, twenty-seven
German sailors were trapped in the Die-
sel dynamo room before the battle had
been long in progress, and remained there
when the Lutzow, a disabled hulk, was
abandoned and sent to the bottom by a
torpedo from a German destroyer. Two
of these imprisoned men had been driven
insane and were kept tied by their ship-
mates.
After describing the first part of the
battle and telling how the arrival of Brit-
ish battleships turned the tables on the
Germans, Krug writes :
Suddenly the entire ship Is roughly
shaken. The colossus heaves far over,
and everything that is not fixed is upset.
The first direct hit! The torpedo pierces
the fore part of the ship. Its effects are
terrible. Iron, wood, metal, parts of
bodies, and smashed ships' implements
are all intermixed, and the electric light,
by chance spared, continues to shine
upon this sight.
Two decks lower, in the Diesel dyna-
mo room, there is still life. That com-
partment has not been hit, and twenty-
seven men, in the prime of life, have
been spared, but the chamber is shut off
from all others, for the water is rushing
into all sections. They are doomed to
death. Several 38-centimeter shells
squarely hit their mark, working terrible
havoc. The first hit the wireless de-
partment. Of the twelve living men who
a moment ago were /seated before the
apparatus, there is nothing more to be
seen. Nothing is left but a smoking
heap of ruins. The second shot again
pierced the fore part of the ship. The en-
tire forepart of the vessel, as far as the
Diesel motor room, was past saving.
Another broadside meant for the Lut-
zow fell short, but a torpedo boat close
by disappeared, leaving only a few odd
pieces of wood and a smashed lifeboat
drifting around. It is now half-past 7,
and the hostile circle grows ever smaller.
The Lutzow and the Seydlitz lie with
their bows deep in the water ; both are
badly mauled. The forepart of the Lut-
zow was in flames. Shells burst against
the ship's side in rapid succession. A ter-
rible sight is presented on board the Liit-
zow, and it needs iron nerves to look
upon it coolly. Hundreds have lost their
lives, while many have lain for hours
in torture, and the fight is not yet over.
The bow is now crushed in and is en-
tirely submerged. The four screws are
already sticking half out of the water, so
that the Lutzow can only make eight to
ten knots an hour, as against the normal
thirty-two.
The Admiral decides to transfer to the
Moltke. He gives orders to turn and get
away from the scene of the fight, but
the Lutzow has not gone a mile before
she receives a broadside of 38-centimeter
shells. The entire ship was filled with
the poisonous fumes of the shells, and
any one who failed to affix his gas mask
was doomed to be suffocated.
It was three-quarters of an hour be-
fore the lighting installation was restored.
Then for the first time could the extent
of the damage wrought by the salvo be
seen. One of the shells had landed in
the sick bay. Here there were only three
doctors and fifteen attendants, besides
160 to 180 wounded. Of all those, only
four remained alive. These four were
hurled into the next compartment by the
air pressure ; there they lay unconscious.
The Lutzow was now a complete wreck.
Corpses drifted past. From the bows up
to the first 30-centimeter gun turret
the ship lay submerged. The other gun
turrets were completely disabled, with
the guns sticking out in all directions. On
deck lay the bodies of the sailors in their
torn uniforms, in the midst of the empty
shell cases. From the masts fluttered
torn flags, twisted signal lines, and pieces
of wire of the wireless installation. Had
not the lookout man and the three officers
on the commander's bridge given signs of
life, the Liitzow would have truly re-
sembled a ship of the dead. Below, on
498
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
the battery deck and in the coal bunkers,
there still lay innumerable wounded, but
there was no longer a doctor to attend
to them.
Night came on and hope was entertained
of getting away without a further en-
counter. But at 3 o'clock, in the night
news of the approach of. two British
cruisers and five destroyers was received
and just at that critical time the fore
and middle bulkheads gave way.
Orders were given to quickly carry the
wounded to the stern. Then the order
rings out: "All hands muster in division
order . abaft." A tumult arises on the
lower deck, for everybody is now bent on
saving his life. It is impossible in that
short space of time to bring up all the
wounded, for they are scattered every-
where. Eighteen men had the good for-
tune to be carried up, but all the rest who
could not walk or crawl had to be left
behind.
The twenty-seven men shut up in the
Diesel dynamo chamber had heard the
order through the speaking tube, for
many, mad with anguish, * screamed
through the tube for help, and It was
learned that two of their number lay
bound because they had become Insane.
Inspired by their sense of duty, these
sealed-up men had continued to carry on
their work in order to provide the ship
•with light.
The torpedo boats now quickly took off
the crew of the Liitzow, and those left
behind were doomed to death. It was
resolved that no piece of the vessel should
fall into the enemy's hands. An order
was given and a torpedo cleft the waters.
Just then seven men were to be seen run-
ning like madmen round the rear deck.
Overfatigued as they were, they had ap-
parently dropped off to sleep and only
just awakened. As the torpedo exploded,
the Liitzow' s bow quickly dipped, and the
stern rose until she stood on end. Then
she heeled over and sank, forming a
great whirlpool that carried everything
within it into the depths.
When the roll was called it appeared
that there were 1,003 survivors of the
Liitzow; 597 men had perished in the
battle.
Heartrending Scenes in Belgium
A CITIZEN of Liege who succeeded in
escaping from Belgium draws a
terrible picture, says Reuter's
Agency, of the sufferings of the repa-
triated deportees and of the brutality
with which the unfortunate people are
still treated by the Germans. This es-
caped Belgian was engaged from March
to July, 1917, at an infirmary outside
* Liege station and witnessed the arrival
of train after train of repatriated depor-
tees. Describing what he had seen, he
said:
Never shall I forget the terrible scenes
I have witnessed. The trains contained
sometimes 500 to 900 men, who had been
for three days practically without food.
A great many of them had their feet and
legs frostbitten or frozen off, and had to
be carried on stretchers. They had been
obliged to walk for hours in their stocking
feet in the snow. Often gangrene had set
in and the men died within a few days.
We had an average of two deaths every
day in our small infirmary. Some of them
were so famished that they could not
take any food, and had to be fed with a
spoon; others ate ravenously anything
that they could snatch from your hand.
Eighty per cent, are stricken with tuber-
culosis, and will never recover. Such is
the result of a few months spent in the
German prison camps and kommandos.
The first time we saw them alight from
the train we could not believe that these
ragged ghosts, with haggard faces and
feet wrapped in muddy sackcloth, could
be the same men who had passed through
Liege, singing patriotic songs, on their
way to Germany. According to their re-
ports many have died over there ; many
also died on the way home, every train
bringing a load of three or four dead as
well as the dying. Many more have died
at home later after horrible sufferings
from the incurable diseases which they
have contracted.
But these physical tortures are nothing
beside the moral trials to which they havo
been subjected. Some of the men hav»
gone quite mad and do not realize that
they have come back. One of the men I
attended, in his delirium repeated un-
ceasingly the same cry, while making a
movement as if pushing something away.
"I will not sign, I will not sign! " He
did not, and he died for it in my arms.
As an old woman said to me who was
waiting for her son to be returned, " Is it
not enough to make the stones weep? "
Military Operations of the War
By Major Edwin W. Dayton
Inspector General, National Guard, State of New York; Secretary, New
York Army and Navy Club
VII. — Battle of Loos and Champagne Offensive
A FRENCH writer observing the
new British divisions which be-
gan to march to the western
battle front late in May, 1915,
said, * This is an army of athletes which
England has trained." The splendid
regular army which had fought so brave-
ly in the Summer and Autumn of the first
year of the war was resting mostly in
thick-sown graves between the Seine and
the sea. But the best soldier material
of Britain had flocked to the colors in
the early "Winter and was thoroughly
trained and equipped by this time. These
were Kitchener's men and were to con-
tinue the task of hammering at the Ger-
man lines as they were left after the
fighting at Souchez, Festubert, Aubers
Ridge, and Neuve Chapelle in the Spring
of 1915. The new troops found hard
fighting awaiting them at Hooge.
The salient at Ypres was still a storm
centre, and the Germans since May had
held the high ground about the Chateau
of Hooge, two miles east of Ypres on the
road to Menin, which was the point of
their nearest approach to the town after
the terrific battles and the gas attacks
in May. In June and July there was
continued close fighting for every out-
building or fortified rubbish heap on this
low ridge, where positions were taken
and lost over and over again. By July
the advantage was considerably on the
German side, especially in the region of
Bellewaarde Lake, a pond north of the
chateau.
Here the British had lost ground until
they were pressed back to a little lane
connecting the Menin road with the high-
way to Zonnebeke, a full half mile nearer
Ypres than the position at Hooge. This
made a dangerous-looking dent in the
British line, but along the Menin road
they still clung to trenches close up to
the chateau. A huge depression called
" The Crater " resulted from the explo-
sion of a British mine at this point and
was the scene of a powerful German at-
tack before dawn on July 30.
First Use of Liquid Fire
In this assault liquid fire was employed
for the first time, and after a heavy bom-
bardment by trench mortars (minenwer-
fern) the infantry stormed the British
trenches, using a great number of gre-
nades. The troops in the trenches at-
tacked were practically annihilated, and
the British line gave way about a quar-
ter of a mile to the edge of the high
ground at the corner of Zouave Wood.
The Germans were about to thrust their
lines south of the Menin road forward
to a point abreast of their furthest posi-
tions westward along the lane north of
that road. Second Lieut. Woodroffe, a
boy under twenty, was the first soldier
of the new army to win the Victoria
Cross, which was awarded for a splendid
effort to lead his men back in a counter-
attack in which he was killed. Major
Gen. Keir, commanding the Sixth Corps,
ordered a counterattack in midafternoon
which resulted in the useless slaughter of
the Seventh and Eighth Rifle Battalions,
which were torn to pieces in the death
trap called Zouave Wood and the fields
beyond, where 2,000 men fell, including
sixty officers.
No further suicidal attempts were made
to storm the German lines by daylight, and
for ten days the British heavy artillery
poured a flood of 8-inch and 9.2-inch
shells over them. The British superiority
in heavy guns began at that time to be
in evidence and has continued to grow
ever since.
On Aug. 9 two brigades renewed the
counterattack just before dawn and,
charging across a " no-man's land " 500
500
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
yards wide and heaped with the unburied
victims of the previous effort, these gal-
lant troops recaptured the crater and
trenches close to the chateau. Two hun-
dred Germans who held the dugouts in
the crater were killed to the last man.
That night the Germans shelled the new
British positions, part of which it proved
impossible to hold. In this day's fighting
the two brigades lost over 2,000 men, but
nearly all the ground was held until a
fresh brigade arrived and gave the much-
needed reinforcement required to retain
the position.
Western Front, September, 1915
In the early Autumn of 1915 it was
estimated that the Germans were defend-
ing their western front of 570 miles with
a total force of nearly 2,000,000 men.
They were outnumbered by the Allies,
for Sir John French commanded a million
British soldiers in France, while the
French had 2,000,000 men on this front
with strong forces of recruits in training
camps in the rear. There were about
6,000 guns of varied calibre on each side.
By this time the British production of
artillery munitions had been very greatly
increased over the capacity of the early
Spring. The German system of field
fortification had, however, been de-
veloped to the utmost. Back of every
front-line system lay another complete
and even stronger line of trenches, com-
pletely prepared with wire entanglements,
very deep dugouts, &c. The second line
was usually about 700 yards behind the
first, and a third and stronger position
was prepared usually about a mile to the
rear. There were frequent fortins or low
redoubts of great strength so situated as
to enfilade trench systems which might
be lost. Against this elaborate fortifica-
tion the operations took on increasingly
the character of sieges rather than field
manoeuvres intended to break through or
outflank an enemy in the field; but in
September the Allies launched two great
attacks which it was hoped might win
from the enemy some of his vantage
ground. The time seemed propitious, for
von Hindenburg's great campaign in
Russia, while widely victorious, still re-
quired every man that could be spared
from other fields.
The German lines in France formed a
great right angle, whose upper line faced
west from the sea to the Aisne, where it
bent and ran toward the southeast to the
Swiss frontier. The Allies planned to
strike two great blows back of the head
of this vast salient — one in the north to-
ward Lens, and the other in Champagne
about Souain.
The Battle of Loos
On the northern sector a terrific bom-
bardment was maintained from Sept. 23
until the early morning of the 25th,
when the British attack upon Loos
started. On the French front, facing
Vimy Heights, the bombardment con-
tinued until* early afternoon, when the
infantry assaults began and made excel-
lent progress before night. The next
day D'Urbal's soldiers fought their way
to the lower slopes of the heights north
of Thelus, crossed the Souchez stream
and gained part of Givenchy Wood. By
the 29th the western slopes of Vimy
Heights and much of Givenchy Wood had
been taken from the Germans, and it be-
came necessary for the French com-
mander to send reinforcements to the
British on his left flank, where a deep
salient was being held east of Loos by
a dangerously inadequate force.
While the French were winning their
footing on Vimy Heights the British had
fought a series of separate battles both
north and south of the Vimy sector. It
will be well to realize in connection with
this whole series of actions that they
were timed to coincide with the great
French attack far to the south in Cham-
pagne, and intended to so thoroughly
engage the Germans in the north as to
prevent the dispatch of reserves from
that region to the south, where the Allies
hoped to be able to break through the
invader's fortified lines and reach the
railway communications in the rear. The
northern attacks were planned to be at
least " holding " battles, but the numbers
of both men and guns employed were so
great as to lead to the hope that at some
vulnerable spot the German lines might
be broken and the railways from Lille
southward be reached.
On Sept. 25 the British, after a final
bombardment, exploded a mine and then
MILITARY OPERATIONS OF THE WAR
501
once more attacked Hooge, the blood-
drenched point of the Ypres sector. Two
infantry divisions stormed German
trenches in some places to a depth of as
much as 600 yards, but nearly all the
ground gained was so completely com-
manded by the heavy German artillery
that it had once more to be yielded by the
end of the day.
Another British attack developed soon
GENERAL DE CASTELNAU
after 4 A. M. in front of Armentieres.
Here the forces on the flanks made good
progress, but the centre failed to gain,
so that in the end both flanks were com-
pelled to fall back to re-establish the
alignment. The only result here was
that the German troops were kept occu-
pied on their own front.
An Unsuccessful Phase
A third battle meanwhile was fought
by the British Indian Corps, commanded
by General Anderson, above Neuve Cha-
pelle, and this effort was the least suc-
cessful of all. The faults seem to have
been divided between imperfect staff ar-
rangements and unsatisfactory qualities
displayed by some of the native troops.
Two Indian brigades which rushed over
German first-line trenches failed to either
clear out or hold the positions, which
were presently reoccupied in dangerous
force by the Germans. A reserve bri-
gade of Indians, which should have fol-
lowed closely the advancing units,
stopped in the old British front-line
trenches and viewed with dismay a front
which, to their astonishment, bristled
with resistance, although two whole bri-
gades had swept over it and disappeared
beyond. At the opening of this battle
one of the Indian divisions (the Meerut)
attempted to send a cloud of poison gas
over the German lines, but in a drizzling
mist with almost no wind the gas lay
still, so that when they advanced they
were compelled to charge through the gas
themselves. As the day wore on, Ger-
man counterattacks drove back the lines
of the Twentieth Division of the Third
Corps, which exposed the flank of the
Meerut Division, to which the main at-
tack toward Aubers Ridge had been com-
mitted.
Gradually whatever plans had existed
dissolved and the action degenerated into
an utterly confused melee, out of which
the remnants of the leading brigades
finally fought their way back to the old
lines. The reports laid great emphasis
upon the sturdy courage of the British
regular battalions serving with the native
brigades. Once more the Neuve Chapelle
sector proved a deadly area impregnable
to British efforts, and this battle of Sep-
tember in this fatal sector was a failure
like the preceding ones of December and
May.
Fighting Near Givenchy
Still another attack was made by the
British troops near Givenchy, the strong-
ly defended outpost on the west front of
La Bassee. Some gains were made, but
the lack of reserves made it impossible to
hold such of the first-line positions as
were entered.
The great British attack on this day of
many battles was mearrwhile launched
against the fortified ridge and quarries
west of the La Bassee-Lens road. Here
General Haig had Rawlinson's (Fourth)
and Gough's (First) Corps for deploy-
ment on a front of about eight miles be-
tween Givenchy and Grenay. This im-
portant phase of the great battle of Sept.
25 opened soon after 6 A. M. with an at-
502
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
tack on the German positions just below
the La Bassee Canal, but, although some
progress resulted after desperate fight-
ing, the brigade engaged here was com-
pelled before night to fall back.
Just below this sector another Scotch
brigade in a glorious attack won the Ho-
henzollern Redoubt and a fortified posi-
tion called Fosse 8. On their right the
Seventh Division drove their attack
through to the German second line in the
Cite St. Elie and the village of Haisnes,
both places well in the rear of the Ho-
henzollern Redoubt and directly on the
La Bassee-Lens highway. The lack of
sufficient reserves made it impossible to
hold the more advanced positions won,
and by midday part of the gains had to be
relinquished.
The Capture of Loos
Further south Rawlin son's men fought
brilliantly, and in an advance of nearly
two miles reached the outer edge of Hul-
luch and captured Loos close to the Lens-
Bethune road. In this splendid success
there was a notable improvement over the
methods which on the same day scored
such a failure at Neuve Chapelle. Loos
was taken by divisions made up of Lon-
don regiments which had spent a number
of days before the battle in studying a
big model of this sector, with the result
that when one battalion (the Nineteenth
London) lost every officer, the men went
on and accomplished their part without
hesitation.
Success in this war is reserved for
those adequately prepared to win it.
However, even successes so won cannot
be maintained unless supported by large
reserves equally well prepared. The
brave Scotch battalions, having taken
Loos, pressed on with mad courage into
the very heart of a fortified zone be-
yond. In less than three hours Gordons,
Camerons, Seaforths, and Black Watch
had driven nearly four miles through
the German trenches. An English writer
commenting upon the heroic fighting of
the Scotch brigades in this battle justly
remarked that while what they did was
magnificent it was not war, for it was
an attack unprovided with reserves.
About 10 o'clock word was sent up to
the advanced units that they must fall
back; but, almost encircled by the enemy
as they were, the task was well-nigh
impossible. Only a few men fought their
way back to the lines, which were finally
held.
In summing up the results of these
great efforts, which involved something
like five separate but eo-ordinated battles
on the British front, we must admit that
MAP OF REGION WHERE BATTLE OF LOOS
WAS FOUGHT
little more resulted than the prevention
of reinforcements being sent by the
enemy from the northern positions to his
hard-pressed lines in Champagne. There
seems to have been a time when the
prompt use of adequate reserves in the
sector north of Lens might have rescued
the whole region between Lille and Douai
from the invader. Sir John French was
in supreme command, and he had in re-
serve and immediately under his control
the Eleventh Corps, consisting of the
Guards Division and the new Twenty-
first and Twenty-fourth Divisions. At
the critical moment when the great
Scotch charge reached Cite St. Auguste
the Guards Division was about twenty
MILITARY OPERATIONS OF THE WAR
503
miles away from the Loos sector. Gen-
eral French gave Sir Douglas Haig the
Twenty-first and Twenty-fourth Divi-
sions before 10 A. M., but even these
troops were eight miles away.,
On Sunday, the 26th, the Germans
made heavy counterattacks and severely
defeated the inexperienced troops of the
Twenty-fourth Division, so that a good
deal of ground was lost. On Monday
the Guards Division, consisting of three
brigades of England's finest troops, was
sent in to redeem the situation. The
Guards fought well. The Third Brigade,
consisting of the First Grenadiers,
Fourth Grenadiers, Second Scots, and
First Welsh, attacked the strongly forti-
fied Hill 70, just north of Lens, and
were deployed in columns of half pla-
toons, with 100 yards intervals between
the sections and 250 yards distance be-
tween the lines. They reached the crest
of Hill 70, but could not hold it against
the converging machine-gun fire, and,
falling back, dug themselves in about a
hundred yards to the west. On the 28th
the First Coldstreams succeeded in
reaching a fortified chalk pit north of
Hill 70, but that place, too, was too hot
to hold.
Through the remaining days of Sep-
tember and the early part of October,
under heavy bombardment, the British
consolidated the positions and straight-
ened the lines. They had taken 3,000
German prisoners, with 26 field guns and
40 machine guns. Lord Kitchener in Eng-
land and Field Marshal French at the
front gave unstinted praise to the gal-
lantry of the troops, but there was a dis-
tinct disappointment in England, where
it was felt that the errors of Neuve
Chapelle in the Spring had been repeat-
ed and that the possibility of a great vic-
tory had been lost because of imperfect
plans. Probably the fairest of the many
criticisms leveled at the British staff
was that which admitted their lack of
training in the handling of great armies.
Had the splendid British armies pos-
sessed a thoroughly efficient and com-
petent General Staff they would have
won in the early Autumn of 1915 what
they have fought for through two long
and bloody years since.
The British losses at Loos and there-
about were 45,000, including 3 Major
Generals and 28 battalion commanders.*
French Attack in Champagne
While the British were fighting the
series of battles which culminated at Loos
and d'Urbal's Tenth French Army was
fighting for Vimy Ridge all France
awaited breathlessly the great effort
which it was hoped would smash a way
through the German fortifications on
the chalk ridges of Champagne. Here
the really great effort was planned to
deal such a blow as would cut through
the invader's railway communications,
which so perfectly assisted his Generals
to shift men and guns quickly wherever
required.
The sector selected for attack was that
above Suippes, between Auberive and
Ville-sur-Iourbe, and de Castelnau's
army was chosen for the grand effort.
All through September both French and
British airmen flew straight at any Ger-
man aircraft which attempted to recon-
noitre back of their lines. They were most
successful in masking the great concen-
trations of troops back of the sectors se-
lected for attack. Early in the morning
of Sept. 25 de Castelnau's men began to
crowd forward through the communica-
tion trenches under a volcanic discharge
of shells hurled over their heads against
the German' trenches of both first and
second lines. Every platoon had been
carefully taught just what its own ob-
jective was to be, and General Jof f re's
famous order read: " Soldiers of 'the Re-
public: After months of waiting the hour
has come to attack and to conquer."
Every soldier had an extra ration of
wine on the night of the 24th, and trench
knives were added to the regular equip-
ment for the close fighting anticipated
in trenches and dugouts.
At 9:15 on the morning of Sept. 25
the bugles sounded, the officers cried out
"To Win or Die!" and on a front of
fifteen miles a splendid French Army
charged. Both field batteries (" seventy-
*It is interesting to compare the losses in
the month of May, 1917, when the casualties
amounted to 114,000 as the price of another
offensive on nearly the same ground but in
which positions won were held and 3,412
Germans were captured.
504
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
fives ") and cavalry were used during
the day, for on that long front the
French lines had by night advanced an
average of two and a half miles. Four
great redoubts had been stormed and
thousands of prisoners taken, together
with hundreds of guns. On Sunday, the
26th, further progress was made, and
on the 27th the French repulsed an at-
tempted diversion by the Crown Prince
at La Fille Morte, in the Argonne.
By Wednesday, Sept. 29, the French
had sufficiently reorganized their forces
to resume the attack, which was directed
particularly along the west side of the
Souain-Somme-Py road, where the Na-
varin Farm, on the east side of the high-
way, and Hill 185, on the west, marked
a line about midway between the two
towns. The German lines proved too
strong to be forced, and, although there
was a gap opened near the great Lu-
beck trench, a concentrated German fire
poured through the opening forbade
any further advance. In fact, the scien-
tific arrangement of the German forti-
fications was such that any position
captured immediately was subjected to an
enfilading lateral fire from neighboring
positions, as well as a deluge of shellfire,
both direct and indirect. Above the farm
called Maisons de Champagne a defensive
work called the " Ouvrage de la Defaite "
was won and lost over and over again
before the brave French soldiers would
admit their inability to hold it. All that
de Castelnau's men could do was to dig
themselves in where they were and fight
hard to hold what had cost them so much.
The French losses in Champagne, and
including those in Artois at Vimy Ridge,
amounted to 120,000 men. The Germans
were pushed back nearly three miles on
a front of about fifteen miles, but they
remained secure in a stronger position
than the first, and their railway com-
munications were undisturbed.
Net Results Disappointing
The great allied offensive in the west
in the Autumn of 1915 resulted in tre-
mendous battles which won considerable
local success, but nowhere succeeded in
seriously disturbing the invaders' grip
upon France. Nothing was achieved
which could be reckoned an offset to
what the enemy had accomplished in Rus-
sia through the Summer, and only part of
Joffre's optimistic prophecy was realized.
The splendid elan of the French soldier
did carry him at a bound up to the bat-
teries of the adversary, but the hope that
he would charge on past and beyond the
fortified lines was doomed to disappoint-
ment. Despite superiority in numbers of
troops, guns, and shells, the Allies were
compelled to realize that the bravest of
attempts could not hope to pierce those
fortifications. The slow processes of
siege operations must be resorted to, and
years consumed in a task which it had
been fondly hoped might be accom-
plished in a series of smashing attacks.
It was after the Marne that the Ger-
mans dug themselves in so thoroughly on
the chalky hills of Champagne, and as the
months have lengthened into years they
have created a series of defensive works
secure from flank attacks and capable of
a deadly defense against frontal assaults.
The French staff knew the difficulties of
their task, and were provided with exact
information as to every trench, alley of
communication, and clump of trees. Let-
ters or numbers were assigned to each of
such objects on the detailed maps fur-
nished to the troops in every sector of
the attack. It was found that the
wire entanglements between the German
trenches attained a width of from 15 to
60 meters. The French official report on
the battle in Champagne said that a line
showing the different stages of the
French advance would assume a curi-
ously winding outline, revealing on the
one hand the defensive power of an ad-
versary resolved to stick to the ground at
all costs, and on the other the victorious
continuity of the efforts of the French
soldiers in this hand-to-hand struggle.
At the two extremities of the attacking
front the offensive could make no prog-
ress because of the converging fire of the
enemy and his powerful counterattacks.
In an order dated Oct. 5 General Joffre
announced the results in Champagne,
where 25,000 prisoners and 150 guns
were captured and made visible evidence
of the splendid success of the opening
phase of the battle. That the outcome
of the great effort was a bitter disap-
MILITARY OPERATIONS OF THE WAR
505
pointment to the French was never evi-
dent in the slightest weakening of their
determination to fight on at all costs
until somewhere and somehow the final
defeat of the enemy shall be accom-
plished.
German Counteroffensive
The Germans had maintained in the
east their favorite conception of war,
that only the offensive can win. On the
west front through all this long series
of battles in 1915 they were compelled
to assume the to them repugnant role
of the defensive. But to the German
military mind it was perfectly clear that
the only successful defensive must be
that of the active and aggressive kind
known as the offensive-defense.
When the allied effort of late Sep-
tember died down the Germans began
a campaign of counterstrokes serious
enough to shake the Allies out of some
of the vantage points recently gained,
and all sufficiently threatening to compel
both British and French to hold heavy
mobile reserves distributed back of the
battle lines ready for instant dispatch to
any point where serious disaster might
threaten. The German commanders knew
that a fatal deterioration in the best
troops in the world is certain to result
if they are permitted entirely to lose the
initiative. Their announced plan was to
hold rather lightly the first-line posi-
tions to minimize the losses from bom-
bardments, yet in sufficient strength to
inflict severe losses upon the assaulting
infantry; then, when an exhausted frac-
tion of the original force had gained the
second-line positions, to hurl upon them
powerful fresh reserves competent to de-
stroy survivors of the original attack and
recover much, if not all, of the lost
ground.
This plan was perfectly sound and
failed of great results only because the
Germans no longer possessed the supe-
riority in numbers which it demanded.
Nearly their whole force was required
to resist the allied attacks, and when
these stopped exhausted the Germans
had nowhere immediately available fresh
units strong enough to be hurled in for
an instant counterstroke. The counter-
strokes were made, but only after the
lapse of days or weeks in which the
Allies had repaired their losses in men
and improved the defensive arrange-
ments in the new positions. Late in
September several divisions arrived in
France from Russia, and it is probable
that this reinforcement numbered some-
where near 125,000 men.
On Oct. 3 the British front was at-
tacked between La Bassee Canal and the
town of Loos, which had been captured
the week before. In the salient near
Cite St. Elie the defense held well, but
further north at the Hohenzollern re-
doubt the British were forced out of most
of the works. On Oct. -8 the Germans
after a five-hour bombardment with ex-
plosive shells launched strong infantry
attacks in four waves, which were torn
to pieces by the French and British guns.
Only small and temporary advantages
were gained, and nearly 9,000 dead were
left in front of the British trenches,
against which the finest German infantry
had been marched shoulder to shoulder.
Unquestionably the German commanders
blundered badly here, for in result this
battle amounted to no more than a dem-
onstration, but the price paid was far
too high for such a purpose. The artil-
lery preparation had been entirely inade-
quate, notwithstanding that on all sides
the war had taught the lesson that with-
out most thorough artillery preparation
no frontal attack on a prepared position
can be expected to win.
The Germans seem to have learned this
lesson more slowly than the Allies. Over
and over again they have acted as though
no economy were worth while in the use
of their magnificently trained infantry.
They appear often to overestimate the
effect of a bombardment of a few hours
which has really only begun to pave the
way for a frontal attack.
Fierce Fighting Around Hulluch
On Oct. 13 the British sent a great
cloud of poison gas (white on top, mot-
tled red and green below) over the Ger-
man front between the Hohenzollern re-
doubt and Hulluch. Then when the heavy
guns had pounded the front the infantry
attacked. Southwest of Hulluch Ger-
man trenches on a front of 1,000 yards
were taken, but as the German artiller-
506
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
ists had the range to a foot the positions
could not be held. Between the redoubt
and Cite St. Elie parts of a heavily forti-
fied quarry were captured. At the great
redoubt the main British attacks were
directed, and in the face of a terrific
cross-fire a division of Territorial troops
fought their way into the two great com-
municating trenches known as the Big
Willie and the Little Willie, where for
three days close hand-to-hand fighting
largely with bombs followed. Here Cap-
tain C. G. Vickers (of the Sherwood For-
esters) won the Victoria Cross by most
exceptional bravery. When only two of
his men were left to hand him bombs
he held a barrier for hours and ordered
a new barrier completed behind him to
insure the holding of the trench against
attacks pressing in on three sides. Even
such gallantry and enormous losses suf-
ficed only to win part of the great re-
doubt, which was found to be a marvel
of intricate defensive fortification in the
hands of defenders of the greatest cour-
age and resolution.
On Oct. 19 the Germans repeated their
attacks between the Quarries and Hul-
luch as well as in the Hohenzollern re-
doubt. "Only heavy losses resulted. The
British losses on the western front from
Sept. 25 to Oct. 18 were 59,666, of whom
11,000 were killed, including 773 officers.
In Champagne on Oct. 6 the French
made a great attack upon one of the key
positions, that at the Butte de Tahure,
just north of the ruined village of the
same name. It is noticeable that in
this area the German engineers had most
skillfully located the wire entanglements
and other defenses just under the hill-
crests on the reverse or northern sides,
where the French gunners could get no
direct observations. After a heavy bom-
bardment by massed guns the Picardy
Division captured the top of the Butte,
and so gained the rear of the village,
where the Germans still occupied strong
positions among the rubbish heaps. This
day's success marked the culmination of
French progress in the campaign in
Champagne in the Autumn of 1915.
On the same day the French Moroccan
infantry made a little progress north of
the Navarin Farm, but was checked by
a storm of machine-gun fire. German
counterattacks on Oct. 8 at both Navarin
Farm and Tahure failed, but on the 19th
General von Heeringen made a very
threatening attack further to the west in
the Rheims sector. After shelling and
gassing the French positions for many
hours, four lines of German infantry ad-
vanced, with intervals of 300 yards. Only
the fourth line survived to reach the
French trenches, from which French re-
inforcements expelled them later in the
day. On the 20th renewed attacks fur-
ther west, near the village of Prunay,
were all defeated. At one point in front
of the wire entanglements 1,600 German
dead were counted, all from one regi-
ment.
On Oct. 24 the French captured La
Courtine, a typical German field fort
near Le Mesnil, and held it against nu-
merous counterattacks. On Oct. 30, hav-
ing been strongly reinforced from the
Russian front, the Germans again coun-
terattacked on a front of four miles.
They failed to recapture La Courtine,
but stormed the Butte de Tahure. In
the north, in Artois, d'Urbal's Tenth
Army fought daily on Vimy Ridge, but
no great single actions occurred. The
Medaille Militaire was won by a feat of
extraordinary courage by two Breton sol-
diers, Privates Manduit and Cadoret, who
were blown up in a sap by a counter-
mine; after three days of molelike bur-
rowing they got back to the French lines.
Bulgaria Joins the Germans
While German armies were winning
Western Russia in the Summer of 1915,
and while the allied attacks in France
were going on in the early Autumn, Ger-
man diplomats were secretly scoring a
notable victory in the Balkans. Bul-
garia, the most warlike of the three
small kingdoms — Serbia, Bulgaria, and
Rumania — which separated the Teutons
from Turkey, was won to the side of the
Central Powers, and about Sept. 20 a
treaty was signed between Bulgaria and
Turkey. About the same day Field Mar-
shal von Mackensen, Germany's ablest
soldier, appeared at the head of a new
German army — which included at least
one Austrian corps — opposite Belgrade,
the Serbian capital, on the Danube. The
Bulgarian, Serb, and Greek armies were
General Feng Kue-chang. former Vice President, assumed the office
of President after defeating Chang Hsun and preventing the
restoration of the empire under the Manchu dynasty .
(Photo Bain News Service)
VA.TIRAVUDH, KING OF SIAM
The young monarch, who is 86 years Of aire, hat brought his country
into the war on the side of the Allies. About 19,000 tons of Ger-
man and Austrian shipping in Siamese ports have been seised
( Photo* Vnrlrrwood 4! Underwood)
MMMWIMI
MILITARY OPERATIONS OF THE WAR
507
all mobilized, and the Serbs were
anxious to attack Bulgaria without wait-
ing for a declaration of war. England
persuaded them to wait, still believing
that Bulgaria could be kept neutral, if
not won to the allied side. This cost
Serbia whatever advantage might have
been gained by the initiative. On Oct.
4 diplomatic relations with Russia were
severed in consequence of an ultimatum
which demanded that Bulgaria should
definitely break with the Central Pow-
ers. The next day every village in Bul-
garia was circularized with a Govern-
ment pamphlet stating the case against
the Allies as follows: Russia was in
the war to get Constantinople and the
Dardanelles; France for Alsace-Lorraine;
England to ruin Germany; Italy, Serbia,
and Montenegro for plunder. Also the
Allies had offered too little for Bulga-
rian help on their side. Inferentially the
German price was much higher.
Early in October, disregarding a Greek
protest, French and British divisions
were landed at Saloniki for the purpose
of helping Serbia to resist the threat-
ened invasion and to prevent any pos-
sible lapse of the Greeks toward the
Teuton side. On Oct. 7 von Mackensen
forced the river frontiers of Northern
Serbia, and on the 9th captured Bel-
grade. Two Bulgarian armies were on
the eastern frontier, and Turkish troops
were moving up from the southeast. On
Oct. 11 Bulgaria declared war on Serbia,
and four days later England declared
war on Bulgaria.
Barrage Fire in Modern Warfare
A barrage fire, such as that used by the British with wonderful precision
and effectiveness in the recent offensive in Flanders, is one of the most remark-
able developments of the great war. Dictionaries of a few years ago say a bar-
rage is a dam or barrier, and that is just what it is in battle tactics. In general
terms, barrage fire is the systematic advance, in front of charging infantry, of a
curtain of exploding shells fired from guns to the rear of the line. Although
modifications of the system were used even by Napoleon, it never has been
possible to develop it to scientific exactness until the present conflict.
Barrage fire does not start until the so-called artillery preparation is com-
plete. In the preparation guns of practically every size take part. For the bar-
rage a certain uniformity of calibre is essential. A series of batteries, say of
eight-inch howitzers, is arranged upon a more or less straight line, usually
close behind the division or army corps that is to go forward. The gunners never
see their targets, their fire being directed entirely by telephone, telegraph, o?
airplane.
At the time designated for the charge these guns are elevated. They must
drop a steady line of shells just far enough ahead of the charging troops to pre-
vent any effective counterthrust on the part of the enemy. Usually the shells
fall only a few hundred feet ahead of the charging line. When this is the case
the fire is known as " creeping barrage." Constant correction of the range is
necessary, as shells too close may endanger their own men and too far away
may allow play for the machine guns, which creep out of their dugouts at short
notice, wreak havoc, and then crawl back underground before field artillery can
be brought to play upon them. Only precision of observation, perfect ammuni-
tion supply, and absolute sympathy between the movements of the attacking
line and the heavy guns can render the creeping barrage effective. But when
these are attained it is the dominating and irresistible feature of a modern battle.
Berlin After Three Years of War
Observations of a University Professor
[This article was written in June, 1917, for The London Times by F. Sefton Delmer, for
thirteen years English Lecturer at Beilin University. The introductory portion appeared In
the August issue of Current History Magazine, Pages 324-327.]
THE traffic in the London streets,
too, is a surprise to me. I find
them pulsing with life compared
with corresponding thoroughfares
in Berlin. The Leipziger and Friedrich
Strassen are still, it is true, fairly ani-
mated, but in the rest of the city a baby
could wander about at no great risk to
life and limb. Private carriages and
motor cars have long since disappeared
from the streets, and the riding tracks
through the alleys of the Tiergarten are
untrodden. Here there seems to be no
lack either of taxicabs or chauffeurs.
In Berlin it is practically impossible to
get such a vehicle. I have known men
leave their comfortable flats in the Tier-
garten quarter to live in hotels in the city
in order to be close to their work, as an
auto or droshky is never to be had. The
fine military cars one Occasionally sees in
Berlin are said to have been part of the
cargo of the captured Yarrowdale. Ber-
lin is, too, almost without horses. All
available horses were called in long ago
for military and, where they can be
spared, for agricultural purposes. The
horses now seen in public vehicles, drosh-
kies, omnibuses, &c, excite one's pity.
They are mere bags of bone, and I have
seen them greedily eat potato peelings
from the hand of some kind-hearted child
or woman in the streets. One hears, too,
of special horse diseases brought about
by lack of proper fodder.
This lack of horses leads to all sorts of
difficulties of transport and makes itself
felt in a thousand ways.
Landlords provide tenants each week
with ration tickets.
The method of distribution of these
tickets is very simple. The landlord or
the caretaker (Portierfrau) of each house
makes out on a printed form provided
for the purpose a list of the families in
the various flats, stating the number of
persons in each. This list is handed in
to the Brotkommission — District Bread
Ticket Distribution Committee — which
has its office in a classroom of one of
the big municipal schools. There are
many such officers spread over Greater
Berlin, so that no one has to go far to
reach one. This committee then gives the
exact number of tickets required to the
Portierfrau, who distributes them to the
various families in the house and gets
a printed receipt for them. One gets
quite a sheaf of such tickets, of all colors
and sizes, handed in at the door once a
month.
For each of the following commodities
there is a separate card: Bread, (SV2
pounds a week;) meat, (1 pound a
week;) butter, (1% ounces,) and marga-
rine, (1 ounce a week;) eggs, (during the
Winter one a fortnight, now three a fort-
night;) potatoes, (5 pounds a week;)
sugar, (% pound a fortnight;) milk,
varies according to age, but is only al-
lowed to children up to the age of six
years and to invalids in* cases where a
committee of doctors decides that it is
absolutely necessary.
There is an extra ticket called, the
Lebensmittelkarte, which enables the
holder to buy certain quantities of oat-
meal, barley, semolina, jam, canned vege-
tables, herrings, soup tablets, - &c.
Readers must not suppose, however, that
all these good things on the grocery
ticket are handed out at once. Each
week a proclamation is posted up on the
advertisement pillars at the street cor-
ners making known that, say, SV2 ounces
or sometimes even 7 ounces of barley,
or 7 ounces of oatmeal, or Zxk
ounces of semolina, or, perhaps, if it
is a good week, 7 ounces of barley and
3^ ounces of semolina will be distributed
as his weekly portion to each person ap-
plying in time. Every week brings one
at least of these extras with it, and on
rare occasions — three times during the
BERLIN AFTER THREE YEARS OF WAR
509
whole Winter — there was 1 pound of
so-called jam allotted to each person.
The chief ingredients of this jam were
mangolds and beetroot, sweetened with
saccharin. It was not altogether a tasty-
concoction, and the German soldiers at
the front, who get practically nothing
but this eternal " marmelade," as ■ the
Germans call jam, to put on their bread,
are said to make it the butt of the dog-
gerel in which they are so fond of indulg-
ing. Of canned vegetables there was
only one distribution during the past
Winter — it was in March, and they gave
us 2 pounds each. The number of her-
rings distributed during the last six
months was one to each person on three
separate occasions, nnd they cost about
6 pence each. Fresh vegetables — when
they are to be had — can be bought with-
out cards. Brussels sprouts and spinach
were obtainable during part of the Win-
ter, but cost as much as 3 shillings a
pound.
We could sometimes get a head of
coarse white cabbage from some hiding
place under the counter in the green-
grocer's shop; such a cabbage cost 2
shillings. Horse carrots were greatly in
demand at 8 pence a pound. Mangold-
wurzels, obtainable on the potato
card, cost only % penny a pound.
For my part, I never want to see
another mangold-wurzel as long as I
live, much less to have to make my din-
•ner off one, as my family and I not seldom
had to do. In spite of the unappetizing
quality of this " vegetable," I have seen
long queues of people standing for an
hour at a time at the Wittenburg Platz
market when a lorry happened to draw
up laden with these roots, often in a half-
frozen state. No one knew beforehand
when or at what shops wares were ex-
pected to arrive, so it was a matter of
luck if you happened to get to the right
shop at the right time, and it was amus-
ing to notice the interest with which peo-
ple peered into one another's baskets in
the streets in order to get hints as to
where there was something to be had.
In the days when potatoes were so rare,
about Christmas time, trailing groups of
people armed with potato nets could be
seen running as fast as their legs would
carry them from one shop to another.
After they had been standing, perhaps,
for an hour at one place, the ominous
placard with " Kartof f eln ausverkauf t "
(" Potatoes sold out ") would appear in
the shop window. The door would be
locked, and off the whole band would
scour to the next shop that rumor credit-
ed with potatoes. At the present time,
however, these queues have in most cases
been rendered superfluous by the intro-
duction of customers' lists. One can, for
, instance, only obtain meat at that par-
ticular butcher's shop where one has had
one's ticket stamped and one's ticket
x number registered. The meat tickets are,
of course, good for the same amount of
meat at a restaurant, too. There is in
Berlin no such possibility as there is in
London, where a greedy and unpatriotic
individual, having consumed his one-and-
threepence worth of luncheon at one res-
taurant, may go next door and have an-
other one-and-threepence worth.
The prices of the rationed articles have
been fixed fairly low. The loaf of rye
bread for the week costs, for instance, 7%
pence; the wheaten loaf, 8 pence; butter
is a little over 3 shillings a pound; mar-
garine, 2 shillings a pound; sugar costs
4^ pence a pound; eggs are now 4 pence
each. The price of meat — and such
meat! — varies according to the cut from
2 shillings to 2 shillings 9 pence a pound.
Ham, bacon, and sausage of the better
kinds are no longer to be seen in any of
the shops, but occasionally an enterpris-
ing tradesman will manage to get a small
quantity of bacon or butter through from
Holland or Poland, and he sells it secret-
ly, independently of the ration tickets. He
gets as much as 12 shillings a pound for
the bacon and 8 shillings a pound for
butter. Swiss cheese is the only cheese
that has been seen in the Berlin shops
since September last.
The Public Kitchens
Several of the big market halls that
had been put out of action by the war
have been refitted by the municipalities
to serve as soup kitchens; it has involved
an expenditure of something like 2,000,-
000 marks, (£100,000 at pre-war rates,)
if I can trust my memory. In these im-
mense central kitchens the food is cooked
510
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
in huge boilers, made for the purpose,
the vegetables being washed and peeled
by machinery. From here lorries bring
the thousands of gallons of suppe (hot-
pot) in airtight caldrons to the dis-
tributing centres. These centres are gen-
erally located in the gymnastic halls
(turnhallen) of the big Government
schools.
The heavy work of transport is done
for the most part by convicts serving
sentences of hard labor, the driver alone
being a Government official. The soup
is then dealt out by women who volun-
teer for the work. A characteristic
labor-saving detail is that the ladles
these women use are especially made to
contain one litre, (almost a quart,) this
being the maximum portion allowed to
each person.
The public kitchens are run by the
various Town Councils of Greater Berlin,
which have the best opportunities of ob-
taining the necessary raw materials
from the supplies already requisitioned
by the State with the minimum of inter-
vention by the profiteering middleman.
During the Winter there were times
when my family and I found it prac-
tically impossible to get along without
having recourse to the public kitchens —
I mean at periods when there were abso-
lutely no fish, no eggs, no potatoes, and
no vegetables to be had, and only half
a pound of meat per person per week.
The middle and professional classes
rather hung back at first, and it was
amusing to see how people we knew fol-
lowed suit once they found us " proud
English " unblushingly lining up with
our enamel pot in a tea basket.
Mangold-Wurzel Mixture
The one-course bill of fare of the mid-
day meal is chalked up in its daily vari-
ations on a blackboard in a prominent
place at the entrance to the kitchen. The
meal provided consists of a kind of thick
soup that we should call hot-pot. This
hot-pot would one day contain nudeln, a
German variation of macaroni. It would
have been very good if it had not gen-
erally been musty; it was always wel-
comed with delight on account of its fill-
ing properties. Next day there would
be mangold-wurzels, cut into small cubes
and boiled in water thickened with barley
or oatmeal. This dish was generally
greeted with satirical remarks.
Another day there would be stockfish,
the most unappetizing dried salt fish
Imaginable, boiled to shreds and thick-
ened with potatoes. I have often seen
this fish in the back streets of Genoa,
but never thought that I should eat it.
It excited no enthusiasm among the
hungry Berliners. But when on another
day sauerkraut (shredded cabbage that
has been allowed to ferment in brine)
appeared on the notice board their faces
were wreathed in smiles. On Sundays
there is generally tv/o inches of sausage
in addition to the quart of hot-pot al-
lowed to each person. On New Year's
Day, 1917, we were even treated to rice
and prunes.
During the time of strike unrest the
menu grew perceptibly better, and pea
soup once more appeared, but soon after-
ward mangold-wurzels (woe to me!)
came into their own again. We paid
f ivepence a quart, which was a fair aver-
age price. This hot-pot was sometimes
fairly good, and it was always infinitely
better than the food provided at Ruhle-
ben while I was there ; but, as a rule^ had
we not been really hungry, we could not
have eaten it at all.
No food can be got from such kitchens
unless a person has registered as a cus-
tomer at latest by the Thursday for the
coming week, and he must register for
a whole week at a time. This involves the
sacrifice of three pounds out of the five
pounds of his potato ticket for the week
and seven-tenths of his meat ticket, (the
whole ticket throughout the Winter being
only for one-half pound.) Through
this method of registration the purveyors
are enabled to estimate almost to a ladle-
ful the amount of food required at each
centre.
Middle-class families always sent a
servant girl to fetch the food and con-
sumed it at home, as did the poorer peo-
ple also for the most part, but young peo-
ple in situations who preferred to eat
their dinners at the public kitchen could
do so at tables provided for that purpose.
The table appointments were of the
plainest, but clean.
BERLIN AFTER THREE YEARS OF WAR *
511
Were the people satisfied with this ar-
rangement? There is no doubt that it
would have been a great deal more popu-
lar had the people not been obliged to
give up such a large proportion of their
meat and potato tickets. They were,
on the whole, very chary of criticism,
being apparently afraid to find fault too
openly with food provided by such an
official body as the Berliner Magistrat,
which corresponds to the London County
Council.
To keep these public kitchens up to
even a moderate standard of efficiency
the municipalities have had to encroach
upon the food supplies reserved for the
army. The military commissariat has
even been forced by the stern protests of
the municipalities — who feared that the
patience of the people at home was being
tried to the breaking point — to give up
quantities, not large it is true, of rice,
peas, and beans that had been long since
requisitioned for the officers and soldiers.
The officers are said to have particularly
good fare, and they certainly always
look well fed. If any one is starving the
women and children of Germany it is the
. German Army.
Oils of all sorts are practically unob-
tainable. I heard of a Berlin lady only
a few weeks ago who gave 200 marks
(£10) for ten pounds of ordinary salad
oil, and thought herself lucky to get it.
Paraffin may not be sold in the shops
between April 1 and Sept. 30. Methy-
lated spirits can be obtained only by
people in special trades who have a per-
mit. Ammonia, boracic acid, vaseline,
and glycerine have disappeared from the
shops, and one has almost forgotten that
such a thing as benzine ever existed.
Turpentine came to an end long ago.
How the painters still contrive to paint
the houses is beyond me, but somehow
they manage it.
Misleading Tone of Reports
Every afternoon, day after day, I
went across the street to the police sta-
tion, where on a notice board was hung
out the day's military report from head-
quarters. It was posted up punctually
at 3:30 every day. Month after month
I watched the reports to see the progress
our men were making, and I had to
learn to read between the lines and to
force myself to disbelieve, not the de-
tails of the report, but its misleading
tone. Little groups of passersby would
gather around the notice board and after
a while again dissolve. The impression,
I could tell, left on their minds was a
negative but hopeful one — Germany at
bay and her foes uselessly battering
themselves to pieces in hopeless on-
slaughts.
All their hopes of going forward into
France have long since vanished. " This
time we intend to destruct France," a
German officer said to his English wife
in my hearing at the beginning of the
war. The word still rings in my ears.
"We intend to destruct France!" And
now! So modest have these Germans
grown that merely to hold out against
attacks is greeted as victory. In silence
they read the report and in silence they
turn and walk away.
Now and again an individual will point
to some telling sentence tucked away in
the middle of the report — a village, a
trench left to the enemy because it was
no longer of any value — and his face
will betray an almost imperceptible note
of distrust, but he will say nothing. The
womenfolk in the queues are more out-
spoken, and one used often to hear them
say, " Wir siegen fortwahrend, doch
kommen wir immer weiter zuriick " —
" We have nothing but victories, and
yet we always get further back."
lllilllllllllllllllllllllll!
pfKf ill Hi
Life in Denmark's Lost Province
By Gudrun Randrup Toksvig
[Translated from the Danish for Curren* History Magazine by the author]
SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN, the Danish
province captured by Germany
and Austria in the war with Den-
mark in 1870, is the Alsace-
Lorraine of Denmark. Sonderjylland
or South Jutland is the Danish name
for this province. Officially, there is
no South Jutland, of course. A story is
told of a Danish girl who, from habit,
addressed a letter going to the province
of Schleswig-Holstein as going to South
Jutland. Her letter was returned to
her with the following inscription:
" Sonderjylland unbekannt in Deutsch-
land." (South Jutland unknown in Ger-
many.)
The people are still pathetically loyal
to Denmark in spite of Germany's ef-
forts to Germanize the province by for-
bidding the teaching of the Danish lan-
guage in the schools, and frowning upon
the official use of that tongue in gen-
eral. Nevertheless, Danish is secretly
taught to the children in the homes.
There is hardly a South Jutland youth
who cannot speak his old mother tongue.
South Jutland Danes may be said to be
more Danish than the Danes themselves.
It must be said that this only holds true
in North Schleswig-Holstein, since the
southern part of the province is com-
pletely Germanized, and, in fact, this
section has never been Danish in custom
or language.
The lost province is so dear to the
Danish people that news from there is
published as an inseparable part of the
newspapers in Denmark. The death and
casualty lists of South Jutlanders
pressed into German military service are
faithfully published even in Danish-
American papers. Den Danske Pioneer
is one of the leading Danish newspapers
published in the United States. The
Pioneer has a special department en-
titled, " Fra hinsides Graensen,"
(across the border there,) which is de-
voted to news from the former Danish
province of Schleswig-Holstein. It is from
this department that the following items
and stories have been selected and trans-
lated:
An Officer's Daring Escape
A Russian officer recently fled across
the border into Denmark at a point
south of Vamdrup, (a small Danish town
very near the German frontier.) His
escape from a German military prison
camp sounds very Baron Munchhauseny.
He had been taken prisoner by the Ger-
mans in one of the big battles on the
eastern front. After some time he was
put to work as a sort of postmaster in
a camp of Russian war prisoners in East
Prussia. His excellent knowledge of
German and Russian made him valuable
in this capacity. One fine day the Lieu-
tenant got hold of a German passport.
Luck was with the stout-hearted, for the
" postmaster " saw his chance to steal
a German uniform. Thus equipped, he
went by train through East Prussia and
clear through Germany until he reached
one of the nearest border stations, where
he got out of the train. Under cover of
the friendly night he crossed the border
safely. The next morning he reached
the Danish city of Kolding, (a city of
14,000 inhabitants about nine miles
from the frontier.) He went up to the
City Hall and reported the details of his
escape with the request to be sent back
to Russia.
New German Delicacies
A South Jutland newspaper mentions
two new German war dishes said to be
rare delicacies: boiled nettle leaves and
tea brewed from cowslip blossoms.
Burial Shrouds of Paper
The Kieler Zeitung says : " The custom
" of burying the dead in their valuable
"clothes is the means of great loss of
" much good cloth. The loss of such
" cloth is now irreparable because of the
" war. For the public good, before which
" the individual must bow, it is necessary
LIFE IN DENMARK'S LOST PROVINCE
513
" to break this old custom. It should be
" taken under consideration that the dead
" should be clothed in burial shrouds
" made of paper, and should be covered
" with a sheet of similar material. Pil-
" lowslips could likewise be made of
" paper. In view of existing conditions,
" it seems unsuitable to clothe the dead
" with shoes and stockings."
Fines for Thistles
The population in the district of Haders-
leben (about ten miles from the border)
have been ordered to destroy thistles in
the pastures, by the roadsides, in the
garden, in the woods, and in the culti-
vated fields, either by cutting them or
knocking them down. Neglect of this
order will bring on a maximum fine of
150 marks, or about $35.
Fate of Historic Bells
The German military authorities in
South Jutland have seized a goodly
number of the country's old church bells.
The metal is to be used for military pur-
poses. These church bells often have pe-
culiar old .inscriptions. For this reason
Nis Nissen, a member of the Landsthing
or Danish Upper House, appeals to the
readers of a South Jutland newspaper to
copy accurately the words and numerals
engraved on the venerable bells, so that
at least something may be preserved of
these historic relics.
Nis Nissen mentions among others the
oldest bell in Norburg, a city on the island
of Alsen, thirty-five miles north of Kiel.
It hangs in Tundtoft Church and bears
the following-Latin inscription, translated
into Danish : " When Christian the
" Fourth was King, Statholder, (Imperial
" Chancellor,) Jacob Ulfeld church di-
" rector, Johannes Mikkelsen church pa-
" tron, Pastor Johannes Monrad dean,
" and M. Johannes Monrad rector in
" Tundtoft, in the year of our Lord 1620,
" Melchior Lucas made (cast) me."
The youngest and also the largest bell
in Norburg, now become a sacrifice to the
war, has the following Danish inscription
at the top: " Johan David Kriesche cast
"this bell." On one side: "Cast at
" Eckernforde (about fifteen miles north
"of Kiel) Anno Domini 1777, when
" Counselor of Justice Johan Christian
" Anders was church inspector and Hol-
" ger Fangel rector." On the opposite
side : " Psalms, 95, 6 : ' 0, come, let us
" worship and bow down : Let us kneel
" before the Lord, our Maker.' "
A foreign firm has made an offer to the
board of church directors to take the big
bell down intact for the sum of 100
marks, or about $23. This offer has not
been accepted by the German authorities.
The bell will be broken to pieces in the
tower and brought down in small sec-
tions.
It is with a sorrowful heart that every
Dane must see this sacrifice laid on the
altar of war. The venerable bells of
South Jutland that have rung in so many
centuries are not only historical antiqui-
ties, they are witnesses also — stones that
speak.
Prayers for German Harvest
The official organ of the Kiel Consis-
tory says:
" Since harvest prayer services have
" been held in all churches throughout
" the land for the past two years of the
" war at the instigation of Die Deutsche
" Evangelische Kirche Ausschuss, (the
" German Evangelical Church Commit-
" tee,) this year we also appeal to the
" honored clergy to call upon God's bless-
" ing for a bountiful harvest in these
" hard times of war. The experiences of
" the last years of the war have con-
" stantly brought home to us what sig-
" nificance a good harvest has for a suc-
" cessf ul and victorious termination of
" the war. We therefore ordain that our
" national church shall touch upon the
" great national importance which this
" year's harvest will have for our people.
" At the same time, we request the min-
" isters. to pray for a rich harvest in the
" church prayer every Sunday until har-
" vest time."
$640,000,000 for American
Aviation Corps
PRESIDENT WILSON on July 24
signed the war aircraft bill ap-
propriating $640,000,000, a sum
greatly in excess of the com-
bined army and naval expenditures of
previous years and larger than any sum
for a single project ever voted by any
Congress. With these funds it is hoped
that the United States will be able to
fill the air along the western front in
Europe with thousands of aviators and
military airplanes. The aviation corps
is ultimately to consist of about 100,000
men with about 22,000 airplanes.
As soon as the bill was signed Howard
Coffin, Chairman of the Aircraft Pro-
duction Board, stated that the board was
prepared to go ahead at once, but re-
sults should not be expected too soon.
He added:
Under ordinary conditions at least a year
would be required for the industrial prepara-
tion which this program demands. Yet we
have no such length of time in which to
perform the task now.
In every other country there is a shortage
of materials for aircraft construction. In
every other country there is a shortage of
the type of men required for the air service.
In spite of our previous inexperience in
quantity production of fighting planes, we
must have thousands of them for next year's
use to make the contribution which the Allies
expect of us.
The design and construction of jigs, tools,
and gauges will require weeks, and even
months, no matter how rapidly we work. It
must be remembered, therefore, that a few
months will necessarily elapse before the
outward results of our industrial effort will
show in the shape of quantities of finished
fighting machines.
Most gratifying progress on the preliminary
organization has been made during the
last few weeks. If it progresses in the
future at the stride that has been developed
there need be no fear as to America's
position in the aircraft field by next Summer.
The difficulties which apply to the pro-
duction of high-powered machines for fight-
ing and bombing purposes fortunately do not
apply with equal force to the training pro-
gram. Within a comparatively short time we
shall have enough of the type required for
training the thousands of men who will con-
stitute a contribution to the winning of the
war equal in importance to the production
of machines.
America is the last great reservoir of ma-
terial for war pilots as well as for airplanes.
Already three of the twenty-four big new
training fields are completed and instruc-
tion on them has begun. Others are being
rushed to completion. Orders for training
machines were placed weeks ago, and ship-
ments of the first output already have been
made. The output of this most necessary
type will continue to increase rapidly, as we
already have plants experienced in their
manufacture.
In consiflering the size of the appropriation
it must be borne in mind that less than half
this amount is to be expended in the purchase
of airplanes alone. Personnel, training,
equipment, overseas maintenance, spare parts,
flying stations, armament, and scientific
apparatus, all are to be provided for, and
are equally as important as the manu-
facture of the machines. One hundred and
ten thousand officers and enlisted men— an
army of the air greater than our standing
army of a few months ago— will be needed.
Some idea of the magnitude of the task
before the Aircraft Production Board
may be gathered from the statement on
British progress in manufacturing war-
planes made on July 12 by Dr. Christo-
pher Addison, who was then Minister of
Munitions and who has since been ap-
pointed Minister in charge of recon-
struction. Since January, 1917, when the
Munitions Ministry became— responsible
to the British Flying Services for supply,
the program had been steadily and
largely increased; and it was still ex-
panding. Dr. Addison added:
No fewer than 1,000 factories are engaged
on some process or other connected with the
construction and equipment of the flying
machine. If for the purposes of comparison
you put the number of airplanes produced in
May, 1916, at 100, then in May of this year
the number rose to rather more than 300.
Even this rate of increase is being accel-
erated. The output in December will be
twice what it was in April, and the December
total will be far surpassed in succeeding
months. The number of airplane engines
turned out monthly has been more than
doubled this year already and this total will
be doubled again before the close of the year.
$6^0,000,000 FOR AMERICAN AVIATION CORPS
515
What these figures involve in organization
will perhaps be appreciated when it is stated
that a single cylinder of the rotary engine
involves forty-eight different operations in
its manufacture. As for spare parts, an enor-
mous number has to be manufactured, as,
owing to the fragility of the machine, its
parts require frequent renewal and " spares "
must be ready to hand whenever and wher-
ever wanted.
A growing number of workers is employed
in the airplane factories, the increase in the
last five months being 25 per cent, on the
previous total. Along with this the replace-
ment of skilled workers by women has
gone on, the dilution having risen from
19 per cent, to 37 per cent. To meet the
demand for labor special schools have been
started all over the country, where a training
of about two months qualifies a pupil to
carry out some simple process in airplane
manufacture. About 100 qualified workers
are supplied each week under this system.
Yet the demand is not satisfied. More and
more women are wanted, both in London
and in the provinces ; and women of good
education and good physique can render the
nation no better service at the present time
than by undergoing the training which is of-
fered in these schools.
The Ministry of Munitions has had special
difficulties to overcome to reach the present
degree of output and efficiency. The tech-
nical development of the airplane has pre-
sented peculiar problems. New types are
continually being evolved. Those responsible
for the manufacture of our flying machines
have always had to allow for a new invention
coming along and revolutionizing all their
projects. Speed, climbing power, armament,
have continually increased and improved since
the outbreak of the war. An engine that can
develop up to 350 horse power, for example,
and a single-seater scout able to travel at
150 miles per hour are built on very dif-
ferent lines from their prototypes of August,
1914. Where there is no finality there is a
limit to standardization, except in small
details, and the problem of supervising the
manufacture of our airplanes is correspond-
ingly complicated.
The variety of materials used in airplane
construction, again, has been a great source
of anxiety to the Ministry. Linen, timber,
chemicals for tightening the fabric of wings,
alloy steel, light alloys, thin tubes are among
the. essential requirements of the industry.
Even if these were wanted in normal
quantities, there would be difficulty in get-
ting enough in view of other necessities.
But the needs of the airplane program are
enormous, almost passing belief.
For our present program of construction
more spruce is wanted than the present
annual output of the United States, more
mahogany than Honduras can supply— and
Honduras is accustomed to supply the re-
quirements of the world. Besides this, all
the linen of the type required made in
Ireland, the home of the linen industry, and
the whole of the alloyed steel that England
can produce can be used. As for flax, to
meet the needs of the air service the Govern-
ment has actually to provide the seed from-
which to grow the plant essential for its
purposes. Still, despite the magnitude of the
demands, all the needs of airplane manu-
facture will be met. The program before
the Ministry of Munitions is that of a
maximum production.
In Germany the Zeppelin has been
practically discarded and all energies are
being directed to an enormously in-
creased production of airplanes, with the
object of taking up the Allies' challenge
for the supremacy of the air.
Some Historic Airplane Raids
Recent Attacks on London and Paris, and the
Advent of Giant Machines in Aerial Warfare
A IR raids on a large scale were
f\ made in July and August by Ger-
1 \ man, British, French, and Italian
aviators. Harwich, a seaport
town on the east coast of England, was
visited on July 4, 1917, by twelve or more
German air raiders who dropped bombs,
killing eleven persons and injuring thirty-
six others. It was a misty morning, and
the machines could be distinguished only
at intervals when they appeared from
behind cloud banks. Bombs were dropped
in rapid succession. British airmen
intercepted the Germans and broke up
their formation, causing them to return
toward the sea. Their retreat was
marked by a series of duels with British
aviators. Two of the enemy machines
were brought down ablaze and a third
was damaged.
Greatest Raid on London
The greatest air raid on London up
to the present writing was made by
twenty-two German airplanes on the
morning of July 7, 1917. The total num-
ber of persons killed in the metropolitan
area and the Isle of Thanet was 43;
injured, 197. The raiding machines
were of the new Gotha type, which is
about three times the size of the single-
seated machine. Three of the airplanes
which took part in the attack were
brought down at sea on the return trip.
British airmen at Dunkirk prepared to
intercept them, but they took a more
northerly route. The Dunkirk fliers, in
the course of their patrol, brought down
seven machines of another German
squadron.
The battle in the air was an engross-
ing spectacle. Despite official appeals
to the population to take cover in case
of another raid, millions saw some part
of it and hundreds of thousands watched
it in all its phases. The raiders were
plainly visible during most of the time.
Their arrival was favored by a thick
Summer haze, which assisted them in
their manoeuvres over the metropolis.
Their plan of action had evidently been
worked out to the smallest details and
their formation was maintained through-
out. They crossed London from north-
west to southeast. Shrapnel was burst-
ing all around them, but they flew, as one
spectator put it, like a school of crows
following a leader. The simile was inac-
curate in respect to color, for the raiders
were shimmering white in the sun. A
little later their course might have been
compared to the flight of swallows, for
anti-aircraft guns seemed to get their
range as the northern districts of the
capital were reached. The machines
dived and swerved just as swallows do.
At times one or another machine would
drop, and many spectators, unversed in
the tricks of flying, jumped to the con-
clusion that one or more planes had been
brought down. Experienced airmen
understood these " falls " to be what has
now, with the advance in flying, become
a common device to change the altitude
when one position becomes too hot.
London again showed a spirit of phleg-
matic endurance. Curiosity to see what
was going on was much less general than
it had been on the occasion of the June
13 raid. While the earlier phases of
the raid attracted crowds to roofs and
windows, and even into the streets, a
marked disposition to take to cover made
itself evident as the firing continued.
When the raid reached its height certain
usually crowded streets were left empty.
The fact that a larger proportion of
people took cover than was the case in
June was held to explain the smaller
casualty list.
Details of Damage Done
Subsequent uncensored reports stated
that bombs were dropped in Whitechapel
and killed a number of persons. A bomb
was dropped in Aldgate near where hay
wagons were standing, but it did not
explode. From Aldgate the raiders flew
SOME HISTORIC AIRPLANE RAIDS
517
over Fenchurch Street and Mincing Lane,
where the tea, coffee, indigo, and spice
merchants have their offices. Several
persons were injured by bombs there.
By this time British aircraft were coming
from all directions to repel the invaders,
and the anti-aircraft guns on the tall
buildings near the Bank of England were
also in action. Apparently the raiders
were trying to hit the bank, as they had
attempted on previous raids, but did not
succeed. One of the bombs struck the
Swiss Bank, which was full of. men and
boys, and several were injured.
Five or six of the bombs that fell in
Cheapside as the German machines con-
tinued their flight toward St. Paul's did
not explode. One struck the General Post
Office and set part of the building on
fire. Another bomb fell into St. Paul's
churchyard and destroyed the iron rail-
ings on the north side and broke several
of the stone monuments. One was
dropped on the west side of the cathe-
dral in front of the main entrance, but
did not explode. From there the air
raiders flew down Ludgate Hill and over
Fleet Street, and then made a swing to
the northwest as far as Oxford Circus,
where more bombs were dropped, with-
out doing much harm. Then they changed
their course and turned back to the south-
east over St. Giles-in-the-Fields, down to
Marconi House, in the Strand, and over
Somerset House and the River Thames
toward the Kentish coast, flying at great
speed and followed by squadrons of
British aircraft.
A Defender's Heroic Charge
One of the heroic episodes of the raid
was the charge by Second Lieutenant
I. E. R. Young, an officer of the Royal
Flying Corps. His feat is described in
a letter from his Major to his father:
Your son, as you know, had only been
in my squadron for a short time, but
quite long enough for me to realize what
a very efficient and gallant officer he
was. He had absolutely the heart of a
lion and was a very good pilot. Your son
had been up on every raid of late, and
had always managed to get in contact
with the enemy machines. The last raid,
which unfortunately resulted in his death,
shows what a very gallant officer we
have lost.
Almost single-handed he flew straight
into the middle of the twenty-two
machines, and both himself and his ob-
server at once opened fire. All the enemy
machines opened fire also, so he was hor-
ribly outnumbered. The volume of fire to
which he was subjected was too awful for
words. To give you a rough idea: There
were twenty-two machines, each machine
had four guns, and each gun was firing
about 400 rounds per minute. Your son
never hesitated in the slightest. He flew
straight on until, as I should imagine, he
must have been riddled with bullets. The
machine then put its nose right up in the
air and fell over, and went spinning down
into the sea from 14,000 feet.
I, unfortunately, had to witness the
whole ghastly affair. The machine sank
so quickly that it was, I regret, im-
possible to save your son's body, he was
so oadly entangled in the wires, &c.
H. M. S. rushed to the spot as soon
as possible, but only arrived in time to
pick up your son's observer, who, I regret
to state, is also dead. He was wounded
six times, and had a double fracture in
the skull.
The same afternoon Premier Lloyd
George called a special meeting of mili-
tary and aerial defense experts at Down-
ing Street in connection with the raid.
A group of Members of Parliament in-
terested in air questions also held a
meeting and decided to press the Gov-
ernment for a definite statement of
policy in the matter of reprisals on
German towns. Lord Derby, Minister of
War, had on June 26, in the House of
Lords, stated that the Government had
no intention of imitating German bru-
tality, but would confine aerial opera-
tions to exclusively military purposes.
But the new raid immediately evoked a
fresh demand for reprisals on German
towns.
Another daylight raid over England
was made on the morning of July 22.
This time the east coast was visited by
about twenty German airplanes, which
dropped bombs on Felixstowe and Har-
wich, killing eleven persons and injuring
twenty-six. The property loss was in-
significant. An alarm was sounded in
London, but before the Germans could
reach any point near the. city they were
attacked heavily by defending squadrons
of aircraft, which caused them to re-
treat. "A patrol of the Royal Flying
Corps," said an official statement, " en-
countered some hostile machines return-
51S
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
ing to Belgium and brought down one
at sea near the coast."
Since the outbreak of the war 366 per-
sons had been killed and 1,092 injured by
air raids in the London metropolitan
area, according to a statement made by
Sir George Cave, the Home Secretary, in
the House of Commons on July 30. In
the same period, he added, 2,412 persons
had been killed and 7,863 injured in ordi-
nary street accidents in the same area.
Tv> o Raids on Paris
Paris was attacked by German airmen
on the two successive evenings of July
27 and 28. These were the first raids on
the French capital since January, 1916.
A few minutes before 11 P. M. watchers
of the French Aviation Service in Paris
heard the noise of a motor and then an
explosion, followed after a brief interval
by another. The Prefecture of Police
was accordingly instructed to give the
alarm throughout the city. Soon after the
warning the sky over the city was alive
with defense airplanes, twinkling like
stars, fr>om which they hardly could be
distinguished. Firemen dashed through
the streets sounding alarms on powerful
sirens, and one by one the street lamps
flickered out. Bombs were dropped on
three different suburban sections. In the
first the bombardment caused no dam-
age; in the other two localities five or
six bombs were dropped, causing the
slight injury of two women. One of the
women was struck while in bed and was
removed to a hospital; the other was
injured by flying glass. At 1:10 A. M.
the firemen gave the signal that all
danger was over.
The second attack proved wholly futile,
the German airmen being dispersed by
French sky fighters before they even
reached the outskirts of the capital.
Somewhere on the front, however, one
German flier dropped four bombs on a
Red Cross hospital, killing two doctors, a
chemist,. and a male nurse and injuring
several others, including patients. The
raider was flying low and the distinguish-
ing marks of the hospital were plainly
apparent.
French Raid in Reprisal
In retaliation for German attacks on
open French towns eighty-four French
airplanes made a series of raids far into
Germany on the evening of July 6. The
text of the official statement read:
On the night of July 6 eighty-four ma-
chines took to the air in reprisal for bom-
bardments against our open towns. Several
of these raids had as their objectives
towns situated very far in the interior of
the enemy territory.
Eleven of our airplanes flew over
Treves, on which they showered 2,050
kilos of shells. Seven fires broke out, one
of great violence in the central station.
Six other machines bambarded Ludwigs-
hafen doing considerable damage. Among
other buildings, the important Badische
aniline factory was devoured by flames.
Another of our airplanes, piloted by
Sergeant Gallois, pushed as far. as Essen
and dropped projectiles on the buildings
of the Krupp factory.
Military installations in the environs of
Coblenz, the Hirson station, the railroad
west of Pfalzburg, and the Thionville sta-
tion were likewise bombarded.
Another series of operations over the
enemy lines gave excellent results. A fire
broke out in the station at Dun-sur-Meuse,
a munitions depot exploded at Banthe-
ville, the railroad station at Machault,
and establishments at Cauroy were
burned.
In all 30,455 kilos (about 07,000 pounds)
of projectiles were used. Two of our air-
planes have not returned.
Bombing the Krupp Works
The exploit of Sergeant Maxime Gal-
lois, who flew 446 miles to bomb the
Krupp Works, was told by himself in
these words: -
Four of us— Lieutenant Ardisson de
Perdiguier, Sergeant Durand, another
comrade, and myself— left our base at
nightfall Friday, (July 0.) with the in-
tention of reaching Essen. Soon after-
ward we ran into foggy weather and lost
sight of each other. I flew at an altitude
of 1,200 meters, and passed over Metz
and Thionville, following the course of
the River Moselle, which, however, rap-
Idly disappeared in the mist.
The batteries fired at me crossing the
Rhine, and as I passed over Metz search-
lights played about the sky. At Thion-
ville I heard another airplane near by, but
made it out to be Ardisson's. Afterward
I was compelled to travel by the aid of
the compass, the stars, and the moon.
At Treves I saw a heavy bombardment,
which I calculated was directed at my
comrade. Therefore I knew I was travel-
ing in the right direction. I did not see
Coblenz. I saw the reflection of the moon
SOME HISTORIC AIRPLANE RAIDS
519
on the Rhine and found Bonn. From
there to Diisseldorf there was a regular
sea of electricity, which increased as I
got further north.
Cologne was a blaze of luminosity, and
at Diisseldorf there were all kinds of
lights — blue, red, and white. All the time
the anti-aircraft guns fired as I passed,
and around Cologne the gunners were
very accurate in the range.
Leaving there, I saw, like cliffs on the
horizon, a brilliant illumination which
seemed kilometers in length stretching to
the left of Essen, while southward was
another long line of lights coming from
the factories. Arriving over Essen, I rose
to about 2,000 meters. I circled around,
searching for a place where the lights
from the workshops appeared densest.
Then I threw the first bomb. After
counting ten I dropped the second, and
then the remainder of the ten I carried
at similar intervals. I could not tell
whether the bombs exploded, but they
probably did. It was impossible to dis-
tinguish their effect, owing to the flam-
ing furnace chimneys.
My duty done, I turned homeward, not
having seen my comrades again. The
motor worked with wonderful regularity
all the time. I came back exactly the
same as I went, and was fired at many
times.
I was thoroughly exhausted and was
suffering from my eyes, which were af-
fected by the strain and wind, as I had
lost both pairs of goggles at the start,
and was often obliged to put my head
outside in order to see the director. When
nearing the base, owing to the darkness
I could not tell exactly where I was. I
thought possibly I was still over the Ger-
man lines and decided to continue west-
ward as long as the petrol lasted. I had
a few litres left and was driving onward,
when suddenly I recognized a prearranged
signal and managed to land just at dawn ,
at the same place from which I had de-
parted. The distance covered was 750
kilometers, (about 466y2 miles.)
The whole flight lasted seven hours.
When Gallois landed on his return he
was unable to get out of his machine
owing to fatigue and semi-blindness, but
after a day's rest he was fully recovered
and ready to undertake further expedi-
tions. Thirty-eight years of age, he was
serving in the dragoons when the war
broke out. He passed a short time in
the squadron and was then sent to the
hospital where sick horses were cared
for. He tried to exchange to the auto-
cannon battery, but was told he was too
old. He applied four times for the Avia-
tion Corps unsuccessfully, but was ac-
cepted on the fifth application.
The German official report stated that
only two bomb holes were found at the
Krupp Works, and that six other bombs
smashed windows in a village twenty-
five miles from Essen. Bombs also were
dropped in the villages of Speecher,
Ehrang, and Oberemmel, where a child
was killed, and on Neunkirchen, where a
man was killed; on a suburb of Dieden-
hofen, where a family of three were
killed, and on Treves, where the Fran-
ciscan Monastery was set on fire. One
airman who attacked Treves was brought
down near the Saar, it was announced,
while another airplane was destroyed and
its pilot made prisoner. The report con-
cluded : " For what reason the open and
militarily unimportant town of Treves
was bombed is incomprehensible."
British naval airplanes carried out a
raid on the night of July 7 on the
Ghistelles aerodrome in Belgium. Al-
though heavily attacked by an enemy
formation, bombs were successfully
dropped on objectives, and all the British
machines returned safely.
List of Air Raids
The more important of the organized
raids carried out by the Allies and the
Germans since May 1 are set out in the
following list:
Allies. German.
May L.Sissonnes Aviation
Camp
May 2..Sissonnes Aviation
Camp
May 2 . . Bethenville
May 7 London
May 12 . . Zeebrugge
May 23..Rethel
May 24 *East Anglia
May 25 Folkestone
June 1. .Zeebrugge, Ostend,
Bruges
June 2 Dunkirk
June 3. .Zeebrugge, Bruges,
and St. Denis West-
rem Aerodrome . .
June 3. .Treves
June 4.. Bruges
June 4..Colmar Aerodrome
June 5 • Thames Estuary
June 6. .Nieuwmunster Aero-
drome
June 9. .St. Denis Westrem.
June 13 London
June 15. .St. Denis Westrem.
June 17 *Kent & E. Anglia
520
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Allies. German.
June 26 Nancy
July 2.. Bruges Docks and
Lichtervelde Muni-
tion Depots
July 3..Ghistelles and Os-
tend Aerodromes. .
July 4 Harwich
July 6.. Treves, Ludwigs-
hafen, Essen, and
Coblenz
July 6 Epernay & Nancy
July 7 London
♦Raids by Zeppelins.
In the series of raids during June and
July on Zeebrugge, Ostend, Bruges, St.
Denis Westrem, and other places the
British machines all returned safely on
every occasion, although heavily bom-
barded by German anti-aircraft guns.
420 Airplanes Lost in July
The following table shows the losses in
machines officially reported on the west-
ern front from the beginning of May to
July 8:
German. British.
Driven Down
Destroyed. Out of Control. Missing.
May 133 116 90
June 104 90 74
July 14 11 3
Total ....251 217 167
Within a period of one week, during
June, British official communiques re-
ported the following German losses: Two
Zeppelins destroyed, two seaplanes de-.
stroyed, twenty-two airplanes brought
down, and twenty-one airplanes driven
down out of control. On the other hand,
the British losses in the same period
amounted to only six airplanes missing.
French official reports do not give the
number of machines lost, but merely re-
cord the damage inflicted on the enemy.
How substantial the German losses have
been at the hands of the French is proved
by the following figures for a recent
month :
Machines destroyed 102
Machines seriously damaged 109
According to a British official state-
ment, 420 airplanes were lost on the west-
ern front in July. This figure is approx-
imate only, owing to variations in the
French and German methods of announc-
ing air losses. The month's losses are
the third highest of the war and com-
pare with 392 for June, 713 for May,
and 717 for April. The July losses were
divided among the belligerents as fol-
lows: German machines, 291 ; Allies, 129,
of which 89 were British, although this
figure probably is incomplete. The
British brought down 247 German
machines, the French 35, and the
Belgians 9.
Italian Raids on Pola.
Early in August the Italians began
a series of raids with giant Caproni air-
planes against the Austrian naval base
at Pola. These were meant to be both
reprisals for Austrian raids and military-
assaults upon the nest of aircraft and
warships with which Austria seals the
entry to the Gulf of Trieste. Each
Caproni airplane carried a crew of four
or five men, With an extraordinary cargo
of bombs. An eyewitness thus describes
the departure:
The first raid was carried out by thirty-
six machines, including fast fighting
machines, which escorted the great
Caproni bomb-droppers. It was like
watching a flotilla of destroyers go to
sea as the great machines moved off at
four-minute intervals, taking up a perfect
alignment against the sky. Motor boats
were out to guide them to the Austrian
coast, for there was a fog over the sea.
Before midnight the squadron was over
Pola, manoeuvring amid a tangle of
searchlight beams and a hurricane of
shots from panic-stricken gunners in the
city's defenses. Bombs ranging from 70
to 200 pounds were raining down on the
arsenal, dockyard, and anchored ships.
Three waves of airplanes went over, and
the first two saw a huge explosion in
the arsenal and a great fire start up, either
in the arsenal or in the submarine depot.
Six and a half tons of bombs were
dropped in all, and there would have been
' more but that the third wave of attackers
failed to find purely military targets.
The following night they again returned
to the attack. This time a light fog
favored the aviators, and eight tons of
explosives were deposited where they were
likely to do the most damage. The results
are described as entirely satisfactory.
The 600 horse power Caproni is a tri-
plane with two fuselages or bodies, and
driven by three Fiat or Isotta-Fraschini
motors, any one of which has sufficient
power to keep the craft aloft even were
the others to be disabled. The machine
is of both the tractor and pusher type,
Some historic airplane raids
521
for two propellers are mounted in front
and one in the rear. The plane carries a
so-called useful load of 4,408 pounds,
which assures fuel for six hours, to-
gether with a crew of three men, three
guns, and 2,750 pounds of bombs. It has
a speed of close to eighty-five miles an
hour and is capable of climbing 3,250
feet in thirten minutes, 6,500 feet in
twenty-seven minutes, and 10,000 feet in
fifty-seven minutes.
This seems slow in comparison to the
Spads, which climb 10,000 feet in five
minutes or less; but a Spad is simply a
flying motor, with sustaining strength
barely sufficient to support the aviator
and a gun. The Caproni is as big as
a trolley car. Its wing span is more than
100 feet. It stands twenty-one feet in
the air and it is nearly fifty feet long.
The only aircraft which compares with
it in size is the British Handly-Page
machine, which, with two 280 horse
power Rolls-Royce motors, carried
twenty-seven passengers, and has a wing
spread of 98 feet, and the Curtiss and
Gallaudet monsters made in this country.
Earlier Raids of Note
Long-distance airplane raids have been
made at intervals since the first year of
the war, but hitherto they have had to be
executed with machines that are dwarfed
by the newer constructions. One of the
first raids of historic importance was that
against Carlsruhe on June 15, 1915. It
was conducted by twenty-three twin-
motored Caudron machines, in charge of
Captain de Kerillis, and dropped close to
fifty large bombs on Carlsruhe. Three of
the machines did not return — they had
to land and were captured, but the dam-
age to Carlsruhe was serious.
In the very first bombardment of Sofia
on April 21, 1916, a single aviator started
from Saloniki, flew to Sofia, dropped four
bombs and proclamations announcing the
capture of Trebizond, and returned to Sa-
loniki. This exploit was repeated by
single aviators from time to time; then
on Sept. 15, 1916, it was repeated by fout
aviators who left Saloniki at 6:20 and
arrived over Sofia at 8:40. They dropped
their bombs, many of which were effec-
tive, and returned. They had crossed the
Balkan Mountains at 6,000 feet without
trouble, and had accomplished what an
army could not have done. The only
limitation was that the airplanes were
too few in number to win a decisive vic-
tory. In every raid in the Balkans only
four or five airplanes participated.
Among the most remarkable long-dis-
tance bombing expeditions were the raids
on Essen and Munich by Captain de
Beauchamp and Lieutenant Dancourt on
Sept. 24 and Nov. 18, 1916, which have
been repeated since by other aviators.
The raid on Ludwigshafen, accomplished
on May 27, 1915, in which eighteen air-
planes took part, also involved a flight of
about 400 miles. It was conducted suc-
cessfully, and only one airplane was
forced to land and submit to capture.
Another classic was the bombing raid on
the Mauser Works at Oberndorf on Oct.
12, 1916, in which a French bombing
squadron and a British bombing squad-
ron participated, escorted by Lafayette
Flying Corps fighters. In all these raids
the aviators had to fly from five to seven
hours continuously under most trying
conditions, having to protect themselves
with insufficient arms. A night raid in
large, well-armed warplanes would be
easy in comparison — and much safer.
A German Airman's Story of a Raid
on London
Under the signature of "A Partici-
pant " the commander of one of the Ger-
man airplanes which took part in a re-
cent raid on London described his ex-
periences :
THE morning sky is bluer than ever at
9 o'clock, the sun seeming to be
laughing at the world. We are get-
ting ready. Our commander addresses
a few last words to us, ending with " God
522
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
bless you, lads." At 10 o'clock punctu-
ally our leader's machine, heavily bur-
dened, rises and heads for London. Our
huge birds swarm after him.
Soon the Belgian coast comes in view.
To the left we clearly make out the Ger-
man front lines. Next we are at Nieu-
port with a wide territory all around in-
undated. Ostend and Zeebrugge follow.
We leave Holland to the right at the
mouth of the Scheldt and Vlissingen is
just visible. The commander is still fly-
ing somewhat ahead, the squadron, in
close formation, behind. We can recog-
nize the men in the machine flying near-
est us, and signals and greetings are
exchanged. A feeling of absolute security
and indomitable confidence in our success
are our predominant emotions.
Now our leader turns to the left. We
are above the sea, the coast lines disap-
pearing gradually. Barographs indicate
higher altitudes. The motors are thun-
dering their monotonous song of human
power. Now and then the sharp tack-
tack of practicing machine guns pene-
trates even the clamor of winds and the
humming motors. In front, but far
below us, appears a cloud bank.
Still more distant in a hazy atmosphere
is the English coast. We notice our com-
rades in other machines pointing to the
coastline. They nod at each other and
seem highly enthusiastic. We pass the
cloud bank and in long lines see English
sentinel boats stretched behind. Then,
in a hazy veil, the mouth of the Thames
appears. We approach Sheerness at the
left, which town ought to know us.
In a straight line we make for London,
and now the first British shots reach our
altitude, but that does not matter much.
Onward we fly. Soon the bombardment
dies away and the squadron closes in,
moving higher. We follow the windings
of the Thames on the map, and find we
are speedily approaching our goal.
But another cloud bank appears.
" Damn it all, shall our game be spoiled
this time ? " I exclaim. I write my fears
on a piece of paper and hand it to my
pilot, and I see his fist coming down
broadside with an oath.
Five minutes pass in anxious suspense,
and I look around after the comrade air-
ships. They are still following in close
formation. Then we pass that cloud
bank, and London's sea of houses stretches
in vast expanse far below us.
We now discover the first of the Eng-
lish chasing fliers, but for the present
they do not concern us. Suddenly there
stand, as if by magic here and there in
our course, little clouds of cotton, the
greetings of enemy guns. They multiply
with astonishing rapidity. We fly through
them and leave the suburbs behind us. It
is the heart of London that must be hit.
We see the bridges, the Tower of Lon-
don, Liverpool Station, the Bank of Eng-
land, the Admiralty's palace — everything
sharply outlined in the glaring sunlight.
There are ships on the Thames that look
like toys. With my glasses in one hand
I signal with the other to my pilot. Slowly
long rows of streets pass through the
small orbit of the glasses.
At last it is time to stop, I give a sig-
nal, and in less time than it takes to tell
I have pushed the levers and anxiously
follow the flight of the released bombs.
With a tremendous .crash they strike the
heart of England. It is a magnificently
terrific spectacle seen from midair. Pro-
jectiles from hostile batteries are sput-
tering and exploding beneath and. all
around us, while below the earth seems
rocking and houses are disappearing in
craters and conflagrations, in the light
of the glaring sun.
In a few moments all is over and the
squadron turns. One last look at the
panic-stricken metropolis and we are off
on our home course. I nod to my pilot,
indicating that everything is all right.
He answers " likewise." We have gotten
somewhat behind the squadron, but soon
make up the distance.
Now we are in for a little bout with
English chasers. They don't let us wait
very long. As we reach the suburbs the
first three English fliers suddenly ap-
pear in front of us, seeking to block our
flight. At a hundred or two hundred
meters distance both sides open fire,
striving to get at each other's weak spots.
Then from several directions the at-
tacking British planes reach us. They
appear from below, then from the right
or left or from above. My pilot is watch-
A GERMAN AIRMAN'S STORY OF A RAID ON LONDON
523
ing with eagle eyes, while I, with my
hand on the gun lever, am not slow to
give a tack-tack to the daredevil who ex-
poses himself to my machine. Twice we
just evade terrific onslaughts. Two hos-
tile pilots turn and do not come back.
But the third is a brave and tenacious
fellow. For ten minutes we fire at each
other almost incessantly, my opponent
looking for an opening. Suddenly he
makes for us and showers his bullets on
our machines. I can see or feel that the
bullets have struck our planes, but I
know I've got him. I send a whole sheaf
of fire into his body. His machine rears
up in the air like a wounded animal,
turns a somersault, and disappears in the
depths. This is the first enemy I have
defeated over British soil. Three cheers !
Already the British coast is in view
again, but more fighting awaits us. This
time the English fliers seem to have lost
heart. Their attacks are easily beaten
off. Our machines reach the coast at
length and close up with the rest of the
squadron. While reloading my machine
gun my pilot discovers a new enemy.
By his tactics I recognize him as one of
those astute English fliers we encoun-
tered at the Somme. Perhaps we had met
there. For a short time we fly almost
parallel, both preparing to attack. Sud-
denly he turns sharply to the left and
there he is not twenty meters distant.
Our machine guns pour lead into each
other. Suddenly his gun stops dead.
Must have jammed. He turns sharply
and tries to fly, but my machine gun
catches him squarely on the broadsides,
and down he goes. Just twenty seconds
of fighting and all is over, old friend of
last Summer!
Ear Disturbances Suffered by Aviators
By P. Lacroix, M. D.
[Translated from the Bulletin de 1' Academic de M6decine de Paris for Current
History Magazine.]
AS a military surgeon I have spent
a year in one of our most impor-
tant schools of aviation. This has
enabled me to make a systematic study
of the reactions and disturbances of the
ear observed in aviators during their
flights. I have based this study on ques-
tioning and on the otoscopic examination
of numerous pilots from the aviation
centre at Amberieu (near Lyons) and
also on personal auto-observation dur-
ing the flights which I have made my-
self as an observer at altitudes varying
from about 1,500 to 6,000 feet.
The ear is both an organ for the main-
tenance of equilibrium and an organ for
hearing. As an organ for maintaining
equilibrium, how does the ear behave it-
self in the aviator during flight? Do
the flights produce vertigo ? It seems, a
priori, that rising in an aeroplane to
great altitudes must entail a tendency
to vertigo; but this conception does not
correspond at all to the reality; on the
contrary, one is struck with the rarity
of vertigo under such circumstances. As
soon as the aeroplane leaves the ground,
the fear of dizziness which one was ex-
pecting disappears, and is replaced by a
feeling of calm stability. When the ap-
paratus, having attained the altitude
sought, advances in the air, proceeding
at a speed which ordinarily is an average
of sixty miles an hour, one believes that
he is advancing only with a majestic de-
liberation. Aside from the impression
caused by the spectacle (very beautiful
it is) which one has below him — the long,
white ribbons of the roads, the diminu-
tive houses, the microscopic living be-
ings, a spectacle truly Lilliputian — there
is really the absence of every painful im-
pression, of all dizzy conditions. Per-
sonally, although I feel visual dizziness
on the balcony of a second story, I have
never felt it in an airplane even in the
eddy wind, in the spirals, in the rapid
descents.
This is easily explained. Vertigo, a
malady of the sense of space, may have
for its origin a visual condition, or a
tactile disturbance, or an affection of
521
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
the labyrinth of the ear. In the airplane,
the terrestrial guiding marks are too far
distant to disturb the visual state. The
habitual stability of the apparatus brings
with it tactile and labyrinthine stabil-
ity. It is only when the airplane is taken
in a violent eddy wind that the tendency
to vertigo may appear. But, in the mat-
ter of aviation, the rolling and the pitch-
ing, the dangerous " montagnes russes,"
are already abnormal and are near neigh-
bors to accident.
Let us now consider how the aviator's
ear behaves as an organ of hearing
during flights. Do the flights provoke
deafness ?
The disturbances of equilibrium with
vertigo are exceptional; but, on the other
hand, affections of the hearing — buz-
zings, deafness — are habitual and prac-
tically the rule. The observer who is
making his first flight is surprised to
hear his ears buzz while the airplane is
rising. This buzzing disappears at cer-
tain moments and then appears again.
Auditory distinctness follows the same
alternations. The noise of the motor
which was striking the eardrums ceases
to be perceived, then reappears. It is
in the very high altitudes especially that
these disturbances are produced during
the ascents and the rapid descents; it is
to these phenomena (deafness and inter-
mittent buzzings) that it is fitting to
give the name of " reactions of the ear."
These reactions are the rule, but they
vary in intensity as well as in duration.
An attempt has been made to explain
them by the effect of the air set in
motion by the propellers, by the noise of
the motor. The air, which strikes the
face quite vigorously during flight, cer-
tainly plays a role in this respect. How-
ever, the disturbances in question are
also dependent in good part on the irreg-
ular aeration of the middle ears. The
successive atmospheric strata into which
the airplane passes do not have the same
density, for the barometric pressure de-
creases as the altitude increases. The
air which fills the external auditory
canal in a given atmospheric stratum
finds itself in a different pressure from
that of the air which has been stored up
by the middle ear in the preceding atmos-
pheric stratum. To this fact are due the
tractions on the eardrum and on the chain
of the ossicles [small bones of the ear]
and also the buzzings and the deafness;
but these cease as soon as an act of
swallowing (which opens the Eustachian
tube) re-establishes the balance of the
pressure on the internal and external
surfaces of the eardrum. The aviator
protects himself from these ear dis-
turbances, in fact — sometimes without
noticing that he does so — by executing
almost automatic acts of swallowing,
which, by aerating the middle ear, re-
store the equilibrium on the two sur-
faces of the membrane of the eardrum.
I have made frequent otoscopic exami-
nations on pilots who had just landed, and
I have verified in varying degrees ob-
jective traces of these reactions of the
ear. For these examinations I have
chosen pilots returning from important
tests, flights at high altitude, flights of
long duration, which constitute the tests
for the brevet of pilot. In such cases the
lesions of the eardrum ascertained are
always similar. One finds more or less
pronounced: (a) On the one hand, a red
stripe the whole length of the handle of
the hammer-bone in front and behind;
(b) on the other hand, a congestive state
sometimes very intense of that upper
part of the eardrum known under the
name of the membrane of Shrapnell.
This appearance of the eardrum is well
known to aurists; this it is which one
excites in correcting a retracted ear-
drum by insufflations of air into the
middle ear.
In healthy ears these disturbances are
temporary. In the flights of short dura-
tion they cease immediately on landfall.
For the prolonged flights, a slight buz-
zing with some deafness may persist for
a few hours or even a day, but rarely
beyond that. I believe, however, that in
case of ears already diseased, as found
in persons subject to ear or tube ail-
ments, the flights would be susceptible
of aggravating these affections. There-
fore it is with good reason that the medi-
cal certificate of fitness for pilotage de-
mands in the candidate integrity of the
middle and internal ears.
Airplanes and Gas Bombs
New and Deadly Methods of Warfare Developed Since the
Beginning of the Conflict
CONGRESSMAN TILS0N of Con-
necticut, in a discussion in Con-
gress on new methods of warfare,
advocated the expenditure of
$600,000,000 for airplanes, arguing that
if the United States could have 100,000
machines in the air in France the result
would be to blind the artillery of the ene-
my and win the war. In the course of
his address, he said:
" At the beginning of the war each side
had a few airplanes. The sub'ject had
appealed to the imaginative Frenchman
more than it had to us or to the English.
So France had quite a number. Ger-
many, of course, following out her prac-
tice of thorough preparedness in every-
thing, was well prepared with airplanes.
At the battle of the Marne airplanes cut
a considerable figure. The Germans had
the old Taube machine and the French
had the old Nieuport and others. These
machines made something like seventy or
eighty miles an hour. At once both sides
set to developing this art, and very soon
they were turning out machines on both
sides that made very much in excess of
those figures. First came the German
Fokker,' and gained superiority for the
Germans. Then the Nieuport and other
French machines were improved, and so
it has gone, with superiority first going
to one side and then to the other. Both
sides now claim to have machines that
will make the incredible speed of 140
miles an hour, and that will climb in the
air 10,000 feet in thirteen minutes.
" The old machine was made to carry
one man, or two at the most, and some
thought that was the limit of the size of
airplanes. The development in size has
gone on until today larger machines are
flying than ever were thought possible.
Today smaller ones than any practical
constructor dreamed of are being suc-
cessfully flown. Take the big machines
of the Handley-Page type, in which
eleven men have flown from London to
Rome in the night time. Such a ma-
chine is so large that it can take two
little airplanes with their aviators on
the wings, go up in the air 10,000 feet,
and launch the small machines from the
wings of the big one. That feat actually
has been done. A machine of this larger
type, which it is necessary to fly lower
and which now usually flies at night,
when we are able to take and hold com-
plete supremacy of the air we shall be
able to use in the daytime.
" The weapons that can be used from
aircraft are practically all of those that
can be used on the land, up to and in-
cluding the Davis 3-inch recoilless gun,
and a number that can be used in no
other way, as I shall show in the case of
certain drop bombs. I have spoken of
the use of pistols, rifles, and machine
guns from airplanes. The machine gun
especially is extremely important. I also
referred to the use from airplanes of
fragmentation bombs, especially the
Barlow bomb. At that time I told the
House that this bomb had not yet received
its final test. The test was held at the
Hampton grounds a few days ago. It
was dropped from airplanes at great
heights, so as to thoroughly test it, espe-
cially as to accuracy and destructiveness.
I do not think it advisable to give you
the official figures, but I am permitted
to say that the results were highly satis-
factory in every respect, and that the
officers having the matter in charge are
quite enthusiastic. This bomb, in my
opinion, is sure to be heard from before
the war is over. Not only is great credit
due to the inventive genius of Mr. Bar-
low, but to the Ordnance Department,
and especially to the commandant and
other officials of Frankford Arsenal, un-
der whose special guidance this young
man's fertile ideas were so satisfactorily
worked out. I am informed that an up-
to-date corporation of patriotic men has
made all preparations necessary to manu-
526
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
facture these bombs in large quantities
under whatever arrangement the Gov-
ernment may deem necessary and proper.
Deadly Cas Warfare
"In addition to the fragmentation bombs
there is a large field to which I now re-
fer, viz., that of gas- bombs. Fighting
with gas is worthy of an entire chapter
by itself. The use of gas as a weapon
of defense, like many of the other weap-
ons now in common use in the armies of
Europe, such as the catapult, flame pro-
jector, trench knife, and sling, is an in-
heritance from the early ages amplified,
improved, and made more destructive by
the aid of modern science.
" The first recorded effort to overcome
the enemy by the generation of poison-
ous and suffocating gases seems to have
been in the wars of the Athenians and
Spartans, (431 to 404 B. C.,) when, in
besieging the Cities of Platea and Belium,
the Spartans saturated wood with pitch
and sulphur and burned it under the
walls of these cities in the hope of
choking the defenders and rendering the
assault less difficult. They also melted
pitch, charcoal, and sulphur together in
caldrons and blew the fumes over the
defenders' lines by means of bellows.
" ' Greek fire ' was used by the Byzan-
tine Greeks under Constantine about 673
A. D. to destroy the Saracens, and Sara-
cens in turn used it as a weapon of de-
fense against the Christians during the
Crusades. This Greek fire had the double
advantage of being not only inflammable
but also generating during the process
of combustion clouds of dense, blinding
smoke and gas of an asphyxiating char-
acter. Its chemical composition was sup-
posed to .be a mixture of quicklime, pe-
troleum, sulphur, and such other inflam-
mable substances as pitch, resin, &c.
Upon the addition of water the slaking
process which the quicklime underwent
generated enough heat to ignite the pe-
troleum, which in turn ignited the resin,
pitch, and sulphur. This flaming* mixture
was delivered against the enemy by
means of phantastic syringes in the shape
of dragons and other monsters with wide
jaws.
" The first use of gas in modern war-
fare occurred April 22, 1915, when the
Germans liberated great clouds of gas
against the allied trenches near Ypres
with a resulting complete demoralization
of the troops and a large number of cas-
' ualties. The Germans at that time
turned loose fifty tons of chlorine gas
to the mile of front occupied. Chlorine
gas is two and one-half times as heavy
as air. It apparently rolls along the
ground in a greenish-yellow cloud. As
soon as it reaches the vicinity of the
dugouts, being heavier than air, it im-
mediately goes down into the dugout and
remains there until removed. The Allies
had to meet this problem, and they be-
gan meeting it at once. Some Germans
were captured who had gas masks, and
in a few days every woman in France
that could find any material out of
which to make these things was making
gas masks — imperfect, crude things at
first, but they improved rapidly. A gas
mask is absolutely necessary for the life
of any one who is exposed to these dead-
ly gases.
" Coincident with the use of the ' gas
cloud ' the Germans began to use gas
also in bombs, hand grenades, and shells.
From this beginning gas has now be-
come recognized as one of the accepted
arms of the military service and is be-
ing used very extensively in all armies,
especially in the form of gas shells. The
gases were used against the Canadian
troops contrary to The Hague Conven-
tion, but are now generally used, not
only by the enemy but by the Allies
themselves."
Cas Bombs Most Terrible
In answer to a question as to whether
the use of cloud gases had been discon-
tinued on account of the effective re-
sults from gas masks, Mr. Tilson replied:
" That is probably true as to cloud gases,
which of course can be used successful-
ly only against the front line of trenches,
in which every man must be thoroughly
prepared to defend himself against
gases. It is our intention to have one of
these respirators of the box type with
every man, and a reserve mask of the
type used by the French and the Bel-
gians, so that cloud gases will prob-
AIRPLANES AND GAS BOMBS
527
ably not be used much when it is known
that everybody is thoroughly prepared
against them. The gentleman will note,
however, that it is my expectation that
these gases will be made use of from
airplanes a great deal more than they
ever have been. They have already been
used, and are now being used increasing-
ly, in the form of projectiles of glass
and steel containing these poisonous
gases and fired from trench mortars
and howitzers. They are using those in-
creasingly. My idea is that they will be
used still more from airplanes when we
get supremacy of the air, and that the
gases being dropped suddenly from the
air, perhaps at some distance back from
the front line, the men behind the front
line will not be so well prepared and
will suffer demoralization and other
damage, especially among the artillery."
A member asked : " Is the nature of
these gases such that if the bombs con-
taining them are fired from a howitzer
or dropped from an airplane there will
be time to adjust a mask which is actual-
ly being carried by the soldier, in time
to prevent his being harmed by the ex-
plosion of the container of the gas? "
" There is not time," Mr. Tilson re-
plied. " As a matter of fact, they figure
that in order for a man to be sure to
protect himself against cloud gases he
must be ready to put these masks on in
six seconds. The drill in putting on
these masks is made as accurate as the
manual of arms used by infantry. It is
intended to speed up so that a man can
put one on, as I say, in six seconds.
Even six seconds may be too long with
these deadly gases falling from the sky,
going out in every direction, and a man
getting a whiff of the gas before it is
possible to put on his mask. That has
happened. I remember one of the party
with the British Commissioners told of
an instance showing the effect of gas
shells containing the terribly poisonous
gas called phosgen, which, unlike the
chlorine or bromine gas, has a delayed
action, so that you take it today and die
tomorrow. The instance was one where
a shell descended and two men got a
whiff of the gas. A surgeon being near,
saw that they were exposed to it, and im-
mediately ordered them to the hospital
and to bed. They obeyed orders and
went off to the hospital, joshing each
other that two strong men should be
ordered to bed with nothing the matter
with them. Before the dawn of the
next morning both had died horrible
deaths from that awful poison."
Another member asked whether the
Germans would not see these flying ma-
chines coming or, hearing them and
knowing that we had resorted to the
use of this outrageous way of fighting,
would they not have time to put their
masks on. Mr. Tilson said:
" It is hoped that we are going to
have so many machines in the air that
they will not have to fly 10,000 feet high,
but will be able to fly down nearer the
ground, and in that way the Germans
may have to wear their masks all day
long.
" The point is that only a small part
of the men can be on the front at once.
They take turns, and the men on the
front line, subject to exposure to cloud
gases, all have to be doubly prepared by
having these masks."
Japan's Part in the War
By Gardner L. Harding
FOLLOWING her capture of Kiao-
Chau and her hardly less dramatic
diplomacy in China, Japan's role
in war and policy has been less
spectacular; but its effect has been none
the less actual, and the harmony of that
effect with the larger policies of the
Allies has within the last two years
steadily and substantially increased. The
arrival of the Ishii mission in the United
States, (in the month of August,) a wise
and statesmanlike attempt on Japan's
part to co-ordinate with America, Japan's
contributions toward the conduct of the
war and her policies with respect to its
aims, has provided an excellent land-
mark wherewith to trace up to this point,
in extent and in actual results, Japan's
assistance to the allied cause.
Her naval assistance began even before
the capture of Kiao-Chau, when fast Japa-
nese cruiser squadrons carried out the
occupation of the three groups of Ger-
man islands in the South Seas during
the first two months of the war. From
that time forward the Japanese fleet has
done extremely valuable and incessant
patrol duty in the Pacific, in the China
Sea, and far westward in the Indian
Ocean. The disposition of the Japanese
fleet during this period has naturally
been a naval secret, but it early allowed
the substantial withdrawal of British
warships from the crucial shipping lanes
between Hongkong and Suez. It also
bore a large part in the increased patrol
necessitated by the depredations of Ger-
man raiders like the Emden; it took a
responsible share in keeping watch on
the interned German ships in Chinese and
Dutch East Indian ports, and until re-
cently in American harbors in Guam and
the Hawaiian and Philippine Islands.
Japanese warships have engaged on
patrolling missions on the Pacific Coast
of both North and South America; they
have landed marines to quell riots at
Singapore, and finally, within the past
five months, they have appeared on
active service in European waters, in
the shape of a destroyer squadron oper-
ating in the Mediterranean Sea.
The ability of the Japanese fleet to
perform such services is evidenced by
its possession of ten superb destroyers,
practically brand new, (having been fin-
ished since the opening of the war,) with
possibly some of the eight others voted
under the Okuma Ministry already avail-
able, and with a reserve of twenty-odd
other destroyers, including four launched
since 1910, less than twelve years old.
Of other potential patrolling ships the
latest Japan Year Book gives twenty-
one first and second class cruisers, all
rated above 20 knots speed. Finally,
there is the first line of the Japanese
Navy, numbering twenty battleships and
battle cruisers, including eight of dread-
nought construction, to which the three
big battleships of the Fuso type voted
by the Okuma Ministry are soon to be,
or may already have been, added. The
sixty-five leading ships of this formida-
ble fleet displace no less than 628,321
tons.
Japan s Naval Contributions
Since the entrance of America into the
war, the Japanese fleet in the Mediter-
ranean has several times seen active
service, and one victorious encounter
with a submarine has cost a Japanese
warship the loss of her commander, two
other officers, and a number of her
crew, the first casualties suffered by
Japanese naval forces in European wa-
ters.
No account of Japan's naval contribu-
tions to the Allies' cause would be com-
plete without mention of her assistance
in convoying to Europe the Anzac troops
at a time when, with the Emden still
abroad, such assistance was of immense
importance to the scheme of transporta-
tion. Furthermore, though other units of
the Japanese fleet were not at that time
fortunate enough to encounter the Ger-
man raiding squadron in the South Pa-
JAPAN'S PART IN THE WAR
529
cific, they had much to do with driving
it into a position where it was effectu-
ally dealt with off the Falkland Islands
by Admiral Cradock's British cruisers.
The extension of her submarine-chas-
ing service in the Mediterranean, where
the U-boats have accounted for practi-
cally all the Japanese merchantmen who
have so far been their prey, and the as-
sumption by Japan of new naval respon-
siblities in the Pacific, with the object of
freeing American warships for service in
the Atlantic, have both been widely sug-
gested among influential centres of opin-
ion near to the Japanese Government,
and both these proposals, though as yet
still unrealized, are undergoing serious
consideration at the hands of the Allies,
in close consultation with our own Gov-
ernment.
Commercial Assistance
Japan's naval aid has been formidable;
but it has been in financial and com-
mercial assistance that her power has so
far been applied to the allied cause with
the most cumulative and effectual result.
The military character of this assistance
makes its determination during the course
of the war a delicate matter for general
discussion; but in its broad features it is
readily ascertainable. For instance, Ja-
pan had provided Russia with enormous
quantities of guns, ammunition, military
stores, hospital and Red Cross supplies,
with skilled officers and experts to ac-
company them, which have admittedly
been factors of the highest potency in
sustaining Russia through the period of
her disorganization, a period which is by
no means wholly concluded yet. Those
supplies alone had reached a total value
of $250,000,000 by the first of August,
1917.
When it is remembered that the entire
volume of Japan's exports in 1914 was
less than $300,000,000, it will be seen
how much Japan has expanded her facil-
ities of export under the influence of
the war. Her exports to Russia have,
of course, been spread over a period of
three years, but they have been accom-
panied by a huge expanse in general
exports, most of it directly attributable
to the war, so that in 1916 for the first
time in her history her exports passed
the billion-yen mark, mounting to as
high as 1,127,468,118 yen, or, in round
numbers, to over $550,000,000. Her im-
ports also established a record last year,
assisted by an unparalleled influx of raw
materials for war manufactures, of 756,-
427,910 yen. The difference gave Japan
a trade balance double that of 1915, of
371,040,208 yen, and insured her the firm-
est commercial and industrial position in
her modern political life.
This extraordinary influx of prosper-
ity, while it has naturally enormously
benefited Japan, has also been converti-
ble to allied advantage in the war. It
has enabled Japan to ship to both Eng-
land and France vast quantities of flour,
beans, peas, and canned goods. A char-
acteristic reaction of her food export
possibilities to this country has been, for
instance, the increase of our imports of
Japanese canned crabs from supplies
worth $450,000 in 1915 to last year's
total of over $900,000. She also sent
us a third again as much sulphur, al-
most four times as much camphor, al-
most five times as much cotton fabric,
(mostly of cheap grades,) according to
the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture
and Commerce; and according to our
own statistics she sent us ten times as
much of her famous Manchurian soya
bean oil.
Japan s Financial Aid
Besides this direct trade, besides sup-
plying ourselves and the Allies with
many hundred million dollars' worth of
economic staples, worth even more than
their enhanced price in the ultimate con-
tingencies of wartime, Japanese finance
has managed to accommodate nations in
the stress of the war who are usually
and normally her creditors. It has been
semi-officially reckoned in Japan that
these accommodations, in actual and out-
right loans, in the purchase of bonds for
cancellation in England and France, and
in other and equally useful transactions
involving munition supplies, have mount-
ed up to well over $200,000,000. Japan's
early loans to Russia of $25,000,000 and
$35,000,000, respectively; her loan to
Great Britain of $50,000,000 to help ad-
just British credit in the United States,
520
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
all promptly subscribed and ably floated,
have produced in Europe an effect of
generosity and good-will on the part of
the Japanese Government which is not at
all affected by the fact that the com-
paratively high terms of these loans
make the benefit mutual. The benefit is
an immediate benefit to the Allies at a
time of great need, and the fact that
Japan's economic and financial organiza-
tion has been in a position to supply that
need has resulted opportunely to her
credit.
Incidentally, her gold holdings doubled
in two years,, from $175,000,000 to over
$350,000,000, (in round numbers,) and
they are still rapidly increasing. A sym-
bol of the strength of the Japanese mar-
ket was evident in this country when, in
the eight months preceding June 1, 1917,
as much as $50,000,000 in specie gold
was shipped from America to Japan, a
withdrawal that went on during the
month of May at the rate ■ of between
$150,000,000 and $200,000,000 a year.
In short, Japan is today a great work-
shop and trading mart intimately con-
cerned with the economic side of the war
purposes of her allies, and formidably
useful in furthering those purposes. A
typical instance of the overseas destina-
tion of her principal products is illus-
trated in the case of copper. Her output
of copper increased last year under the
acceleration of war necessity from 78,000
to 108,000 tons ; but of all this great yield
hardly 10 per cent, was used at home.
Some 60 per cent, went to Russia, at
least 20 per cent, was shipped to Eng-
land, a substantial part of the rest was
sent to France — even America, richly
productive in copper, received over
3,000,000 yen worth (about a million and
a half dollars) of this precious metal.
Growth of Japanese Shipping
Finally, Japanese merchant shipping,
which grew in gross tonnage from 7v*0,-
000 to over 2,000,000 tons between 1904
and 1914, and stands at 2,000,000 tons
today in oceangoing shipping alone, has
loyally, though most profitably, served
allied purposes throughout the war. The
immense cargoes that have been moved
from the American seaboard to Vladi-
vostok, the coolie labor transportation
service that has put over 100,000 Chinese
industrial laborers at the service of the
Allies in France and England, and scat-
tered tramp and traffic services with In-
dia, Australia, China, and East Africa,
often of importance wholly disproportion-
ate to the size of the cargo — all these
services have been insured and stabilized
by the presence of Japanese shipping as
by no other factor.
With direct connections established
from Japan with every great port in the
world, including a service maintained by
six 8,000-ton boats of the Nippon Yushen
Kaisha, (Japan Steamship Company,) for
instance, between Yokohama and New
York, via the Panama Canal, Japan's op-
portunity for placing part of this mag-
nificent merchant fleet as reinforce-
ments into the depleted shipping lanes
of the Atlantic powers has several times
been spoken of semi-officially by the au-
thorities at Tokio; in fact, full consid-
eration of that momentous step has al-
ready been stated in the Japanese press
to be one of the most important ques-
tions to be discussed in this country by
the Ishii mission.
In naval and maritime, commercial and
financial aid, then, Japan's freely given
assistance to the allied cause has been,
up to the present, considerable. There
is still no responsible move, however,
either from Europe o~ from Japan, ac-
tually to transfer Japanese soldiers to the
battle front. Japan has sent to France
some excellent Red Cross units, and
some of her ablest surgeons and sanitary
experts, but she is not yet prepared to
undertake the vast and delicate task of
supplying, replenishing, and maintaining
abroad her sons as troops in a war that
is still half a world away.
The Arabs and the Turks
In the War
By Dr. J. F. Scheltema
I IKE the war in Europe, its counter-
part in Asia is being fought on
J more than one front. The prin-
cipal theatre of action in the
East was at first the Caucasus, where
the Turks, launching a brisk attack, tried
to reconquer the provinces wrested from
them by Russia; they were repulsed and
had to evacuate almost the whole of Ar-
menia. Then, after initial reverses, the
British tightened their hold on Mesopo-
tamia, swept on to Bagdad and beyond.
Turkish attempts on Egypt having failed,
there, too, they were thrown back, and a
British army followed closely on their
heels into Palestine. Now we hear of
the occupation of Maan, Tafilah, and
Akaba by the Grand Sherif of Mecca,
who, proclaiming himself King of the
Hejaz, had already chased the garrisons
out of the holy places of Islam and ad-
jacent strongholds. This tends to ham-
per still further the use of the Syrian
railway system for the transportation
of Turkish troops.
Incidentally, it proves also the wisdom
of the Syrian leaders of the Arabic move-
ment, who, as recently became known,
abandoned their plan of starting their
projected revolution in Iraq to promote
the defection of the Hejaz and its trans-
formation into an independent State un-
der the Grand Sherif Husayn Ibn Aly
with the title and prerogatives of King.
This coup won over to their side the
orthodox Arabs, perhaps somewhat suspi-
cious of the Syrian intellectuals but will-
ing to make common cause against the
Turks, aliens and usurpers in the land
of the Prophet's own; especially against
the Young Turks, downright " departers
from the precepts of the Book." Some
of the Syrian leaders had been officers
in the Ottoman Army, which they de-
serted, and this, with the assistance
given to the King of Hejaz by the powers
of the Entente, may account for his suc-
cess in reducing the fortified towns of
Western Arabia held by Turkish troops.
Husayn Ibn Aly's son Abd' Allah, who,
as the new-blown King's Minister of For-
eign Affairs, notified the powers of his
advent to the throne, was replaced in
that capacity by a Syrian Moslem. Other
counselors have been provided by the En-
tente, notably from among Moslemin that
owe allegiance to the French Republic.
The loyal Arabs are well supplied from
the same source with arms and ammuni-
tion, with machine guns, field batteries,
and even, it is said, with heavy ordnance
of the most improved type, together with
expert gunners to instruct them in the
efficient use of modern artillery. The
expenses attendant on his Majesty Hus-
ayn Ibn Aly's civil list are provisionally
guaranteed by the Governments of Brit-
ain and France. Repayment of the
money thus lent can be secured by a lien
on the revenue assured to the holy places
of Islam by the yearly pilgrimage. And
if, as seems likely, this asset does not
cover principal and interest of the debt
saddled on the new kingdom, the possibili-
ties of future restitution in some form or
another are not exhausted.
The story of the British advance on
Bagdad and beyond, of the Russian oper-
ations in Armenia and Persia, need not
be retold. In the latter country
German influence, stimulated by the
construction of the Bagdad Railroad, re-
ceived a staggering blow with the expul-
sion of the Turks. This influence had
grown steadily since the brilliant recep-
tion accorded at Berlin in 1902 to the
Shah Muzaffar ad-Din. Extending
northward from Bushir with the exten-
sion of German trade, with the founda-
tion of a German bank, its growth can be
best gauged by the statistics of Persian
exports and imports: from 3,670,000
krans in 1901, their total had increased
to more than 30,000,000 krans in 1914.
532
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
It goes without saying that political plot-
ting went pari passu with trade. It was
principally directed against Great Britain
and Russia. Agitators of doubtful ante-
cedents, but useful for the German prop-
aganda, were called to Consular posts and
abused their official positions to organ-
ize a strong campaign, supported by
Turkish envoys. Shiraz, Kerman, Kash-
an, and Khum, the centre of revolution-
ary intrigue fomented with funds secretly
supplied by Berlin, became almost unin-
habitable for Europeans not in sympathy
with German ambitions. Astute and
adroit, the German emissaries managed
even to make the Persians and Turks,
equally hostile to the giaours who were
dividing up their ancient patrimony, for-
get the rancorous animosity that sepa-
rates in Islam the Shi'ite from the Sunn-
ite.
Carried on in that manner, the Ger-
man propaganda, with a smaller Aus-
trian one in its wake, was greatly aided
by the Turkish occupation of Tabriz and
Urumiah, as it had been by the institu-
tion of a Swedish instead of a French
gendarmerie to police the roads and, gen-
erally, to keep up an appearance of re-
establishing order in a country which did
not escape the fate of other lands fallen
into anarchy by foreign interference.
When the Russians in Northern Persia
had to retire before the massed battal-
ions of the Ottoman army, all foreigners
not acceptable to the representatives of
the Central Powers were more or less
directly notified to leave. Among those
driven out were the French Carmelite
Fathers, who, in Bagdad, kept an excel-
lent industrial college; the Dominicans
and Lazarists, who taught school in Mo-
sul and Ispahan. Soon, however, the
fortune of war changed and the Rus-
sians were able to shove the Turks back
over the Persian frontier. Meanwhile
General Maude entered Bagdad, and the
allied forces, pushing on, threatened to
crush the Sixth Turkish Army Corps be-
tween them if it offered resistance to
their junction for a combined sweep to
the north.
There matters rested for a while until
tidings came of a Russian reverse which,
for the present, delays that junction, in
fact, jeopardizes the advantages gained
both in Persia and Mesopotamia. The
Turk, notwithstanding all that has lately
been said of his declining mettle, is not
to be despised as a warrior. Especially
where distances are so enormous and
means of transportation so bad as on
his Asian front he possesses one virtue
which makes him vastly superior to Tom-
my Atkins and Ivan Ivanovitch. He sub-
sists and marches obediently and fights
cheerfully on very little, indeed, on next
to nothing. He needs no tremendously
complicated commissariat, no excessively
heavy and long provision trains that in-
cumber the movements of the comba-
tants proper. A cup of coffee and a
handful of millet or corn, at a pinch only
a drop of water and a few dates, suffice
him for days at a stretch. He pulls
through without elaborate preparations
and implements of newest invention,
whether the khamsin blows or the rain
pours down in torrents when his tent has
not arrived, if he has a tent at all. His
merits are those commended for the ideal
soldier by Napoleon, who ranked courage
in the third place, after discipline and
the ability to endure hardships and
fatigue.
Besides that, he knows how to help
himself in a quandary. The Turkish mili-
tary engineers are excellent bridge build-
ers in the most approved scientific fash-
ion if they have the material to hand.
If it is lacking, the men return to the
methods of their fathers, having recourse
to kelleks for the crossing of streams in
their path, inflating goatskins for the
construction of rafts in any desired di-
mension, exactly as we see it done on
the old Assyrian bas-reliefs. Safely
across, they remove the plugs and load
the empty kelleks on camels or asses; if
no such animals are handy, on their own
backs. Though in the present war the
finished sections of the Bagdad Rail-
road, like the Syrian railways, were of
the greatest service to the Turks, the
secret of their stubborn resistance lies
in their extraordinary mobility in regions
innocent of even ordinary roads, or roads
of any description. Unincumbered by
burdensome baggage, or by the super-
fluous equipment which no European
THE ARABS AND THE TURKS IN THE WAR
533
armament can do without, they pass
everywhere at their fastest gait, sharing
this power, of course, with the Arabs of
Hejaz and the other native auxiliaries
of the Entente. On the other hand, they
suffer from the desertion of many of
their best officers, and from the disrup-
tion of their military administration in
Asian provinces by their forced removal
from Erzerum, Erzinjan, and Bagdad,
headquarters, under the old dispensation,
of their Ninth, Tenth, and Thirteenth
Army Corps.
The Turkish reoccupation of Khanikin,
among other places of strategic signifi-
cance, facilitates again the concentration
of Ottoman efforts, guided by German
brains, in the direction of Khum, with
Teheran and Ispahan as their ulterior
objects. At any rate, instead of receiv-
ing Russian support in their march on
Mosul, the British forces under General
Maude are seriously imperiled on their
right flank. The situation on the Cau-
casian front, too, appears less favorable,
since many Armenians, equally averse
to Russian as to Turkish rule, have
joined an armed league for the attain-
ment of absolute independence. On the
other hand, we have to note the auspi-
cious activity of the Arabs of the Hejaz,
which runs counter to the dictum of one
of the highest authorities on Arabian af-
fairs— the dictum that the Sherifate of
Mecca cannot possibly take part in the
present conflict in its wider sense.
And yet, he may be right. In the game
now in progress on the chessboard of the
Near East the Grand Sherif-King is but
a pawn moved forward as suits the gam-
bit planned by Western players for
higher stakes than the royal prestige of
an Oriental Kinglet whose counselors
could do worse for him than inculcate the
homely advice of the Scotch sage: Creep
before ye gang. Al-Oiblah, the official
organ of the royal Arabian Government,
sees fit to repeat periodically that its al-
liance with the powers of the Entente is
based upon its unconditional indepen-
dence. Its very existence being founded
in its purely Islamic character, there
seems occasion for such statements in an-
ticipation of hyperorthodox protests. And
Mohammedan doctors of the new school
can be trusted to find an acceptable
equivalent for the opinion of an eminent
unbeliever that religion and politics are
merely the mutually supplementary mani-
festations of a single idea.
However this may be, according to the
German newspapers, General von Falken-
hayn has repaired to the East to continue
the work of von der Goltz Pasha, re-
moved from the scene by assassination.
This fact indicates the importance Berlin
attaches, and rightly, to the conduct of
the war in its Oriental ramifications. But
the supreme command in such hands,
though perhaps it can delay, cannot avert
the final outcome of the gigantic strug-
gle, which, for Germany and Turkey
alike, bids fair to prove Charles H. Pear-
son's contention* apropos of one of Ba-
con's axioms,f that, if the nation which
cultivates war absorbingly is bound to
achieve great success, it is bound also to
do it at the cost, within measurable time,
of its place among the nations of the
world.
♦National Life and Character.
fEssay XXIX : * * * that no nation which
doth not directly profess arms may look to
have greatness fall into their mouths (laps).
General Haig's Official Report
ii.
The German Retreat
Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig's offi-
cial report of the operations of the Brit-
ish armies in France from November,
1916, to March 11, 1917, appeared in the
August issue of Current History Maga-
zine. The report of the withdrawal of
the Germans, which began March 12-13,
to the opening of the 1917 Spring offen-
sive, follows:
FOR some time prior to March 12-13 a
number of indications had been ob-
served which made it probable that
the area of the German withdrawal
would be yet further extended.
It had been ascertained that the enemy was
preparing a new defensive system known as
the Hindenburg line, which, branching off
from his original defenses- near Arras, ran
southeastward for twelve miles to Queant and
thence passed west of Cambrai toward St.
Quentin. Various " switches " branching off
from this line were also under construction.
The enemy's immediate concern appeared to
be to escape from the salient between Arras
and Le Transloy, which would become in-
creasingly difficult and dangerous to hold as
our advance on the Ancre drove ever more
deeply into his defenses. It was also evident,
however, from the preparations he was mak-
ing, that he contemplated an eventual evacua-
tion of the greater salient between Arras and
the Aisne Valley, northwest of Rheims.
Constant watch had accordingly been kept
along the whole front south of Arras, in
order that instant information might be ob-
tained of any such development. On March
14 patrols found portions of the German front
line empty in the neighborhood of St. Pierre
Vaast Wood. Acting on the reports of these
patrols, during that night and the following
day our troops occupied the whole of the
enemy's trenches on the western edge of the
wood. Little opposition was met, and by
March 16 we held the western half of Mois-
lains "Wood, the whole of St. Pierre Vaast
Wood, with the exception of its northeastern
corner, and the enemy's front trenches as far
as the northern outskirts of Sailly-Saillisel.
Meanwhile, on the evening of March 15,
further information had been obtained which
led me to believe that the enemy's forces on
our front south of the Somme had been re-
duced, and that his line was being held by
rearguard detachments supported by machine
guns, whose withdrawal might also be expect-
ed at any moment. The corps commanders
concerned were immediately directed to con-
firm the situation by patrols. Orders were
thereafter given for a general advance, to be
commenced on the morning of March 17, along
our whole front from the Roye Road to south
of Arras.
Bapaume and Peronne
Except at certain selected localities, where
he had left detachments of infantry and ma-
chine guns to cover his retreat, such as
Chaulnes, Vaux Wood, Bapaume, and Achiet-
le-Grand, the enemy offered little serious op-
position to our advance on this front, and
where he did so his resistance was rapidly
overcome. Before nightfall on March 17
Chaulnes and Bapaume had been captured,
and advanced bodies of our troops had pushed
deeply into the enemy's positions at all points
from Damery to Monchy-au-Bois. On our
right our allies made rapid progress also and
entered Roye.
On March 18 and subsequent days our ad-
vance continued, in co-operation with the
French. In the course of this advance the
whole intricate system of German defenses in
this area, consisting of many miles of power-
ful, well-wired trenches which had been con-
structed with immense labor and worked on
till the last moment, were abandoned by the
enemy and passed into the possession of our
troops.
At 7 A. M. on March 18 our troops entered
Peronne and occupied Mont St. Quentin, north
of the town. To the south our advanced
troops established themselves during the day
along the western bank of the Somme from
P6ronne to just north of Epenancourt. By 10
P. M. on the same day Brie Bridge had been
repaired by our engineers sufficiently for the
passage of infantry in single file, and our
troops crossed to the east bank of the river,
in spite of some opposition. Further south
French and British cavalry entered Nesle.
North of Peronne equal progress was made,
and by the evening of March 18 our troops
had entered the German trench system known
as the Beugny-Ypres line, beyond which lay
open country as far as the Hindenburg line.
On the same day the left of our advance was
extended to Beaurains, which was captured
after slight hostile resistance.
By the evening of March 19 our infantry
held the line of the Somme from Canizy to
P6ronne, and infantry outposts and cavalry
patrols had crossed the^ river at a number of
points. North of Peronne our infantry had
reached the line Bussu, Barastre, Velu, St.
Leger, Beaurains, with cavalry in touch with
the enemy at Nurlu, Bertincourt, Noreuil,
and Heninsur-Cojeul. Next day considerable
bodies of infantry and cavalry crossed to the
GENERAL HAIG'S REPORT: THE GERMAN RETREAT
£35
SCENE OF THE GERMAN RETREAT ON THE ANCRE AND SOMME
east of the Somme, and a line of cavalry out-
posts with infantry in support was established
from south of Germaine, where we were in
touch with the French, through flancourt
and Nurlu to Bus. Further north we occu-
pied Morchies.
Difficulty of Communications
By this time our advance had reached a
stage at which the increasing difficulty of
maintaining our communications made it im-
perative to slacken the pace of our pursuit.
South of P§ronne, the River Somme, the
bridges over which had been destroyed by
the retreating enemy, presented a formidable
obstacle. North of Peronne the wide belt of
devastated ground over which the Somme
battle had been fought offered even greater
difficulties to the passage of guns and
transport.
At different stages of the advance suc-
cessive lines of resistance were selected and
put in a state of defense by the main bodies
of our infantry, while cavalry and infantry
outposts maintained touch with the enemy
and covered the work of consolidation. Mean-
while, in spite of the enormous difficulties
which the condition of the ground and the
ingenuity of the enemy had placed in our
way, the work of repairing and constructing
bridges, roads, and railways was carried for-
ward with most commendable rapidity.
Increased Enemy Resistance
North of the Bapaume-Cambrai road, be-
tween Noreuil and Neuville-Vitasse, our ad-
vance had already brought us to within two
or three miles of the Hindenburg line, which
entered the old German front-line system at
Tilloy-lez-Mofflaines. The enemy's resist-
ance now began to increase along our whole
front, extending gradually southward from
536
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
the left flank of our advance, where our
troops had approached most nearly to his
new main defensive position.
A number of local counterattacks were de-
livered by the enemy at different points along
our line. In particular, five separate at-
tempts were made to recover Beaumetz-lez-
Cambrai, which we had captured on March
21, and the farm to the north of the village.
All failed, with considerable loss to the
enemy.
Meanwhile, our progress continued steadily,
and minor engagements multiplied from day
to day all along our front. In these we were
constantly successful, and at small cost to
ourselves took many prisoners and numerous
machine guns and trench mortars. In every
fresh position captured large numbers of Ger-
man dead testified to the obstinacy of the
enemy's defense and the severity of his
losses.
Our cavalry took an active part in this
fighting, and on March 27 in particular car-
ried out an exceedingly successful operation,
in the course of which a squadron drove the
enemy from Pillers FauQon and a group of
neighboring villages, capturing twenty-three
prisoners and four machine guns. In an-
other series of engagements on April 1 and
2, in which Savy and Selency were taken, and
our line advanced to within two miles of St.
Quentin, we captured ninety-one prisoners
and six German field guns. The enemy's
casualties were particularly heavy.
On April 2 also an operation on a more im-
portant scale was undertaken against the
enemy's positions north of the Bapaume-
Cambrai road. The enemy here occupied in
considerable strength a series of villages and
well-wired trenches, forming an advance line
of resistance to the Hindenburg line. A gen-
eral attack on these positions was launched
in the early morning of April 2 on a front of
over ten miles, from Doignies to Henin-sur-
Cojeul, both inclusive. After fightpig which
lasted throughout the day the entire series
of villages was captured by us, ywith 270
prisoners, four trench mortars, ar&l twenty-
five machine guns.
By this date our troops were established on
the general line Selency, Jeancourt, Epehy,
Ruyaulcourt, Doignies, Mercatel, Beaurains.
East of Selency, and between Doignies and
our old front line east of Arras, our troops
ware already close up to the main Hinden-
burg defenses. Between Selency and Doig-
nies the enemy still held positions some dis-
tance in advance of his new system. During
the succeeding days our efforts were directed
to driving him from these advanced positions
and to pushing our posts forward until con-
tact had been established all along our front
south of Arras with the main defenses of the
Hindenburg line. Fighting of some impor-
tance again took place on April 4 and 5 in the
neighborhood of Epehy and Havrincourt
Wood, in which Ronssoy, Lempire, and Metz-
en-Couture were captured by us, together
with 100 prisoners, two trench mortars, and
eleven machine guns.
Tribute to Officers and Men
Certain outstanding features of the past five
months' fighting call for brief comment be-
fore I close this report. In spite of a season
of* unusual severity, a Winter campaign has
been conducted to a successful issue under
most trying and arduous conditions.
Activity on our battle front has been main-
tained almost without a break from the con-
clusion of last year's offensive to the com-
mencement of the present operations. The
successful accomplishment of this part of our
general plan has already enabled us to realize
no inconsiderable installment of the fruits of
the Somme battle, and has gone far to open
the road to their full achievement. The cour-
age and endurance of our troops have car-
ried them triumphantly through a period of
fighting of a particularly trying nature, in
which they have been subjected to the maxi-
mum of personal hardship and physical
strain. I cannot speak too highly of the
qualities displayed by all ranks of the army.
I desire also to place on record here my
appreciation of the great skill and energy
displayed by the army commanders under
whose immediate orders the operations de-
scribed above were carried out. The ability
with which the troops in the Ancre area
were handled by General Sir Hubert Gough,
and those further south, on our front from
Le Transloy to Roye, by General Sir Henry
Rawlinson, was in all respects admirable.
The retreat to which the enemy was driven
by our continued success reintroduced on the
western front conditions of warfare which
had been absent from that theatre since the
opening months of the war. After more than
two years of trench warfare considerable
bodies of our troops have been engaged
under conditions approximating to open
fighting, and cavalry has been given an op-
portunity to perform its special duties.
Our operations south of Arras during the
latter half of March are, therefore, of pe-
culiar interest, and the results achieved by
all arms have been most satisfactory. Al-
though the deliberate nature of the enemy's
withdrawal enabled him to choose his own
ground for resistance, and to employ every
device to inflict losses on our troops, our
casualties, which had been exceedingly mode-
rate throughout the operations on the Ancre,
during the period of the retreat became ex-
ceptionally light. The prospect of a more
general resumption of open fighting can be
regarded with great confidence.
The systematic destruction of roads, rail-
ways, and bridges in the evacuated area made
unprecedented demands upon the Royal Engi-
neers, already heavily burdened by the work
entailed by the preparations for our Spring
offensive. Our steady progress, in the face
of the great difficulties confronting us, is the
best testimony to the energy and thorough-
ness with which those demands were met.
The bridging of the Somme at Brie, to
GENERAL HAIG'S REPORT: THE GERMAN RETREAT
537
which reference has already been made, is an
example of the nature of the obstacles with
which our troops were met and of the rapid-
ity with which those obstacles were over-
come. In this instance six gaps had to be
bridged across the canal and river, some of
them of considerable width and over a swift-
flowing stream. The work was commenced
on the morning of March 18, and was carried
out night and day in three stages. By 10 P.
M. on the same day footbridges for infantry
had been completed, as already stated. Me-
dium type bridges for horse transport and
cavalry were completed by 5 A. M. on March
20, and by 2 P. M. on March 28, or four and
a half days after they had been begun, heavy
bridges capable of taking all forms of traffic
had taken the place of the lighter type. Me-
dium type deviation bridges were constructed
as the heavy bridges were begun, so that
from the time the first bridges were thrown
across the river traffic was practically con-
tinuous.
Roads and Railways
Throughout the past Winter the question of
transport, in all its forms, has presented
problems of a most serious nature, both in
the battle area and behind the lines. On the
rapid solution of these problems the success
or failure of our operations necessarily
largely depended.
At the close of the campaign of 1916 the
steady growth of our armies and the rapid
expansion of our material resources had al-
ready taxed to the utmost the capacity of the
roads and railways then at our disposal.
Existing broad and narrow gauge railways
were insufficient to deal with the increasing
volume of traffic, an undue proportion of
which was thrown upon the roads. As Win-
ter conditions set in these rapidly deterio-
rated, and the difficulties of maintenance and
repair became almost overwhelming. An in-
crease of railway facilities of every -type and
on a large scale was therefore imperatively
and urgently necessary to relieve the roads.
For this purpose rails, material, and rolling
stock were required immediately in great
quantities, while at a later date our wants in
these respects were considerably augmented
by a large program of new construction in
the area of the enemy's withdrawal.
The task of obtaining the amount of rail-
way material required to meet the demands
of our armies, and of carrying out the work
of construction at the rate rendered neces-
sary by our plans, in addition to providing
labor and material for the necessary repair of
roads, was one of the very greatest difficulty.
Its successful accomplishment reflects the
highest credit on the Transportation Service,
of whose efficiency and energy I cannot speak
too highly. I desire to acknowledge in the
fullest manner the debt that is owed to all
who assisted in meeting a most difficult situa-
tion, and especially to Major Gen. Sir Eric
Geddes, Director General of Transportation,
[General Geddes became a member of the
British Government July 2 as First Lord of
the Admiralty,] to whose great ability, or-
ganizing power, and energy the .results
achieved are primarily due. I am glad to
take this opportunity also to acknowledge the
valuable assistance given to us by the Chemin
de Fer du Nord, by which the work of the
Transportation Service was greatly facili-
tated.
I wish also to place on record here the fact
that the successful solution of the problem of
railway transport would have been impos-
sible had it not been for the patriotism of the
railway companies at home and in Canada.
They did not hesitate to give up the locomo-
tives and rolling stock required to meet our
needs, and even to tear up track in order to
provide us with the necessary rails. The
thanks of the army are 'due also to those who
have accepted so cheerfully the incon-
venience caused by the consequent diminution
of the railway facilities available for civil
traffic.
The various other special services, to the
excellence of whose work I was glad to call
attention in my last dispatch, have con-
tinued to discharge their duties with the same
energy and efficiency displayed by them dur-
ing the Somme battle, and have rendered
most valuable assistance to our artillery and
infantry.
I desire also to repeat the well-merited
tribute paid in my last dispatch to the dif-
ferent administrative services and depart-
ments. The work entailed by the double
task of meeting the requirements of our Win-
ter operations and preparing for our next of-
fensive was very heavy, demanding unremit-
ting labor and the closest attention to detail.
The fighting on the Ancre and subsequent
advance made large demands upon the devo-
tion of our medical services. The health of
the troops during the period covered by this
dispatch has been satisfactory, notwithstand-
ing the discomfort and exposure to which they
were subjected during the extreme cold of
the Winter, especially in the areas taken
over from the enemy.
The loyal co-operation and complete mutual
understanding that prevailed between our
allies and ourselves throughout the Somme
battle have been continued and strengthened
by the events of the past Winter, and in par-
ticular by the circumstances attending the
enemy's withdrawal. During the latter part
of the period under review a very consider-
able tract of country has been won back to
France by the combined efforts of the allied
troops. This result is regarded with lively
satisfaction by all ranks of the British
armies in France. At the same time I wish
to give expression to the feelings of deep
sympathy and profound regret provoked >
among us by the sight of the destruction that
war has wrought in a once fair and pros-
perous countryside. I have the honor to be,
my Lord, your Lordship's obedient servant,
D. HAIG,
Field Marshal Commanding in Chief, British
Armies in France.
The Mesopotamian Disaster
The British Commission's Scathing Report
on Negligence of High Officials and Generals
THE commission appointed by the
British Government in August,
1916, to inquire into the disas-
trous Mesopotamian expedition in
1915-16, submitted its report June 26,
1917, and it proved to be one of the most
sensational revelations of the war.
The commission consisted of Lord
George Hamilton, G. C. S. I., Chairman;
Lord Donoughmore, Lord Hugh Cecil,
M. P.; Admiral Sir Cyprian Bridge, Gen-
eral Sir Neville Lyttelton, Sir Archibald
Williamson, M. P.; John Hodge, M. P.,
and Commander Josiah Wedgwood,
M. P.
The report is of such length that it
would be impracticable to publish it in
full, hence only a summary of certain
questions can be given. The commis-
sion's findings as to the first abortive ad-
vance on Bagdad are as follows:
The advance to Bagdad under the conditions
existing in October, 1915, was an offensive
movement based upon political and military
miscalculations and attempted with tired and
insufficient forces and inadequate preparation.
It resulted in the surrender of more than a
division of our finest fighting troops, and the
casualties incurred in the ineffective attempts
to relieve Kut amounted to some 23,000 men.
The loss of prestige associated with these
military failures was less than might have
been anticipated owing to the deep impression
made throughout and beyond the localities
where the combats occurred by the splendid
fighting power of the British and Indian
forces engaged.
Various authorities and high officials are
connected with the sanction given to this
untoward advance. Each and all, in our
judgment, according to their relative and re-
spective positions, must be made responsible
for the errors in judgment to which they were
parties and which formed the basis of their
advice or orders.
The weightiest share of responsibility lies
with Sir John Nixon, whose confident opti-
mism was the main cause of the decision to
advance. The other persons responsible were :
In India, the Viceroy (Lord Hardinge) and
the Commander in Chief, (Sir Beauchamp
Duff;) in England, the Military Secretary of
the India Office, (Sir Edmund Barrow.) the
Secretary of State for India, (Austen Cham-
berlain,) and the War Committee of the Cabi-
net. "We put these names in the order and
sequence of responsibility. The expert ad-
visers of the Government who were consulted
also approved the advance and are responsi-
ble for their advice, but the papers sub-
mitted to us suggest that the approval of the
naval and military experts was reluctant and
was perhaps partly induced by a natural de-
sire not to disappoint the hopes of advantage
to the general situation which the Govern-
ment entertained. It is, however, notablo
that the experts unanimously anticipated no
difficulty in the advance on Bagdad, but only
in holding it.
We have included the War Committee of
the Cabinet and the Secretary of State for
India among those upon whom responsibility
for this misadventure rests. It is true that
the War Committee and the Secretary of
State acted upon the opinion of their expert
military advisers, and that the Secretary of
State only gave his assent to the advance
after he had received an assurance from
the General on the spot that he had an avail-
able force sufficient for his purpose. But so
long as the system of responsible depart-
mental administration exists in this country
those who are political heads of departments
in time of war, whether they be civilian or
military, cannot be entirely immune from the
consequences of their own action.
The Cabinet from the first laid down the
principle, from which it never departed, that
questions jointly involving civil and military
policy should, in existing circumstances, only
be decided by the Cabinet. This authority it
exercised throughout, though at times it
largely delegated its powers to the War Com-
mittee of the Cabinet.
The Siege of Kut
The commission does not deal at any
length with the conditions in Kut during
its siege, but it publishes, as an appendix,
an account of the siege by Colonel Hehir,
principal medical officer to the besieged
force.
The Turks closed in on General Town-
shend on Dec. 7, and at first their assaults
were numerous and severe; but after
three days' fighting about Christmas the
enemy was repulsed with such hoavy
losses that no serious attempts to storm
the town were made for the remainder of
the siege. The real enemy was starva-
tion, and this compelled the surrender of
THE MESOPOTAMIAN DISASTER
539
the place on April 29, 1916, after a most
gallant and tenacious defense of 147
days.
The following extracts from Colonel
Hehir's paper show the straits to which
the garrison was reduced :
During the last month of the siege, men
at fatigues, such as trench-digging, after ten
minutes' work had to rest a while and go
at it again; men on sentry-go would drop
down, those carrying loads would rest every
few hundred yards; men availed themselves
of every opportunity of lolling about or lying
down. There were instances of Indians re-
turning from trench duty in the evening
seemingly with nothing the matter who lay
down and were found dead in the morning-
death due to starvation asthenia. Men in
such a low state of vitality can stand little
in the shape of illness— an attack of diar-
rhoea that they would have got rid of in a
day or so at the beginning of the siege often
ended fatally— all recuperative power had
gone. At the end of the siege I doubt whether
there was a single person equal to a five-
mile march, carrying his equipment. Person-
ally, up to the middle of March I could
make a complete inspection of the front-line
trenches and fort (about five miles) in the
morning; I had then to halve it, and at the
end of April, while doing even half, I had
to rest on the way. Practically all officers
were in the same condition of physical in-
capacity.
The behavior of the troops throughout
the siege was splendid. The defaulter's sheet
of the British soldier was a carte blanche,
and there was no grumbling ; there was
almost a complete absence of suicide and
insanity.
The difficulties in rationing the Indian
troops were much enhanced by caste preju-
dices as to food. For a long time many of
them refused to eat horse or mule flesh. Had
it not been for this, these animals could
not only have been used as food for the men,
but the grain they consumed could have been
devoted to the same purpose.
Right up to the end of the siege General
Townshend and his brigadiers retained the
confidence and allegiance of their men. After
the terms of surrender had been settled and
the Generals were departing in a steamboat
as prisoners of war their men fcrmed up
along the riverside and gave them a parting
cheer as a proof of their unbroken loyalty.
Equipment and Commissariat Deficiencies
Every General who appeared before the
commission agreed that the Mesopotamian
expedition was badly equipped. Sir Beau-
champ Duff informed it that the Indian
Army, which furnished the expedition, was
organized only for semi-savage fighting, was
not well found for an 'overseas expedition, to
a large extent had second-rate equipment,
and Was " backward in every particular."
The unpreparedness of the Indian Army for
its task in Mesopotamia was primarily due
to a long-standing policy of economy and re-
striction of military preparation to the needs
of frontier warfare, for which the Home and
Indian Governments were, of course, re-
sponsible, and not Sir Beauchamp Duff and
the General Staff at Simla. But the unpre-
paredness for overseas warfare was well
known to the Indian military authorities, and
when they undertook the management of an
expedition which was to fight against Turkey
supported by Germany they ought immedi-
ately to have striven energetically to bring
the equipment of the expedition up to the
standard of modern warfare. Serious defects
in military equipment, resulting in un-
necessary suffering and casualties among the
troops, were allowed to persist month after
month during the first fourteen months of
the campaign, when the Indian Government
was responsible for its management.
The commission's finding on this part of
its inquiry is :
" During the period for which the Indian
Government was responsible, the commis-
sariat of the expedition cannot be said to
have been up to the standard of our army
in France, but there was no general break-
down. The ration originally supplied to the
Indian troops was deficient in nutritive
qualities, and a serious outbreak of scurvy
ensued.
" In other essentials the expedition was
badly and insufficiently equipped, and little
if any effort was made to remedy deficien-
cies until the War Office took over the
expedition."
Disputes frith the Home Government
The history of the supply of reinforcements
to the force is a melancholy tale of alterca-
tion between London and Simla. Although
up to the time of the advance on Bagdad
the expedition was always numerically strong
enough to cope with the Turkish forces, yet
this result was only attained after pro-
tracted wrangling between the Governments
at home and in India, neither of whom
appeared willing to accept the task of rein-
forcing an expedition for the success of
which they were jointly responsible.
Transport
The findings as to transport are :
1. From the first the paramount im-
portance both of river and railway transport
in Mesopotamia was insufficiently realized
by the military authorities in Inida.
2. A deficiency of river transport existed
from the time the army left tidal water and
advanced up river from Kurna. This de-
ficiency became very serious as the lines of
communication lengthened and the numbers
of the force increased.
3. Up to the end of 1915 the efforts made
540
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
to rectify the deficiency of river transport
were wholly inadequate.
4. For want of comprehensive grasp of
the transport situation, and insufficiency of
river steamers, we find the military authori-
ties in India are responsible. The respon-
sibility is a grave one. ,
5. River hospital steamers were an urgent
requirement for the proper equipment of the
expedition, and were not ordered until much
too late.
6. With General Sir J. Nixon rests the re-
sponsibility for recommending the advances
in 1915 with insufficient transport and equip-
ment. The evidence did not disclose an im-
perative need to advance without due prepa-
ration. For what ensued from shortage of
steamers both as concerns suffering of the
wounded and military losses General Sir
John Nixon must, in such circumstances, be
held to blame.
7. During the first four months of 1916 the
shortage of transport was fatal to the opera-
tions undertaken for the relief of Kut. Large
reinforcements could not be moved to the
front in time to take part in critical battles.
Medical Breakdown
The commission adopts the principal con-
clusions of the Vincent-Bingley Commission,
which were that from a very early stage in
the campaign the sick and wounded under-
went avoidable discomfort and at times
great suffering, owing to deficiencies in
medical arrangements, especially as regards
river hospital steamers, land ambulance
transport, hospitals, and medical personnel
and equipment. The sufferings of the
wounded from these defects became aggra-
vated after the battle of Ctesiphon, and
culminated during the Kut relief operations
early in January, 1915, when there was a
complete breakdown of the medical arrange-
ments. For these deficiencies the Vincent-
Bingley Commission divides responsibility be-
tween the authorities in India and Mesopo-
tamia.
No river hospital steamers were provided
for what it was known must be largely a
riverine campaign. Consequently, until 1916,
the sick and wounded had to use ordinary
river transport steamers. These were always
overburdened with ordinary transport work,
were not infrequently used for carrying
animals, and it was not always possible
properly to clear them of their accumulations
of filth and dung before they were used for
sick and wounded troops. No wheeled ambu-
lance transport was provided. It follows that
ordinary army transport carts were the only
vehicles available for the sick and wounded
where land transport was necessary. There
is an overwhelming mass of evidence as to
the inhumanity of using these carts for the
wounded. Padding for them was not always
available. In some cases dead bodies were
even used as cushions. Even when padded
they were cruel and dangerous for certain
classes of wounded. All this must have been
well known to Surgeon General Babtie, or
might have been easily ascertained by in-
quiry or experiment. His only action in
regard to developing a more suitable vehicle
than the bullock tonga was to ask the Maha-
rajah of Benares to provide a special corps
of pony tongas, none of which was, how-
ever, available in Mesopotamia till long after
Sir W. Babtie had left India.
Official Want of Fran\nen
In matters affecting the sick and wounded
the want of frankness has painfully im-
pressed the commission. A number of in-
stances is given in which defects in medical
arrangements were not reported. Perhaps
the most striking of these is in connection"
with the medical breakdown after Ctesiphon,
when over 3,500 wounded had to be removed
(from the battlefield to the river bank, in
some cases a distance of ten miles, without
proper ambulance transport, and with an in-
sufficiency of medical personnel, of food, and
of comforts, so that a large proportion of
the wounded had to make their way on foot
in spite of their injured condition. When
they arrived at the river the available
steamer accommodation was gravely inade-
quate.
How one of these river convoys arrived at
Basra is thus described by Major Carter,
the medical officer in charge of an ocean
hospital ship, which was waiting at Basra
to receive the wounded :
" I was standing on the bridge on the
evening when the Medjidieh arrived. She
had two steel barges, without any protec-
tion against the rain, as far as I remem-
ber. As this ship, with two barges, came
up to us I saw that she was absolutely
packed, and the barges, too, with men.
The barges —ere slipped and the Med-
jidieh was brought alongside the Varela.
When she was about 300 or 400 yards off
it looked as if she was festooned with
ropes. The stench when she was close Mas
quite definite, and I found that what I
mistook for ropes were dried stalactites
of human faeces. The patients were so
huddled and crowded together on the ship
that they could not perform the offices of
nature clear of the edge of the ship, and
the whole of the ship's side was covered
with stalactites of human faeces. This is
what I then saw. A certain number of
men were standing and kneeling on the
immediate perimeter of the ship. Then we
found a mass of men huddled up any-
how—some with blankets and some with-
out. They were lying in a pool of dysen-
tery about thirty feet square. They were
covered with dysentery and dejecta gen-
erally from head to foot. With regard to
the first man I examined, I put my hand
into his trousers and I thought he had a
hemorrhage. His trousers were full almost
THE MESOPOTAMIAN DISASTER
541
■to his waist with something- warm and
slimy. I took my hand out, and thought
it was blood clot. It was dysentery. The
man had a fractured thigh, and his thigh
was perforated in five or six places. He
had apparently been writhing about the
deck of the ship. Many cases were almost
as bad. There were a certain number of
cases of terribly bad bed sores. In my
report I describe mercilessly to the Gov-
ernment of India how I found men with,
their limbs splinted with wood strips
from ' Johnny Walker ' whisky boxes,
1 Bhoosa ' wire, and that sort of thing."
" Question.— Were they British or Indian?—
A.— British and Indian mixed."
The withdrawal of the wounded to Basra,
which resulted in such appalling conditions,
was officially reported to the Secretary of
State as follows :
" Wounded satisfactorily disposed of.
Many likely to recover in country, com-
fortably placed in hospitals at Amara and
Basra. Those for invaliding are being
placed direct on two hospital ships that
were ready at Basra on arrival of river
boats. General condition of wounded very
satisfactory. Medical arrangements under
circumstances of considerable difficulty
worked splendidly."
Surgeon General Hathaway, the principal
medical officer in Mesopotamia, who was re-
sponsible for drafting the above telegram,
afterward sent to India a detailed report of
the evacuation of the wounded ; and the com-
mission says: "Nobody reading that report
would gather that anything untoward had
happened, or that the wounded had under-
gone any special or avoidable sufferings."
Medical Findings
The medical provision for the Mesopo-
tamia campaign was from the beginning in-
sufficient ; by reason of the continuance of
this insufficiency there was a lamentable
breakdown, causing severe and unavoidable
suffering to the sick and wounded after the
battle of Ctesiphon and the battles in Janu-
ary, 1916 ; there was amelioration in March
and April, 1916 ; but since then the improve-
ment has been continual, until it is reasonable
to hope that now the medical provision is sat-
isfactory. The main deficiencies were in
river hospital steamers, medical personnel,
river transports, and ambulance land trans-
port.
The Secretary of State showed an earnest
and continuous anxiety as to the condition
of the wounded, and the only comment that
can be made upon his procedure is that he
did not fully utilize the official powers at
his disposal for the purpose of disposing at
an earlier period an investigation into the
treatment of the wounded in Mesopotamia.
To Lord Hardinge of Penshurst, as Vice-
roy, belongs the general responsibility attach-
ing to his position as the head of the Indian
Government. In regard to the actual medi-
cal administration he showed throughout the
utmost good-will, but, considering the para-
mount authority of his office, his action was
not sufficiently strenuous and peremptory.
A more severe censure must be passed
upon the Commander in Chief in India, who
failed closely to superintend the adequacy of
medical provision in Mesopotamia. He de-
clined for a considerable time, until ultimately
forced by the superior authority of the Vice-
roy, to give credence to rumors which
proved to be true, and failed to take the
measures which a subsequent experience
shows would have saved the wounded from
avoidable suffering.
The commission's findings as to the di-
vision of responsibility are :
" The division of responsibility be-
tween the India Office and the Indian
Government, the former undertaking
policy and the latter the management of
the expedition, was, in the circumstances,
unworkable. The Secretary of State,
Austen Chamberlain, who controlled the
policy, did not have cognizance of the ca-
pacity of the expedition to carry out the
policy. The Indian Government, which
managed the expedition, did not accom-
pany developments of policy with the
necessary preparations, even when they
themselves proposed those developments.
The scope of the objective of the expedi-
tion was never sufficiently defined in
advance, so as to make ot.ch successful
move part of a well-thought-out and
matured plan."
The Indian Military administration is
found to be faulty, and radical military re-
forms are recommended.
Censure of Indian Government
The commission differentiates between the
error of judgment shown by the Indian Gov-
ernment in its advocacy of the advance to
Bagdad, which might have happened in any
campaign, and its failure adequately to min-
ister to the wants of the forces employed in
Mesopotamia.
" This failure," it says, " was persistent
and continuous, and practically covered the
whole of the period during which the Indian
Government was intrusted with the manage-
ment of the expedition. With the knowledge
of the facts which we now possess and of the
extent and scope of the preparations of the
War Office since it undertook the manage-
ment of the campaign, it is impossible to re-
frain from serious cerisure of the Indian Gov-
ernment for the lack of knowledge and fore-
sight shown in the inadequacy of its prepara-
tions and for the lack of readiness to recog-
nize and supply deficiencies. It ought to
542
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
have known, and with proper touch with the
expedition it could have known, what were its
wants and requirements. It is true that its
military system was cumbrous and inept. It
was, however, within the power of the Vice-
roy and the Commander in Chief to have
established a more effective procedure and a.
closer touch with the expedition itself."
The report produced a profound sensa-
tion and was followed shortly afterward
by the resignation of Austen Chamber-
lain, Secretary for India, and this action
caused a partial reorganization of the
Ministry and the War Council.
Lord Hardinge's Defense
Lord Hardinge, Viceroy of India from
1910 to 1916 and now Permanent Under
Secretary for Foreign Affairs, replied in
the House of Lords to the criticisms
passed upon him by the Mesopotamia
Commissioners. The following were the
chief points in his speech :
1. The War Effort of India.— The commis-
sion did not give sufficient prominence to the
unexampled effort made by India at the out-
set of the war and to the generosity of her
contributions, which could not fail to hamper
her further operations elsewhere.
2. Internal and Frontier Affairs.— Adequate
weight was not given in the report to the risks
and preoccupations of the Government of
India during 1914 and 1915 in connection with
internal and frontier affairs.
3. The Military Budget.— The financial side
of the pre-war military administration was in
excess of the maximum fixed by the Nichol-
son Committee. In the light of after events,
he recognized that possibly all ordinary finan-
cial considerations ought to have been sacri-
ficed if the Secretary of State and India
Council would have agreed.
4. The Advance on Bagdad.— The full tele-
graphic correspondence showed that the Gov-
ernment of India was strongly opposed to an
advance on Bagdad without reinforcements.
It might be contended that it ought to have
maintained its veto, but he asked whether
such a course would have been justified in
view of the obvious political advantages of the
capture of Bagdad, of the strong pressure
from home, and of the unanimous military
opinion in favor of it.
5. The Inadequacy of River Transport.—
This was only revealed when it was too late
to make it good, although everything possible
was done to remedy it. »
6. The Medical Breakdown.— He could only
confess to having been completely deceived by
the misleading reports received from the
front, and to that extent he must accept full
responsibility. But the moment the truth
dawned upon him he made every effort within
his power to remedy the situation.
Lord Hardinge said that the British
garrison in India at the beginning of the
war was reduced to about 150,000 men;
80,000 British and 210,000 Indian troops
had been sent away.
In the Summer of 1914 " the Indian
Army was at war strength, the maga-
zines were full, the equipment was com-
plete." Indeed, India sent abroad 70,-
000,000 rounds of small-arm ammunition,
60,000 rifles, more than 550 new guns,
and over 3,500 combatant officers, with
tents, boots, saddlery, clothing, &c.
" India was bled absolutely white dur-
ing the first weeks of the war," said
Lord Hardinge, and when the Mesopo-
tamia campaign was started the sacri-
fices were severely felt. Repeated de-
mands for troops, drafts, airplanes, ma-
chine guns, bombs, &c, were for the
most part refused by the War Office or
given with a sparing hand owing to the
greater need in France.
In speaking of the dangers in India
in the early part of the war, Lord
Hardinge said:
" Conspiracies were discovered at
Delhi, Lahore, and elsewhere. Revolu-
tionaries sought to undermine the loyalty
of the Indian troops. In the Spring of
1915 no fewer than 7,000 revolutiona-
ries returned from the United States and
Canada who instigated murder and ter-
rorism in the Punjab, where there were
arrests in one week of 3,500 hooligans.
Later a German conspiracy in Bengal
aimed at rebellion on Christmas Day,
1915. The Bay of Bengal was patrolled.
For ten days every officer had to be at
his post. Troop trains waited at big
railway junctions. That year, 1915, was
a very anxious one for India."
Mr. Chamberlain's resignation was
announced in the House of Commons in
an intensely dramatic climax July 12.
Mr. Chamberlain gave a detailed account
of the part which he had played in the
control of operations in Mesopotamia.
He began by repudiating any suggestion
that General Sir Edmund Barrow, Mili-
tary Secretary at the India Office, had
in any way exceeded his powers in
recommending an expedition to Mesopo-
tamia. He reviewed stage by stage the
communications which passed between
the Government of India, the India
THE MESOPOTAMIAN DISASTER
5 3
Office, and Sir John Nixon, both before
and during the advance from Kut. The
report of the commission, he was able
to show, condensed some of the tele-
grams which passed and omitted im-
portant passages from others. One
example was the suppression of the
political reasons mentioned in the tele-
gram of Oct. 5 as making the occupa-
tion of Bagdad desirable. These reasons,
Mr. Chamberlain disclosed, were the ac-
tivity of German emissaries in Persia,
the pressure on Afghanistan, and the
situation in the Balkans and the Dar-
danelles. At the same time, he made it
clear that Sir John Nixon urged the ad-
vance for military reasons, provided that
he was properly reinforced. The prob-
lem, according to the General Staff, was
not to get to Bagdad but to remain
there.
In the course of a history of the dis-
cussions and correspondence on the pos-
sibility of providing reinforcements to
hold the city and the probable effects of
a compulsory retirement, Mr. Chamber-
lain referred to the attacks made on
Mr. Asquith and his colleagues for de-
liberately embarking on a hazardous
gamble. The attacks, he said, were
based on a mutilated telegram, which at-
tributed to the Cabinet the declaration
that " we are in great need of a striking
success in the East."
Again filling the gaps, he revealed
the fact that these words were preceded
in the original message by the statement
that Persia was drifting into the war on
the side of the enemy and the Arabs
were wavering.
Mr. Chamberlain summed up the case
for authorizing the advance on Bagdad
as follows:
" The capture of Bagdad might be a
decisive factor in preserving peace in the
Middle East and up to and on the Indian
-frontier.
" The Cabinet was told by every mili-
tary adviser whom it consulted that the
operation was perfectly feasible.
" No one of these authorities questioned
the sufficiency of the force under Sir
John Nixon's orders for the purpose, nor
was any doubt suggested as to the capac-
ity of his supply and transport depart-
ments to sustain the operations.
" The problem the Cabinet had to con-
sider was whether the possibility of an
eventual withdrawal outweighed the ad-
vantages of an immediate and appar-
ently assured success.
" The Cabinet decided that it did not,
and after ascertaining that the Govern-
ment of India concurred in this view, the
orders for the advance were issued by
us."
From the military and political aspects
of the operations Mr. Chamberlain
passed to the collapse of the hospital ar-
rangements, and remarked that it was
both lamentable and inexcusable. " I
cannot say one word," he confessed, " to
excuse or to palliate the horrible break-
down." His personal plea was that he
was entirely ignorant of it until the
damage had been done.
In the course of a defense of Sir Wil-
liam Meyer and others who held respon-
sibility in the Government of India, Mr.
Chamberlain protested vigorously against
efforts to cast odium on Lord Hardinge,
" the most popular Viceroy that India
has ever had," because the military ad-
ministration to which he trusted broke
down under a great strain. It would be
an evil day for the country, he declared,
if, because of any errors of judgment or
any miscalculation for which others were
as much responsible as he, a great public
servant was to be hounded out of public
life without a trial and without a hear-
ing, in answer to the clamors of an ill-
informed, and passionate mob.
Mr. Bonar Law announced in the
House of Commons on July 18 that the
Government did not propose to take
action in regard to the civilians criticised
in the commission's report, that the
resignation of Lord Hardinge would not
be accepted, and that the soldiers would
be dealt with in the ordinary way by
the Army Council. The Government's
decision regarding Lord Hardinge was
challenged by Mr. Dillon on a motion of
adjournment, which, however, was de-
feated after a vigorous debate by 176
votes against 81, a Government majority
of 95.
Report on the Capture of Bagdad
General Maude's Official Narrative of the
Fighting From August, 1916, to March, 1917
GENERAL SIR STANLEY MAUDE,
commanding the Mesopotamian
Expeditionary Force, officially de-
scribed in a dispatch dated July
10, 1917, the operations which culminated
in the capture of Bagdad and the con-
quest of a large area north of the- city,
thus retrieving the ill-starred expedition
of the year before which resulted in the
surrender of a British army at Kut, and
proved one of the most serious disasters
which befell the British during the war.
The dispatch covers the seven months
from the end of August, 1916, to March
31, 1917— three weeks after the fall of
Bagdad. The first half of this period
was devoted to the work of preparation,
the active operations beginning in the
middle of December. In his summary of
the results achieved Sir Stanley Maude
says:
During1 the second period fighting" was
strenuous and continuous, and the strain im-
posed upon all ranks, both at the front and
on the lines of communication, severe. The
nature of the operations has been as varied
as it has been complex, and the training of
the troops has been tested, first in the fierce
hand-to-hand fighting in trench warfare round
Kut and Sannaiyat, and later in the more
open battles which characterized the opera-
tions in the Dahra Bend, the passage of the
Tigris, the advance on Bagdad, and sub-
sequent actions.
From this ordeal they have emerged with
a proud record, and have dealt the enemy a
series of stinging blows, the full significance
of which will not be easily effaced. British
and Indian troops working side by side have
vied with each other in their effort to close
with the enemy.
Recalling that the area over which the
responsibilities of the army extended was
a wide one, embracing Falahiyeh, on the
Tigris; Ispahan, (exclusive,) in Persia;
Bushire, on the Persian Gulf, and Nasa-
riyeh, on the Euphrates, the dispatch
proceeds :
Briefly put, the enemy's plan appeared to
be to contain our main forces on the Tigris,
while a vigorous campaign, which would di-
rectly threaten India, was being developed
in Persia. There were indications, too, of an
impending move down the Euphrates toward
Nasariyeh. It seemed clear from the outset
that the true solution of the problem was a
resolute offensive, with concentrated forces,
on the Tigris, thus effectively threatening
Bagdad, the centre from which the enemy's
columns were operating.
At the beginning of December the enemy
still occupied the same positions on the Tigris
front which he had held during the Summer,
and it was decided first to secure possession
of the Hai River ; secondly, to clear the
Turkish trench systems still remaining on
the right bank of the Tigris ; thirdly, to sap
the enemy's strength by constant attacks,
and give him no rest; fourthly, to compel
him to give up the Sannaiyat position, or in
default of that to extend his attenuated
forces more and more to counter our strokes
against his communications ; and, lastly, to
cross the Tigris at the weakest part of his
line as far west as possible, and so sever his
communications.
The Hai position was seized with little dif-
ficulty in the middle of December, but the
clearing of the Khadairi Bend, which was un-
dertaken on Jan. 6, involved severe hand-to-
hand fighting, and it was not until Jan. 19
that the enemy, who had suffered heavy
losses, was finally driven out.
Capture of Hai Salient
On Jan. 11, while Lieut. Gen. Cobbe was
still engaged in clearing the Khadairi Bend,
Lieut. Gen. Marshall commenced prepara-
tions for the reduction of the Hai salient —
the extensive trench system which the Turks
held astride the Hai River near its junction
with the Tigris, and for a fortnight we
gained ground steadily in face of strong
opposition, until, on the 24th, our trenches
were within 400 yards of the enemy's front
line.
On the 25th the enemy's front line astride
the Hai was captured on a frontage of about
1,800 yards. On the eastern (or left) bank
our troops extended their success to the
Turkish second line, and consolidated and
held all ground won in spite of counter-
attacks during the day and following night.
The enemy lost heavily, both from our bom-
bardment and in violent hand-to-hand en-
counters. On the western (or right) bank
the task was a severe one. The trench
system was elaborate, and offered facilities
for counterattack. The enemy was in con-
siderable strength on this bank, and guns
and machine guns in skillfully concealed po-
REPORT ON THE CAPTURE OF BAGDAD
545
sitions enfiladed our advance. Our objective
was secured, but the Turks made four coun-
terattacks. The first was repulsed ; the sec-
ond reached the captured line, and was
about to recapture it when a gallant charge
across the open by the Royal Warwicks
restored the situation; the third was broken
up by our artillery fire ; the fourth, sup-
ported by artillery and trench mortars,
forced our infantry back to their own
trenches.
On the 26th the assault was renewed by
two Punjabi battalions with complete suc-
cess, and the captured trenches were at once
consolidated. Subsequently our gains were
increased by bombing attacks and with the
bayonet in face of stubborn opposition, and
a counterattack in the afternoon was re-
pulsed by our artillery. Meanwhile our
troops had considerably increased their hold
on the enemy's position east of the Hai by
bombing attacks, though their progress was
hampered by the battered condition of the
trenches and by the numbers of Turkish dead
lying in them. On this bank the first and
second lines, on a frontage of 2,000 yards,
were captured by the 27th, and on the fol-
lowing day the whole of the front line had
been secured on a frontage of two miles and
to a depth varying from 300 to 700 yards,
the enemy withdrawing to an inner line. On
the 27th and 28th our troops penetrated 'fur-
ther into the Turkish defenses west of the
Hai by bombing attacks supported by artil-
lery barrage, and consolidated their position
In the first four lines of trenches on a front-
age of 600 yards. On the 29th they secured
more trenches by means of infantry raids
supported by artillery.
After a short pause to readjust our disposi-
tions, the centre of the enemy's third line on
the eastern (or left) bank of the Hai was
successfully assaulted by the Cheshires on
Feb. 1. Bombers pushed rapidly east and
west until the whole trench had been se-
cured from the Tigris to the Hai on a front
of about 2,100 yards, and an attempted coun-
terattack was broken by our artillery. The
enemy's casualties were heavy and many
prisoners were taken. On the western (or
right) bank the two Sikh battalions captured
the enemy's position on a front of 500 yards,
but our troops— especially the left of the at-
tack—were subjected to artillery and ma-
chine-gun fire in enfilade. The trench sys-
tem was complicated and difficult to consoli-
date, and it was not long before the Turks
delivered a counterattack in strength. The
most advanced parties of our infantry met
the enemy's charge in brilliant style by a
countercharge in the open, and casualties
on both sides were severe. The preponderance
of weight was, however, with the enemy,
and our troops, in spite of great gallantry,
were forced back by sheer weight of num-
bers to their original front line.
On Feb. 3 the Devons and a Ghurka bat-
talion carried the enemy's first and second
lines, and a series of counterattacks by the
Turks, which continued up till dark, withered
away under our shrapnel and machine gun
fire. Our troops east of the Hai co-operated
with machine gun and rifle fire, and two
counterattacks by the enemy on the left bank
of the Hai during the day were satisfactorily
disposed of. In the evening there were indi-
cations that he was contemplating withdrawal
to the right bank, and by daybreak on the
4th the whole of the left bank had passed into
our possession. The enemy was found to
have fallen back to the licorice factory
and a line east and west across the Dahra
Bend.
During this period the splendid fighting
qualities of the infantry were well seconded
by the bold support rendered by the artillery,
and by the ceaseless work carried out by the
Royal Flying Corps. These operations had
again resulted in heavy losses to the enemy,
as testified to by the dead found, and many
prisoners — besides arms, ammunition, equip-
ment, and stores — had been taken, while the
Turks now only retained a fast vanishing
hold on the right bank of the Tigris.
Dahra Bend Cleared
Feb. 6 to 8 were days of preparation, but
continuous pressure on the enemy was main-
tained day and night. On the ninth the
licorice factory was bombarded, and simul-
taneously the King's Own effected a lodg-
ment in the centre of the enemy's line, there-
after gaining ground rapidly forward and to
both flanks. Repeated attacks by the en-
emy's bombers met with no success, and two
attempted counterattacks were quickly sup-
pressed by our artillery. Further west the
Worcesters, working toward Yusufiyah and
west of that place, captured some advanced
posts, trenches, and prisoners, and established
a line within 2,500 yards of the Tigris at the
southern end of the Shumran .Bend.
On Feb. 3 the Devons and a Ghurkha bat-
west of the licorice factory, who had been
subjected all night to repeated bombing at-
tacks, began early to extend our hold on the
enemy's front line. This movement was fol-
lowed by a bombardment directed against
machine guns located at Kut and along the
left bank of the Tigris, which were bringing
a galling fire to bear against our right.
During this the Buffs and a Ghurkha battalion
dashed forward, and, joining hands with the
King's Own on their left, the whole line
advanced northward. As communication
trenches did not exist, any movement was
necessarily across the open, and was subject
to a hot fire from concealed machine guns
on the left bank, but, in spite of this, prog-
ress was made all along the front to depths
varying from 300 to 2,000 yards, our success
compelling the enemy to evacuate the licorice
factory. He withdrew to an inner line, ap-
proximately two and a half miles long, across
the Dahra Bend, with advanced posts strongly
held, and was finally inclosed in the Dahra
Bend by Feb. 13.
546
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
An attack against the enemy's right centre
offered the best prospects of success, and this
involved the construction of trenches and
approaches for the accommodation of troops
destined for the assault. Early on Feb. 15
the Loyal North Lancashires captured a
strong point opposite our left, which enfiladed,
the approaches to the enemy's right and
centre, the retiring Turks losing heavily from
our machine-gun fire. An hour later the
enemy's extreme left was subjected to a short
bombardment and feint attack. This caused
the enemy to disclose his barrage in front of
our right, and indicated that our constant
activity on this part of his front had been
successful in making him believe that our
main attack would be made against that part
of his line. Shortly after the Royal Welsh
Fusiliers and South Wales Borderers carried
the enemy's right centre in dashing style on
a front of 700 yards, and extended their suc-
cess by bombing to a depth of 500 yards on
a frontage of 1,000 yards, taking many pris-
oners. Several half-hearted, counterattacks
ensued, which were crushed by our artillery
and machine guns, and it became evident
that the enemy had strengthened his left and
could not transfer troops back to his centre
on account of our barrage. A little later the
enemy's left centre was captured by the Buffs
and Dogras, and, pushing on in a north-
easterly direction to the bank of the Tigris,
they isolated the enemy's extreme left, where
about 1,000 Turks surrendered.
Heroic Infantry
By nightfall the only resistance was from
some trenches in the right rear of the posi-
tion, covering about a mile of the Tigris
bank, from which the enemy were trying to
escape across the river, and it had been in-
tended to clear these remaining trenches by
a combined operation during the night; but
two companies of a Ghurkha battalion, acting
on their own initiative, obtained a footing in
them and took 98 prisoners. By the morning
of the 16th they had completed their task,
having taken 264 more prisoners. The total
number of prisoners taken on the 15th and
16th was 2,005, and • the Pahra Bend was
cleared of the enemy.
Thus terminated a phase of severe fight-
ing, brilliantly carried out. To eject the
enemy from this horseshoe bend, bristling
with trenches and commanded from across
the river on three sides by hostile batteries
and machine guns, called for offensive quali-
ties of a high standard on the part of the
troops. That such good results were achieved
was due to the heroism and determination of
the infantry, and to the close and ever-pres-
ent support rendered by the artillery, whose
accurate fire was assisted by efficient air-
plane observation.
The enemy had now, after two months of
strenuous fighting, been driven entirely from
the right bank of the Tigris in the neighbor-
hood of Kut. He still held, however, a very
strong position, defensively, in that it was
protected from Sannaiyat to Shumran by the
Tigris, which also afforded security to his
communications running along the left bank
of that river. The successive lines at San-
naiyat, which had been consistently strength-
ened for nearly a year, barred the way on a
narrow front to an advance on our part along
the left bank, while north of Sannaiyat the
Suwaikieh Marsh and the Marsh of Jessan
rendered the Turks immune from attack from
the north.
On the other hand, we had, by the appli-
cation of constant pressure to the vicinity
of Shumran, where the enemy's battle line
and communications met, compelled him so
to weaken and expand his front that his
attenuated forces were found to present vul-
nerable points, if these could be ascertained.
The moment then seemed ripe to cross the
river and commence conclusions with the
enemy on the left bank. To effect this it
was important that his attention should be
engaged about Sannaiyat and along the river
line between Sannaiyat and Kut, whilst the
main stroke was being prepared and deliv-
ered as far west as possible.
Storming of Sannaiyat
While Lieut. Gen. Marshall's force was en-
gaged in the Dahra Bend, Lieut. Gen. Cobbe
maintained constant activity along the San-
naiyat front, and as soon as the right bank
had been cleared orders were issued for
Sannaiyat to be attacked on Feb. 17. The
sodden condition of the ground, consequent
on heavy rain during the preceding day and
night, hampered final preparations, but the
first and second lines, on a frontage of about
400 yards, were captured by a surprise as-
sault with little loss. Before the captured
trenches, however, could be consolidated they
were subjected to heavy fire from artillery
and trench mortars, and were strongly coun-
terattacked by the enemy. The first counter-
attack was dispersed, but the second regained
for the enemy his lost ground, except on the
river bank, where a party of Ghurkhas main-
tained themselves until dusk, and were then
withdrawn. The waterlogged state of the
country and a high flood on the Tigris now
necessitated a pause, but the time was use-
fully employed in methodical preparation for
the passage of the Tigris about Shumran.
On Feb. 22 the Seaforths and a Punjabi
battalion assaulted Sannaiyat, with the same
objective as on the 17th. The enemy were
again taken by surprise, and our losses
were slight. A series of counterattacks fol-
lowed, and the first three were repulsed
without difficulty. The fourth drove back
our left, but the Punjabis, reinforced by an
Indian Rifle battalion and assisted by the
fire of the Seaforths, who were still holding
the Turkish trenches on the right front, re-
established their position. Two more counter-
attacks which followed were defeated. As
soon as the captured position had been con-
solidated two frontier force regiments as-
saulted the trenches still held by the enemy
REPORT ON THE CAPTURE OF BAGDAD
547
MAP OP REGION TRAVERSED BY THE BRITISH EXPEDITION THAT CAPTURED BAGDAD
in prolongation of; and to the north of, those
already occupied by us. A counterattack
forced our right back temporarily, but the
situation was restored by the arrival of re-
inforcements, and by nightfall we were in
secure occupation of the first two lines of
Sannaiyat. The brilliant tenacity of the Sea-
forths throughout this day deserves special
mention.
Feints in connection with the passage of
the Tigris were made on the night of the
22d-23d opposite Kut and at Magasis, re-
spectively. Opposite Kut preparations for
bridging the Tigris opposite the licorice fac-
tory, under cover of a bombardment of Kut,
were made furtively in daylight, and every
detail, down to the erection of observation
ladders, was provided for. The result was,
as afterward ascertained, that the enemy
moved infantry and guns into the Kut penin-
sula, and these could not be retransferred to
the actual point of crossing in time to be of
any use. The feint at Magasis consisted of
a raid across the river, made by a detach-
ment of Punjabis, assisted by parties of
sappers and miners and of the Sikh Pioneers.
This bold raid was successfully carried out
with trifling loss, and the detachment re-
turned with a captured trench mortar.
Tigris Crossed
The site selected for the passage of the
Tigris was at the south end of the Shumran
Bend, where the bridge was to be thrown,
and three ferrying places were located im-
mediately downstream of this point. Just
before daybreak on Feb. 23 the three ferries
began to work. The first trip at the ferry
immediately below the bridge site, where
the Norfolks crossed, was a complete sur-
prise, and five machine guns and some 300
prisoners were captured. Two battalions of
Ghurkhas, who were using the two lower
ferries, were met by a staggering fire before
they reached the left bank, but in spite of
losses in men and pontoons they pressed on
gallantly and effected a landing. The two
downstream ferries were soon under such
heavy machine-gun fire that they had to be
closed, and all ferrying was subsequently
carried on by means of the upstream ferry.
By 7 :30 A. M. about three companies of the
Norfolks and some 150 of the Ghurkhas were
on the left bank. The enemy's artillery be-
came increasingly active, but was vigorously
engaged by ours, and the construction of the
bridge commenced. The Norfolks pushed
rapidly upstream on the left bank, taking
many prisoners, while our machine guns on
the right bank, west of the Shumran Bend,
inflicted casualties on those Turks who tried
to escape. The Ghurkha battalions on the
right and centre were meeting with more
.opposition, and their progress was slower.
By 3 P. M. all three battalions were estab-
lished on the east and west line one mile
north of the bridge site, and a fourth bat-
talion was being ferried over. The enemy
attempted to counterattack down the centre
of the peninsula and to reinforce along its
western edge, but both attempts were foiled
by the quickness and accuracy of our artil-
lery. At 4 :30 P. M. the bridge was ready for
traffic.
648
THE NEW YORK TIMES. CURRENT HISTORY
By nightfall, as a result of the day's opera-
tions, our troops had, by their unconquerable
valor anad determination, forced a passage
across a river in flood, 340 yards wide, in
face of strong opposition, and had secured a
position 2,000 yards in depth, covering the
bridgehead, while ahead of this line our pa-
trols were acting vigorously against the ene-
my's advanced detachments, who had suf-
fered heavy losses, including about 700 pris-
oners taken in all. The infantry of one divi-
sion were across and another division was
ready to follow.
Kul Reoccupied
While the crossing at Shumran was pro-
ceeding, Lieut. Gen. Cobbe had secured the
third and fourth lines at Sannaiyat. Bomb-
ing parties occupied the fifth line later, and
work was carried on all night making roads
across the maze of trenches for the passage
of artillery and transport. Early on Feb. 24
our troops in the Shumran Bend resumed the
advance, supported by machine guns and ar-
tillery from the right bank. The enemy held
on tenaciously at the northeast corner of the
peninsula, where there is a series of nalas in
which a number of machine guns were con-
cealed, but after a strenuous fight, lasting for
four or five hours, he was forced back, and
two field and two machine guns and many
prisoners fell into our possession. Further
west our troops were engaged with strong
enemy forces in the intricate mass of ruins,
mounds, and nalas which lie to the northwest
of Shumran, and rapid progress was impos-
sible, but toward evening the enemy had been
pushed back to a depth of 1,000 yards, al-
though he still resisted stubbornly.
While this fighting was in progress the cav-
alry, the artillery, and another division
crossed the bridge. The cavalry attempted
to break through at the northern end of the
Shumran Bend to operate against the enemy's
rear along the Bagdad road, by which air-
planes reported hostile columns to be retreat-
ing, but strong Turkish rearguards intrenched
in nalas prevented them from issuing from the
peninsula. During this day's fighting at
Shumran heavy losses had been inflicted on
the enemy, and our captures have been in-
creased in all to four field guns, eight ma-
chine guns, some 1,650 prisoners, and a large
quantity of rifles, ammunition, equipment,
and war stores. The gunboats were now or-
dered upstream from Falahiyeh, and reached
Kut the same evening.
While these events wre happening at Shum-
ran, Lieut. Gen. Cobbe cleared the enemy's
sixth line at Sannaiyat, the Nakhailat, and
Suwada positions, and the left bank as far as
Kut without much opposition.
The capture of the Sannaiyat position,
which the Turks believed to be impregnable,
had only been accomplished after a fierce
struggle, in which our infantry, closely sup-
ported by our artillery, displayed great gal-
lantry and endurance against a brave and
determined enemy. The latter had again
suffered severely. Many trenches were
choked with corpses, and the open ground
where counterattacks had taken place was
strewn with them.
Flight of the Turks
Early in the morning of Feb. 25 the cav-
alry and Lieut. Gen. Marshall's force moved
northwest in pursuit of the enemy, whose
rearguards had retired in the night. The
gunboats also proceeded up stream. Our
troops came in contact with the enemy about
eight miles from Shumran and drove him
back, in spite of stubborn resistance, to his
main position two miles further west, where
the Turks, strong in artillery, were disposed
in trenches and nalas. Our guns, handled
with dash, gave valuable support, but were
handicapped in this flat country by being in
the open, while the Turkish guns were con-
cealed in gun pits. After a severe fight our
infantry gained a footing in the enemy's po-
sition and took about 400 prisoners. The
cavalry on the northern flank had been
checked by intrenched infantry and were un-
able to envelop the Turkish rearguard. The
Royal Navy, on our left flank, co-operated
with excellent effect in the bombardment of
the enemy's position during the day.
On the 26th one column, following the bend
of the river, advanced to force any position
which the enemy might be holding on the
left bank of the Tigris, while another column
of all arms marched direct to the Sumar
Bend in order to -intercept him. His retreat
proved, however, to be too rapid. Stripping
themselves of guns and other incumbrances,
the Turks just evaded our troops, who had
made a forced march across some eighteen
milse of arid plain. Our cavalry came up
with the enemy's rear parties and shelled
his rearguard, intrenched near Nahr Kellak.
The gunboat flotilla, proceeding upstream
full speed ahead, came under very heavy fire
at the closest range from guns, machine
guns, and rifles, to which it replied vigor-
ously. In spite of casualties and damage to
the vessels, the flotilla held on its course
past the rearguard position, and did consid-
erable execution among the enemy's retreat-
ing columns. Further upstream many of the
enemy's craft were struggling to get away,
and the Royal Navy pressed forward in pur-
suit. The hostile vessels were soon within
easy range, and several surrendered, includ-
ing the armed tug Sumana, which had been
captured at Kut when that place fell. The
Turkish steamer Basra, full of troops and
wounded, surrendered when brought to by a
shell which killed and wounded some German
machine gunners. His Majesty's ship Fire-
fly, captured from us during the retreat from
Ctesiphon in 1915, kept up a running fight,
but, after being hit several times, she fell
into our hands, the enemy making an un-
successful attempt to set fire to her maga-
zine. The Pioneer, badly hit by our fire,
was also taken, as well as some barges laden
with munitions. Our gunboats were in touch
with and shelled the retreating enemy during
REPORT ON THE CAPTURE OF BAGDAD
549
most of the 27th, and his retirement was
harassed by the cavalry until after dark,
when his troops were streaming through
Aziziyeh in great confusion.
Hussars' Brilliant Charge
The pursuit was broken off at Aziziyeh,
(fifty miles from Kut and half way to Bag-
dad,) where the gunboats, cavalry, and
Lieut. Gen. Marshall's infantry were con-
centrated during the pause necessary to re-
organize our extended line of communication
preparatory to a further advance. Lieut.
Gen. Cobbe's force closed to the front, clear-
ing the battlefields and protecting the line
of march. Immense quantities of equipment,
ammunition, rifles, vehicles, and stores of
all kinds, lay scattered throughout the eighty
miles over which the enemy had retreated
under pressure, and marauders on looting
Intent did not hesitate to attack small parties
who stood in their way.
Since crossing the Tigris we had captured
some 4,000 prisoners, of whom 188 were offi-
cers ; thirty-nine guns, twenty-two trench
mortars, eleven machine guns, his Majesty's
ships Firefly, Sumana, (recaptured), Pioneer,
Basra, and several smaller vessels, besides
ten barges, pontoons, and other bridging ma-
terial, quantities of rifles, bayonets, equip-
ment, ammunition and explosives, vehicles,
and miscellaneous stores of all kinds. In ad-
dition, the enemy threw into the river or
otherwise destroyed several guns and much
war material.
On March 5, the supply situation having
been rapidly readjusted, Lieut. Gen. Marshall
marched to Zeur, (eighteen miles,) preceded
by the cavalry, which moved seven miles
further to Lajj. Here the Turkish rearguard
was found in an intrenched position, very
difficult to locate by reason of a dense dust
storm that was blowing and of a network of
nalas, with which the country is intersected.
The cavalry was hotly engaged with the
enemy in this locality throughout the day,
and took some prisoners. A noticeable feature
of the day's work was a brilliant charge
made, mounted, by the Hussars straight into
the Turkish trenches. The enemy retreated
during the night.
The dust storm continued on the 6th,
when the cavalry, carrying out some use-
ful reconnoissances, got within three miles
of the Diala River, and picked up some
prisoners. The Ctesiphon position, strongly
intrenched, was found unoccupied. There
was evidence that the enemy had intended
to hold it, but the rapidity of our advance
had evidently prevented him from doing so.
Lieut. Gen. Marshall followed the cavalry
to Bustan, (seventeen miles,) and the, head
of Lieut. Gen. Cobbe's column reached Zeur.
On March 7 our advanced guard came in
contact with the enemy on the line of the
Diala River, which joins the Tigris on its
left bank, about eight miles below Bagdad.
As the ground was absolutely flat and de-
void of cover, it was decided to make no
further advance till after sunset. Our gun-
boats and artillery, however, came into
action against the hostile guns.
Callanl North Lancashire*
Measures for driving the enemy's infantry
from the Diala were initiated on the night
of March 7-8. It appeared as though the
enemy had retired, but when the first pon-
toon was. launched it was riddled by rifle
and machine-gun fire. A second attempt was
made with artilley and machine-gun co-
operation. Five pontoons were launched, but
they were all stopped by withering fire from
concealed machine guns. They floated down
stream, and were afterward recovered in the
Tigris River with a few wounded survivors
on board, and further ferrying enterprises
were for the time being deemed impracticable.
It now became evident that, although the
line of the Diala was not held strongly, it
was well defended by numerous guns and
machine guns skillfully sited, and the bright
moonlight favored the defense. To assist in
forcing the passage a small column from the
force under Lieut. Gen. Marshall was ferried
across the Tigris in order to enfilade the
enemy's position with its guns from the right
bank of that river.
During the night of the 8th-9th, after an
intense bombardment of the opposite bank,
an attempt was made to ferry troops across
the Diala River from four separate points.
The main enterprise achieved a qualified suc-
cess, the most northern ferry being able to
work for nearly an hour before it was
stopped by very deadly rifle and machine
gun fire, and we established a small post on
the right bank. When day broke this party
of seventy of the Loyal North Lancashires
had driven off two determined counterattacks
and were still maintaining themselves in a
small loop of the river bend. For the next
twenty-two hours, until the passage of the
river had been completely forced, the detach-
ment held on gallantly in its isolated position
under constant close fire from the surround-
ing buildings, trenches, and gardens, being
subjected to reverse as well as enfilade fire
from distant points along the right bank.
On the 8th a bridge was constructed across
the Tigris, half a mile below Bawi, and the
cavalry, followed by a portion of Lieut. Gen.
Cobbe's force, crossed to the right bank in
order to drive the enemy from positions
which our airplanes reported that he had oc-
cupied about Shawa Khan, and northwest of
that place, covering Bagdad from the south
and southwest. The advance of our troops
was much impeded by numerous nalas and
water cuts, which had to be ramped to ren-
der them passable. During the forenoon of
the 9th Shawa Khan was occupied without
much opposition, and airplanes reported an-
other position one and a half miles to the
northwest, and some six miles south of Bag-
dad, as strongly held. Our attack against
this developed later from the south and
550
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
southwest in an endeavor to turn the ene-
my's right flank. The cavalry, which at
first had been operating on our left flank,
withdrew later, as the horses needed water ;
but our infantry were still engaged before
this position when darkness fell, touch with
the enemy being kept up by means of patrols,
and the advance was resumed as soon as in-
dications of his withdrawal were noticed.
City Entered
On the morning of March 10 our troops
were again engaged with the Turkish rear-
guard within three miles of Bagdad, and
our cavalry patrols reached a point two miles
west of Bagdad railway station, where
they were checked by the enemy's fire. A
gale and blinding dust storm limited vision
to a few yards, and under these conditions
reconnoissance and co-ordination of move-
ments became difficult. The dry wind and
dust and the absence of water away from
the river added greatly to the discomfort of
the troops and animals. About midnight pa-
trols reported the enemy to be retiring. The
dust storm was still raging, but, following
the Decauville Railway as a guide, our
troops occupied Bagdad railway station at
5:55 A. M., and it was ascertained that the
enemy on the right bank had retired up-
stream of Bagdad. Troops detailed in ad-
vance occupied the city, and the cavalry
moved on Kadhimain, some four miles north-
west of Bagdad, where they secured some
prisoners.
On the left bank of the Tigris Lieut. Gen.
Marshall had during the 9th elaborated prep-
arations for forcing the passage of the
Diala. At 4 A. M. on the 10th the crossing
began at two points a mile apart, and met
with considerable opposition, but by 7 A. M.
the East Lancashires and Wiltshires were
across and had linked up with the detach-
ment of Loyal North Lancashires which had
so heroically held its ground there. Motor
lighters carrying infantry to attack the
enemy's right flank above the mouth of the
Diala grounded lower down the river, and
took no part in the operation. The bridge
across the Diala was completed by noon,
and our troops, pushing steadily on, drove
the enemy from the riverside villages of
Saidah, Dibaiyi, and Qararah— the latter
strongly defended with machine guns— and
finally faced the enemy's last position cover-
ing Bagdad along the Tel Muhammad Ridge.
These operations had resulted in the capture
of 300 prisoners and a large quantity of
arms, ammunition, and equipment, while
severe loss had been inflicted on the enemy
in killed and wounded, more than 300 of his
dead being found by our troops.
During the night of March 10-11 close touch
with the enemy was maintained by patrols,
and at 1 :30 A. M. on the 11th it was reported
that the Turks were retiring. The Tel
Muhammad position was at once occupied,
and patrols pushed beyond it, but contact
with the enemy was lost in the dust storm.
Early on the 11th Lieut. Gen. Marshall ad-
vanced rapidly on Bagdad, and entered the
city amid manifestations of satisfaction on
the part of the inhabitants. A state of
anarchy had existed for some hours, Kurds
and Arabs looting the bazaars and setting fire
indiscriminately at various points. Infantry
guards provided for in advance were, how-
ever, soon on the spot, order was restored
without difficulty, and the British flag
hoisted over the city. In the afternoon the
gunboat flotilla, proceeding up stream in
line ahead formation, anchored off the
British Residency, and the two forces under
Lieut. Gens. Marshall and Cobbe provided
for the security of the approaches to the city,
being disposed one on either bank of the
river.
For more than a fortnight before we entered
Bagdad the enemy had been removing stores
and articles of military value and destroying
property which he could not remove, but an
immense quantity of booty, part damaged,
part undamaged, remained. This included
guns, machine guns, rifles, ammunition, ma-
chinery, railway workshops, railway material,
rolling stock, ice and soda water plant,
pipes, pumps, cranes, winches, signal and
telegraph equipment, and hospital accessories.
In the arsenal were found, among some can-
non of considerable antiquity, all the guns
(rendered useless by General Townshend)
which fell into the enemy's hands at the
capitulation of Kut in April, 1910.
Care of Sick an^ Wounded
On the right bank of the Tigris the retreat-
ing enemy had intrenched a strong position
south of Mushaidie railway station, some
twenty miles north of Bagdad. A force
under Lieut. Gen. Cobbe carried this on
March 14, after a brilliant charge by the
Black Watch and Ghurkhas. At Mushaidie
station the enemy made his last stand, but
the Black Watch and Ghurkhas rushed the
station at midnight, and pursued the enemy
for half a mile beyond. The enemy's flight
was now so rapid that touch was not obtained
again, and on March 16 our airplanes reported
stragglers over a depth of twenty miles, the
nearest being twenty-five miles north of
Mushaidie.
On the same day a post was established on
the right bank of the Diala, opposite
Baqubah, thirty miles northeast of Bagdad,
and four days later Baqubah was captured.
On March 19 our troops occupied Feluja,
thirty-five miles west of Bagdad, on the
Euphrates, driving out the Turkish garrison.
The occupation of Feluja, with Nasariyeh
already in our possession, gave us control
over the middle Euphrates from both ends.
During the remainder of the month minor
operations were undertaken on the Diala,
pending the arrival of the Russian forces ad-
vancing from Persia. The total number of
prisoners taken during the period Dec. 13 to
March 31 was 7,921.
THE EUROPEAN WAR AS
SEEN BY CARTOONISTS
[English Cartoon]
United Again
w:-":'-
—From The Evening News, London.
John : " Today's the day you left me, Sam, the day that made you free."
Sam: "Yep, John, free to come back! "
551
[French Cartoon]
A Large Contract
—From Pele-Mele, Paris.
William : " I never imagined Liberty was so high that it was impossible
to extinguish her flame."
552
[German Cartoon]
The Roar of the American War God
—From Kladderadatsch, Berlin.
[One of Germany's many attempts to ridicule the fighting ability of the United
States.]
553
[French Cartoon]
After the Charge
-4
—From La Baionnette, Paris.
The Poilu : " I, too, have brought down my fifth Boche, but it won't be
mentioned in the War Office bulletin."
[Note.— Every French aviator who brings down his fifth enemy machine is cited in the
official reports]
554
[English Cartoon]
America's Choice
fcr^v-TL
—Raemaehers in Land and Water, London.
America refuses the olive branch from " the ugly talons of the sinister power."
(President Wilson's Address on Flag Day, June 14.)
555
[Australian Cartoon]
For the Armageddon Melting Pot
—F-rom The Sydney Bulletin.
Democritus the Junk Man: "Any old crowns today — any old crowns?"
556
[Italian Cartoon]
Constantine's Report
[Italian Cartoon]
Constantine's Departure
—From II Numero. Turin.
—From II }20j Florence.
Wilhelm : " What necessity forced
you to leave Greece? "
Constantine :" It was not necessity. A cold welcome in Switzerland, but
It was the Entente." * things are coming his way.
[French Cartoon]
The Sovereigns5 Asylum
—From La Ylctoire, Paris.
Constantine: "Move up, Nicholas, some others are coming."
557
[German Cartoon]
John Bull, the Conqueror
T^^r*^
—From Der Ulk. Berlin.
" It's an easy job to conquer Germany. Look, I have already captured a
French village! "
558
[English Cartoon]
Uncle Sam's War Aim
—From The Bystander, London.
To demonstrate to the Kaiser a new meaning of Stars and Stripes.
559
[English Cartoon]
The U-Boat Blockade
[Norwegian Cartoon]
Full Compensation
yet!
.3 ***$"*&*
-From London Opinion. -From Hvepsen, Christian*.
T T>,„, uxxti. 4.1 m; i ■ Gbrman Consul: "Our Government
John Bull: "What! Not starving has decided to pay full compensation
for the torpedoed ship on which your
husband was drowned. How much do
you want? "
[French Cartoon]
The American Spirit
[Polish Cartoon]
We, Nicholas II., &c, &c.
H© Le Rire, Paris.
No longer a matter of typewriting
machines.
-From Mucha, formerly of Warsaw.
560
[American Cartoon]
The Last Draft
—From The New York Times.
Democracy: u On what grounds do you claim exemption? "
561
[French Cartoon]
The Kaiser's Insignia
—From Le Pele-Mele, Paris.
— and as they are.
562
[Italian Cartoon]
Peace
-From II lfiO, Florence.
Over the body of Attila the celebrated artist Death will sing the hymn of peace.
563
[American Cartoon]
On the Brink
—From The New York Times.
561
[American Cartoon]
Whose Fire Is It, Anyhow?
—From The Baltimore American.
565
[German-Swiss Cartoon]
Deciding the Hunger War
i
Ga tL
1 £i\ <A, /'S*'
la
6 i
THm
WwN>i I
i.
Q
ZsL
—From Nebelspalter, Zurich.
In the end it will be fought out by a German poet and a French artist in
the form of a hunger duel.
566
[American Cartoons]
Ivan's Answer
The Persecuted Middleman
G-^ cZ\.l±Z<':-i) libslo/juQ
— St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
•jrt^Ml '±R - ■i-ij;^Pmm&&ik
—Dallas News.
A Hard Leap for Fritzie u# g . «That FeUw Certainly
Has Some Appetite"
—Cleveland Leader.
-Ohio State Journal.
567
[American Cartoons]
"'Smaller, Pop?"
Off for the Front
—From The Manchester Union.
—Baltimore American.
The Man Behind the Gun
The Tail Trying to Wag the Dog
568
[American Cartoons]
*f The Last Argument of Kings" Unmasked
-St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
—Atlanta Journal
The Third Anniversary
The Early Bird Loses the Worm
—Knickerbocker Press, Albany, N. Y.
•Baltimore American.
569
[German Cartoon]
English Reserve
John Bull: "Look out, Russia!
my Japanese on you ! "
—From Simplicissimus , Munich.
If you don't love me any more I will set
570
TABLE OF CONTENTS AND INDEX
Volume VI.
[SECOND PART]
July — September, 1917
Pages 1-570
[Titles of articles appear in italics']
ADDISON, (Dr.) Christopher, on munitions
output, 224 ; on aircraft manufacture in
England, 514.
ADLER, (Dr.) Friedrich, decision of Aus-
trian Parliament on trial, 226 ; summary
of his own defense of assassination of
Count Stuergkh, 330.
Adventures of Submarine Victims, 95.
AERONAUTICS, plans for creation of U. S.
air fleet ; use of Wright field at Dayton
by Govt., 13; feats of aviators over Mes-
sines Ridge, 40; accounts of air raids on
England from May 23 to June 16, 70; air-
planes shot down on western front dur-
ing April and May ; Major Rees on Brit-
ish and French supremacy, 78 ; on length
of training for pilot, 79 ; description of
his own capture by Prince Karl Fried-
rich, 79 ; fight on western front described,
80 ; tribute to work of Lafayette Esca-
drille at Verdun, by L. Cammen, 81 ; ap-
propriation for air fleet passed by House,
226 ; use of airplanes and hydroplanes in
detecting submarines, discussed by T. G.
Frothingham. 249; Govt, training camps
in Canada, 289 ; tactical value of aircraft
in three years of war, 427 ; U. S. appro-
priation for aviation corps ; H. Coffin on
work ahead of Aircraft Board ; Dr. Ad-
dison on aircraft manufacture, 514; ac-
count of attacks on London and Paris,
516; meeting called by Lloyd George to
consider reprisals, 517 ; French raid in
reprisal ; bombing of Krupp works, 518 ;
British raid on Ghistelles ; list of air raids
since May 1, 519; losses, Italian raids,
520; "Early Raids of Note," "German
Airman's Story of a Raid on London,"
521; "Ear Disturbances Suffered by
Aviators," 523; Congressman Tilson on
" Airplanes and Gas Bombs," 525.
AFRICA, see GERMAN East Africa.
AGRICULTURE, T. P. O'Connor on land
under cultivation in England and Ireland,
275; work by French authorities in re-
storing lands devastated by Germans,
347.
AIMS of the War, Pres. Wilson's Flag Day
address, 1 ; Pres. Wilson's note to Rus-
sia, 49 ; first address of Dr. Michaelis,
197 ; speech of Lloyd George at Glasgow,
261 ; Baron Sonnino on Italy's aims, 263 ;
stated in French reply to Russian demand
for statement. 264; speech in Deputies by
R. Viviani, 277 ; reply of Bethmann Holl-
weg to Pan Germanist protest against
narrow view of utilization of victories,
353 ; P. Scheidemann on leading factors,
449: address at Madison Barracks by
Secretary Lansing on aims of U. S., 455;
Sen. Borah on U. S. aims, 460; views of
H. H. Asquith, 466; France accused bv
Dr. Michaelis of making secret treatv
with Russia aiming at conquest, in reply
to Lloyd George, 467 ; Baron Sonnino on
Italian attitude toward Balkan issues.
476; statement given out by Admiral of
Italian Navv. 477.
See also CAUSES of War; PEACE.
AIR raids, see AERONAUTICS.
Airplanes and Gas Bombs, 525.
ALBANIA, offers of autonomy by Austria
and by Italy, 85; Italian occupation, 86;
Vol. 6 — Part Two
republic established by Allies at Koritza,
87 ; article on rival plans of autonomy and
attitude of country, 284 ; text of Italian
proclamation of autonomy, 285 ; Baron
Sonnino on Italian aims, 477.
ALBERT, King of the Belgians, letter to
Pres. Wilson presented by Belgian Mis-
sion, 272.
ALEXANDER I., King of Greece, succeeds
Constantine, 83 ; proclamation on ascend-
ing throne ; manifesto by M. Jonnart off-
setting proclamation, 282.
ALEXANDRA Feodorovna, Czarina of Rus-
sia, part in war compared with that of
Marie Antoinette in French Revolution,
108, 118.
ALEXEIEFF, (Gen.) Michael V., resigna-
tion, 55.
ALGECIRAS Conference, attitude of U. S.
toward enforcement of treaty, 304.
ALIENS, see ENEMY Aliens; UNITED
STATES — Foreign Population.
All Anti-Jewish Laws Repealed, 214.
ALLIES' Commissions to United States, edi-
torial comment, 19; closing addresses of
French and British Envoys and summary
of work, 59; account of visit of Italian
Commission, 62 ; French Mission in Balti-
more, 237 ; account of visit of Russian
Mission, 26(3 ; mission resolves itself
into permanent Russian Embassy, 269;
" Tour of the Italian Mission " speeches
of G. Marconi, E. Arlotta. and Prince
Udine, 270; account of visit of Belgian
Mission, 272 ; speech of Lord Northcnne
in New York ; representatives of Irish
Parliamentary Party, purpose explained
by T. P. O'Connor, 274; visit of Irish
Nationalist leaders ; Andre Tardieu as
French High Commissioner, 275 ; Ruma-
nian Patriotic Mission, 276; "Objects of
Japanese Mission," 276: account of arrival
of Japanese Mission, 429.
See also HOLLAND ; NORWEGIAN Com-
mission; SWEDEN; SWITZERLAND.
ALLIES' Conference on Balkan Affairs, de-
cisions, 438.
ALLIN, C. D., 64.
ALNWICK Castle (S. S.). account by Capt.
Chave of torpedoing, 93.
ALSACE-LORRAINE, resolution on return
to France, in Chamber of Deputies, 50;
restoration demanded as condition of
peace in French note to Russia, 264;
Order of the Day in French Chamber of
Deputies on return. 264 ; text of Declara-
tion of Bordeaux, 265; A. J. Balfour on
restoration, 469.
AMEGLIO, (Gen.) Giovanni, 299.
" America Will Make No Difference," 463.
AMERICAN Commission to Russia, see under
RUSSIA.
AMERICAN Escadrille, see LAFAYETTE
Escadrille.
AMERICAN Federation of Labor, 444.
AMERICAN Fund for French Wounded, in
charge of rebuilding Behericourt, 349.
American Mission in Russia, 57.
America's Army in the Making, 11.
America's Fleet in Being, 14.
11.
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
AMMUNITION, " Enormous Weight of
Metal Hurled by Artillery," 334.
See also MUNITIONS of War.
ANDERSON, (Dr.) William, 64.
ANNEXATION, see AIMS of War; PEACE.
Appalling Waste of the War, 452.
Appeal to American Patriotism, 387.
APPONTI, (Count) Albert, made Minister of
Education, 20.
ARABIA, new kingdom protected by Entente
Allies, 531.
See also CAMPAIGN in Asia Minor.
Arabs and the Turks in the War, 531.
ARBITRATION, International, view of Ger-
man Chancellor in 1911, 72; attitude of
U. S. and of Germany, 306, 309.
ARIGA, (Prof.) Nagao, 104.
ARKWRIGHT, John S.. poem, " O Valiant
Hearts," 432.
ARLOTTA, Enrico, plea for war materials
and ships, 271.
ARMED Merchant Ships, see UNITED
STATES — Armed Neutrality.
ARMENIA, see ATROCITIES.
Armenian Tragedy, 332.
ARMIES, Sir W. Robertson on number of
men in Franco-Prussian war and in pres-
ent conflict, 136 ; comment on small armies
and decisive battles, 226.
See also under names of countries.
ARNIM, (Gen.) Sixt von, report on ammu-
nition expended in Somme battle, 334.
ASIA, see CAMPAIGN in Asia Minor.
ASPHYXIATING Gas, account of first at-
tacks at Ypres, 125; use of sabadilla for
production of gases, 258; sketch of use in
warfare, by Congressman Tilson, 526.
ATHOS (S. S.), account of heroism on, 92.
ATROCITIES, Armenians referred to by Lord
Cecil in defense of annexation policy, 46;
" The Armenian Tragedy," by E. Cand-
ler, 332.
See also VANDALISM.
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY, Cabinet changes and
racial problems, 20 ; attitude on submarine
issue and break with U. S., 73; figures
showing division of races and plan for
ideal reconstruction, 222 ; wartime life in
Vienna and desire for peace, 321 ; sum-
mary of Dr. Adler's justification of his
assassination of Count Stuergh by condi-
tion of country, 330 ; " The Pope's Peace
Proposal and the Austrian Empire," 408.
AUTOMOBILES, tanks at Messines Ridge
battle, 39; " tank " at Gaza, described by
W. T. Massey, 165; war demand for trucK
output and drivers stated by Lord North-
cliffe, 274.
AVIATION, see AERONAUTICS.
AYLMER (Gen.). 303.
B
BAGDAD, see CAMPAIGN in Asia Minor.
BAGDAD Railway, value in control of Cen-
tral Europe, 97 ; effect of war on, 166.
BAKER, (Sec.) Newton Diehl, statement on
war strength of army, 12 ; address at
drawing of conscription numbers, 385; let-
ter of A. Tardieu on France's fighting
strength, 481.
BAKHMETEFF, Boris A., heads Russian
mission, 19 ; formal address upon presenta-
tion of credentials as Ambassador, 207 ;
rep'y Gf Pres. Wilson, 208; statement to
newspaper men on political and military
program of Russia, 266 ; address before
the House, 267 ; at Washington's tomb ;
speechs in Senate, 278 ; speech in Central
Park and reception in New York ; resolves
mission into permanent Russian Embassy,
Vol. 6 — Part Two
BALFOUR, Arthur James, speech in Parlia-
ment in Ottawa, 61 ; on restoration of
Alsace-Lorraine, and on democratization
of Germany, 469.
BALKAN States, agreements reached in Al-
lies' Conference, 438; Italy's position on
issues defined by Baron Sonnino, 470.
See also names of States.
BALL, (Capt.) Albert, 79.
BALTBIE, (Surgeon Gen. Sir) W., censured
for deficiencies in medical service in
Bagdad campaign, 540.
BALTIMORE, Md., ground broken by French
Mission for Lafayette monument, 237.
BARBARITIES, see ATROCITIES; VAN-
DALISM.
BARATIER, (Gen.) A., tribute to P. G. Os-
born, 412.
BARBOSA, Ruy, extract from speech in Rio
Janeiro calling for war, 280.
BARKET, J. H., M Joffre's Tribute to La-
fayette at Baltimore," 237.
BARLOW, Lester P., 525.
BARNES, G. N., stand against Stockholm
Conference, 443.
Barrage Fire in Modern Warfare, 507.
BARROW, (Maj. Gen. Sir) Edmund, 244,
538.
BATOCKI, Adolph von, on potato crop ;
bread-card system, 152 ; resignation, 411.
Battle of Messines Ridge, 35.
Battle of the Chancelleries, 464.
BATTLES, see CAMPAIGNS ; NAVAL Oper-
ations.
BAUDRILLART (Mgr.), 53.
BEAUCHAMP, (Capt.) de, 521.
BEBEL, August, on attitude of Social Demo-
crats toward war, 450.
BEHERICOURT, to be rebuilt by Amer.
Fund for French Wounded, 349.
BELGIAN Commission to United States, see
ALLIES' Commissions.
BELGIAN Prince (S. S.), accounts of sink-
ing, by survivors, 406.
BELGIUM, official memorandum on eco-
nomic exploitation and deportations by
Germans, 143; reorganization of war in-
dustries and of army, 146; Lloyd George
on restoration by Germany, 261 ; plan of
Baron von Bissing for annexation, 352 ;
German levies discussed in Belgian So-
cialist manifesto, 446 ; necessity for resto-
ration as peace guarantee stated by Lloyd
George, 465; version of necessity for in-
vasion given in telegram from Kaiser to
Pres. Wilson, Aug 10, 1914, 474; account
of sufferings of repatriated deportees,
498.
See also CAMPAIGN in Europe, Western.
BENEDICT XV., Pope, text of appeal to
belligerent countries for peace, 392 ; ac-
companying note from Cardinal Gasparri,
393 ; attitude of countries toward note,
394.
BERGER, Victor L., 20.
BERLIN, war conditions described by F. S.
Delmer, 324, 508.
BERLINER Tageblatt, on territory occupied
by Germany at close of third year, 480.
BERNHARDI, Friedrich von, quoted, 75.
BELLS, In churches in South Jutland seized
by Germans, 513.
BETHMANN HOLLWEG, (Dr.) Theobald
von, comment of Lord Cecil on speech,
48 ; quoted on invasion of Belgium, <>*.* ;
resignation forced by political crisis, 191 ;
antagonism of Crown Prince toward, 195;
letter of Kaiser accepting resignation,
196; fealty to Emperor, by C. D. Hazen,
199 ; opposition to secret voting. 202 ; re-
ply to Baron Gebsattel on Pan-Germanist
war alms, 353.
INDEX AND TABLE OF CONTENTS
in.
Better to Die, 104.
BIRDS, description of bird life in battle zone,
by H. Thoburn-Clarke, 140.
BISMARCK, (Prince) Otto von, and " Ems
dispatch," 70; as Chancellor, 221.
BISSING, (Gen.) Moritz P. von, plan for an-
nexation of Belgium, 352.
BLISS, Cornelius N., 25.
BLOCKADE, British, mistakes discussed by
T. G. Frothingham, 422.
BLOCKADE, German, see SUBMARINE
Warfare.
BOMBS, see ASPHYXIATING Gas.
BORAH, William Edgar, on aims of U. S.
in war, 460.
BORDEAUX, Declaration of, text, 2G5.
BORODINE (Prof.), 266.
BOXER Indemnities, abrogation promised
by Allies, 101.
BRAILLON (Dr.), 343.
BRAZIL, preparations for entering war, 23 ;
note to U. S. on revocation of neutrality,
279 ; reply by F. L. Polk ; seizure of Ger-
man vessels ; co-operation of navy with
U. S. fleet ; R. Barbosa's speech in Rio de
Janeiro calling for war, 280.
BREAD Cards, summary of system in Ger-
many, 153.
See also FOODSTUFFS.
BRIAND, Aristide, part in development of
general strikes, 439 ; accused by Dr.
Michaelis of aiming at conquest, 467.
BRIDGES, Robert, poem, " To the United
States of America," 316.
Britain's Fight on Food Shortage, 149.
BRITISH Commission to United States, see
ALLIES' Commissions.
British in the Promised Land, 163.
British Reverse on the Yser, 242.
BROQUEVILLE, Charles de, 146.
BROUCKERE, (M.) de, 445.
BRUSILOFF, (Gen.) Alexis, made Comman-
der in Chief, 55 ; resignation, 435.
BUELOW (Prince) von, on German militar-
ism, 203; as Chancellor, 221.
BULGARIA, entry into war, 506.
BUSINESS, appeal of Pres. Wilson against
profiteering, 256.
BUTCHKAREFF (Lieut.), raises regiment of
women, 56; on system of training of regi-
ment of women, 210.
CADORNA, (Gen.) Luigi, 295.
CAINE, Hall, " The Appalling Waste of the
War," 452.
CALDWELL, (Rev.) M., 79.
CAMBON, Jules, on charge by Dr. Michaelis
of French desire for annexation, 471.
CAMPAIGN in Asia Minor, objectives and
events of British and Russian operations
in Western Asia discussed by J. B. Mac-
donald, 156; article by W. T. Massey,
"The British in the Promised Land,"
163; Russian failure, 233; "Report on
British Disaster at Kut-el-Amara," 244;
review of operations, by Maj. Dayton,
300; in Spring of 1916, 425; "The Arabs
and the Turks in the War," 531; extracts
from report of British Commission on
failure of Mesopotamian expedition, 1915-
1916, 538; text of report by Gen. Maude
on operations culminating in capture of
Bagdad, 544.
CAMPAIGN in Europe, Austro-Italian Bor-
der, reviewed by J. B. W. Gardiner, 26;
account of Italian offensive on Carso and
Isonzo fronts, 33; account of operations
since beginning, by Maj. Dayton, 295.
CAMPAIGN in Europe, Balkan States, situa-
tion reviewed by J. B. W. Gardiner, 29;
Italy in Balkans; occupation of Albania,
86; Gen. Ameglio in Albania, 300.
CAMPAIGN in Europe, Eastern, Russian
front in 1915, reviewed by Maj. Dayton,
128; renewal of Russian offensive in Ga-
licia, reviewed by J. B. W. Gardiner, 227 ;
W. Littlefield on Bukowina offensive, 398 ;
" The Grand Tactics of Three Years of
Warfare," by T. G. Frothingham, 419;
retreat of Russians in Galicia. 442.
CAMPAIGN in Europe, Western, battle of
Messines Ridge reviewed by J. B. W.
Gardiner, 27 ; account of battle on Mes-
sines-Wytschaete Ridge, 35; "Storming
of the Aisne Quarries " described by W.
Williams, 41; account of work of Ameri-
can Escadrille at Verdun, by L. Cammen,
81 ; second battle of Ypres, Verdun, Artois,
and Festubert, article by Maj. Dayton, 124 ;
extracts from diary of Cardinal Lucon on
bombardment of Rheims, 139 ; J. B. W.
Gardiner on British at Lens and German
attack on Chemin des Dames, 231 ; on
German attack on Yser, 232; "War's In-
ferno on the Aisne Ridge," by W. Will-
iams, 239; "A British Reverse on the
Yser," by P. Gibbs, 242; official report of
Sir D. Haig on battles on Ancre from
Nov., 1916, to Mar., 1917, 335; account of
storming of Ginchy, by Lieut. Young, 354 ;
events from July 18 to Aug. 18, 1917, 394;
"Battle of Flanders," 400; "German
Word Picture of the British Attack ir.
Flanders," by M. Osborn, 403; "The
Grand Tactics of Three Years of War-
fare," by T. G. Frothingham, 419; Ger-
man version of the Marne reviewed by J.
Reinach, 487 ; summary of address by
Gen. Clergerie, " How Paris Was Saved,"
495 ; account of operations in Autumn of
1915, by Maj. Dayton, 499; report of Sir
D. Haig on operations in France from re-
treat of Germans to opening of Spring of-
fensive, 534.
CANADA, conscription bill and opposition in
Quebec, 21 ; article by F. Yeighi, " Can-
ada's Three Years of War," summing up
war activities, 287 , article by V. De W.
Rowell on Indians at the front, 290; at-
titude of Roman Catholic clergy and of
political parties toward conscription, 292 ;
convention of Liberals called, 293; com-
ment on passage of draft act, 411.
CANDLER, Edmund, " The Armenian Trag-
edy," 332.
Cardinal's Bombardment Diary, 139.
CARSO, see CAMPAIGN in Europe, Austro-
Italian Border.
CARSON, (Sir) Edward, extract from sum-
mary of war events, on Russian revolu-
tion and entry of U. S., 466; comment on
close of third year of war, 473.
CARTIER de Marchienne, Emile de, 143.
CASUALTIES, Austrian losses in Italian
campaign, 34; losses on Messines Ridge,
35 ; American lives lost on ocean during
war, 66 ; in air raids on England, 76 ;
compared by Sir W. Robertson with those
in 1870, 136; in battle at Gaza, 159; in
Thirteenth and Eighteenth Turkish Army
Corps, 163; German losses during May and
total to date, 226; Canadian, for three
years, 288; British at Ctesiphon, 302; of
Gen. Aylmer near Felahie, 303; German
since Aug., 1916, 399; British losses in
Flanders, during two weeks of August,
402; on British merchantmen, up to Aug.,
1917, 405; Russian in retreat in Galicia,
423; British losses per month in battle of
Somme in 1916, 425; "Estimates of War
Casualties," 427; French percentage in
proportion to strength, 481; British losses
at Loos, 503 ; French losses in Champagne,
504; British losses on western front from
Sept. 25-Oct. 18, 1915. 506; deaths due to
air raids in London, 518.
CAUSES of the War, German responsibility
discussed by Pres. Wilson in Flag Day
address, 2; annotations on Pres. Wilson's
Vol. 6— Part Two
IV.
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
war message, 64 ; responsibility of Russian
mobilization discussed in Reichstag by Dr.
Michaelis, 196; "How the War Came to
America," official statement, 304; "Why
We Entered the Great War," by W. H.
Taf t, 317 ; London Times account of Pots-
dam meeting at which ultimatum to Ser-
bia was decided upon ; denial by Wolff
Bureau, 470; U. S. in possession of proof
that Serbian ultimatum was first in hands
of German Emperor, 471 ; telegram from
Kaiser to Pres. Wilson, Aug. 10, 1914,
giving version of how war began, 473 ;
comment on telegram by S. Lauzanne
showing how Kaiser contradicted himself,
474.
CAVE, (Sir) George, statement on air raid
casualties, 518.
CAVELL, Edith, quoted by Lord Cecil, 48.
CECIL, (Lord) Robert, address in Parliament
in reply to amendment on annexation by
P.. Snowden, 46 ; statement at close of
third year of war, 473.
CELS, Jules, on submarine menace to ship-
ping, 88.
CENSORSHIP, failure of Congress to estab-
lish, 23.
CENTRAL Europe, German plans stated by
Pres. Wilson in Flag Day address, 3 ;
article by T. G. Frothingham on " Threat
of ' Mittel-Europa,' " 97.
CEVADILLA, 258.
CHABRANNES, (Comte3se) de, takes charge
of rebuilding Maucourt, 349.
CHAMBERLAIN, J. Austen, consured for
failure of Mesopotamian expedition, 1915-
1916, 538; resignation, and reply in Com-
mons to censure, 542.
CHANG, Hsun, 259.
CHARLES I., Emperor of Austria, first
Throne speech, 44.
CHAVE, (Capt.) Benjamin, report on torpe-
doing of S. S. Alnwick Castle, 93.
CHERNOFF, M. Y. N., 441.
CHIESA, Eugenio, on Italian occupation of
Albania, 86.
CHINA, article by G. L. Harding on events
leading up to break with Germany, 100;
account of beginning of disorder, 102 ; re-
appointment of Premier Tuan, retirement
of Li Yuang-hung in favor of Feng Kuo-
chang, 226; account of attempt to restore
Manchu dynasty, 258 ; comment on declara-
tion of war against Germany; statement
of Feng Kuo-chang, 406; "China's Mil-
lennium of Peace," 407.
China Foils a Royalist Coup, 259.
CHOULGINE (M.), account of Czar's abdi-
cation, 115.
CHRONOLOGY of the War, 29, 233, 415.
CHTYHEGLOVITOFF, indicted, 208.
CIVTL War (U. S.), draft riots in New York,
223.
CLERGERIE (Gen.), summary of account of
" How Paris Was Saved," 495.
CL'UNET, (Dr.) Jean, account of career and
death, by R. de Lezeau, 137.
COAL, needed by Italy supplied by U. S., 62;
shortage in Italy discussed by G. Mar-
coni, 270.
COATES, Florence Earle, poem, " Better to
Die," 104.
COBBE (Lieut. Gen.), 544.
COCHIN (Deputy), 467.
COFFIN, Howard E., on use of Wright field
for training of aviation students, 13; on
aircraft production, 514.
Come Into the Garden {of Eden) Maude, 96.
COMMAND of Death, description of forma-
tion and training, 210.
Vol. 6 — Part Two
COMMERCE, understanding worked out be-
tween U. S. and Entente Allies as result
of War Mission, 61 ; German ambitions
and Central Europe problem, 97.
See also EXPORTS; SHIPPING.
•COMMITTEE on Public Information, text of
pamphlet, " How the War Came to Amer-
ica." 304.
CONSCRIPTION, see CANADA; UNITED
STATES— Army.
CONSPIRACIES, see GERMAN Plots.
CONST ANTINE I., King of Greece, over-
throw ; connection with royal houses of
Europe, 18 ; events leading up to abdica-
tion, 83; message from Emperor William,
84 ; account of abdication and departure,
281 ; chronological table of war policy ;
arrival and reception in Switzerland, 283.
CONSTANTINOPLE, war conditions, 327; at-
titude of Russian people stated by Dr.
Michaelis, 468.
COSSACKS, revolution pledging support to
Govt., 55.
See also RUSSIA— Army.
COST of War, sociological study " Who Pays
for the Cost of War," by W. A. Wood,
134; "Appalling Waste of the War," by
H. Caine, 452.
See also FINANCE.
COTTON, passed on by neutrals to Ger-
many, 256.
See also EXPORTS.
COUNCIL of National Defense, statement on
aviation policy, 13.
CRANE, Charles R., " Russian Church Re-
forms," 213.
Creating the New American Armies, 218.
CROCKER, Mrs. W. H., takes charge of re-
building Vitrimont, 349.
CROWDER, (Brig. Gen.) Enoch H., tells
Congress number of men required in draft,
CZERNIN von Chudenitz, (Count) Ottokar
von, interchange of notes with Dr.
Michaelis on relations of Germany with
Austria-Hungary, 197 ; reply to speech of
Lloyd George attacking Dr. Michaelis's
first address, 468.
Cry From the Canadian Hills, 75.
Current History Chronicled, 18, 221, 406.
D
DANCOURT (Lieut.), 521.
DANIELS, Josephus, article summarizing
naval progress of U. S. in war measures,
252.
DATO, Eduardo, attitude as Premier toward
war, 22.
DAVID, (Dr.) E., on Social Democracy, 450.
DAVIS, William Stearns, annotations on
Pres. Wilson's message calling for war,
64.
DAVISON, Henry P., appointed on Red
Cross Council, 25.
DAYTON, (Maj.) Edwin W., "Military Ope-
rations of the War," 124, 295, 499.
Death of Prince Karl Friedrich, 79.
DECLARATION of Bordeaux, text, 265.
DELBRUECK, (Dr.) Hans, 192.
DELBRUECK, Rudolf, on protection of em-
pire through Jesuit act, 20.
DELMER, F. Sefton, on life in Berlin during
war, 324, 508.
DENIKINE (Gen.), 56.
DEPORTATIONS, see BELGIUM; JEWS.
Deportations Planned in Advance, 143.
DESTROYERS, value, 247.
Details of the Czar's Abdication, 115.
DEVONPORT (Baron), orders regulating
. foodstuffs, 149; resignation, 150.
INDEX AND TABLE OF CONTENTS
DJEMAL Pasha, cruelty to Jews, 167.
DGBSON, Richard, " German Socialism and
World War," 447.
DONZEL (Engineer), 92.
DORISE (Capt.). 93.
DOUMERGUE (M.), 4^7, 470.
Downfall of King Constantine, 83.
DRAFT, see UNITED STATES— Army.
DUBOIS (M.), 415.
DUFF, (Gen. Sir) Beauchamp, 244, 538.
DUMAS (Gen.), salute to U. S. on arrival
of Gen. Pershing, 7.
Ear Disturbances Suffered by Aviators, 523.
EFREMOFF (M.), 107, 113.
EGYPT, political status, 411.
EITEL Friedrich (Prince), charged With
theft in France, 415.
EMBARGO, see EXPORTS.
EMS Dispatch, 70.
ENEMY Aliens, annotations on Pres. Wil-
son's reference in war message, 74.
See also GERMAN Plots; GERMANS in
America.
ENGLAND :—
Army, Maoris in, 22 ; races and nations
represented, 25 ; numbers of Canadian
enlistments for three years, 287 ; state-
ment of Lloyd George on number of
men enrolled, 407; tribute by Sir D.
Haig, 536.
See also CANADA.
Cabinet, changes announced, July 17, 224.
Commission on Failure of Mesopotamian
Expedition, report, 244, 53S.
Electoral Reform, effect of new bill and
provision for woman suffrage, 18.
Finances, Canadian contributions, 288 ;
war credits tabulated by dates, 413.
Foreign policies, in relation to Teutonic
control of Central Europe, article by T.
G. Frothingham, 97.
Germany, Relations with, telegram from
Kaiser to Pres. Wilson, Aug. 10, 1914,
giving account of events immediately
following Serbian ultimatum, 473.
See also CAUSES of the War.
Imperial Conference, results, 147.
Munitions of War, Dr. Addison on output,
224; amounts purchased, 414.
Royal House, abolishes German titles, list
of substitutions, 224; announcement of
change of name to House of Windsor,
251.
Russia, Relations with, note in reply to
Russian demand for statement of war
aims, 50.
ZEPPELIN Raids, see AERONAUTICS.
Enormous Weight of Metal Hurled by Artil-
lery, 334.
Entente Peace Terms Defined, 50.
ENVER Pasha, 327.
ERZBERGER, Mathias, peace move among
Catholic clergy, 53 ; change of front on
peace, 192; similarity of peace plans to
those of the Pope, 408.
ESPIONAGE Act, provisions, 23.
ESSAD Pasha, President of Albania, 87.
ESSEN, Krupp works bombed, 518.
ESTERHAZY, (Count) Moritz, 20.
EXEMPTION Boards, appointment and
power, 386.
EXPORTS Council, 16, 254.
EXPORTS, decision of Pres. Wilson to place
embargo on essential commodities to pre-
vent neutral re-exports to Germany ;
statement of Sec. Redfield on licenses,
Vol. 6— Part Two
16 ; purpose of embargo act, 23 ; " Em-
bargo on Exports of Food and Other
Commodities," 254; attitude of countries
of Europe toward embargo ; denial by E.
B. Trolle that Sweden's imports were not
for home consumption, 255.
FABRY, (Lieut. Col.) Jean, 10.
FACIAL Surgery, progress, 412.
Facts Supporting President Wilson's War
Message, 64.
FALKENHAUSEN, (Baron) Friedrich von,
53.
FEDERATION of Allied Nations, suggested
by Lord Northcliffe as post-bellum
measure, 274.
FENG Kuo-chang, Pres. of China, appointed,
226. 260; statement on declaration of war
against Germany, 406.
FERDINAND, King of Rumania, reply on
Jewish question to deputation, 155.
FERRERO, (Gen.) Giacinto, 2S5.
Fighting Forces of France, 481.
FIJI Islanders, part in war, 21.
FINANCE, U. S. loans to Allies, 414; state-
ment of Sen. Borah on amount of bond
issues in belligerent countries, 4(J0.
See also tinder names of countries.
FINLAND, concessions by Russian Pro-
visional Govt., 57; problem of liberation
and German intrigue discussed by Dr.
Lange, 112 ; Russian problem in, 205.
First American Army in France, 215.
First United States War Loan, 17.
FLEMINGS, views of von Bissing on move-
ment, 352.
FLOUR, see FOODSTUFFS.
FOCH, (Gen.) Ferdinand, 127, 493.
FOLKESTONE, air raid on, 76.
Food Crisis in the United States, 15.
Food Dictator for the United States, 3S9.
Food Restrictions in France — Use of Horse
Meat, 151.
FOODSTUFFS : —
Austria-Hungary, conditions in Vienna,
321.
Canada, M. J. Hanna appointed Controller
and working with Mr. Hoover, 289.
England, text of order on meatless and
potatoless days, 149; official summary
of other food regulations, 150.
France, orders for meatless day with ex-
ception of horse meat, regulations for
use of flour, 151 ; list of regulations in
Paris, 322.
Germany, shortage of potatoes ; summary
of bread-card system, 152 ; Dr.
Michaelis in Reichstag on severity of
conditions, 197 ; conditions in Berlin ;
use of wood for flour, 326; article by
F. S. Delmer, 508.
Holland, need of grain, 431.
Norway, Dr. Nansen on needs, 430.
Turkey, scarcity and rise in prices, 169,
328.
United States, Pres. Wilson and measures
to avert crisis, 15 ; tables presented by
Senator Gallinger showing comparative
prices in 1914 and 1917, 99 ; war
measures, Pres. Wilson on program for
control, and effect on prices, 389.
See also EXPORTS.
Foreign Born Men in America, 22.
FRANCE, races represented in army, 24;
article comparing Russian and French
Revolutions, 118 ; war regulations in Paris,
322 ; official report of German barbarities
in occupied territory, 340; work done in
restoring communities destroyed in Ger-
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
man retreat, 347 ; " Two Years Under the
Germans," diary of a villager of Savy,
350 ; new income tax rates, 415 ; accused
by Dr. Michaelis of making secret treaty
with Russia aiming at conquest, 467; de-
nial In Deputies by Premier Ribot, 470;
denial of Russian protest against aims,
by M. Terestchenko ; denial by J.
Cambon, 471 ; assertion of Kaiser that
Eelgian neutrality was violated be-
cause " France was already prepar-
ing to enter Belgium," made in letter
to Pres. Wilson Aug. 10, 1914 ; contradic-
tion of assertion of Kaiser by Gen. Frey-
tag-Loringhoven, 474 ; letter from A.
Tardieu to Sec. Baker giving figures for
strength of France as fighting unit, 481;
war expenditures, 482.
See also ALLIES' Commissions ; CAM-
PAIGN in Europe, Western ; VAN-
DALISM.
FRANK (Dr.), on German lack of rights in
politics, 200.
FREDERICK the Great, policy of right con-
trasted with that of George Washington,
69.
FREEDOM of the Seas, see INTERNA-
TIONAL Law.
FREIGHT Rates, Pres. Wilson on high ocean
rates, 257.
FRENCH Commission to United States, see
ALLIES' Commissions.
FREYTAG-LORINGHOVEN, (Gen. Baron)
von, extract from article showing France
was caught unawares by invasion, 474.
FROTHINGHAM, Thomas G., " The Threat
of ' Mittel-Europa,' " 97; "The Subma-
rine Situation," 245; "The Grand Tactics
of Three Years of Warfare," 419.
FRANCO-Prussian War, Bismarck's method
of provoking, 70.
Fruits of Diplomatic Missions, 59.
FULLER, Paul, 255.
GALLIC Temperament, compared with Sla-
vonic as shown in French and Russian
Revolutions, 121.
GALLIENI, (Gen.) Joseph S., at defense of
Paris, 496.
GALLINGER, Jacob H., table presented in
Senate showing food prices in 1914 and
1917, 99.
GALLOIS, (Sergeant) Maxime, account of
bombing of Krupp Works, 518.
GAMA, (Dr.) Domicio, note to U. S. on revo-
cation of neutrality by Brazil, 279; reply
by F. L. Polk, 280.
GARDINER, J. B. W., "Military Review of
the Month," 26, 227.
GARFIELD, Harry A., 391.
GARIBALDI, Giuseppe, visit of Prince Udine
and members of commission to memorial
at Rosebank, 271.
GARRELS (Consul at Alexandria), report
on deportation of Jews from Jaffa, 167.
GAS Bombs, see ASPHYXIATING Gas.
GASPARRI (Cardinal), text accompanying
Pope's peace note, 393.
GAZA, in history, 159.
See also CAMPAIGN in Asia Minor.
GEBSATTEL (Baron), protest in behalf of
Pan-Germanist League, reply by Beth-
mann Hollweg, 353.
GEDDES, (Maj. Gen. Sir) Eric, work com-
mended by Sir D. Haig ; made First Lord
of the Admiralty, 537.
GEORGE V., King of England, greeting to
Gen. Pershing, 6 ; abolishes German titles
of royal house, 224 ; sends message to
allied nations on third anniversary of
war, 472.
German Airman's Story of a Raid on Lon-
don, 521.
Vol. 6 — Part Two
German Barbarities in France, 340.
GERMAN Conspiracies, see GERMAN Plots.
German Crisis, 191.
GERMAN East Africa, treatment of natives
. by Germany described by Lord Cecil, 47.
GERMAN Language, repeal of act forbidding
use of other languages in public meet-
ing, 20.
GERMAN Plots, activities of conspirators re-
ferred to by Pres. Wilson in Flag Day
address, 2; annotation on Pres. Wilson's
war message, giving list of intrigues in
U. S., 71; comment on Zimmermann plot
in Mexico, 72 ; in Russia, 204 ; work of
hostile spies in America, treated in offi-
cial statement of U. S. on war ; extract
from speech of Pres. Wilson in St. Louis,
310; proclamation of Workmen's Council
censuring pro-German agitators in Rus-
sia, 435; Lenine as agent in Russia, 442.
German Sailor's Account of the Jutland
Battle, 497.
German Socialism and the World War, 447.
German Version of the Marne, 487.
German Word Picture of the British Attack
in Flanders, 403.
GERMANS in America, tables showing per-
centage unnaturalized in registration for
draft. 220.
See also ENEMY Aliens ; GERMAN riots,
GERMANY :—
Army, W. Littlefield on waning power in
men and stamina, 399.
Chancellors, historical sketch of holders
of Chancellorship, 221.
China, Relations with, see CHINA.
Colonies, Lloyd George on settling future
Government in peace terms, 202.
See also GERMAN East Africa.
Electoral reform, demands leading to po-
litical crisis, 191; manifesto of Em-
peror William, 193 ; unfairness of pres-
ent electoral system discussed by C. D.
Hazen, 201.
England, Relations with, telegram from
Kaiser to Pres. Wilson, Aug. 10. 1914.
giving account of events immediately
following Serbian ultimatum, 473.
Government, autocratic spirit discussed
in annotations on Pres. Wilson's war
message, 69; article by C. D. Hazen
on " How the Hohenzollerns and
Junkers Control," 198.
See also GERMANY— Electoral Re-
form; GERMANY— Political Crisis.
Imports, from neutrals, 255.
Merchant marine, seizure by Allies, 414.
Political Crisis, account of events culmi-
nating in resignation of Bethmann
Hollweg and appointment of Dr.
Michaelis as Chancellor, 191; editorial
comment on changes, 410.
Reforms, repeal of Jesuit act and lan-
guage paragraph, 20.
Social Democrats, see SOCIALISTS.
United States, Relations with, see under
UNITED STATES.
Germany's Attitude Toward Restoration, 479.
GERMENI, Themistocles, 87.
GEYER, Friedrich A. K, declaration in
Reichstag on peace, in 1915, 447.
GIBBON. Perceval, description of fighting on
Italian front, 33.
GIBBS, Philip, on Battle of Messines Ridge.
36; "A British Reverse on the Yser,"
242.
GIRONDISTS, likened to Constitutional
Democrats in Russia, 120.
GLEAVES, (Rear Admiral) Albert, in com-
mand of squadron convoying U. S. troops,
216.
INDEX AND TABLE OF CONTENTS
GLENNON, (Admiral) James H.. quells
mutiny at Sabastopol, 212.
GLOSS (Colonel), 342.
GOLTZ, (Field Marshal Baron) von der, 303.
GOMPERS, Samuel, letter on sending dele-
gates to Stockholm conference ; attack on
Workmen's Council, 444.
GORGAS, (Maj. Gen.) William Crawford, on
selection of locations of training camps,
219.
GORKY, Maxim, 119.
GO UGH, (Gen. Sir) Hubert, commended by
Gen. Haig, 536.
30UTOR (Gen.), 55.
Grand Tactics of Three Years of Warfare,
419.
GRAVINA (S. S.), account of treatment of
crew by Germans, 95.
Great Britain's Royal Family Now the House
of Windsor, 251.
Great Fight in the Air, 80.
GREECE, events leading up to and following
abdication of King Constantine, S3; text
of Entente ultimatum, account of abdica-
tion of Constantine, 281 ; proclamation of
King Alexander and events following, 282 ;
break with Germany ; chronological table
of leading events from Mar., 1915, 283;
Italian attitude defined by Baron Son-
nino, 477.
GREEK Catholic Church, article by C. R.
Crane on " Russian Church Reforms,"
213: "Russia's Greek Church and the
Roman Catholics," 408.
GREERUL Hospital, 139.
GRENFELL, (Capt.) Francis, 126.
GREY, (Sir) Edward, attitude toward in-
vasion of France and Belgium as given
in letter to Pres. Wilson from Kaiser, 473.
GRIMM, Robert, requested to leave Russia
on account of communication from M.
Hoffmann on separate Russian peace, 209.
GUNS (ordnance), captured and lost by
British during war, 225.
See also MUNITIONS of War.
GURKO (Gen.), 56, 435.
GUTCHKOFF, Alexandre Ivanovitch, at
abdication of Nicholas II., 115.
H
HAASE, Hugo, quoted on peace, 440; refer-
ence to " Potsdam Plot," 470.
HAGUE Conference, German refusal of
disarmament, 71 ; statement of U. S. on
Monroe Doctrine, 304.
HAIG, (Field Marshal Sir) Douglas, text of
report on operations on the Ancre from
Nov., 1916, to Mar., 1917, 335; official re-
port on German retreat On Ancre and
Somme, 534.
HAMBURGER Fremdenbiatt, article on po-
litical crisis, 193.
HANISCHE, Konrad, 449.
HANNA, W. J., appointed Canadian Food
Controller and working with Mr. Hoover,
289.
HARDEN, Maximilian, article which caused
suppression of Zukunft and his drafting
as military clerk, 193.
HARDING, Gardner L., " China and the
World War," 100; "Japan's Part in the
War," 528.
HARDINGE (Baron), censured for Kut dis-
aster and defended by A. J. Balfour and
Commons, 244; censured for failure of
first Mesopotamian expedition, 538 ; reply
to criticism. 542 ; defended by A. Cham-
berlain : resignation not accepted In Com-
mons, 543.
Hardships of the U-Boat Service, 90.
Vol. 6 — Part Two
HARNACK, (Dr.) Adolph von, extract from
address in Berlin on " Wilson's American
Ideal of Liberty," 142.
Harrowing Sea Story, 93.
HARVEST Prayer, German, 513.
HATHAWAY, (Surgeon Gen.) H. G. cen-
sured, 244.
HAZEN, Charles Downer, " How the Hohen-
zollerns and Junkers Control," 198.
HAZLETON, Richard, 274.
Heartrending Scenes in Belgium, 498.
HEHIR (Col.), report on conditions during
Kut-el-Amara siege, 539.
HENDERSON, Arthur, favors Stockholm
Conference, 443.
Heroic Death of Dr. Clunet, 137.
Heroic Men of the Athos, 92.
HILLQUIT, Morris, passport for Socialist
conference refused by Govt., 20.
HINDENBURG, (Gen.) Paul von, at Tan-
nenburg, 420; telegram to Dr. Michaelis
on third anniversary of war, 4S0.
HINTZE, (Admiral) Paul von, 100.
HOFFMANN, Arthur, text of note to R.
Grimm on separate Russian peace, 209;
resignation from Swiss Council, 210.
HOLLAND, Mission to U. S. ; need of grain,
431.
HOLZMEHL, 326.
HOOVER, Herbert C, and food crisis, 15;
tribute by Baron Moncheur, 273 ; ap-
pointed Food Dictator, 389 ; statement on
purpose of food administration, 390.
HORSE Meat, used in France, 151.
HOSPITAL Ships, annotations on Pres. Wil-
son's reference in message to sinking, 65.
How American Aviators Saved Verdun, 81.
How Paris Was Saved, 495.
How the Hohenzollerns and Junkers Control,
19S.
How the War Came to America, 304.
HSU Shih-chang, made dictator, 103.
HSUAN Tung, 259.
HURLEY, Edward N., 25.
HYDROPLANE, use against U-boat dis-
cussed by T. G. Frothingham, 249.
I
INCOME Tax, amount collected during 1917
compared with period from civil war to
1873, 25 ; increase in Russia, 209 ; in
France, 415.
INDEMNITY, Lloyd George on purpose of,
261.
See also PEACE.
INDIA, difficulty in feeding troops In Asia
Minor campaign, 539 ; Govt*, censured for
failure of Mesopotamian expedition, 541 ;
reply to Lord Hardinge to criticism, show-
ing condition of country, 542.
INDIANS, article by V. de W. Rowell on
" Canadian Indians at the Front," 290.
Indictment of Czar's Former Officials, 208.
INSURANCE, for soldiers, 413.
See also UNITED STATES— War Risk
Insurance Bureau.
INTERNATIONAL Conference of Socialists
at Stockholm, attitude In leading coun-
tries toward, 442 ; attitude of Belgian
Socialists, 446.
INTERNATIONAL Law, applied to issues In
Pres. Wilson's war message, 64; attitude
of U. S. toward freedom of seas. Declara-
tion of London and arbitration, 305 ; W. H.
Taft on German violations of maritime
laws, 317 ; J. Kahn on periods in which
U. S. has been ready to fight for freedom
of the seas, 387.
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
INTERNED Ships, value of and damage to
vessels taken over by Govt., 21 ; seizure
of German vessels by Allies, 414.
IRELAND, convention on home rule, 19;
T. P. O'Connor on situation and explana-
tion of purpose of mission to U. S., 274.
IRON, shipments to Germany from Sweden,
256.
ISHII, (Viscount) Kikujiro, on purpose of
mission to U. S., 276; arrival in U. S.,
speech at dinner to mission, 429.
ITALIAN Commission to United States, see
ALLIES' Commissions.
Italian Offensive on the Carso and Isonzo
Fronts, 33.
ITALY, official communication in reply to
Russian demand for statement of war
aims, 51 ; purposed in war stated by Prince
Udine in U. S. Senate; resum.6 of finan-
cial conditions, 63 ; G. Marconi on strain
of war and privation, 270; on need for
coal; E. Arlotta's plea for war materials
and ships, 271 ; circumstances under which
Italy revealed to France her decision to
remain neutral and its effect on the
Marne battle, described by G. Marconi,
272 ; Maj. Dayton on entry into war ;
sketch of relations with Austria and Ger-
many, 295; historical sketch, 410; position
on Balkan issues defined by Baron Son-
nino, 476.
See also CAMPAIGN in Europe, Austro-
Italian Border.
JACOBINS, 120.
JAFFA, deportations of Jews from, 167.
JAPAN, attitude toward American note to
China; 104; article by G. L. Harding on
" Japan's Part in the War," 528.
JAPANESE Commission to United States,
see ALLIES' Commissions.
JESUIT act, repeal in Germany, 20.
JEWS, agitation against ill-treatment in
Rumania and reply of King Ferdinand,
155; "Cruelties to Jtvrs Deported From
Jaffa," 1G7 ; text of Russian decree affect-
ing rights, 214.
JOFFRE, (Marshal) Joseph, designated by
French Govt, to co-operate with Gen.
Pershing, 10; tribute by R. Viviani in
speech at Waldorf, 59; breaks ground for
Lafayette monument in Baltimore, 238 ;
T. G. Frothingham on tactics at Marne,
419 ; praised in German account of Marne,
489.
JONNART (Greek Senator), lays demands
for abdication of Constantine before Zai-
mis ; reply by Zaimis, 83 ; proclamation to
Greek people, 84 ; manifesto to offset King
Alexander's proclamation, 2S2.
JUNKERS, article by C. D. Hazen on " How
the Hohenzollerns and Junkers Control,"
198.
JUTLAND, Battle of. effect, 425; account
by German sailor from Luetzow, 497.
KAHL (Dr.), statement that " America Will
Make No Difference " in war, 463.
KAHN, Julius, statement on occasion of
drawing of numbers for conscription, 387.
Kaiser's Message to President Wilson, 473.
KANEKO, (Viscount) Kentaro, on America's
entry into war, 277.
KARL Friedrich (Prince), personal account
of capture ; death, 79.
KERENSKY, Alexander Feodorovich. pre-
vents collapse of army and navy, 53 ; part
in revolution and Provisional Govt., 110;
career, ll4 ; effect on Russian situation,
204 : credited with renewal of fighting by
J. B. W. Gardiner, 227 ; sketch of career,
411 ; appointed Premier, 433 ; stand on
Stockholm Conference, 443.
Vol. 6 — Part Two
KLUCK, (Gen.) von, anger at desertion of
French village by natives, 346; at battle
of Marne, 488.
Knightly Orders for Women, 225.
KOLOTKOFF (Col.), report on army col-
lapse, 436.
KORITZA, establishment of Albanian repub-
lic in district by Allies, S7.
KORNILOFF, (Gen.) L. G., 435, 442.
KOURLOFF (M.), 208.
KRAMER, Louis, sentenced for anti-draft
agitation, 14.
KRONSTADT Fortress, seizure by Work-
men's and Soldiers' Delegates, 55.
KROPOTKIN, (Prince) Peter, 119.
KRUIZHANOVSKY (Governor), 208.
KRUPP Works, bombed in air raid, 518.
KUEHLMANN, (Dr.) Richard von, 410.
KUGEMANN (Commander), text of notice to
civilian workers, 340.
KUT-EL-AMARA, findings of investigation
of failure of expedition, 244 ; conditions
during siege described by Col. Hehir in
report of commission to inquire into
failure, 539.
See also CAMPAIGN in Asia Minor.
LABOR, exorbitant demands of Russian
workmen, 53; establishment of eight-hour
day in Russia, 54 ; recruiting of Chinese
labor by Allies, 102 ; minimum wage passed
in England by Commons, 415.
LACAZE (Admiral), statements In Chamber
of Deputies on submarine depredations
on shipping, 88 ; on methods of counterat-
tack, 89 ; on submarine destruction of
shipping, 251.
LACROIX, P., M. D., "Ear Disturbances
Suffered by Aviators," 523.
LAFAYETTE, Marquis de, visit of Gen.
Pershing to tomb, 9; breaking of ground
by French Mission for monument in Balti-
more; visits of Marquis to Baltimore, 237.
LAFAYETTE Escadrille, tribute to work at
Verdun, by L. Cammen, 81.
LAGERKRANTZ, Hermann, 431.
LANGE, Christian L., " Story of the Russian
Upheaval," 105.
LANSING, (Sec.) Robert, address at Madison
Barracks on war aims of U. S., 455.
LASSALLE, Ferdinand, 447.
LAUZANNE, Stephen, comment on Kaiser's
letter to Pres. Wilson on causes of war,
474.
LAW, Andrew Bonar, on abdication of Con-
stantine, in Commons, 83.
LE ROUX, Hughes, " Heroic Men of the
Athos," 92.
LECLERCQ (Gen.), 272.
LEE, Algernon, 20.
LENINE, Nikolai, leader in disturbances,
204 ; censure by Workmen's Council, 435 ;
organizes demonstrations after return from
exile ; peace speech shown to be mes-
sage from Prince Leopold of Bavaria,
441 ; declared by Brusiloff to be agent of
German General Staff, 442.
LENSCH (Dr.), on stand of Social Demo-
crats, 449 ; on international socialism ; on
individualism and collectivism in England,
France, and Germany, 450.
LEOPOLD, Prince of Bavaria, 441.
LERROUX (Deputy), 23.
LEVERIDGE, Lilinn, poem, "A Cry From
the Canadian Hills," 75.
LEZEAU, Robert de, " Heroic Death of Dr.
Clunet," 137.
LI CHING-HSI, 103.
INDEX AND TABLE OF CONTENTS
IX.
LI YUAN-HUNG, President of China, in
crisis over break with Germany, 102;
and Chinese rebellion, 259.
LIBERTY Loan, success of campaign, 17;
figures showing subscriptions, 224.
See also UNITED STATES-Finances.
LIEBKNECHT, (Dr.) Karl, opposition to
German war policy, 439, 447 ; criticism of
war loan in Reichstag and disturbance
following, 448.
Life in Denmark's Lost Province, 512.
LINCOLN, Abraham, second inaugural ad-
dress quoted, 74.
LITTELL, (Col.) I. W., 12.
LITTLEFIELD, Walter, " Military Events
of the Month," 394.
LLOYD GEORGE, (Premier) David, tribute
in Commons to U. S. Navy, 15 ; statement
on meeting of Imperial Conference an-
nually, 148 ; on shipping losses, 405 ; at-
tack on Dr. Michaelis's first speech in
Reichstag, 464 ; reply by Dr. Michaelis,
467; reply by Count Czernin to attack on
Dr. Michaelis, 46S ; extract from Queen's
Hall speech, defining German attitude to-
ward "restoration"; comment of Ger •
man press, 479; comment of Count Rs-
ventlow, 480.
LOMONOSOFF (Prof.), on Russian need of
Amer. locomotives, 268.
LONDON, Declaration of, attitude of U. S.
and of Germany, 305.
LONDON, air raids, see AERONAUTICS.
LONDON Times, on " Potsdam Plot," 470.
LOOTING, see VANDALISM.
LOUIS XVI., in French Revolution, 118.
LUCACIU, (Rev.) Basil, 276.
LUCON, Cardinal, extracts from diary on
bombardment of Rheims, 139.
LUETZOW (flagship), 497.
LUTHER, Martin, quoted by H. Caine, 452.
LUTHERANS, number and control in Ger-
many and Austria, 222.
LVOFF, (Prince) George E., statement on
Russian situation, for Information of
America, 205.
LYNCH, Arthur, 84.
M
McCAIN. (Brig. Gen.) Henry P., statement
on officers' training camps, 12.
MACDONALD, James B., " The War in
Western Asia," 156.
MACDONALD, James Ramsay, plea for
Stockholm conference, 443 ; text of resolu-
tion on acceptance of German peace move,
465.
MACKENSEN, (Field Marshal) von, 128.
MacNEILL, John Gordon Swift, 84.
MAETERLINCK, Maurice, " The Mothers,"
293.
MAHAN, (Capt.) Alfred Thayer, on merits of
rail and water transportation in relation
to Bagdad railway, 97.
MAJOR Generals, list of U. S. officers, 384.
MANN, (Major Gen.) William A., 384.
Marching Stars 486.
MARCONI, Guglielmo, says submarine situa-
tion is serious, 251 ; speech in Chicago on
burden borne by Italy ; on Italy's shortage
of coal, in New York, 270; speech at
Mayor's dinner on " Italy's Part in the
Marne Victory," 271.
MARIE Antoinette, compared with Empress
Alexandra of Russia, 108, 118.
MARINGER, Georges, 340.
MARITIME Law, see INTERNATIONAL
Law.
MARSHALL (Lieut. Gen.). 544.
MARX, Karl, 119.
"Vol. 6 — Part Two
MASSE Y, W. T., " British in the Promised
Land," 163.
MAUCOURT, Comtesse de Chabrannes takes
charge of rebuilding, 349.
MAUDE, (Gen. Sir) F. Stanley, in Asia
Minor campaign, 156 ; text of report on
capture of Bagdad, 544.
MAUNOURY (Gen.), 492, 495.
MAURICE. (Maj. Gen.) Frederick B., sum-
mary of three years of war, 483.
MAVROMICHAELIS (Commander), S3.
MEAT, see FOODSTUFFS.
MESOPOTAMIA, disposition in peace con-
ference suggested by Lloyd George, 261;
report of Commission on Failure of First
Expedition, 538.
See also CAMPAIGN in Asia Minor.
Mesopotamian Disaster, 53S.
MESSINES, see CAMPAIGN in Europe,
Western.
MEXICO, Zimmermann plot for German-
Japanese-Mexican alliance, 72.
MICHAEL Alexandrovitch (Grand Duke),
116.
MICHAELIS, (Dr.) Georg, succeeds Beth-
mann Hollweg as Chancellor, 191 ; first
address to Reichstag, 196 ; sends message
to Count Czernin on relations with Aus-
tria, 197 ; first speech in Reichstag at-
tacked by Lloyd George, 464; repiy to
Lloyd George, 467 ; extract from address
on Aug. 4, 480.
Military Events of the Month, 394.
Military Operations of the War, 124, 295,
499.
Military Review of the Month, 26, 227.
MILITARY Science, see TACTICS.
MILNER (Viscount), on exporting from neu-
trals to Germany, 255.
MINIMUM Wage, rate fixed in England,
415.
MOHAMMEDANS, deported from Jaffa, 168.
MOLLARD, Armand, 340.
MOLTKE, (Gen.) von, 487.
MOLTKE, (Count) Helmuth Karl Bernhard
von, 491.
MONCHEUR, (Baron) Ludovic, at head of
Belgian Mission to U. S., 19; statement
to newspaper correspondents at Washing-
ton ; address at tomb of Washington ;
speech in House, 273.
MONROE Doctrine, referred to in Brazilian
note to U. S., 279; as foreign policy and
in relation to present war in official pam-
phlet issued by Committee on Public In-
formation on cause of war, 304.
MORRISON, (Dr.) George, in Chinese crisis,
104.
MORRISON, (Maj. Gen.) John F., 13.
MORTON, (Maj. Gen.) Charles G., 13.
MOTA, Jean, 276.
MOTHERS, tribute by M. Maeterlinck, 293.
MOTT, John R., summary of address at
sobor of Greek Church, 213.
MOUJEAU (Sergeant), 93.
MOUTET (Deputy), 467.
MUNITIONS of War, control centralized by
Allied Buying Committee, 61 ; statement
by Sir W. Robertson on tons of ammuni-
tion expended, 136; reorganization of Bel-
gian war industries, 146; Dr. Addison on
English output, 224; U. S. embargo and
furnishing of supplies to Germany by
neutrals, 255; Canadian supply, 289; de-
fense of right of neutral to sell munitions,
in official Amer. statement on causes of
war. 309.
MURPHY, Grayson, M. P., 25.
MURRAY, (Gen. Sir) Archibald, in Palestine,
159.
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Mustering Our Armed Forces, 381.
N
NANSEN, (Dr.) Fridtjof, visit to U. S. to
procure food supplies for Norway, 276;
head of Norwegian Mission ; statement on
shipping to Germany, 430.
NAPOLEON I., account of visit of Gen.
Pershing to tomb, 8.
NARISCHKINE (Gen.), 115.
NATIONAL, Guard, see UNITED STATES—
Army.
NAUMANN, (Dr.) Friedrich. quoted on lack
of power of Reichstag, 200.
NAVAL Operations, tactics of three years
discussed by T. G. Frothingham, 420: ac-
count of Jutland battle by German sailor
from Luetzow, 497.
See also SUBMARINE Warfare.
NESLE, account of barbarities of German
occupation, 340, 342.
Nesting Mothers of Battle Zone, 140.
Never Heard of the War, 22.
New Phase of Air Raids on England, 76.
NEW YORK (City) draft riots in 1863, 223.
NEY, Marshal, 471.
NICHOLAS II., Czar of Russia, allowed
privilege of voting. 56 ; likened by Dr.
Lange to Louis XVI., 108; details of
abdication, 116; appeal to be allowed
stock in " Loan of Freedom," amount of
possessions, 209 ; exile to Tobolsk with
family, 437 ; telegram to Kaiser on sub-
mitting Serbian question to Hague, 475.
NIXON, (Sir) John, censured for Mesopo-
tamian disaster, 244, 538.
NONCOMBATANTS, annotations on refer-
ence in Pres. Wilson's war message, 66.
NORTHCLIFFE (Lord), as head of British
Commission to U. S., 19; speech in New
York, 274.
NORTON, Charles D., 25.
NORWEGIAN Commission to United" States,
276, 430.
NO YON, adopted by Washington, D. C, for
restoration, 349.
o
O Valiant Hearts, 432.
O'CONNOR, T. P., as representative of Irish
Nationalist Party explains purpose of
mission to U. S., 274.
OFFICERS' Training Camps, see UNITED
STATES— Army.
OILS, shortage in Berlin, 511.
OLD Dutch Market Company, 99.
1,1,30 Airplanes Shot Down in Two Months, 78.
ORDERS, of knighthood, conferred on wom-
en, 225 ; " Order of British Empire " and
" Companions of Honour," established
and opened to women, 328.
ORLEANS (Duke of), offer of services to
U. S. Army, 123.
OSBORN, Max. account of British attack in
Flanders, 403.
OSBORN, Paul G., comment on bravery and
death, 412.
OUDARD, Leon, 342.
PAILLOT. Edmond, 340.
PARIS, complete list of war regulations,
322; air raid on, 518.
Paris Conference on Balkan Affairs, 438.
PASSPORTS; refused by U. S. to Socialist
delegates, 20.
PALESTINE, see CAMPAIGN In Asia Minor.
Vol. 6 — Part Two
PATROL Boats, Admiral Lacaze on use In
counterattack on submarines and on diffi-
culty in acquiring, 89.
PAULSEN (Prof.), quoted on soul of Ger-
man people, 73.
PAXTON, John, Stanhope medal awarded
for bravery, 154.
PEACE, German intrigue for, discussed by
Pres. Wilson in Flag Day address, 4;
International Socialist Conference and ef-
forts for terms, 19; referred to by Em-
peror Charles of Austria in throne speech,
45; Russia's demand for restatement of
war aims by her allies ; repudiation of an-
nexation by Russia; amendment in Par-
liament moved by P. Snowden on repu-
diation of annexation; address of Lord
Cecil m reply defending policy of annexa-
tion and indemnities, 46; Pres. Wilson's
note to Russia, 49; text of replies of En-
tente Allies to Russian demand for state-
ment of war aims, 50 ; criticism of replies,
by Council of Workmen's and Soldiers'
Council, 51; report of Workmen's Coun-
cil on efforts of Central Powers to nego-
tiate for peace ; dispatch on German peace
manoeuvres, 52; further German efforts
for peace; Council of Peasant Deputies in
Russia declares against separate peace,
53; alliance of Russian commercial and
banking institutions declares against sepa-
rate peace, 56; M. Erzberger declares for
peace without annexations and indemni-
ties, 192; liberal policy of Dr. Bethmann
Hollweg responsible for fall, 195; resolu-
tion in Reichstag supported by Centre
Radicals and Socialists, 195; Dr. Michaelis
on German desire for and aims, in Reichs-
tag, 197; text of note from M. Hoffmann
on separate Russian peace, causing expul-
sion of R. Grimm from Russia, 209 ; Lloyd
George on German desire for peace, 261 ;
extracts from speech in Italian Deputies
by Baron Sonnino, French reply to Rus-
sian proclamation on annexation and in-
demnities, 263; rejection by Russia re-
ferred to by B. Bakhmeteff in speeches.
267, 268; German note in 1916 discussed
In official U. S. statement, *' How the
War Came to America," 311; extract from
Pres. Wilson's speech in Senate Jan. 22,
1917, 312 ; desire for peace in Vienna, 322 ;
text of appeal of Pope to belligerent coun-
tries, 392; sentiment of nations toward
note, summary of statement of Vatican
on note, 394 ; " The Pope's Peace Pro-
posal and the Austrian Empire," 408;
pacifist activities of Socialists in various
countries, 439; manifesto of Belgian So-
cialists on annexations and indemnities,
445; speech by Lloyd George attacking
first speech of Dr. Michaelis and outlining
guarantees of peace, 464; resolution by
J. R. Macdonald in Commons on accept-
ance of German move, 465; Macdonald
resolution discussed by H. H. Asquith.
466; reply by Dr. Michaelis to attack of
Lloyd George, 467; reply by Count Czer-
nin to charge of Lloyd George that Cen-
tral Powers' proposal was a " bluff," 468;
conditions agreeable to Italy defined by
Baron Sonnino, 476; Lloyd George on Ger-
man attitude toward restoration; retorts
of German press on "restoration," 479;
comment of Count Reventlow on Lloyd
George's speech, 480: right of indemnity
claimed by Serbia, 485.
See also AIMS of War.
Peace Program of Belgian Socialists, 445.
PEOPLE'S Council of America, attack by
Samuel Gompers, 444.
PERONNE, vandalism of Germans, 344.
PERSHING, (Maj. Gen.) John J., account
cf reception in England and France;
message to British public, 6; status, 10;
comment on his being first soldier to draw
sword of America on European battlefield,
24; text of statements on arrival of troops
in France, 216: text of order on behavior
cf soldiers, 217 ; demonstration for, in
INDEX AND TABLE OF CONTENTS
Deputies, 279 ; on progress of organiza-
tion in France, 388.
PERSIA, German propaganda, 531.
See also CAMPAIGN in Asia Minor.
PERSIUS, (Capt.) L., " Hardships of the
U-Boat Service," 90.
PETAIN, (Gen.) Henri Philippe, text of
order on arrival of American troops, 217.
PILLAGE, see VANDALISM.
POEMS :—
Arkwright, J. S., " O Valiant Hearts,"
432.
Bridges, Robert, " To the United States
of America," 316.
Coates, Florence Earle, " Better to Die,"
104.
"Come Into the Garden, (of Eden,)
Maude," 90.
Leveridge, Lilian, " A Cry from the
Canadian Hills, 75.
Villeroy, A., " The Marching Stars," 480.
POINCARE, (Pres.) Raymond, reply to mes-
sage of Pres. Wilson on Bastile Day, 218.
POLAND, mentioned by Lord Cecil in de-
fense of annexation policy, 47 ; mentioned
in British note in reply to Russian de-
mand for statement of aims of war, 51 ;
possibility of free Poland discussed by
Dr. Lange, 113.
POLK, Daisy, 349.
POLK, Frank L., reply to Brazilian note,
280.
Polyglot Armies of the Entente, 24.
POLYNESIANS, in the war, 21.
Pope Benedict's Appeal for Peace, 392.
PORTUGAL, seizure of German vessels, 415.
" Potsdam: Plot " and Countercharges, 469.
Premier Lvoff on Russia's Situation, 205.
President Wilson's Note to Russia, 49.
PRICES in 1914 and 1917, 99 ; appeal of Pres.
Wilson against undue profits, 250.
See also FOODSTUFFS.
PRISONERS of War, captured by British at
Messines Ridge, 28; taken in Italian of-
fensive, 33, 34 ; taken on Messines Ridge,
35 ; in offensive between Soissons and
Rheims, 42 ; inhuman treatment by Ger-
mans described by member of crew of
Gravina, 95 ; taken by British at Festu-
bert ; Russian claims in Bukowina cam-
paign, 128; taken by Russians at Krasnik,
130 ; by Germans at Kovno ; by Russians
at Tarnopol, 131 ; British and German,
225 ; average weekly number of parcels
sent to Germans, 226 ; taken by Germans
at Yser attack, 233, 242; Canadians in
Germany, 288 ; taken by Austrians at Go-
rizia, 300; claimed by Turks in surrender
of Gen. Townshend, 303 ; account of man-
ner of surrender and treatment accorded
Germans at Ginchy, 359 ; text of protest
of German Foreign Office against use of
skeletons of Germans for anatomy study
as depicted in Daily Mirror ; British de-
nial made by Foreign Minister, 339; at
battle of Flanders, 395; Associated Press
estimates made May, 1917, 429; taken by
French in Champagne in 1915, announced
by Gen. Joffre, 504; taken in operations
leading to capture of Bagdad, 550.
PROFITS, text of appeal of Pres. Wilson
against profiteering, 256.
Progress of the War, 29, 233, 415.
PROTOPOPOFF, Alexander Dmitrievitch,
indicted for stealing dispatches of Ras-
putin, 209.
PRUSSIA, Government, and domination of
nation, by C. D. Hazen, 200.
See also GERMANY.
PRZEMYSL, see CAMPAIGN In Europe,
Eastern.
PUBLIC Kitchens#in Berlin, 509.
Vol. 6 — Part Two
Putting the Conscription Law Into Opera-
tion, 13.
Q
QUEBEC, secession urged by Roman Catho-
lic press, 292.
See also CANADA.
RAILROADS, value of Bagdad Railway in
control of Central Europe, 97; "War's
Effects on Turkish Railways," 106; Prince
Lvoff on difficulties in Russia and hope
from Stevens Railroad Commission, 206;
recommendations of J. F. Stevens for
Russian improvement, 212 ; Prof. Lomo-
nosoff on conditions in Russia and need
for American locomotives, 268.
RAPPARD, (Prof.) William, 431.
RASPUTIN, Gregory, influence over Em-
press Alexandra, 108.
RATHENAU, (Dr.) Walter, plan for ex-
ploitation of occupied countries, 143.
RAWLINSON, (Gen. Sir) Henry, mentioned
by Sir D. Haig in report, 536.
RED Cross, members of American War
Council, 25.
See also RELIEF Work.
REDFIELD, (Sec.) William C, on export
licenses, 16.
REES, (Maj.) L. W. B., on supremacy of
British and French in aerial warfare, 78.
Re-establishing Albania, 284.
REGISTRATION Day, proclaimed by Pres.
Wilson, 13.
See also UNITED STATES— Army.
REINACH, Joseph, review of " German Ver-
sion of the Marne," 4S7.
RELIEF Ships, annotation on Pres. Wilson's
reference to sinking, 65.
RELIEF Work, services of Dr. Clunet in
fighting epidemics at Dardanelles and in
Rumania, 137 ; Canada's contributions,
288 ; in communities devastated in Ger-
man retreat, 348 ; progress in facial
surgery, 412 ; report of breakdown in
medical arrangements in Bagdad cam-
paign, 540.
RELIGION, article by Maj. W. Redmond on
effect of war on revival, 132 ; Catholics
and Lutherans in Germany and Austria,
222.
RENNENKAMPF, (Gen.) Paul Charles von,
208.
RESTORATION, see PEACE.
Results of Three Years of War, 483.
Resurrection of Devastated France, 347.
REVENTLOW, (Count) Ernst von, comment
on Lloyd George's speech on " restora-
tion," 480.
REVOLUTIONARY War (U. S.), decisive
battles with small bodies of troops, 226.
RHEIMS, extracts from diary of Cardinal
Lucon during bombardment, 139.
RHONDDA (Lord), on U. S. embargo, 255.
RIBOT, (Premier) Alexandre, extract from
greeting to Gen. Pershing, 9 ; on resolu-
tion in Deputies on peace terms, 50 ; on
abdication of Constantine, 84 ; accused by
Dr. Michaelis of conspiracy for conquest,
467.
ROBERTS, George Henry, stand on Stock-
holm Conference, 443.
ROBERTSON, (Gen. Sir) William, state-
ments on war at Mansion House, 136; re-
view of three years of war, 484.
ROMAN Catholic Church, movement of Ger-
man and Swiss clergy for peace, 53 ;
numbers compared with Lutherans in
Germany and Austria, 222; attitude in
Canada toward conscription, 292.
See also RELIGION.
xn.
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
ROOP (Lieut. Gen.), 266.
ROOT, Elihu, first address in Russia as head
of American Mission ; response by M.
Terestchenko, 57 ; speeches in Moscow,
211 ; statement on accomplishment of pur-
pose of mission, 212 ; speech on return
from Russian mission outlining situation,
436.
ROSE, (Dr.) J. N., 258.
ROTHSCHILD, (Baron) Henri de, 349.
ROUSSEAU, Jean Jacques, 119.
ROWELL, Verne De W., " Canadian In-
dians at the Front," 290.
Royal Volunteer for the American Army.
123.
RUKOVISHIKOFF, Barbara, 210.
RUMANIA, Jewish question ; reply of King
Ferdinand to deputation of Jews, 155.
RUMANIAN Mission to United States, see
ALLIES' Commissions.
RUSSELL, Charles Edward, work on Ameri-
can Commission in. Russia, 212.
RUSSIA :—
American Commission, arrival in Russia,
first address of E. Root, 57 ; text of
Pres. Wilson's note explaining aims of
mission, 58 ; account of activities, 211 ;
summary of address of J. R. Mott,
213; return, 436.
Army, new regulations, 54 ; resolution of
Peasant Council calling upon army to
submit to discipline ; female regiment
raised by Ensign Butchkareff, 56;
views of Dr. Lange on reverses, 113;
account of a mutiny and the attitude
of loyal troops, 123 ; mobilization as
cause of war discussed by Dr.
Michaelis, 196; strengthening of mo-
rale, 204 ; Premier Lvoff on improve-
ment in morale, 206 ; regiment of wom-
en, 210; comment on women soldiers,
413; appeal of Workmen's Delegates
to, 433, 434 ; disorder, 434 ; report of
Colonel Kolotkoff on collapse, 436;
break in discipline due to Socialist
Council of Workmen's and Soldiers'
Delegates, 442 ; mobilization given as
one of causes of war by Kaiser in
letter to Pres. Wilson, 473; article by
S. Lauzanne disproving Kaiser's as-
sertion, 474.
Cabinet, Kerensky appointed Premier,
433; reorganization, 435.
Church Reforms, article by C. R. Crane
Oil progress and work of J. R. Mott,
213.
Congress of Peasant Deputies, against
separate peace, 53; resolution calling
on army to submit to discipline, 56.
Council of Workmen's and Soldiers' Dele-
gates, statement on German efforts
for separate peace, 52; resolutions in
support of army ; seizure of Kronstadt
Fortress, 55 ; organization, 109 ; com-
pared with Jacobins in French Revo-
lution : part of soldiers and of work-
men, 121 ; resolution to abolish Duma,
210; proclamations appealing to sol-
diers, 434, 435 ; proclamation censuring
pro-German agitators, 435; opposition
to Provisional Govt., 441.
Duma, resolution in reply to demand by
Congress of Soldiers' Deputies that it
be abolished, 210.
Finances, views of Dr. Lange, 114 ; new
measures, 209.
France, Relations with, negotiations for
French connuest charged by Dr.
Michaelis. 467 ; denial by Premier
Ribot, 470; denial by M. Terestchenko
of Russian protest against alms, 471.
German Influence, 71.
See also GERMAN Plots.
Politics and Government, " Russia's
Perilous Transitional Stage," 53.
Vol. 6 — Part Two
Provisional Govt., proclamation against
disorder, 434.
Reforms, Prince Lvoff on advances under
Provisional Govt., 206; anti-Jewish
laws repealed, 214.
* Revolution, report of Investigation by Dr.
Lange at instance of Carnegie Endow-
ment, 105; "Details of the Czar's Ab-
dication," by M. Choulgine, 115; arti-
cle on parallels with and contrasts to
French Revolution, 118 ; telegram of
M. I. Terestchenko to allied powers
telling difficulties of reorganization,
176; achievements and problems in
fourth month, 204 ; views of Prince
Lvoff, 207; "Indictment of Czar's
Former Officials," 208; progress and
program outlined by B. Bakhmeteff in
speeches in U. S., 266-269; new crisis;
rise of Kerensky Govt, and events
during July and August, 433; situation
discussed by E. Root in New York.
436; Socialist activities, 411; effect on
military situation discussed by Sir E.
Carson, 466.
Rural conditions, described by Dr. Lange,
111.
United States, Relations with, see under
UNITED STATES.
Russia Passes Through Deep Waters, 433.
Russia Renews Pledge to Her Allies, 476.
Russian and French Revolutions, 118.
RUSSIAN Commission to United States, see
ALLIES' Commissions.
Russia's New Outlook, 204.
Russia's Perilous Transition Stage, 53.
RUSZKY, (Gen.) Nicholas, retirement, 435.
S
SABADILLA, use for poison gases, 258.
" SAMMIES " name given by French to U.
S. soldiers, 216.
SAMPSON (Admiral), attack on Santiago
compared with present German usage, 66.
SARRAIL (Gen.), 85.
SAXONY, revolt in Diet over political re-
form, 191.
SCHEIDEMANN, Philip, support of imperial
war policy ; on peace, 440 ; defense of sup-
port of Govt, war policy by Social Demo-
crat majority, 449.
SCHELTEMA, (Dr.) J. F., M The Arabs and
the Turks in the War," 531.
SCHLESWIG-Holstein, life in wartime de-
scribed by G. R. Toksirg, 512.
SCIALVIA, Viterio, address in Rome on
American reception of Italian Mission, 63.
SCULLY (Lieut.). 10.
SEAS, Freedom of, see INTERNATIONAL
Law.
Selecting the Conscript Army, 220.
SERBIA, plan of reorganization, 431 ; account
of meeting at Potsdam to discuss Aus-
trian ultimatum, 470; memorandum
transmitted to Amb. Sharp charging ex-
ploitation of country by conquerors, 485.
SHIPPING, annotations on references in
Pres. Wilson's war message, 64 ; under-
standing reached by U. S. and the Allies,
61 ; sunk by submarines from May 14-
June 23, 88; record of destruction from
June 13-July 15, 250; Pres. Wilson on high
rates, 257; destruction from July 15 to
Aug. 12, 405 ; Lloyd George on British
tonnage and diminution of losses, 407 :
Dr. Nansen on Norwegian situation, 430 ;
growth of Japanese tonnage, 530.
SHIPS, pleas of G. Marconi and E. Arlotta
for rapid construction, 271.
See also INTERNED Ships.
SIAM, declares war on Germany, 407; "The
Peoples of Siam," 409. •
INDEX AND TABLE OF CONTENTS
Xlll.
S1BERT, (Maj. Gen.) William L., 13, 216.
SIMS, (Vice Admiral) William S., in com-
mand of allied forces in Irish waters, 15,
248; statement by Sec. Daniels on declara-
tion in England that blood was thicker
than water, 253.
SKAGERRAK, see JUTLAND.
SKRYDLOFF, Marya, 210.
SLAVS, comparison of temperament with
Gallic as shown in Russian and French
Revolutions, 121.
Small Armies in Decisive Battles, 226.
SMOKE Screen, 248.
SNELL, William, account of sinking of S. S.
Belgian Prince, 406.
SNOWDEN, Philip, amendment in Parlia-
ment on repudiation of annexation policy,
address in reply by Lord Cecil, 46.
SOCIALIST Party of United States, open
letter to " Socialists of Belligerent Coun-
tries," 443.
SOCIALISTS, conference at Stockholm and
peace terms, 19 ; refusal of U. S. Govt, to
issue passports to delegates, 20; dissatis-
faction in Russia with Allies' reply on
aims of war, and with message of Pres.
Wilson, correspondence over call for inter-
national conference to consider peace in
reply to A. Thomas, A. Henderson, and
E. Vandervelde, 51 ; expulsion of R.
Grimm from Russia caused by note from
M. Hoffmann on separate peace, 209 ;
German attempt to neutralize Russia
through, 230; "The Socialists in the
War," 439; manifesto of Belgian Socialists
on peace, 445; attitude of Social Demo-
crats in Germany toward Govt, war
policy, 447 ; reply in Vorwaerts to appeal
of Socialists in other countries for non-
support of Kaiser, 481.
SOLDIERS, aid of Canadian Govt, for re-
turned soldiers. 289; U. S. and Canadian
plans for maintenance of dependents, 413.
See also heading ARMIES under names of
countries.
SONNINO, (Baron) Sydney, extracts from
speech in Deputies on Italy's war aims,
203; address in Parliament on Italian
aims in war, 476.
SPAHN. (Dr.) Peter, 411.
SPATN. account of disagreement of factions
on stand on war, 22.
SPANISH- American War, Admiral Samp-
son's treatment of Santiago compared with
present German usages, 66.
SQUIER. (Brig. Gen.) George O., on ap-
propriation for air fleet, 13.
STANHOPE Medal, awarded to John Paxton,
154.
STEVENS, John F., recommendations for
meeting Russian railway problems, 212.
STOCKHOLM Conference of Socialists, see
INTERNATIONAL Conference of Social-
ists.
STOICA, (Lieut.) Vasili, 276.
Storming of the Aisne Quarries, 41.
Story of the Russian Upheaval, 105.
STRIKES, in Germany, caused by smaller
bread ticket, 326.
STUERGKH, (Count) Karl, summary of de-
fense of assassination by Dr. Adler, 330.
STURMER, Boris, indictment and imprison-
ment, 208.
SUBMARINE Warfare, annotations by Prof.
W. S. Davis on Pres. Wilson's references
in war message, 64; effect on shipping
shown by figures, 88; Admiral Lacaze on
methods employed to counterattack sub-
marines, 89 ; Capt. Persius on " heroic
activities" of U-boats, 90; account of
heroism on torpedoed Athos, 92; report
of Capt. Chave on torpedoing of S. S.
Alnwick Castle, 93; adventures of crew
Vol. 6 — Part Two
of Gravina captured by submarine, 95;
protests of China and events leading to
break with Germany, 100; declared by Dr.
Michaelis in Reichstag to have been
forced by British blockade, 196; attacks
on American ships transporting troops,
215 ; article by T. G. Frothingham on peril
of U-boat, 245; destruction of shipping,
June 13 to July 15, 250; destruction of
shipping, July 15 to Aug. 12, 405; T. G.
Frothingham on " Great Tactics of Three
Years of Warfare," 419.
See also UNITED STATES — War with
Germany.
SUBMARINES, article by Capt. Persius on
hardships in life of crews, 90; G. Marconi
on way Germany sends boats into Medi-
terranean, 251.
SLKHOMLINOFF (M), in prison, 209.
SURGERY, advances in facial surgery, 412.
SUZ, John, 431.
SWEDEN, alarmed by U. S. embargo; de-
nial by E. B. Trolle of charge that im-
ports were not for home consumption, 255;
mission to U. S., 431.
SWITZERLAND. Mission to U. S., 431.
TACTICS, article by T. G. Frothingham on
" Grand Tactics of Three Years of War-
fare," 421.
TAFT, William Howard, appointed to Red
Cross Council, 25 ; " Why We Entered the
Great War," 317.
TAKESHITA, (Vice Admiral) Isamu, 276.
TANKS, see AUTOMOBILES.
TARDIEU. Andre, head of French Commis-
sion, 19 ; extract from speech at Franco-
American Society on organization of U.
S. for war, 275; statement sent to Sec.
Baker on " Fighting Forces of France,"
481.
TCHEREMISSOFF (Gen.), 435.
TERESTCHENKO, M. I., response to ad-
dress of E. Root, 58 ; commits Govt, to
concessions in Ukraine, 205 ; denial of ac-
cusation by Dr. Michaelis that Russia
protested against French aims, 471 ; text of
telegram to allied powers renewing pledge
of support, 476.
TERRITORY Occupied, figures given by Ber-
liner Tageblatt, 480; figures for Belgian,
English, French, and German, 4S1.
TESSAN, (Lieut.) de, 10.
THIRD Year of War, review in Berliner
Tageblatt, 480; Maj. Gen. Maurice on
"Results of Three Years of War," 483;
review by Gen. Robertson, 484.
Threat of " Mittel-Europa," 97.
THOBURN-Clarke, H., " Nesting Mothers of
Battle Zone," 140.
THOMAS, Albert, 51.
TILSON, John Quillin, on airplanes and gas
bombs, 525.
TINKHAM, (Capt.) E. I., leader of first U.
S. combatant corps at front, 10.
To the United States of America, 316.
TOKSVIG, Gudrun Randrup, " Life in Den-
mark's Lost Province," 512.
TOLSTOY, (Count) Leo, influence on Russia
at present time compared with that of
Voltaire, 119.
TOWNSHEND (Gen.), in Asia Minor cam-
paign, 301 ; said by Col. Hehir to have re-
tained confidence of men, 539.
TRANSPORTATION, merits of rail and wa-
ter travel discussed by Capt. Mahan, 97;
difficulties in Russia, 206; Gen. Haig on
problem on western front, 537 ; difficulties
in Bagdad campaign, 539.
TREASON, U. S. statutes, 74.
TREES, Fruit, devastated by Germans in re-
treat in France saved by surgery, 347.
XIV
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
TROLLE, E. B., statement on Sweden's im-
ports, 255.
TRUMBIC, (Dr.) Anto, 432.
TSCHEIDZE, N. S.f account of interview on
the effect of war on English democracy,
117 ; compromise with Finnish National-
ists due to efforts, 205.
TSERETELLI (Prince), commits Govt, to
concessions in Ukraine, 205.
TUAN Chi- Jul, disagreement with Govt., 102;
dismissal, 103; re-appointed Premier, 226.
TURKEY, comment of Lord Cecil on turning
Ottoman Empire out of Europe, 48; ac-
count of conditions due to war, 169; illu-
sions regarding German power ; financial
condition, 170; war conditions, 327; prog-
ress of women, 328 ; merits of soldiers dis-
cussed by Dr. Scheltema in article " Arabs
and the Turks in the War," 531.
Two Offers of Autonomy for Albania , 85.
Two Years Under the Germans, 350.
u
U-Boat Destruction of Shipping, 250, 405.
UDINE (Prince of), head of Italian Commis-
sion to U. S., formal address to Pres.
Wilson ; address in Senate, 62 ; at Gari-
baldi Memorial on Staten Island, 271.
UKRAINE, demand for autonomy, 205.
UNITED STATES :—
Armed Neutrality, comment on previous
periods in U. S. history; German code
before war, 67 ; phase in relations with
Germany, 314.
Army, arrival of Gen. Pershing in Eng-
land and France, 6 ; special units which
preceded Gen. Pershing, 10; plans and
progress of organization for war, 11 ;
training camps for providing officers,
12; promotion of officers by Pres. Wil-
son ; plans for new air fleet ; results of
registration for draft, 13 ; submarine
attacks on transports and account of
arrival and reception of first contin-
gents in France, 215; month's prog-
ress in recruiting, 218; mobilization of
National Guard ; locations of training
camps, 219; numbering of regiments
and training of officers ; tables show-
ing registration by States, 220: plans
for draft. 221 ; " Draft in 1863 and
1917," 223; small number of men in
battles of Revolution, 226; progress of
mobilization and training. 381 ; new
system of organization, 382 ; list of
Major Generals; new promotions, first
National Guard Division to be sent to
France, 384; account of drawing of
numbers for conscript army, 384;
power of exemption boards, 386: re-
sistance to conscription law, 387; bil-
leting and training in France, 388; re-
ception in England, 389; figures show-
ing strength, 407; new appropriation
for aircraft- H. E. Coffin on task be-
fore Aircraft Board and Dr. Addison
on manufacture of flying machines in
England, 514.
Bureau of Export Licenses, 255.
China, Relations with, American note ex-
pressing regret for rebellion, 103 ; Japa-
nese attitude toward note, 104.
Congress, chronology of war measures,
68.
Economic Mobilization, A. Tardieu on al-
lied co-ordination of forces, 275.
England, Relations with, controversies
over maritime rights, 308.
Finances, success of Liberty Loan cam-
paign, allotments and subscription,
17; subscriptions and allotments by
districts for Liberty Loan, 224; loans
to allies, 414.
Foreign ^Policy, outstanding features dis-
cussed in " How the War Came to
America," published by Committee on
Public Information, 304.
Vol. 6 — Part Two
Foreign Population, foreign-born males,
22 ; statement of Secretary of War,
223.
See also ENEMY Aliens ; GERMANS in
America.
Germany, Relations with, lack of arbitra-
tion treaty and events leading up to
war, official American statement, 309.
See also UNITED STATES— War with
Germany.
History, participation of country in former
European and African wars, 24.
Industries, text of appeal by Pres. Wilson
against profiteering, 256; mobilization
discussed by Lord Northcliffe, 274.
Navy, assistance being rendered to allies',
14; increase of strength of navy and
Marine Corps, 15; active part played
by destroyer flotilla, 89 ; location of
training camps, 219; valuable work of
destroyers under Admiral Sims in
British waters, 248; progress of war
measures summarized by Sec. Daniels,
252 ; strength of forces and enlistments,
382, 407; tribute by Lloyd George, 407.
Russia, Relations with, note of Pres. Wil-
son giving objects of U. S. in war, 49;
arrival of American Mission to Russia ;
first address of E. Root, 57; text of
Pres. Wilson's note explaining aims of
Root commission, 58 ; Prince Lvoff on
program for American aid and on
"America as Russia's Ideal," 206;
address of B. Bakhmeteff upon pres-
entation of credentials to Pres. Wil-
son, 207; Pres. Wilson's reply, 208;
activities of Root commission, 211 ;
J. R. Mott of commission addresses
sobor of Greek Church, 213; visit of
Russian Commission to U. S., 266.
War Risk Insurance Bureau, list of losses
on vessels, 25.
War with Germany, Pres. Wilson's Flag
Day address giving reasons, 1 ; note of
Pres. Wilson to Russia explaining aims
of U. S.,49: "Facts Supporting President
Wilson's War Message," annotations
citing the issues in international law,
by Prof. W. S. Davis, 64; effect of
entry of U. S. into war on Greek situa-
tion, 85; extract from speech by Dr.
von Harnack, 142 ; effect belittled by
Dr. Michaelis in Reichstag, 197; J. S.
Williams on necessity for, 260; com-
ment of Lloyd George in Glasgow, 262 ;
comment on entry, by King Albert and
by Baron Moncheur, 273 ; speech by R.
Viviani in Deputies, 278; text of
pamphlet issued by Committee on Pub-
Public Information, " How the War
Came to America," setting forth events
that forced entry into war, 304-316;
text of resolution declaring state of
war, 316; "Why We Entered the
Great War," by W. H. Taft, 317;
Secretary Lansing on " Our War
Aims," 455; Sen. Baker on war
aims, 461 ; statement by Dr. Kahl that
" America Will Make No Difference,"
463; U. S. declared by Lloyd George
to be underestimated by Germany,
464 ; views of Sir E. Carson, 466.
VANDALISM in France, official report of
illegal treatment inflicted upon territory
occupied by Germans, 340 ; account of work
in restoring communities destroyed in
German retreat, 347; in Savy, 351; in
Serbia, 486.
VANDERVELDE, Emlle, refusal to meet
German Socialists. 440: manifesto, " Peace
Program of Belgian Socialists," 445.
VENIZELOS, Eleutherios, return to power;
statement upon taking oath, 283.
VERDUN, see CAMPAIGN in Europe, West-
ern.
INDEX AND TABLE OF CONTENTS
xv.
VESNITCK (Serbian Ambassador), 485.
VICKERS, (Capt.) C. G., bravery, 506.
VIENNA, Wartime Life in, 321.
VILLAIN, 343.
VILLEROY, August, poem, " The Marching
Stars," 486.
V1NAWER, see WINAWER.
VIOLLETTE, Maurice, 151.
V1RUBOVA (Mme.), 209.
VITRIMONT, rebuilding taken in charge by
Mrs. Crocker, 349.
VIVIANI, Rene, speech at dinner of Mayor's
Committee at Waldorf-Astoria, recalling
battle of the Marne, 59 ; tribute to Amer-
ica in Chamber of Deputies, 277.
VOLLENHOVEN, Joost von, on Holland's
need of gain, 431.
VOLTAIRE, Francois M. A. de, influence
compared with that of Tolstoy in present
war, 119.
Von Batocki's Bread-Card Methods in Ger-
many, 152.
w
WADSWORTH, Eliot, 25.
WALDORF, (Herr) von, 411.
WAR, sociological study, " Who Pays for
the Cost of War," 134; article by H. Caine
on " Appalling Waste of the War," 452.
War Aims and Peace Terms Restated, 261.
War Aims of Allies Restated, 46.
War for American Honor and Lives, 460.
WAR Risk Insurance, losses of U. S. bureau,
25.
WARREN, Whitney, 477.
War's Inferno on the Aisne Ridge, 239.
WARSAW, see CAMPAIGN in Europe, East-
ern.
Wartime Life in European Capitals, 321.
Wartime Suffering in Turkey, 169.
WASHINGTON, George, extract from first
inaugural address contrasted with senti-
ment of Bethmann Hollweg on invasion of
Belgium, and with Frederick the Great
on question of right, 69 ; extract from
address of B. Bakhmeteff during visit of
Russian and British Missions to tomb, 268 ;
called as Commander in Chief in 1798,
387.
WASHINGTON, D. C, " adopts " Noyon,
France, to rebuild, 349.
" V,re Grazed the Very Edge of Cowardice,"
260.
Welding Britain's Empire Closer, 147.
What Has Paralyzed Russia's Armies, 116.
What the American Navy Has Done, 252.
WHEAT, H. C. Hoover on regulation, 390;
Federal wheat corporation, 391.
See also FOODSTUFFS.
Who Pays the Cost of War, 135.
Why We Entered the Great War, 317.
Why We Went to War, 1.
WILLIAM II., Emperor of Germany, speech
to Brandenburg troops, 53 ; message to
Constantine on abdication, 84 ; manifesto
on electoral reform, 193 ; letter accepting
resignation of Bethmann Hollweg, 196;
political power discussed in article by C.
H. Hazen on " How the Hohenzollerns and
Junkers Control," 198; proclamations at
close of third year of war, 472 ; telegram
to Pre3. Wilson on Aug. 10, 1914, telling
how war began, 473.
WILLIAM, Crown Prince of Germany, reason
for summoning to Crown Councils, 194 ;
antagonism toward Dr. Bethmann Holl-
weg; applause for Heydebrand in Agadir
Vol. 6 — Part Two
debate and attitude toward Zabern affair,
195.
WILLIAMS, John Sharp, extract from speech
in reply to Sen. Stone on war, 260.
WILLIAMS, Wythe, " Storming of the Aisne
Quarries," 41; "War's Inferno on the
Aisne Ridge," 239.
WILLOUGHBY, (Dr.) W., on Chinese crisis,
104.
WILSON, (Capt.) Henry B., in command of
coast patrol, 253.
WILSON, (Pres.) Woodrow, Flag Day ad-
dress at Washington giving reasons for
war with Germany, 1 ; promotion of offi-
cers, 13 ; efforts to avert food crisis, 15 ;
letter to H. C. Hoover on conservation of
food, 16 ; note to Russia explaining objects
of U. S. in entering war, 49 ; reference to
war message, in British note to Russia on
war aims ; comment in Italian note ; com-
ment on message to Russia in Council of
Workmen's and Soldiers' Delegates bul-
letin, 51 ; text of note to Russia on aims
of Root commission, 58; annotations by
Prof. W. S. Davis on issues in war mes-
sage, 64; extract from speech by Dr. von
Harnack attacking "ideal," 142; reply
to address of Ambassador Bakhmeteff, on
Russo-American relations, 208 ; eulogy by
Mayor of Moscow; telegram thanking him
for Root commission, 211 ; message to
Pres. Poincare, on Bastile Day ; reply of
Pres. Poincare, 218 ; on purpose of Ex-
ports Council, 254 ; statement on licensing
exports, 255 ; text of appeal against prof-
iteering, 256 ; letter from King Albert,
presented by Belgian Mission, 272 ; quoted
on neutrality at beginning of war, 307 ;
on willingness of U. S. to enter a peace
league, 308 ; extracts from speeches in
Topeka and St. Louis on war, 310; extract
from speech in Senate on peace, 312 ;
statement on food control program, 389;
charged by Dr. Kahl with playing false,
463 ; telegram from Emperor William,
Aug. 10, 1914, telling how war began, 473.
WINAWER (M.), declines High Court nomi-
nation, 112.
WINDSOR, House of, now name of British
royal family, 251.
WOMAN Suffrage, clauses in British elec-
toral reform bill, 18.
WOMEN, Russian regiment under Lieut.
Butchkareff ; represented in Russian Con-
stituent Assembly, 56 ; change in status
in Turkey, 169 ; description of regiment
in Russia, 210; knightly orders conferred
upon, 225 ; progress in Turkey ; two new
orders of knighthood in England open to
women, 328 ; comment on Russian regi-
ment of women, 413.
WOOD, William A., "Who Pays for the
Cost of War," 134.
WOOD, used for flour in Germany, 326.
WOOLSEY, Theodore S., quoted on subma-
rine usage in neutral ports, 67.
WORKMEN'S Council, 444.
WRIGHT Bros., original aviation field in-
cluded in new Govt, four-squadron field,
13.
WU TING-FANG, protest to Germany
against submarine warfare, 100.
Y
YAVEIN, (Mme.) Shishkin, representative
in Russian Constituent Assembly, 56.
" Year's Bravest Englishman," 154.
YEIGH, Frank, " Canada's Three Years of
War," 287.
YOUNG, (Lieut.) Arthur C, " Battle's Grim
Realities at Ginchy," 354.
YOUNG, (Lieut.) I. E. R., 517.
YPRES, see CAMPAIGN in Europe, Western.
XVI.
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
ZAIMIS, Alexander, reply to demand for
abdication of Constantine, 83.
ZEMSTVOS, work in war, 107.
ZIMMERMANN, (Dr.) Alfred, Mexican plot,
72.
ZINOVIEFF, Leone, 435.
ZUKUNFT, Die, suppression and article which
was cause, 193.
Portraits
ADOR, Gustave, 285.
ALEXANDER, King of Greece, 47.
BARNETT, (Maj. Gen.) George, 205.
BEATTY, (Admiral Sir) David, 458.
BENSON, (Admiral) W. S., 221.
BORAH, William E., 4G0.
BORDEN, (Sir) Robert, 317.
CADORNA, (Gen.) Luigi, 296.
CASTELNAU, (Gen.) de, 501.
CHANG HSUN (Gen.), 259.
CROWDER, (Brig. Gen.) Enoch H., 15.
CROZIER, (Gen.) William, 221.
CURRIE, (Sir) Arthur, 317.
DATO, Eduardo, 285.
DOYEN, (Col.) Charles A., 220.
DUKE, Henry E., 310.
FENG KUO-CHANG, Pres. of China, 506.
GEDDES, (Vice Admiral Sir) Eric, 459.
GEORGE V.. King of England, and Admiral
Beatty, 458.
GLEAVES, (Rear Admiral) Albert, 204.
HANNA, W. J., 317.
HOETZENDORF, (Gen.) von, 298.
KLUCK, (Gen.) von, 488.
KNUDSEN. Gunnar, 285.
KORNILOFF, (Gen.) L. G., 427.
KUHN, (Gen.) Joseph E., 221.
LAURIER, (Sir) Wilfrid, 317.
LTTTELL, (Col.) Isaac W., 221.
McADOO, William Gibbs, 46.
McCAIN, (Brig. Gen.) Henry P., 14.
MACKENSEN, (Gen.) A. L. F. August von,
129.
MARCONI, Guglielmo, 94.
NANSEN, (Dr.) Fridtjof, 430.
NICHOLAS, Nicholaievitch, (Grand Duke),
130.
NORTHCLIFFE (Lord), 95.
OSBORN, Paul G., 412.
PAINLEVE, Paul, 475.
ROBERTSON, (Gen. Sir) William R., 426.
RUSSIA'S First Revolutionary Cabinet, 142.
SCHEIDEMANN, Philipp, 284.
SQUIER, (Brig. Gen.) George O., 236.
TARDIEU, Andre, 275.
TERESTCHENKO, M. I., 474.
TOWNSHEND (Gen.), 302.
TSCHEIDZE, N. S., 127.
VAJIRAVUDH, King of Siam, 507.
ZAHLE, C. T., 285.
Illustrations
AIRPLANE for Bombing, German, 523.
BELGIAN Mission in America, 268.
BRITISH Army Entering Bagdad, 522.
DRAWING the Numbers of America's First
Conscripts, 394.
ITALIAN Mission to United States at City
College Stadium in New York, 269.
JOFFRE Breaking Ground for Lafayette
Monument, Baltimore, 237.
ORDER of the British Empire, 329.
RECRUITING Posters, army, 78; navy, 79.
RUSSIAN Duma, Delegates of Workmen's
and Soldiers' Delegates Electing Council,
143.
RUSSIAN Mission in America, 268.
SUBMARINE, New German Type, 246.
UNITED STATES Army, Medical Unit at
Blackpool, England, 237; on French Soil,
395.
Maps
ALBANIA, 86, 285.
ALSACE-LORRAINE, 332, 333.
ASIA MINOR Campaign, British and Russian
operations, 158 ; Russian operations, 162 ;
capture of Bagdad, 547.
CARSO Plateau, Italian drive, 31.
EASTERN Campaign, 399, 411.
FLANDERS, Battle of, 36, 397, 410.
GALICIA, progress of new Russian offen-
sive, 228.
GINCHY, 355.
LENS, British advances, 231, 396.
LOOS, Battle of, 502.
TERRITORY held by Central Powers, at be-
ginning of 1915 and at end of three years,
421.
VERDUN Front, 30.
WESTERN Campaign, proximity of French
battle line to lost Province of Lorraine,
332 ; section of Alsace regained by France,
833; German retreat on Ancre and
Somme, 535.
YPRES, see FLANDERS.
YSER River, British reverses, 232.
Cartoons
CARTOONS, 168, 171-190, 361-380, 451, 551-570.
Vol. 6— Part Two
Appointed by President Wilson to Command the American
Army in Europe
(Photo Central News)
■ ■■■■■■mi
VICE ADMIRAL WILLIAM S. SIMS
Commander of the United States Destroyer Flotilla, Which
Is Co-operating with the British Navy in the War Zone
(Photo Harris d- Kwing)
■! •••••••••>>
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WHY WE WENT TO WAR
President Wilson's Flag Day Ad-
dress Explains the Grievance of
the United States Against Germany
President Wilson delivered an ad-
dress at Washington, June 14, at a
Flag Day celebration, in which he
set forth in detail the reasons why
the United States went to war with
Germany. He spoke as follows:
!M
Y FELLOW-CITIZENS: We
meet to celebrate Flag Day
because this flag which we
honor and under which we serve
is the emblem of our unity, our
power, our thought and purpose
as a nation. It has no other charac-
ter than that which we give it
from generation to generation. The
choices are ours. It floats in majes-
tic silence above the hosts that exe-
cute those choices, whether in peace
or in war. And yet, though silent,
it speaks to us — speaks to us of the
past, of the men and women who
went before us and of the records
they wrote upon it. We celebrate the
day of its birth; and from its birth
until now it has witnessed a great
history, has floated on high the
symbol of great events, of a great
plan of life worked out by a great
people. We are about to carry it into
battle, to lift it where it will draw
the fire of our enemies. We are
about to bid thousands, hundreds of
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thousands, it may be millions, of our
men, the young, the strong, the
capable men of the nation, to go
forth and die beneath it on fields of
blood far away — for what? For
some unaccustomed thing? For
something for which it has never
sought the fire before? American
armies were never before sent across
the seas. Why are they sent now?
For some new purpose, for which
this great flag has never been car-
ried before, or for some old, fa-
miliar, heroic purpose for which it
has seen men, its own men, die on
every battlefield upon which Ameri-
cans have borne arms since the
Revolution ?
These are questions which must be
answered. We are Americans. We in
our turn serve America, and can
serve her with no private purpose.
We must use her flag as she has
always used it. We are accountable
at the bar of history and must plead
in utter frankness what purpose it
is we seek to serve.
Items of the Indictment
It is plain enough how we were
forced into the war. The extraordi-
nary insults and aggressions of the
Imperial German Government left us
no self-respecting choice but to take
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up arms in defense of our rights as
a free people and of our honor as a
sovereign Government. The military
masters of Germany denied us the
right to be neutral. They filled our
unsuspecting communities with vi-
cious spies and conspirators and
sought to corrupt the opinion of our
people in their own behalf. When
they found that they could not do
that, their agents diligently spread
sedition among us and sought to
draw our own citizens from their al-
legiance— and some of those agents
were men connected with the official
embassy of the German Government
itself here in our own capital. They
sought by violence to destroy our in-
dustries and arrest our commerce.
They tried to incite Mexico to take
up arms against us and to draw
Japan into a hostile alliance with
her — and that, not by indirection, but
by direct suggestion from the For-
eign Office in Berlin. They impu-
dently denied us the use of the high
seas and repeatedly executed their
threat that they would send to their
death any of our people who ventured
to approach the coasts of Europe.
And many of our own people were
corrupted. Men began to look upon
.their own neighbors with suspicion
and to wonder in their hot resent-
ment and surprise whether there was
any community in which hostile in-
trigue did not lurk. What great na-
tion in such circumstances would not
have taken up arms? Much as we
had desired peace, it was denied us,
and not of our own choice. This flag
under which we serve wc fid have
been dishonored had we withheld our
hand.
But that is only part of the story.
We know now as clearly as we knew
before we were ourselves engaged
that we are not the enemies of the
German people and that they are not
our enemies. They did not) originate
or desire this hideous war or wish
that we should be drawn into it; and
we are vaguely conscious that we are
fighting their cause, as they will
some day see it, as well as our own.
They are themselves in the grip of
the same sinister power that has now
at last stretched its ugly talons out
and drawn blood from us. The
whole world is at war because the
whole world is in the grip of that
power and is trying out the great
battle which shall determine whether
it is to be brought under its mastery
or fling itself free.
Germany's Military Masters
The war was begun by the military
masters of Germany, who proved to
be also the masters of Austria-Hun-
gary. These men have never regard-
ed nations as peoples, men, women,
and children of like blood and frame
as themselves, for whom Govern-
ments existed and in whom Govern-
ments had their life. They have re-
garded them merely as serviceable
organizations which they could by
force or intrigue bend or corrupt to
their own purpose. They have re-
garded the smaller States, in partic-
ular, and the peoples who could be
overwhelmed by force as their nat-
ural tools and instruments of dom-
ination. Their purpose has long been
avowed. The statesmen of other na-
tions, to whom that purpose was in-
credible, paid little attention; regard-
ed what German professors ex-
pounded in their classrooms and Ger-
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man writers set forth to the world
as the goal of German policy, as
rather the dream of minds detached
from practical affairs, as preposter-
ous private conceptions of German
destiny, than as the actual plans of
responsible rulers; but the rulers of
Germany themselves knew all the
while what concrete plans, what well-
advanced intrigues lay back of what
the professors and the writers were
saying, and were glad to go forward
unmolested, filling the thrones of
Balkan States with German Princes,
putting German officers at the ser-
vice of Turkey to drill her armies
and make interest with her Govern-
ment, developing plans of sedition
and rebellion in India and Egypt,
setting their fires in Persia. The de-
mands made by Austria upon Serbia
were a mere single step in a plan
which compassed Europe and Asia,
from Berlin to Bagdad. They hoped
those demands might not arouse Eu-
rope, but they meant to press them
whether they did or not, for they
thought themselves ready for the
final issue of arms.
Austria-Hungary a Pawn
Their plan was to throw a broad
belt of German military power and
political control across the very cen-
tre of Europe and beyond the Medi-
terranean into the heart of Asia; and
Austria-Hungary was to be as much
their tool and pawn as Serbia or Bul-
garia or Turkey or the ponderous
States of the East. Austria-Hun-
gary, indeed, was to become part of
the Central German Empire, ab-
sorbed and dominated by the same
forces and influences that had origi-
nally cemented the German States
themselves. The dream had its heart
at Berlin. It could have had a heart
nowhere else! It rejected the idea of
solidarity of race entirely. The
choice of peoples played no part in it
at all. It contemplated binding to-
gether racial and political units
which could be kept together only by
force — Czechs, Magyars, Croats,
Serbs, Rumanians, Turks, Armeni-
ans— the proud States of Bohemia
and Hungary, the stout little com-
monwealths of the Balkans, the in-
domitable Turks, the subtile peoples
of the East. These peoples did not
wish to be united. They ardently
desired to direct their own affairs,
would be satisfied only by undis-
puted independence. They could be
kept quiet only by the presence of
the constant threat of armed men.
They would live under a common
power only by sheer compulsion and
await the day of revolution. But the
German military statesmen had reck-
oned with all that and were ready to
deal with it in their own way.
The Present Situation
And they have actually carried
the greater part of that amazing
plan into execution. Look how
things stand. Austria is at their
mercy. It has acted, not upon its
own initiative or upon the choice of
its own people, but at Berlin's dicta-
tion ever since the war began. Its
people now desire peace, but cannot
have it until leave is granted from
Berlin. The so-called Central Pow-
ers are in fact but a single power.
Serbia is at its mercy, should its
hands be but for a moment freed;
Bulgaria has consented to its will,
and Rumania is overrun. The Turk-
ic
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ish armies, which Germans trained,
are serving Germany, certainly not
themselves, and the guns of Ger-
man warships lying in the harbor
at Constantinople remind Turkish
statesmen every day that they have
no choice but to take their orders
from Berlin. From Hamburg to the
Persian Gulf the net is spread.
German Cry for Peace
Is it not easy to understand the
eagerness for peace that has been
manifested from Berlin ever since
the snare was set and sprung?
Peace, peace, peace has been the
talk of her Foreign Office now for
a year and more; not peace upon
her own initiative, but upon the in-
itiative of the nations over which
she now deems herself to hold the
advantage. A little of the talk has
been public, but most of it has been
private. Through all sorts of chan-
nels it has come to me, and in all
sorts of guises, but never with the
terms disclosed which the German
Government would be willing to ac-
cept. That Government has other
valuable pawns in its hands besides
those I have mentioned. It still
holds a valuable part of France,
though with slowly relaxing grasp,
and practically the whole of Bel-
gium. Its armies press close upon
Russia and overrun Poland at their
will. It cannot go further; it dare
not go back. It wishes to close its
bargain before it is too late, and it
has little left to offer for the pound
of flesh it will demand. .
The military masters under whom
Germany is bleeding see" very clearly
to what point fate has brought them.
If they fall back or are forced back
an inch their power both abroad and
at home will fall to pieces like a
house of cards. It is their power at
home they are thinking about now
more than their power abroad. It is
that power which is trembling under
their very feet; and deep fear has
entered their hearts. They have but
one chance to perpetuate their mil-
itary power or even their controlling
political influence. If they can secure
peace now with the immense advan-
tages still in their hands, which they
have up to this point apparently
gained, they will have justified them-
selves before the German people;
they will have gained by force what
they promised to gain by.it — an im-
mense expansion of German power,
an immense enlargement of German
industrial and commercial opportuni-
ties. Their prestige will be secure,
and with their prestige their polit-
ical power. If they fail, their people
will thrust them aside ; a Government
accountable to the people themselves
will be set up in Germany as it has
been in England, in the United
States, in France, and in all the
great countries of the modern time
except Germany. If they succeed
they are safe and Germany and the
world are undone; if they fail Ger-
many is saved and the world will be
at peace. If they succeed America
will fall within the menace. We and
all the rest of the world must re-
main armed, as they will remain, and
must make ready for the next step
in their aggression; if they fail the
world may unite for peace and Ger-
many may be of the union.
Do you not now understand the
new intrigue, the intrigue for peace,
7
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and why the masters of Germany do
not hesitate to use any agency that
promises to effect their purpose, the
deception of the nations? Their pres-
ent particular aim is to deceive* all
those who throughout the world stand
♦for the rights of peoples and the self-
government of nations; for they see
what immense strength the forces of
justice and of liberalism are gather-
ing out of this war.
Tools of Peace Propaganda
They are employing liberals in
their enterprise. They are using
men, in Germany and without, as
their spokesmen whom they have
hitherto despised and oppressed,
using them for their own destruction
— Socialists, the leaders of labor, the
thinkers they have hitherto sought to
silence. Let them once succeed and
these men, now their tools, will be
ground to powder beneath the weight
of the great military empire they will
have set up; the revolutionists in
Russia will be cut off from all succor
or co-operation in Western Europe
and a counter-revolution fostered
and supported ; Germany herself will
lose her chance of freedom, and all
Europe will arm for the next, the
final, struggle.
The sinister intrigue is being no
less actively conducted in this coun-
try than in Russia and in every coun-
try in Europe to which the agents
and dupes of the Imperial German
Government can get access. That
Government has many spokesmen
here, in places high and low. They
have learned discretion. They keep
within the law. It is opinion they
utter now, not sedition. They proclaim
the liberal purposes of their masters;
declare this a foreign war which can
touch America with no danger to
either her lands or her institutions;
set England at the centre of the
stage and talk of her ambition to as-
sert economic dominion throughout
the world; appeal to our ancient tra-
dition of isolation in the politics of
the nations, and seek to undermine
the Government with false profes-
sions of loyalty to its principles.
But they will make no headway.
The false betray themselves always
in every accent. It is only friends
and partisans of the German Govern-
ment whom we have already identi-
fied who utter these thinly disguised
disloyalties. The facts are patent to
all the world, and nowhere are they
more plainly seen than in the United
States, where we are accustomed to
deal with facts and not with sophis-
tries; and the great fact that stands
out above all the rest is that this
is a people's war, a war for free-
dom and justice and self-government
among all the nations of the world,
a war to make the world safe for
the peoples who live upon it and have
made it their own, the German peo-
ple themselves included; and that
with us rests the choice to break
through all these hypocrisies and
patent cheats and masks of brute
force and help set the world free,
or else stand aside and let it be
dominated a long age through by
sheer weight of arms and the arbi-
trary choices of self-constituted
masters, by the nation which can
maintain the biggest armies and
the most irresistible armaments — a
power to which the world has af-
forded no parallel and in the face of
which political freedom must wither
and perish.
For us there is but one choice. "We
have made it. Woe be to the man
or group of men that seeks to stand
in our way in this day of high reso-
lution when every principle we hold
dearest is to be vindicated and made
secure for the salvation of the na-
tions. We are ready to plead at the
bar of history, and our flag shall
wear a new lustre. Once more we
shall make good with our lives and
fortunes the great faith to which we
were born, and a new glory shall
shine in the face of our people.
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General Pershing in France
Advance Guard of American Expeditionary Force On the
Way to the. Front
M
AJOR GEN. JOHN J. PER-
SHING, who is to command
the American expeditionary;
force on the western front, ar-
rived safely in England on June 8 with
his staff of 53 officers and 146 men, in-
cluding privates and civilian attaches.
On landing at Liverpool from the White
Star liner Baltic, he gave the following
message to the British public:
We are very proud and glad to be the
standard bearers of our country in this great
war for civilization and to land on British
soil. The welcome which we have received is
magnificent and deeply appreciated. "We
hope in time to be playing our part — and we
hope it will be a big part — on the western
front.
The American commander was received
by a British General with a guard of
honor and a regimental band, which
played "The Star-Spangled Banner."
The British Admiralty was represented
by the Admiral in command of the port
and the municipal authorities by the Lord
Mayor of Liverpool. After these greet-
ings were concluded General Pershing
left for London by special train, the offi-
cial state car being attached for him to
travel in; and on arrival in London he
was received by Lord Derby, Secretary
of State for War; General Lord French,
other high officers of the British Army,
the United States Ambassador, and Ad-
miral Sims of the United States Navy.
At every stage the British Government
showed every possible mark of honor to
America's commander, while the greet-
ings of the people were warmly enthusi-
astic.
The following day General Pershing
and his entire personal staff were re-
ceived by King George at Buckingham
Palace. General Lord Brooke, com-
mander of the Twelfth Canadian Infan-
try Brigade, presented the American
commander to the King, who said to him:
It has been the dream of my life to see the
two great English-speaking nations more
closely united."1 My dreams have been real-
ized. It is with the utmost pleasure that I
welcome you, at the head of the American
contingent, to our shores.
Later King George chatted for a few
moments with each member of Pershing's
staff. He conversed with the General
for a quarter of an hour, shaking hands
enthusiastically as they parted. A series
of calls and entertainments followed the
ceremony at the palace. On June 11 Gen-
eral Pershing and Ambassador Page took
luncheon with King George and Queen
Mary, spending nearly two hours at the
palace. After luncheon the King and
Queen showed the visitors through the
historic rooms and about the palace
grounds. From the palace General Per-,
shing went to the War Office, where mem-
bers of his personal staff had been in
conference for several hours with repre-
sentatives of their corresponding depart-
ments in the British Army. The officer
who represents the American military air
service devoted two hours to discussing
plans for co-operation with the British
service.
In the afternon General Pershing vis-
ited the House of Commons. He sat in
the Distinguished Visitors' Gallery for a
time, and later took tea on the Terrace
as a guest of members. In the evening
he took dinner with Ambassador Page at
his residence to meet members of the
British Cabinet and naval and military
officers. Among the guests were Premier
Lloyd George, Arthur J. Balfour, Lord
Derby, Lord Robert Cecil, Viscount
French, Admiral Sir John R. Jellicoe,
Vice Admiral William S. Sims, U. S. N.,
and General Jan Smuts.
• The first opportunity General Pershing
had of observing British Army methods
was on June 12, when he was taken to
a training camp to watch instruction in
trench warfare. Afterward he was the
War Secretary's guest at luncheon. In
the evening the General and eighteen
members of his staff were the guests of
the British Government at a formal dinner
GENERAL PERSHING IN FRANCE
at Lancaster House, a Government build-
ing devoted solely to purposes of state
entertainment of distinguished visitors.
There were thirty other diners, including
eight members of the Cabinet. The
Prime Minister sat at the first of six
round tables in the sumptuous dining
hall. The other tables were presided over
by Lord Curzon, Lord President of the
Council; Viscount Milner, member of the
War Cabinet; the Right Hon. George M.
Barnes, Pensions Minister; the Earl of
Derby, Secretary for War, and Sir Al-
fred Mond.
The dinner was not an elaborate af-
fair, the menu conforming strictly to the
prescribed war rations. There were no
speeches, but toasts were drunk to the
King and the President. Early in the
evening, before Major Gen. Pershing left
his hotel, ex-Premier Asquith called on
him.
Enthusiasm in France
An even more thrilling welcome await-
ed General Pershing on French soil. " I
salute the United States of America,
which has now become united to the
United States of Europe," from the lips
of General Dumas, commanding the
northern region, were the first words
that greeted Pershing as he stepped
ashore at Boulogne on the morning of
June 13. It was the first time in his-
tory that a soldier wearing the Amer-
ican uniform had landed on the Euro-
pean Continent with sword in hand for
the purpose of using it against an enemy.
As Pershing himself said, it was a his-
toric moment.
The scenes that greeted him, the re-
ception that followed, both at Boulogne
and in Paris, were both historic and
deeply significant. Drawn up on the
landing quay was a detachment of French
infantry in battle uniform. They came
only recently from the trenches. As the
American chief greeted their colors, they
came to salute and stood like iron stat-
ues as he passed slowly down the line.
Pershing's face showed his emotion.
They were all grizzled or middle-aged
veterans. There was not a youth among
them — that little detachment of the army
of France. Their faces, too, showed
eagerness at his coming, and the few
Americans who were there felt heart-
throbs of pride at the splendid way in
which their leader fitted into the picture.
As the boat neared the landing stage
Pershing's figure stood out prominently
from the centre of his staff, and the com-
mon French utterance was : " Truly, here
comes a man! "
Among the officials that met him were
Rene Besnard, Under Secretary of State
for War; Brig. Gen. Pelletier, who is chief
of the French Mission to the American
expeditionary force ; General Dupont, who
represented General Petain; General Du-
mas, commanding the region of the
north; Sir George Fowke, representing
Sir Douglas Haig; Captain Baron de
Courcel, who was to act as Pershing's of-
ficial interpreter; also the Military Gov-
ernor of Boulogne, and representatives
of the French and British Navies. The
American War Department was repre-
sented by Captain Boyd, Military At-
tache.
After a drive through Boulogne, where
great crowds gathered in all the streets,
the entire staff departed by special train
for Paris. Immediately after the start,
General Pershing received the French
newspaper men in his private car, and
afterward the representaives of the
American press. To the former he said,
after expressing his pleasure at landing
in France : " The reception we have re-
ceived is of great significance. It has im-
pressed us greatly. It means that from
the present moment our aims are the
same." To the Americans he declared
that this arrival of the advance guard of
the American Army " makes us realize
the fullest importance of American par-
ticipation. America has entered the war
with the fullest intention of doing her
share no matter how great or how small
that share may be. Our allies can depend
on that."
Stirring Reception in Paris
The reception at Paris was by far the
greatest given to anybody since the out-
break of the war. From the moment the
fortifications were reaehed every house-
top, wall, and window was filled with
cheering thousands. At the Gare du
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Nord special cordons of troops lined the
platforms, while dense ranks of soldiers
flanked every street for blocks and pa-
trolled the route of the party all the way
to the Hotel de Crillon, in the Place de la
Concorde, where the General made his
temporary headquarters. Paris turned
out literally tens of thousands, and it
seemed every one was waving an Ameri-
can flag, while cries of "Vive l'Ameri-
que! " became a sustained roar all the
way from the Gare du Nord to the Boule-
vards. General Pershing was visibly af-
fected by the welcome as he stepped from
the train. Bands in the station played
" The Star-Spangled Banner " and the
" Marseillaise." Those who greeted him
were Marshal Joffre, M. Viviani, M.
Painleve, Minister of War; Generals
Foch and Dutail, Ambassador Sharp, and
all the attaches of the American Em-
bassy.
To the masses in the streets as they
followed the automobiles from the Gare
it seemed the coming of Pershing was
veritably the coming of an army. Here
was America to help them, America,
which had always stood in popular im-
agination as the symbol of incredible
wealth and greatness. In the person of
the simply dressed American General
they cheered the whole American Army
« — millions strong, if need be, to carry the
war to victory.
In the evening Ambassador Sharp gave
a dinner at the American Embassy,
where the General met the chief mem-
bers of the French Cabinet and officers
of the army and navy.
Pershing at Napoleons Tomb
Among the most moving episodes was
Pershing's visit to the tomb of Napoleon,
in the Hotel des Invalides, on June 14, for
here was witnessed the impressive scene
of the American commander standing
with uncovered head at the resting place
of the world's most famous soldier. Per-
shing, accompanied by his staff, was re-
ceived at the Hotel des Invalides by Gen-
eral Niox, the military commander of
the historic monument, and General Mal-
terre. As the American party entered
the spacious grounds leading to the
building they encountered a number of
veterans of the French wars who have
their home at this institution. One of
these was a grizzled soldier of the
Crimea, who still wore the ancient uni-
form and carried on his breast decora-
tions of the old days. As the veteran
saluted General Pershing the General
stopped and extended his hand, saying:
* It is a great honor for a young soldier
like myself to press the hands of an old
soldier like yourself, who has seen such
glorious service."
Passing into the Invalides, General
Niox conducted the American command-
er within the vast rotunda with its walls
hung with battle flags, and thence the
party proceeded below to the crypt
where the sarcophagus of Napoleon re-
poses. Entrance to the crypt is rigor-
ously restricted, and it is seldom that any
one is admitted except crowned heads or
former heads of States, as in the case of
ex-President Roosevelt when he visited
Paris.
General Pershing and his staff were
conducted to the crypt by Marshal Joffre,
who followed the precedent laid down by
Napoleon, that only a Marshal of France
might remain covered in his presence.
The great key was inserted in the brass
door of the crypt. Marshal Joffre and
General Niox drew aside while General
Pershing faced the door alone. He took
a deep breath, stepped suddenly forward,
and with a single motion threw his arm
straight out and turned the key. In a
tiny alcove at one side of the crypt the
Governor of the Invalides unlocked the
case, drew out the sword, and raised it
to his lips. Then he presented the hilt to
General Pershing, who received it, held it
at salute for a moment, and then kissed
the hilt. The same ceremony was fol-
lowed with the cross of the cordon of the
Legion of Honor, General Pershing hold-
ing the cross to his lips before passing it
back to the Governor. This was the most
signal honor France ever bestowed upon
any man. Before this occasion not even a
Frenchman ever was permitted to hold
the historic relics in his hands. Kings
and Princes have been taken to the crypt
that holds the body of the great Emperor,
but they only viewed the sword and cross
through the plateglass of the case in
GENERAL PERSHING IN FRANCE
9
which they rest. The relics had not been
touched since the time of Louis Philippe.
Visit to President Poincare
After his visit to the Invalides Gen-
eral Pershing made a formal call on Am-
bassador Sharp, and was then escorted
with military honors to the Elysee Palace
to be presented to President Poincare.
At 1:30 o'clock the President and Mme.
Poincare gave a state breakfast in honor
of the American commander. Other
guests were Premier Ribot, Paul Pain-
leve, Minister of War; Marshal Joffre,
Rene Viviani, Minister of Justice, and
Ambassador Sharp.
General Pershing received a remark-
able greeting from the Deputies when he
entered the diplomatic box in the Cham-
ber of Deputies at 3 o'clock, just before
Premier Ribot rose to tell the Chamber
what the Allies purposed doing in Greece.
The first part of the session partook of
the nature of an official parliamentary
reception to General Pershing, the United
States figuring in M. Ribot's speech and
being the theme of an eloquent oration
by M. Viviani. Once they were aware of
General Pershing's entry, the Deputies
rose and stood, cheering, until the Gen-
eral bowed his acknowledgments. Then
the galleries caught up the enthusiasm
and violated the tradition of the House
by joining in the applause. The Deputies
again rose and turned toward General
Pershing, cheering, when M. Ribot fin-
ished his speech by quoting President
Wilson's phrase in his message to Russia:
" The day has come to conquer or sub-
mit," and declaring: "We will not sub-
mit; we will vanquish." M. Viviani fol-
lowed M. Ribot, describing the spirit of
the United States and the principles for
which both republics were fighting.
General Pershing was compelled to re-
spond to another demonstration after M.
Viviani's speech, and at 4 o'clock he left
the Chamber, followed by a storm of
cheering.
Premier Ribot said in the course of his
speech :
The people of France fully understand the
deep significance of the arrival of General
Pershing in France. It is one of the greatest
events in history that the people of the Uni-
ted States should come here to struggle, not
in the spirit of ambition or conquest, but for
the noble ideals of justice and liberty. The
arrival of General Pershing is a new message
from President Wilson, which, if that is pos-
sible, surpasses in nobility all those preced-
ing it.
The people of Paris gave Pershing and
Joffre a remarkable reception on the
morning of June 15, when the two Gen-
erals stool bareheaded together on the
balcony of the Military Club, looking
down on the excited crowd on the Place
de l'Opera. " Vive Joffre, who saved us
from defeat! Vive Pershing, who brings
us victory! " cried an excited girl, cling-
ing to the arm of a be-medaled permis-
sionaire, in a brief moment of silence,
and at her words cheering burst forth
tenfold only to cease long after the club
balcony was vacant and the crowd was
at last convinced that its two idols had
definitely withdrawn.
A Wreath for Lafayette
-General Pershing's personal program
of official calls, dinners, and ceremonies
came to an abrupt end in the afternoon
after he visited Picpus Cemetery, where
he placed a huge wreath of American
Beauty roses on the tomb of Lafayette.
Then he announced definitely that next
day he intended to get down to work at
the headquarters of the American Army,
which was already in full operation, in
the Rue de Constantine. The ceremony
at the tomb was very brief, simple but
impressive. With half a dozen officers
of his staff he motored to the cemetery,
where he was received only by the Mar-
quis and the Count de Chambrun, de-
scendants of Lafayette, who conducted
him to the tomb. The wreath was car-
ried behind by two orderlies. The Mar-
quis de Chambrun said a few words wel-
coming General Pershing, who replied
simply, expressing the great pleasure of
every American to visit the tomb of one
who had done so much for the United
States — to pay a tribute of devotion
which sealed friendship forever. Then
the wreath was placed on the slab, while
General Pershing and the officers stood
at salute. The streets along the route
to and from the cemetery were lined, as
usual, with crowds, whose cheers seemed
to indicate their appreciation of General
10
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Pershing in this symbolic fashion repay-
ing the debt of Lafayette.
General Pershing spent his third and
last day in Paris before leaving for the
front in making official calls, paying a
visit to Marshal Joffre, with whom he
had luncheon, and visiting the Senate.
During his visit to the Senate there were
scenes of enthusiasm similar to those in
the Chamber of Deputies on the previous
day. The Senators stood when General
Pershing appeared in the diplomatic box,
accompanied by the American Ambassa-
dor, and applauded him for several min-
utes. The General had to bow his
acknowledgments repeatedly.
M. Ribot, the Premier, alluded to the
presence of the distinguished American
soldier, and called on Foreign Minister
Viviani to address the Senate. M.
Viviani, speaking at first with restraint,
launched with great beauty of expression
into an oration, in which he described
the refusal of the United States to see
the ideals of civilization, of democracy,
and of right in battle with destructive
forces without taking her part, which, he
declared, was a great and noble part. The
speaker was frequently interrupted by
applause, and at the close of his address
all the members of the Senate stood and,
turning again toward General Pershing,
clapped their hands and shouted, " Vivent
les Etats Unis." General Pershing rose
and bowed several times before the dem-
onstration subsided.
The Senate took a recess of half an
hour, so that the members might be in-
troduced to General Pershing, and An-
tonin Dubost, President of the Senate,
escorted him through the immense lobby
of the Luxembourg Palace, introducing
him to the members, Baron D'Estour-
nelles de Constant assisting in the pres-
entations.
Organizing for the Front
With the great series of official and
popular greetings at an end General
Pershing set to work to establish his
headquarters in France. Marshal Joffre
was designated by the French Minister
of War to continue his work, begun in
Washington, of assisting to organize
American participation in the war. He
will, therefore, be the representative of
the French Government in co-operating
with the American Commander, Lieut.
Col. Fabry, as Chief of Staff, and Lieu-
tenant de Tessan as aid, both members
of the French War Commission to the
Ignited States, continue with the Mar-
shal. According to a statement made by
the War Department at Washington on
June 13, General Pershing, in confer-
ence with French army heads, will deter-
mine where the American expedition
shall be sent, and his recommendations,
which will be practically final, will be
approved by the authorities at Washing-
ton. He will be an independent com-
mander, like Field Marshal Haig, neces-
sarily co-operating with the French high
command while on French soil.
General Pershing was preceded to
France by various special units of the
American Army, and on May 24 the first
United States combatant corps went to
the front under Captain E. I. Tinkham,
who won the War Cross at Verdun, and
Lieutenant Scully of Princeton. It was
a proud moment when the first detach-
ment of the American field service, con-
sisting mainly of Cornell undergraduates,
departed for the Aisne battlefield. They
were armed with carbines, attired in
khaki uniforms, and drove American five-
ton motor cars. As they left, the Stars
and Stripes, floating over the canton-
ment in a historic French forest, spread
out in the breeze, and other contingents
cheered them on their way. Other Amer-
ican sections, drilling in preparation for
active participation in the fighting, in-
cluded detachments from Andover, Dart-
mouth, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Yale,
Chicago, and Williams College, while a
large body from Princeton is awaiting
organization. Most of them intended to
serve with the American Ambulance
Corps, but selected - the fighting corps
after the United States decided to enter
the war.
An official statement issued by the
British War Office on May 28 said that,
counting the Americans serving in the
British and French armies and the ad-
ditional units ordered to France, there
would shortly be 100,000 Americans in
GENERAL PERSHING IN FRANCE
u
France, and, further, that 3,500 war air-
planes would be constructed and 6,000
aviators trained in the United States this
year. The statement added that flotillas of
destroyers were,.co-operating with the En-
tente Allies in the submarine zone, that
one army division, a force of marines, and
nine regiments of engineers had been or-
dered to France, and that 10,000 doctors
and many nurses had been ordered to
England, hundreds of these having al-
ready arrived. " Together with the Amer-
icans already serving in the British and
French armies," the announcement ex-
plained, " these additional units will
shortly give a total of 100,000 Americans
in France, equaling five. German divis-
America's Army in the Making
THE work of pulling together the dif-
ferent lines of organization which
will result in the formation of a
United States Army fighting in Europe
has been proceeding gradually and me-
thodically. Explaining the Government's
military plans, Secretary of War Baker,
in a statement on May 9, said that all
the forces raised for the war were to be
dovetailed into one great army machine
of more than 1,200,000 men when the
National Guard had been raised to full
war strength, when the regular army
had been similarly increased and
strengthened, and when the first draft of
500,000 men for the national army had
been raised. This army would consist
of about forty divisions.
Under the National Defense act of
June 3, 1916, the full war strength of the
regular army was fixed at 293,000 men,
and of the National Guard at 409,000,
but recruiting for both branches has been
below requirements. On April 1, 1917,
the regular army still needed 183,898
men, but the number of enlistments on
June 18 had reached only 120,815. In
some States the National Guard actually
showed a decrease through discharges.
It, therefore, became obvious that more
than the 500,000 men, as originally in-
tended, would have to be drafted. Gen-
eral Crowder told the Senate Military
Affairs Committee on June 4 that the
number then required was 625,000, and
to obtain this number it would be neces-
sary to draft at least 900,000 and pos-
sibly 1,500,000, because of expected ex-
emptions. The additional 125,000 would
be needed to fill up vacancies in the army
and to keep the training camps in con-
tinuous operation.
The President on May 14 had already
approved the completed plans for the
immediate expansion of the regular army
to its full war strength of 293,000 men
through the formation as rapidly as pos-
sible of all the new units authorized by
the National Defense act of June 3, 1916.
To accomplish this forty-five new regi-
ments of infantry, cavalry, and field
artillery are being organized. This in-
crease, as contemplated by Congress in
1916, was to have been obtained in five
equal increments in a five-year period.
The orders issued by the President now
call for the formation of twenty-seven
regiments of infantry, twelve of field
artillery, and six of cavalry. When these
have been obtained the army will com-
prise sixty-four regiments of infantry,
twenty-one of field artillery, and twenty-
five of cavalry — a total of 110 regiments
— exclusive of coast artillery, staff corps,
and special service units. There will be
3,379 officers and 127,985 men in the in-
fantry, 1,325 officers and 37,175 men in
the cavalry, and 897 officers and 26,748
men in the field artillery. The entire
regular army will comprise more than
12,000 officers and 293,000 men. Pre-
viously there had been thirty-seven regi-
ments of infantry, nine regiments of field
artillery, and nineteen regiments of cav-
alry. The new infantry regiments will
be known as the Thirty-eighth to the
Sixty-fourth, inclusive ; the new field ar-
tillery will be the Tenth to the Twenty-
first, inclusive, and the new cavalry, the
Twentieth to the Twenty-fifth, inclusive.
1 >
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Expanding the Arm})
The expansion of the army is being
accomplished by the conversion of each
existing battalion into a full regiment.
When the expansion is complete, the
regular army will have seven full di-
visions, including the four infantry and
two cavalry divisions regarded as es-
sentially troops of the mobile army. A
full war strength division is maintained
in the Philippines and additional forces
are in the Panama Canal Zone and
Hawaii.
Secretary of War Baker in a state-
ment with reference to the regular
army says:
The Cavalry, Engineers, Coast Artillery,
Signal Corps, and Quartermaster Corps of
the regular army have already been brought
to war strength.
Forty-five thousand recruits are needed
at once to complete the new regiments of
infantry and field artillery.
Twenty-five thousand additional recruits
are desired at the earliest practicable date
to fill vacancies in order that the war
strength of 300,000 men may be maintained.
Facilities are in readiness for placing these
70,000 men under proper training.
The expansion of the National Guard
has also been planned on the principle of
enlarging existing units and forming new
ones. Including naval militia the total
authorized is 433,800. This force is being
formed on the basis of 800 guardsmen for
each Senator and representative. For
the 531 Senators and representatives this
allotment would give 424,800 men. Adding
9,000 for the insular possessions, and sub-
tracting 24,700 reserved for the naval
militia, gives a total of 409,100 for the
National Guard. There were recently
fewer than 200,000 in the guard.
In accordance with President Wilson's
orders, Brig. Gen. William A. Mann of
the General Staff, as Chief of the Divi-
sion of Militia Affairs, has sent to each
Adjutant General complete information
about the quota assigned for each State,
the units to be comprised, and the order
in which the units shall be organized.
The War Department, in an explanation
of what had been done, added:
Notwithstanding such action some States
have undertaken the organization of units
which cannot be utilized in the formation of
complete higher tactical units. While it is
much to be desired to take full advantage of
the patriotic interest stirring in the country,
such advantage can only come through a co-
ordination and regulation in keeping with a
general and basic plan.
The War Department and the Militia
Bureau are vitally concerned in getting the
best value from the National Guard and to
that end have perfected, as far as practicable,
definite plans, for which co-operation on the
part of State officials and representatives is
urgently desired.
All persons desiring to offer their services
in the National Guard, and especially those
interested in raising new units, are requested
to communicate with the Adjutant General
of their State and to be governed by the
wishes of the State authorities in carrying
out the announced policy of the War Depart-
ment in the organization and acceptance of
such troops.
For the training of the new draft
armies plans have been adopted to build
sixteen cantonments, which will practi-
cally be cities. Here accommodation will
be provided for 600,000 conscripts. The
building of the sixteen soldier cities is
under the direction of Colonel Littel,
Chief of Cantonment Construction.
Training Thousands of Officers
Sixteen camps in different parts of the
United States for the training of officers
began' work on May 15, the number of
trainees in attendance being 40,000. The
preliminary training was concluded about
five weeks later. During this period only
engineers received special instruction; all
the other officers were formed into in-
fantry regiments, and trained as infantry.
The second training period began on June
18, when the future officers began to
specialize in the different branches of
the service. They now ceased to be
" rookies." The second period of train-
ing is to conclude about the middle of
August, a week or two before the first
500,000 men of the draft army will be
called to the colors.
But as officers will be required for the
second 500,000 men the War Department
has already completed plans for a second
series of officers' training camps. Brig.
Gen. Henry P. McCain, Adjutant General
of the army, on June 2 issued the follow-
ing statement:
To provide officers for the drafted forces
of the national army, the War Department
has adopted the policy of commissioning new
AMERICA'S ARMY IN THE MAKING
13
officers of the line (infantry, cavalry, field
and coast guard artillery) purely on the basis
of demonstrated ability, after three months'
observation and training in the officers' train-
ing camps.
To provide officers for the first 500,000 the
War Department has put into operation six-
ten officers' training camps, with about 40,000
men in attendance. These sixteen camps cor-
respond to the territorial divisions in which
the national army will be raised. The pres-
ent camps will provide line officers sufficient
in quantity and quality for the first 500.000
and a reserve for that increment. It is pro-
posed to officer further increments raised
under the draft by promotion from the ranks
of the regular army, the National Guard, and
drafted forces previously in service.
The second series of officers' training camps
will be held beginning Aug. 27, with the defi-
nite mission of producing a body of line
officers capable of filling all places in the
grades above Lieutenant and many places
in the Lieutenant grades of the second 500,000
troops. These camps will open on Aug. 27,
1917, and the training period will last until
Nov. 26, 1917.
The President has commissioned offi-
cers by the hundred for the Officers' Re-
serve Corps, until its total strength is
now in the neighborhood of 10,000. Many-
promotions have become necessary, and
on June 8 President Wilson raised three
Brigadier Generals (John F. Morrison,
Charles G. Morton, and William L. Si-
bert) to the rank of Major General,
while eighteen new Brigadier Generals
and three new Lieutenant Colonels were
also nominated. In making these promo-
tions the President disregarded strict
seniority and went down the list in
.search of " live wires," promoting sev-
eral officers by selection.
A Great Air Fleet
The creation of a great American air
fleet has begun. Three aviation fields are
under construction and cadets are in
training at the preliminary aviation
schools established in six representative
engineering colleges and universities. The
Aircraft Production Board announces also
that a site has been selected in France
for the final training of the first aviators
graduated from the American fields.
Work has been begun on a big four-
squadron aviation field at Dayton, Ohio,
and "it is significant," says Howard E.
Coffin, Chairman of the Aircraft Pro-
duction Board, " that this Dayton field of
2,500 acres, built to accommodate the
largest group of aviation students to be
trained in the great project on which
America has now set forth, should be on
the site of the original field on which the
Wrights developed their first successful
airplanes. The original Wright hangar,
placed on a modest tract of eighty-six
acres, which constituted the Wright
experimental field, is set within the
boundaries of the big new Government
field."
A statement by the Council of National
Defense says in regard to aviation
policy:
The immediate policy involves, roughly, a
program for the first year of turning out in
American factories about 3,500 air machines,
including both training and battle types, and
the establishment of schools and training
fields with sufficient capacity not only to
man these machines but to supply a constant
stream of aviators and mechanics to the
American forces in Europe.
Brig. Gen. George O. Squier, Chief
Signal Officer of the United States Army,
who directs the aviation service, informed
Congress on June 15 that $600,000,000
was needed as an initial appropriation
for America's air fleet.
Putting the Conscription Law Into
Operation
THE first step in putting into opera-
tion the select conscription law, of-
ficially known as " an act to author-
ize the President to increase temporarily
the military establishment of the United
States," which was approved on May 18,
1917, was to register all male residents
who had reached the age of 21 years but
who were not yet 31 years of age. The
President by a proclamation, dated May
18, fixed June 5 as the day of registra-
tion.
When it became apparent that men
who came under the law were leaving, or
14
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
endeavoring to leave the country, the
President on June 1 issued another proc-
lamation warning all persons subject to
registration who withdrew from the
United States for the purpose of evad-
ing registration that they would be prose-
cuted on their return and be liable to
one year's imprisonment.
The registration blank contained twelve
questions covering among others, name,
address, age, nationality, birthplace,
and occupation, and concluding with the
interrogation, " Do you claim exemption
from draft (specify grounds) ? " The
official estimate by the Census Bureau
of the number of men who should register
was 10,264,867, and they were directed to
appear at their polling booths and other
places usually employed for elections.
Registration day passed off quietly.
Although trouble was expected from anti-
conscriptionists, there was practically no
disorder. A few arrests were reported,
but the method employed by the young
men who were opposed to conscription
was in nearly every case simply to ne-
glect to register. An official statement
given out by the Committee on Public
Information on the evening of June 5,
said in part:
Nearly 10,000,000 Americans of military age
registered today for service in the army
against Germany. The registration was ac-
complished in a fashion measuring up to the
highest standards of Americanism. The young
men came to the registration places enthusi-
astic; there was no hint of a slacking spirit
anywhere except in a few cases where mis-
guided persons had been prevailed upon to
attempt to avoid their national obligation.
From every State reports were received
showing that the sporadic conspiracies to
thwart the first step toward the mobilization
of as large an army as the country may need
to bring the war to a victorious conclusion
had failed utterly. The Department of Jus-
tice had a tremendous machinery ready to
cope with these conspiracies, but it proved to
be unnecessary.
Arrangements had been made by the De-
partment of Justice and the War Department
to secure immediate telegraphic reports upon
any outbreaks or troublesome occurrence.
The spirit of the young men from whom the
fighting forces are to be selected was evi-
denced in their attitude toward Question 12
on the registration blanks, which asked if ex-
emption was claimed. In thousands of cases
young men availed themselves of their right
to ignore this question and to leave it entirely
for the Government to decide whether they
should be selected. This spirit was evidenced
again in the receipt during the day of num-
erous requests from diplomatic and consular
officials of the United States for additional
registration cards to be used by citizens who
are now in other countries ; this fact was im-
pressive because registration is voluntary on
the part of Americans resident abroad.
Provost Marshal General Crowder, on
June 16, gave figures to show the re-
sults of the registration. With the re-
ports from Kentucky, New Mexico, and
Wyoming still missing, the number reg-
istered was 9,401,314. It was estimated
that the missing States would add at
least 265,000 to this number, and that
the grand total would be not less than
9,666,000. This, the War Department con-
sidered, would represent a registration of
slightly more than 100 per cent, of the
census figures, as a careful tabulation
showed that there were at least 600,000
men in the service of military age who
were not compelled to register, although
they were included in the census esti-
mate.
From various parts of the country
plots and conspiracies to avoid or op-
pose the draft were reported. In many
places those who had failed to register
were rounded up and given another
chance to enroll. There were also some
arrests. Anarchist agitators were the
most troublesome, and one of them,
Louis Kramer, was sentenced by the
Federal Court in New York to three
years' imprisonment for conspiracy to
dissuade men of conscript age from reg-
istering.
America's Fleet in Being
THE United States Navy began to
render the Allies assistance almost
from the first day of America's
entrance into the war. The whereabouts
of the Atlantic Fleet have been shroud-
ed in secrecy, but announcements have
been made regarding the movements of
certain units. On June 6 the French
BRIGADIER GENERAL HENRY P. McCAIN
Adjutant General of the United States Army and Director
of the Organization of the New Forces for
Service in Europe
■ ■■iiiiiiiiiiiiimiiin
BRIGADIER GENERAL ENOCH H. CROWDER
Judge Advocate General of the United States Army, One of
the Chief Officers Concerned in the Making
of the 'New Draft Armies
(Photo Rain Xcus Service)
■•>■■•••••••>■••■••>•■••••
■••>••■••■ •■■••«•■■••«>■••■
AMERICA'S FLEET IN BEING
15
Minister of Marine stated that American
warships had anchored off the French
coast. The same day the flotilla of
American destroyers under Rear Ad-
miral Sims, who has been promoted to
the rank of Vice Admiral, completed
their first month of war service. In the
course of a speech in the House of Com-
mons, on May 25, Prime Minister Lloyd
George referred to the work of the
United States Navy in these words:
We owe a very considerable debt of grat-
itude to the great American people for the
effective assistance they have rendered and
the craft they have placed at our disposal.
Now that the American Nation is in the
war it is easier to make arrangements for
the protection of our mercantile marine than
it was before.
The American destroyers have been as-
signed to work hand in hand with the
British squadrons, being virtually assimi-
lated into the British naval machinery.
A destroyer is usually out for four or
five days, and then returns to port for
two or three days while coaling and load-
ing supplies. The Americans take their
turn with the British boats in all routine
work of patrol and convoy. The work,
although largely routine, is interesting,
and the Americans have never yet found
time hanging heavy on their hands. The
lookout must be constant, and eyes must
be trained to an unbelievable degree of
keenness. The young Americans take
zealously to this business of finding the
periscopic needles in the nautical hay-
stack, and daily reports of submarines
sighted, of observations made, of wire-
less warnings sent broadcast, show that
the American boats are already making
an average of results almost as satis-
factory as the long-experienced English
boats with which they are operating. An
assignment to convoy a liner " from
home " — that is, from an American port
— is regarded as an especially choice
morsel. A transatlantic liner which
sights the American flag approaching to
escort her to land never fails to respond
with a great waving of flags and hand-
kerchiefs from her decks, and there is a
fine exchange of wigwag signals in lieu
of handshakes.
Admiral Sims, it was officially an-
nounced in London on June 19, had been
appointed by the British Admiralty to
take general charge of the allied naval
forces in Irish waters during the ab-
sence of the British naval Commander in
Chief. Admiral Sims accordingly hoisted
his flag as allied senior officer command-
ing.
By an act of Congress, approved by
the President on May 22, the enlisted
strength of the navy and Marine Corps
was increased to 150,000 and 30,000 men,
respectively. A substantial increase in
the pay of enlisted men and a temporary
increase in the commissioned personnel
were provided for. Secretary of the
Navy Daniels on June 8 said that the
navy was so popular that recruits had
come in far more rapidly than had been
expected. Since Jan. 1 about 60,000 re-
cruits have been added to the service. The
Marine Corps has also made good prog-
ress. On May 16 it had 21,864 officers
and enlisted men.
Food Crisis in the United States
PRESIDENT WILSON has exerted all
his authority during the month to se-
cure measures to cope with an im-
pending food crisis in the United States.
In a statement issued on May 19 he de-
clared that it was absolutely necessary
to place unquestionable powers m his
hands to prevent hoarding and specula-
tion, and generally to regulate the dis-
tribution and consumption of food.
Herbert C. Hoover, whom the Presi-
dent has designated as Food Admin-
istrator, stated officially on June 2 that
America's allies would require 971,000,000
bushels of bread and fodder grains out
of the next harvest and, in addition,
provision must be made for the grain
ships destroyed by submarines. It would
be impossible for North America, Mr.
Hoover added, to furnish all of the 971,-
000,000 bushels, but the major load must
fall on us.
1C
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
At a conference in Washington on
June 13, which was attended by Mr.
Hoover, representatives of organized
labor, and about twenty-five Congress-
men, the statement was made that the
present cost of living probably could be
reduced about 30 per cent, in a com-
paratively short time if President Wilson
received the powers he demanded. It
was said that hundreds of millions of
dollars were being wasted in getting
foodstuffs from the producer to the con-
sumer; that speculators and illegitimate
middlemen were getting the greater part
of this wastage, and that poorly organ-
ized methods of transportation and dis-
tribution were to blame in no small
measure for the rest.
President Wilson made clear his de-
cision in this matter by publishing a
letter which he had written on June 12
to Mr. Hoover and which was issued on
June 16:
My dear Mr. Hoover : It seems to me
that the inauguration of that portion of the
plan for food administration which con-
templates a national mobilization of the
great voluntary forces of the country which
are ready to work toward saving food and
eliminating waste admits of no further delay.
The approaching harvesting, the immediate
necessity for wise use and saving not only
in food, but in all other expenditures, the
many undirected and overlapping efforts be-
ing made toward this end, all press for
national direction and inspiration. While it
would in many ways be desirable to wait
complete legislation establishing the food ad-
ministration, it appears to me. that so far
as voluntary effort can be assembled we
should not wait any longer, and therefore
I would be very glad if you would proceed
in these directions at once.
The women of the nation are already
earnestly seeking to do their part in this
our greatest struggle for the maintenance
of our national ideals, and in no direction
can they so greatly assist as by enlisting
in the service of the food administration and
cheerfully accepting its direction and advice.
By so doing they will increase the surplus
of food available for our own army and for
export to the Allies. To provide adequate sup-
plies for the coming year is of absolutely
vital importance to the conduct of the war,
and without a very conscientious elimination
of waste and very strict economy in our
food consumption we cannot hope to fulfill
this primary duty.
I trust, therefore, that the women of the
country will not only respond to your appeal
and accept the pledge to the food administra-
tion which you are proposing, but that all
men also who are engaged in the personal
distribution of foods will co-operate with
the same earnestness and in the same spirit.
I give you full authority to undertake any
steps necessary for the proper organization
and stimulation of their efforts. Cordially
and sincerely yours, WOODROW WILSON.
t"he extent to which speculation had
been rife since the beginning of 1917
was described by Mr. Hoover when he
appeared, on June 19, before the Senate
Committee on Agriculture to explain the
Food Administration bill. In the last
five months, he said, on the item of
flour alone $250,000,000 had been ex-
tracted from the American consumer in
excess of normal profits. Mr. Hoover
then uttered this warning:
We now have a high cost of living beyond
the abilities of certain sections of the popu-
lation to withstand and to secure proper
nourishment from the wage levels. Unless
we can ameliorate this .condition and unless
we can prevent further advances in prices,
we must confront further an entire re-
arrangement of the wage level, with all the
hardships and social disturbances which
necessarily follow. We shall in this turmoil
experience large loss in national efficiency
at a time when we can least afford to lose
the energies of a single man.
President Wilson, it was announced on
June 19, had decided to exercise in full
the powers conferred upon him by the
embargo clause in the espionage law and
thereby make it impossible for neutral
countries or the allies of America to
export from this country so much as a
bushel of wheat or the smallest quantity
of any other essential commodity without
-obtaining a license and the approval of
an Exports Council, to be composed of
Herbert C. Hoover and representatives
of the Departments of State, War, Navy,
and Commerce. The statement to this
effect was made through Secretary Red-
field of the Department of Commerce:
The procedure of issuing an export license
will be about as follows : The President's
proclamation will designate the particular
articles under control and countries to which
such controlled articles may be exported un-
der license. The quantity of the particular
commodity to be exported under license will
be decided by the Exports Council, and upon
the advice of the departments concerned, and
with such facts as may be presented by the
trade expert dealing with 'that particular com-
modity. After the amount has been deter-
mined, the Division of Export Licenses will
then restrict the amount licensed to the
FOOD CRISIS IN THE UNITED STATES
17
amount determined upon by the Exports
Council.
President Wilson has assumed full re-
sponsibility for the decisions which are
to be made, and in reaching his conclu-
sions he will have at his disposal all of
the information and advice of Secretary
of State Lansing and Mr. Hoover.
The First United States War Loan
THE first popular offering of bonds The last days of the loan campaign
for the war — in the sum of $2,000,- were marked by picturesque propaganda.
000,000 — closed June 15, 1917, in In many cities bells were rung and
a large oversubscription, the total amount whistles blown to indicate progress of the
subscribed exceeding $2,900,000,000. subscriptions; enormous clocks were con-
There were nearly 3,000,000 individ- spicuously placed to show how the totals
ual subscribers. It was the largest bond were mounting; women and men all over
offering in the history of the United the country delivered addresses at street
States, and the individual subscriptions corners and in public places, advocating
exceeded several times the largest total subscriptions ; naming and appealing pos-
ever before recorded in this country. ters were everywhere displayed, and all
The loan was known as " The Liberty the newspapers inserted large advertise-
Loan." The interest rate was SV2 per ments gratuitously. The Liberty Bell at
cent., and the amount was limited to Independence Hall in Philadelphia was
$2,000,000,000. Allotments were made of run& for the first time in half a century
the sums expected from each of the on the last day, and as the broken bell
twelve Federal Reserve Districts, and in pealed the sound was taken up at the
every case, with one exception, these same time by other bells in all parts of
amounts were largely exceeded. The of- the country.
ficial figures have not been issued at Secretary of the Treasury McAdoo
this writing, (June 20,) but semi-official visited the leading cities in advocacy of
reports show the following subscriptions the loan> and everywhere met with an
in the various Reserve Districts: enthusiastic reception. Large corpora-
Minimum. Estimated tions' railroads> industrial, commercial,
District. Allotment. Subscription. and banking institutions made subscrip-
New York $600,000,000 $1,050,000,000 tions for their employes, allowing them
Philadelphia ... 140,000,000 225,000,000 to subscribe on the installment plan, in
Boston 240,000,000 300,000,000 this way giving the loan a wide distri-
Richmond 80,000,000 100,000,000 , ,. t> i j u j t. n
Atlanta 60,000,000 nWooo bufaon.^ Banks and bond houses all over
Chicago 260,000,000 355,000,000 the United States put all the machinery
Cleveland 180,000,000 276,286,950 and energy of their sales organization
St. Louis 80,000,000 90,000,000 behind the loan without charge, and this
Minneapolis 80,000,000 62,000,000 one fact contributed in no little degree to
Kansas City 100,000,000 100,000,000 .. „UCCG_ Th h p.ratif ication
Dallas 40,000,000 48,000,000 lts success- l nere was much gratification
San Francisco.. 140,000,000 180,000,000 over the larSe oversubscription, and es-
, pecially because of the large number of
Total $2,000,000,000 $2,844,868,950 individual subscribers.
CURRENT HISTORY CHRONICLED
Period Ended June 20, 1917
British Electoral Reform: Votes for
Women
THE Representation of the People bill,
introduced in the House of Com-
mons by Mr. Long, is in its way more
radical even than the first great Reform
bill of 1832, which brought about the
downfall of the Duke of Wellington, the
victor of Waterloo, who violently opposed
it; much greater than the Reform bill
of 1867, which enfranchised the artisan
class and added over 3,000,000 to the
voters of the nation; greater by far than
the Reform bill of 1885, which was, in
the main, a redistribution bill, reappor-
tioning the seats in Parliament in ac-
cordance with the population.
The effect of the new Reform bill may
be summarized as follows: There were
in 1915 8,357,000 male voters on the
registers; the present bill will add over
2,000,000 male voters to this number;
but far more striking is the addition of
over 6,000,000 women voters, in accord-
ance with the following clauses' of the
bill:
1. A woman shall be entitled to be regis-
tered as a Parliamentary elector for a con-
stituency, (other than a university constitu-
ency,) if she has attained the age of 30 years,
and is entitled to be registered as a Local
Government elector in respect of land or
premises in that constituency, or is the wife
of a husband entitled to be so registered.
2. A woman shall be entitled to be regis-
tered as a Parliamentary elector for a uni-
versity constituency if she has attained the
age of 30 years, and would be entitled to be
so registered if she were a man.
3. A woman shall be entitled to be regis-
tered as a Local Government elector for any
Local Government electoral area where she
would be entitled to be so registered if she
were a man ; provided that a husband and
wife shall not both be qualified as Local Gov-
ernment electors in respect of the same prop-
erty.
The age limit was adopted because the
bill could not have been passed without it.
The reason for the apparent discrimina-
tion against women in the matter of age
seems to be that, with the destruction of
male voters now going on at the front,
the women would vastly preponderate at
the polls if they, like the men, were al-
lowed to vote at the age of 21, and it was
thought safer to give time for the equal-
ization of the sexes numerically.
* * *
CONSTANTINE AND HlS DYNASTY
CONSTANTINE of Greece, who has
lost his throne, reversed the policy
of his father, George I., King of the Hel-
lenes, who was strongly pro-English, and
who succeeded Otho of Bavaria when the
Greeks drove him out of the country in
1862. The Greek Nation thereupon, by a
plebiscite, elected, as King, Prince Alfred,
son of Queen Victoria, the Duke of
Edinburgh; and, when he refused the
throne, requested Great Britain to nomi-
nate a candidate. The British Govern-
ment chose Prince Christian William
Ferdinand Adolphus of Schleswig-Hol-
stein-Sonderburg-Glucksburg, who was
recognized by the powers on June 6,
1863, and for whom the Conference of
London, in August, 1863, created the
style, King of the Hellenes, at the same
time making Greece a present of the
Ionian Islands, which contain about one-
tenth of the population of Greece.
Just before his nomination the new
Greek King's sister, Princess Alexandra,
had married the Prince of Wales, after-
ward King Edward VII., and it has been
repeatedly affirmed and denied, in the
House of Commons, that Queen Alexan-
dra's protection kept her nephew Con-
stantine on the throne long after his
policy had become an open danger to the
Allies at Saloniki.
Shortly after George of Denmark be-
came King of the Hellenes, his father
succeeded to the crown of Denmark,
while another sister, Princess Dagmar,
married the future Czar Alexander III.
of Russia; she, also, as Dowager Em-
press Marie of Russia, was supposed to
uphold Constantine, who is further allied
with several of the Russian Grand Ducal
families, his mother having been the
daughter of Grand Duke Constantine, his
CURRENT HISTORY CHRONICLED
19
sister having married the Grand Duke
George Mikhailovitch, while his brother
Nicholas married the Grand Duchess
Helena Vladimirovna. From each of the
three powers which guarantee the consti-
tutional Government of Greece, King
George received a personal allowance of
$20,000 yearly.
Visiting Commissions
LORD NORTHCLIFFE, proprietor of
The London Times, The London
Mail, and other publications, arrived at
New York June 12 to take up the duties
of head of the British Commission to the
United States, which post had been ten-
dered him by Premier Lloyd George. His
duties are to co-ordinate the work of the
various British organizations already en-
gaged in the task of supplying British
war and other needs. His appointment is
not a diplomatic position. Each of the
allied Governments has numerous com-
missions engaged in various duties of as-
sembling and procuring supplies in this
country. The head of the French Com-
mission is Andre Tardieu. Baron Mon-
cheur, former Belgian Minister to the
United States, arrived at New York with
a Belgian Commission June 16. A com-
mission of Russians consisting of forty
members, headed by Boris A. Bakmetieff,
arrived at Seattle June 13; this commis-
sion was appointed prior to the fall of
the Milukoff Cabinet.
* * *
The Irish Convention
THE Irish convention which will de-
liberate during the Summer to en-
deavor to reach an agreement on a form
of home rule will consist of 101 members.
The British Government, seeking to se-
cure for this convention representatives
of the everyday life of Ireland, invited
the Chairmen of every County Council
and county borough, while, in addition, in-
vitations had been extended to the Chair-
men of small towns and urban districts
in each of the four provinces to appoint
two members to the convention.
The convention will also include four
Roman Catholic Bishops, together with
the Primate, Dr. Crosier, and the Arch-
bishop of Dublin, Dr. Bernard, repre-
senting the Protestant Church of Ireland,
and Dr. John Irwin, Moderator of the
Irish Presbyterian Assembly. Commerce
will be represented by the Chairmen
of Chambers of Commerce in Dublin,
Belfast, and Cork, while five representa-
tives of labor will be sent by the trade
councils of Dublin, Belfast, and Cork,
and trade unions.
Political parties will be represented
as follows: Five Nationalists, five Ulster
Unionists, two O'Brienites, two Irish
representative peers, five Southern Un-
ionists, and five Sinn Feiners or Separa-
tists. As to Sinn Feiners, the spokesmen
of the Separatists' bodies had stated
they would not enter the convention, but
the Government reserved five places for
them. Fifteen additional members will
be nominated by the Government from
among leading Irishmen of all sections.
* * *
Socialist Efforts for Peace
rpHE International Socialist Conference,
•*■ which was summoned to meet at
Stockholm in May, but which was de-
layed because delegates from important
countries would not attend or were not
permitted by their Governments to go to
Stockholm, has taken on a more im-
portant aspect since the Russian Council
of Workmen's and Soldiers' Delegates as-
sumed the responsibility for summoning
the assembly. The Russian Provisional
Government has indorsed the invitation.
The British and French Governments
have granted passports to Socialist dele-
gates, including so ardent a pacifist as
Ramsay MacDonald, evidently because
the Socialists of the allied countries com-
mand a majority of the votes in the con-
ference and for them not to attend would
give the delegates from the central coun-
tries a chance to dominate the gathering.
The Dutch-Scandinavian Socialist Com-
mittee at Stockholm has been holding
a series of preliminary consultations and
informal discussions with Socialists from
the different belligerent countries, and
has succeeded in eliciting from the Ger-
man majority Socialists, who, under
Scheidemann's leadership, are support-
ing their Government, a statement of
their peace terms. This statement has
been condemned by prominent anti-
Government leaders among German
20
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Socialists, on the ground that it merely
represents German imperialism. At the
conference, which has been called for
July 8, Germany has twenty votes, but
they are divided equally between the
Scheidemann group and the minority,
which includes Kautsky, Haase, and Bern-
stein. The United States Government
refused to issue passports to Morris
Hillquit, Algernon Lee, and Victor L.
Berger, the delegates chosen by the
Socialist Party of America.
* * *
Chaos Growing in Austria-Hungary
COUNT MORITZ ESTERHAZY has
completed the formation of a new
Hungarian Cabinet, in which all parties
opposed to the policies of Count Tisza
are represented, Count Albert Apponyi
being Minister of Education, while Count
Karolyi has so far refused to take of-
fice. Hungarian feeling both against
Germany and against the German domi-
nance of Austria is reported as steadily
growing; but the rock in the channel is
the Slav question. More than half the
population of Hungary is either Slav or
Rumanian, and is held in political helotry
by the dominant Magyars. Without the
help of Germany and of the Austrians in
Germany the Magyars would inevitably
be submerged in the rising flood of Slav-
dom.
The difficulties of the Austrian half of
the Dual Monarchy — which, since 1866,
has been the weaker half — are also rap-
idly growing. The Southern Slavs, agi-
tation among whom was one of the causes
of the war, are restive under the Ger-
manizing pressure of the Vienna Govern-
ment, while the Northern Slavs — the
Czechs of Bohemia, the Moravians, and
Slovaks — are practically in open rebel-
lion, and these two Slav groups far out-
number the German factions in Austria,
as the non-Magyars outnumber the Mag-
yars in Hungary.
German and Magyar domination has
only been maintained by franchise laws,
and now, as in Prussia, there is strong
pressure for the establishment of a wide-
ly extended franchise. If this were done,
the domination of both Magyars and
German-Austrians would come to an end.
Even now, in the Reichsrat, 233 Germans
— who are divided into mutually antago-
nistic parties — are faced by 263 Slavs
and Italians, the Slavs including 108
Czechs, some 80 Galician Poles, and a
certain number of Ruthenians, Slovenes,
Dalmatians, Croatians, and Italians. On
June 19 the Poles in the Austrian Parlia-
ment refused to vote for the war budget
and forced the Austrian Premier, Count
Clam-Martinic, to resign; the Poles are
seeking independence.
* * *
Two German Reforms
THE German Federal Council has de-
cided upon the repeal of two of the
main features of " exceptional legisla-
tion " in Germany, the Jesuit act and the
language paragraph, the first of which
. forbade members of the Society of Jesus
to establish themselves in Germany, while
the second forbade the use in public meet-
ings of any language but German, except
in the case of international congresses
and election meetings. This decision is
final, and will not be referred to the
Reichstag, as that body is formally re-
garded as having already given its con-
sent, having voted in favor of the aboli-
tion of the Jesuit act in 1894, and again
in 1899, and in favor of the repeal of the
language paragraph in 1908. On all three
occasions, however, the Federal Council
refused to ratify the decision of the
House, whose vote has, therefore, been
overruled until now.
The language paragraph was directed
against the Polish and Danish subjects of
the empire and the inhabitants of Al-
sace-Lorraine, and was considered neces-
sary, in view of the German custom of
arranging for a State official to be pres-
ent at any public meeting, so as to inter-
vene in the event of any inadmissible ut-
terance.
The Jesuit act dated from 1872 and
marked the beginning of the famous Kul-
turkampf. The aggressive policy of the
Vatican at that time had aroused Prot-
estant opinion, and its claim as to the
precedence of ecclesiastical over secular
jurisdiction had given rise to the convic-
tion that, as Herr Rudolf Delbriick, the
then Secretary of State, stated in the
Reichstag at the time, the young German
CURRENT HISTORY CHRONICLED
21
Empire must be protected from the dis-
integrating effect of international influ-
ences on the imperial consciousness being
evolved in its midst. The Society of
Jesus and its kindred organizations were,
therefore, forbidden to establish them-
selves in Germany, their existing settle-
ments were ordered to be broken up
within six months, and Jesuits of non-
German nationality were permitted to re-
side only in certain districts, and were
liable to banishment at any time.
Our German and Austrian Ships
GERMAN merchant vessels numbering
about 100 and representing a gross
tonnage of about 600,000 were taken un-
der the control of the United States Gov-
ernment on April 6, the German crews
being removed and turned over to the
immigration authorities. Customs offi-
cials .took over the ships at Porto Rico
and Hawaii, while the War Department
had earlier taken possession of German
merchant ships in the Canal Zone, the
Navy Department taking control of the
German raiders at Philadelphia. It is
estimated that, while the German ships
now controlled by the United States Gov-
ernment cost more than $50,000,000, they
now represent, even in their present dam-
aged condition, considerably over $100,-
000,000; and while practically every ship
was more or less damaged, by orders
emanating from the German Embassy,
the injuries, except in one or two cases,
were much less serious than had been
feared. The Kronprinzessin Cecilie was
probably the most seriously damaged,
while the Liebenfels, sunk in Charleston
Harbor, was almost intact, except for
the opening of the seacocks.
Fourteen Austrian ships, of a gross
tonnage of 67,807, were also taken over,
the largest being the Martha Washing-
ton, 8,312 tons; the Dora, 7,037 tons; the
Lucia, 6,744 tons, and the Ermy, 6,515
tons. The first two were in New York,
the third at Pensacola, and the fourth at
Boston. Of these fourteen Austrian
ships, eight belonged to the Union Aus-
triaca di Navigazione. The four Ham-
burg-American liners seized at Colon —
the Griinewald, Sachsenwald, Savoja, and
Prinz Sigismund — were first moved to
Gatun Lake, in order that the fresh water
might kill the barnacles accumulated on
their hulls.
Rush repairs were immediately begun
on all the ships except those at Hono-
lulu, H. T., and the Vaterland at New
York, the latter being too large for any
American dry dock. By a unanimous
Senate resolution, no suit for compensa-
tion may begin until one year after peace
is made.
* * *
Canada's Conscription Bill
A BILL has been introduced in the Ca-
■*"*• nadian Parliament providing for
compulsory military service for men
between the ages of 20 and 45. Ac-
cording to the bill, drafts shall be called
out by the Governor in council in prece-
dence of youth and lack of home entan-
glements. Ten classes are provided in
which age and dependents (confined to
wives and children) are given the prefer-
ence. When a certain class is called out
by proclamation those who fall under
that class are bound to respond to the
call. Those who do not may be designat-
ed as deserters and held liable to impris-
onment not exceeding three years. The
proposition is bitterly opposed in the
Province of Quebec, especially by the
French Catholics. An effort was made
to form a coalition Cabinet to pass the
measure without party division, but it
failed.
* * *
The Fiji Islanders in the War
rpHE Fijians, whose archipelago became
■*■ British territory in 1874, have actively
entered the world war, a group of sturdy
Fijians recently disembarking at Van-
couver and passing through Canada on
their way to France, where they will act,
however, not as belligerents, but as ste-
vedores on the wharfs of France. But
a larger contingent may follow, trained
for war. Many of the Polynesian races,
to which the Fijians belong, are splen-
didly built. At the Columbian World's
Fair the prize for physical perfection was
awarded to a South Sea Islander, and the
average among some of these races is
the highest in the world both for stature
and for all-round physical development.
22
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
These Fijians are, however, not the
first group of Polynesians to take an act-
ive part in the war; a strong force of
fully trained Maoris, who are also of the
Polynesian race, accompanied the " An-
zac " — Australian and New Zealand Army
Corps — to Gallipoli and served with great
gallantry. And the entry of the United
States into the war has made belliger-
ents of the large Polynesian population
of Hawaii. All over the vast South Sea
archipelagos the Polynesian race is sin-
gularly uniform, except in certain re-
gions, where there is an infusion of
Malay or Melanesian blood; the group of
languages which covers this area, while
they have been separated by vast spaces
of ocean for unnumbered centuries or
millenniums, are nevertheless quite evi-
dently very closely related.
* * *
Never Heard of the War
rpHE Japan Chronicle notes the fact
-*- that recently a Japanese girl came to
Kobe to work in the house of an English
lady. A portrait of a young man in
khaki stood on the mantelpiece of one
room, and as the mistress speaks Japa-
nese fluently, the girl asked about him
and his uniform. On being told that he
was fighting in the great war in Europe,
she asked, " What war? " Further in-
quiry showed that this young woman,
though quite intelligent, had never heard
of the war. She herself had lost her
father in the Russo-Japanese War when
she was about 7 or 8 years old, and her
mother had had a terrible struggle to
maintain the family. But she had not
heard of any war being waged at pres-
ent, nor had she heard any one talk of the
war or refer to it in any way.
* * *
Foreign-Born Men in America
rpHE foreign-born white males 21 years
-*- of age and over in the United States
in 1910 totaled 6,646,817, of whom 3,034,-
117 were naturalized and 2,266,535 were
aliens; 570,772 had first papers and
775,393 failed to report citizenship. The
increase in total foreign population in
ten years from 1900 was 35.5 per cent.;
there was only 6.6 per cent, increase in
the number naturalized, but an increase
of 147.7 per cent, in the number of
aliens. The total number of aliens ad-
mitted in 1916 was only 298,826, and 129,-
765 departed.
In 1910 the percentage of foreign-born
males over 21 years of age in the United
States who had been naturalized was dis-
tributed as follows: Ireland, 67.8; Can-
ada, 51; Russia, 26.1; Italy, 17.7; Eng-
land, 59.4; Germany, 69.5; Sweden, 62.8,
and Scotland, 56.5.
Figures just compiled by the Bu-
reau of the Census show the total
number of alien inhabitants in the United
States of the nationalities with which
this country is at war or which are allied
with Germany, to be 4,662,000, constitut-
ing 4Y2 per cent, of the total number of
inhabitants. The distribution is as fol-
lows, and contains all men, women, and
children born in the countries named:
Germany 2,349,000
Austria 1,370,000
Turkey 188,090
Bulgaria 11,000
The number of male aliens 21 years of
age and over would be about 964,000, or
about 3.2 per cent, of the total number of
male inhabitants of the United States 21
years of age and over, and the distribu-
tion of these males according to country
of birth is:
Germany 136,000
Austria 447,000
Hungary 280,000
Turkey 93,000
Bulgaria 8,000
Up to 1910 most of the Germans were
naturalized, but the Austrians and Hun-
garians did not seem so ready to amalga-
mate with the Americans and become
citizens.
Difficulties Before the New Spanish
Ministry
T^DUARDO DATO heads the new Min-
-" istry, pledged to preserve the neu-
trality of Spain. His immediate prede-
cessor, Marquis Manuel Garcia Prieto,
held office only since April 19, when
Count de Romanones resigned, declaring
that acquiescence in Germany's ruthless
submarine campaign was endangering
the very life of the Spanish Nation and
that Spain should forthwith join the En-
CURRENT HISTORY CHRONICLED
23
tente Allies. Eduardo Dato was Premier
when the war broke out. Germany tried
hard to induce him to assume an attitude
of open hostility toward France, mobiliz-
ing troops south of the Pyrenees, and
thus compelling Joffre to withdraw large
forces from the defense of Paris and the
Marne. Dato, though considered pro-
German, refused the offer of Gibraltar
and Morocco and held Spain to a rigid
neutrality.
The Premier's position is highly pre-
carious. Spain, with a population of only
20,000,000, has ten organized political
parties whose Parliamentary combina-
tions are exceedingly unstable. The ultra-
Conservatives, who include the nobility,
the Church, and army, are openly pro-
German, the army upholding militarism
and a military caste, while the German
bait of temporal power for the Pope is in-
tended to capture the Church. Other
groups still resent the French invasion
during the Napoleonic wars, and are not
pro-English, in spite of Wellington's
help at that time, because of England's
holding Gibraltar.
The Liberals, the Republicans, and the
moderate Socialists, who are all grouped
together as Reformists, are strongly pro-
ally, Sefior Lerroux, Deputy for Bar-
celona, having said, on April 30, that
Spain's moral ascendancy over Latin
America has already passed to the United
States; that this moral loss would be
followed by economic loss, and that, by
failure to enter the war on the side of
the Allies, Spain showed her impotence,
fear, and incapacity. But a lively Ger-
man propaganda still dominates the Con-
servatives, whom Dato leads. This Ger-
man domination is provoking widespread
revolutionary protest in Catalonia, Astu-
rias, and elsewhere throughout Spain.
On June 18 it was reported that the
Province of Catalonia, which embraces
the City of Barcelona, was in a political
ferment and threatened to secede from
Spanish dominion. Authentic reports
from Madrid on June 18 indicated that
demand for radical reforms was acute
all over Spain and that a thorough liber-
alization of the electoral, military, and
economic laws was inevitable.
Espionage and Embargo Act
THE Espionage act, as finally passed
by Congress, is much wider in its
scope than its title indicates, although it
does not go so far in many directions as
the Administration desired. The most
serious clash between the Executive and
the Legislature was with regard to a
press censorship. Despite the urgent
appeals of the. Administration, Congress
refused to set up a censorship, thus
leaving the newspapers of the United
States practically the only ones in a bel-
ligerent country not subject to the of-
ficial blue pencil. The Espionage act
prescribes death or long imprisonment
as the punishment for convicted spies,
penalizes interference with foreign com-
merce, provides for the enforcement of
neutrality, authorizes the seizure of
shipments of arms designed for unlaw-
ful purposes, fixes penalties for injuring
vessels in foreign commerce and for
disturbing foreign relations, and sets
forth new restrictions upon passports.
Other important provisions deal with
censorship of mails and the extension of
.the use of search warrants, and confer
on the President authority to embargo
exports. The embargo feature puts into
the hands of the Executive a weapon by
which it is intended to stop supplies
from entering Germany through neutral
countries.
Brazil Prepares to Enter the War
WHILE Brazil has definitely ranged
herself on the side of the United
States and the Entente Powers, it is
somewhat difficult to give an accurate
legel definition of her position. Brazil
is not at peace with Germany; she
is not neutral; she is not an active bel-
ligerent. At the end of May the Bra-
zilian Foreign Minister declared : " Brazil
declares war on nobody. It is Germany
which declares war on all neutrals. * * *
Our Government is not free to declare
war; that is for Congress to decide."
The Brazilian Chamber on May 28
passed the first reading of the Adminis-
tration measure revoking Brazil's neu-
trality in the war between Germany and
the United States by a vote of 136 to 3.
24
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Thereupon Brazil began to take active
war measures. The Chamber of Depu-
ties authorized the Government to utilize
German ships in Brazilian ports, and on
June 2 President Braz signed a decree
carrying this into effect. Forty-six Ger-
man merchant ships were laid up in Bra-
zilian ports early in the war, aggregating
240,779 tons displacement. The largest
of these is the Hamburg-American liner
Blucher, of 12,350 tons; while thirty-
three of the vessels are of more than
4,000 tons each. A second step was the
opening of Brazilian ports to all Entente
warships, including those of the United
States. A third step was the develop-
ment of measures whereby Brazil will
share with the United States Navy the
policing of the South Atlantic, thus lib-
erating many English and French ships
to fight in the North Sea and the Mediter-
ranean.
It will be remembered that Brazil, once
a colony of Portugal, and still using Por-
tuguese as its official language, is one of
the largest countries in the world, with an
area of 3,218,991 square miles and a popu-
lation approaching 20,000,000, being ex-
ceeded in area only by the British Empire,
the Russian, French, and Chinese domin-
ions, and the United States. Most of
South America is preparing to follow
Brazil's lead, while in Central America
only Costa Rica and Salvador still main-
tain relations with Germany.
* * *
General Pershing Carries America's
Sword to Europe
SINCE the national existence of the
United States began, General Per-
shing is the first soldier of the Republic
to draw the sword of America on a Eu-
ropean battlefield, though a full army
corps of young Americans have been
fighting in the battlefields of France un-
der the flags of France and England. In
the Colonial period, during the wars
waged between 1689 and 1763— King
William's war, Queen Anne's war, and
the war of the Austrian succession, pre-
cipitated by the attack of Frederick the
Great against Maria Theresa< — all offi-
cers in the British colonies in America
were, of course, officers of the English
Crown, and it may be held that for this
reason they took part in European wars,
though fighting in America. Thus, Wash-
ington and Clive were at the same time
fighting on the same side in the same
war, though the one was engaged at
Pittsburgh, the other at Plassey, in Lower
Bengal. In this war both Cuba and the
Philippines were taken by England from
Spain, but were returned when peace was
made.
In the Barbary wars, from 1802 to
1806, the United States was at war in the
Old World, on the north coast of Africa.
The Pasha of Tripoli, who had collected
tribute from the United States, declared
when payment of this tribute was stopped
that "we are all hungry, and if we are
not provided for we soon get peevish,"
and opened a war against the United
States. There was naval fighting in Eu-
ropean waters when John Paul Jones,
leading a little fleet fitted out by France,
cruised in the North Sea and took the
British ship Serapis in September, 1779.
Since the United States was then allied
with France, it may be said that Paul
Jones carried the sword of America to
Europe.
The war of 1812 was directly caused by
the great European struggle against Na-
poleon, but the United States was no
longer allied with France. Indeed, it was
openly declared in Congress that the
United States " ought to fight France
also." So General Pershing opens a new
page, carrying the sword of America to
the battle plains of Belgium and France.
* * *
Polyglot Armies of the Entente
THE forces of humanity are, in the
most literal sense, fighting against
the tyranny of the Central Empires;
practically every race, creed, and color
under the sun is represented in the En-
tente armies, whether already in the field
or in training camps. France's Foreign
Legion is already a congress of races;
but there are also, in the armies of the
French Republic, representatives of half
a dozen African and Asian stocks, includ-
ing the troops of Arab and Moorish
blood, from Algeria, Tunis, and Morocco,
who fought valiantly in the Champagne
offensive; and, at Verdun, the coal-black
CURRENT HISTORY CHRONICLED
25
sharpshooters from Senegal and the Up-
per Niger — territories largely opened up
by Gallieni and Joffre — and the Colonials
from French Farther India, from the
territories of Tonking. Many Chinese are
also working for France, in the munition
shops and in the fields.
England's army is even more varicol-
ored, as England's Empire is more wide-
. ly extended; and it should be remembered
that, with the exception of Great Britain
— that is, England, Scotland, and Wales
— the armies of England, including the
large contingents from India, are all vol-
unteers. Fighting with the Colonials are
Red Indians from the Canadian North-
west, Polynesians and Maoris— raboriginal
New Zealanders — and, in the Imperial
Army of Britain, there are representa-
tives of a dozen nations of India, and of
one at least, the Gurkas, who do not owe
political allegiance to England, but who
cross over the frontier from Nepal, to en-
list in the British Indian army, because it
offers a career to these hereditary fight-
ing men.
In Africa, side by side with the Britons
and the Boers, led by Generals like Louis
Botha and Smuts, who, not so long ago,
were fighting against England, there are
representatives of several South African
races, of the Kaffir stock, who are quite
distinct from the negro races of Equa-
torial Africa. Besides the Christian re-
ligion, there are represented, among
these troops, Brahamanism, Buddhism,
Mohammedanism, Jainism, and a dozen
forms of paganism and fetich worship.
* * *
TTENRY P. DAVISON of J. P. Morgan
■*--*-& Co. has been appointed Chairman
of the Red Cross War Council by Presi-
dent Wilson. It is proposed to raise
$100,000,000. With Mr. Davison on the
War Council will be William H. Taft,
Edward N. Hurley of Chicago, former
Chairman of the Federal Trade Commis-
sion; Cornelius N. Bliss, Jr., Charles D.
Norton, Grayson M. P. Murphy of New
York, and Eliot Wadsworth of Boston,
Chairman of the Executive Committee of
the American Red Cross.
* * *
THE total amount of income taxes col-
lected in the United States from the
civil war law in the ten years it remained
on the statute books, 1863 to 1873, was
$346,762,000, as against $330,565,628, the
total amount collected in the single year
ended June, 1917.
* * *
War Insurance Losses
THE United States War Risk Insurance
Bureau up to May 23, 1917, had
issued policies totaling $504,003,016, with
net losses of $5,844,531; total premiums,
$10,300,355. The following were the
losses:
1915.
Vessel. Hull. Cargo. Total.
Evelyn $100,000 $301,000.00 $401,000.00
Carib 22,253 235,850.00 258,103.00
Greenbrier . . . 50,000 50,000.00
Wm. P. Frye. 11,550 11,550.00
Navajo 58,368.34 58,368.34
Seguranca 235.73 235.73
Total for 1915 $779,257.07
1916.
Carolyn $62,595.03 $62,595.03
1917.
Healdton $400,000 $99,000.00 $499,000.00
Illinois 250,000 .« 250,000.00
Rockingham . 800,000 498,10S.OO 1,298,108.00
Missourian . .1,000,000 1,000,000.00
Edw. R. Hunt 50,000 50,000.00
N. York, (est.) 100,000 150,000.00 250,000.00
Percy Birdsall 25,000 25,000.00
Vacuum 1,000,000 1,000,000.00
Hilonian 275,000 414,627.00 6S9.627.00
Total for 1917 $5,061,735.00
Total losses $5,903,5S7.10
Military Review of the Month
Period From May 18 to June 18, 1917
By J. B. W. Gardiner
Formerly Lieutenant Eleventh U. S. Cavalry
[See map of Italian front Page 31, and of Yprea front on Page 36]
AS last month's review was being
/\ written, one of the fiercest Ital-
jLJL ian battles of the' war was being
fought on the front between Tol-
mino and the sea. The Italian objective
was the Carso Plateau, on which they
already had a foothold, obtained shortly
after the fall of Gorizia last year. In-
stead of attacking here, however, they
began operations on the Isonzo between
Tolmino and Gorizia, thereby following
the same strategy which has marked all
the later battles of the Entente. Two
points were particularly selected for the
attack: The first Canale, and the second
Plava. After a very heavy bombard-
ment the Italians, who were on the west
bank of the river, surged across and es-
tablished themselves on the east bank.
Vodice Ridge, close to the river and just
to the north of Mount Cucco, was taken
and Mount Cucco itself occupied.
For days there was fighting of the
heaviest character. The Austrians coun-
terattacked heavily in an effort to throw
the Italians back across the river, and,
when this failed, began a minor attack
in the Trentino in order to divert atten-
tion. In both, however, they were un-
successful. The Italians had their object
thoroughly in mind and were not to be
distracted from it.
Fighting on the Carso
Then the scene of operations was sud-
denly shifted south of the valley of the
Vippaco. It was the much discussed plan
of the oscillating attack. As in most
other cases where it has been tried, it
was successful. The work on the Carso
was brilliantly performed. The front at-
tack extended from Castagnavizza to the
sea. There was no attempt to advance
the entire Carso line. It was not neces-
sary, nor could sufficient concentration of
guns and shells have been made.
The Carso is a hairpin-shaped plateau
which generally parallels the seacoast.
The distance from the southern edge to
the seacoast varies considerably, in some
cases being several miles, in others prac-
tically nothing, the sides of the plateau
sloping down to the water's edge. The
surface of the Carso is broken and rough,
honeycombed with natural caverns of
varying size, the plateau being of vol-
canic origin and calcareous in nature. It
is the great barrier to Trieste from what-
ever direction a land attack might come,
and must be occupied in its entirety
before Trieste can be taken.
The advance, after the most severe
fighting, was for a depth of nearly a
mile, and many thousands of prisoners
were taken. The Italians finally reached
a point about half way up the western
slopes of the Hermada Hill, or Hill 323.
This hill is the key to the entire situation.
It is a nearly isolated height about 1,000
feet above sea level, which dominates the
Adriatic and both the highway and the
railroad which run along the coast at
the base of the tableland. Its capture
would give the Italians almost perfect
observation for a distance of five miles,
whereas, as matters now stand, the
Austrians are in a position to observe
every preparation the Italians put under
way. This is always a matter of car-
dinal importance because it is on perfec-
tion of observation that any success in
this war is based.
In this case it is of particular im-
portance in view of the railroad - and
supply situation. The Carso is bounded
by two railroads, one generally following
the line of the Vippaco on the north and
the other on the south, running along the
seacoast, the latter branching at Na-
bresina. The plateau itself is not touched
by any railroad. A few indifferent dirt
roads pass over it, which, after consider-
MILITARY REVIEW OF THE MONTH
27
able winding, connect with one of the
two railroads. The only road of moment
which crosses the Carso runs from
Nabresina through the village of Comen
to Scherbina, a rail junction in the Vip-
paco Valley. Once Hermada Hill is in
Italian hands, this road with its southern
connection is not alone under observa-
tion but under reasonably close artillery
fire.
The Italian attack lasted for eighteen
days without pause. It was the longest
and most sustained offensive yet carried
on by any of the belligerents, and the
fact that the Italians were able to con-
tinue for such a great length of time
speaks exceedingly well for their trans-
port system. After that time the at-
tacks gradually lessened and then died
down. Since then they have not been re-
newed.
The Austrians were able to strengthen
their line greatly at the expense of the
Russian front. This latter front was
still inactive, with no prospect of its be-
coming otherwise, and men could be
taken without danger. This was done
freely, and several divisions were recog-
nized as having been on the Russian
front a short time before. This in itself
is sufficient reason for the final halting
of the Italian offensive. After several
days the Austrians, who had refused to
admit that Italy had moved forward at
all, counterattacked and reported that all
their lost positions (which up to this
time had not been lost) were recovered.
But while it is probably true that some
gains were made, it is unlikely that any
serious reclamation of ground took place.
The claims made were too vague.
Battle of Messines Ridge
The event of the month on the west-
ern front was the British attack between
the Ypres salient and Armentieres. The
defeat of the German attempt to reach
Calais, known as the battle of Ypres,
left the lines most peculiarly shaped. A
great wedge bulged out into the German
lines east of Ypres, with the flanks
beaten back, one as far west as Furnes
on the Ypres Canal, the other well to the
west of the village of Wytschaete. From
Wytschaete the line curved about Mes-
sines, and then continued on east of Ar-
mentieres. The British attack was
launched from Hill 60, just west of Zil-
lebeke, to a point south of Warrenton
on the Lys River. The object of the at-
tack was twofold: first to straighten out
the British lines from Ypres south and
remove the danger of having the south-
ern side of the Ypres salient crushed in.
This danger was always present, and if
such an attack should succeed there would
be an immediate possibility of the Ger-
mans being able to continue the drive to
Calais.
There was the second consideration of
improving the line from the standpoint
of terrain. This section of Belgium and
of France is extremely flat. There are
but few points which rise more than
seventy-five feet above the sea; indeed,
this is almost the exact level of the entire
belt. Between Wytschaete and Messines,
however, there is a distinct ridge which
varies in height from 260 feet to about
190. This ridge, together with Hill 60,
the British had most thoroughly and
carefully mined. In fact, from the extent
to which preliminary work was carried
it must have been begun nearly a year
ago. Its importance justified this
measure, and all the work that was in-
volved. There is not an artillery posi-
tion within ten miles of this section of
the British front after this ridge has
been eliminated. It is impossible for the
Germans to move any considerable body
of troops or to move their guns, whether
in reinforcement or withdrawal, without
the entire operation opening out under
the British eyes. On the other hand, in
order for the British to make the most
important concentrations unobserved, it
is only necessary to keep German air-
planes away, and the work can be done in
complete concealment.
The fighting was begun by setting off
the mines, which had been so placed and
so carefully constructed that the entire
German front positions were destroyed.
Immediately the artillery began, and in
a short time the infantry went forward.
The Germans had full warning of the at-
tack. The action of the artillery, which
was of very heavy calibre, for some days
28
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
before the infantry went into action, was
in itself a warning that an attack was
pending. In spite of this the resistance
was not up to the German mark. The
entire command seems to have been
thrown into a panic by the explosion and
was unable to fight effectively. At an
absurdly small loss the infantry took
these two villages, Wytschaete and
Messines, and occupied the entire ridge
between. Over 7,000 prisoners were cap-
tured in the operation — more than the
total British loss. The entire British
objective was gained; at no point was
a reverse suffered. This meant the oc-
cupation of the entire ridge and to a
large extent the flattening out of the old
salient.
Later operations showed almost im-
mediately the value of the positions
which the British had gained. The
weight of British artillery fire, directed
partly from the new observation posts
and partly by airplane, forced the
abandonment of several lines of trenches
almost without the infantry going into
action at all. This was particularly the
case between the Lys River and the vil-
lage of St. Yvon, where the Germans
fell back solely because of the effects
of the artillery.
The final result of this fighting as it
stands at the moment of writing is that
the British have cleaned out the old
salient in its entirety and have drawn
a straight line from Hill 60, east of
Zillebeke, to a point east of Armen-
tieres. To the north the old salient still
exists. But in this case the Germans
have to launch their attack across the
Furnes Canal, which stretches out before
the British lines; judging from former
experience, this is apt to prove an im-
passable obstacle with the important ar-
tillery positions all in British hands.
The British attack, however, did a
great deal more than straighten out the
dangerous southern salient. It will event-
ually mean the abandonment by the Ger-
mans of the triangular strip of terri-
tory, the vertices of which are Hill 60
on the north, Comines on the" east, and
Warrenton on the south. This triangle is
bounded on its eastern sides by the Ypres
Canal and the River Lys. The ground
embraced by it is exceedingly low with-
out a single elevation. It is nothing like
the rolling country found in Artois
further south. It is absolutely flat, ex-
cept for a gentle slope from west to east.
There is no cover, there are no positions
from which a German attack can be
launched. That the British have not yet
launched another attack does not mean
that they are not in a position to take
advantage of this situation. But the
lesson had been dearly bought with ex-
perience, that liberal use of the mechanics
of war is to be economical in human lives.
The British output of shells is sufficient
to permit them to be used lavishly, and
this the British are prepared to do. It is
a question, however, of accumulating
them in the gun positions — of transporta-
tion. It is this accumulation which is
going on now, and when it is deemed suf-
ficient, the Germans are almost certain
to feel the weight of another torrent of
steel.
The capture of this triangle will push
well out into the German positions a deep
wedge several miles beyond their present
lines. It will endanger both Lille on the
south and the Germans about the Ypres
salient on the north. Their lines before
Armentieres will be taken almost directly
in the rear and the whole line as far
south as Lens endangered. The situation
created in £he German lines by this recent
success, though generally local, is still
the most interesting from the standpoint
of possible developments, and will bear
the closest watching.
Further south the fighting has come
to a standstill. After taking Bullecourt,
for which the struggle was most intense
and most bitterly contested, the British
found that they were unable to advance
further. Heavy counterattacks held them
in place and even wrested from them
isolated sections of trenches which they
had won at so great a cost. On the whole,
however, both sides have been fought to
a standstill with but little to choose. On
the French front matters are in very
much the same state, and the fighting
has generally ceased on a large scale.
Attacks by the Germans — all fruitless —
MILITARY REVIEW OF THE MONTH
29
against the Chemin des Dames have been
the only outstanding features.
Situation in the Balkans
The most hopeful thing from the stand-
point of the Allies has been the abdica-
tion of the Greek King Constantine with
his heir apparent in favor of the second
son. For many months Constantine has
been a thorn in the side of SarraiPs army
before Saloniki. The latter has been
afraid to make any serious attempt to
move forward lest the Greek Army under
the King's directions sever his linesx of
communications behind him. This fear is
now removed and there is nothing to pre-
vent an offensive movement should he
care to make it.
It is extremely doubtful if this attempt
will be made at the present time. A
change of plan is under way now on this
front from which anything may develop.
It would surprise no one if the main part
of the armies which now hold this front
should be withdrawn for service in other
fields — possibly the Near East — leaving
only a covering force of sufficient
strength to hold the Bulgarians in check.
This force will of course be assisted in
part at least by the Greek Army, and
could be safely left to look after the posi-
tion of the Entente, while close to 750,000
men could be detached.
As matters now stand, the task before
the Saloniki army of moving up either
the Vardar, the Struma, or the Cerna
against Nish seems well nigh hopeless.
Such a movement could only be begun
with Russia sufficiently active to prevent
withdrawals from her front. As this is
far from being the case, it is not apparent
just what use the army is in its present
location. All indications point to a com-
plete readjustment of this entire situa-
tion in the near future.
Progress of the War
Recording Campaigns on All Fronts and Collateral Events
From May 19 Up to and Including June 18, 1917
UNITED STATES
Announcement was made on May 19 that a
regiment of American marines under
Colonel Doyen would be sent to the fight-
ing front at the earliest practicable mo-
ment. On June 7 the French Ministry
of Marine announced the arrival of
American warships off the French coast,
and the collier Jupiter arrived at a port
in France with wheat and other supplies
for the American troops. On June 8 an-
nouncement was made that one thousand
naval aviators had arrived in France.
On the same day Major Gen. Pershing
reached London, and went from there to
Paris. Several hospital units arrived in
Europe.
The State Department refused passports to
delegates to the International Socialist
Conference at Stockholm.
An Italian Commission headed by Prince
Ferdinand of Udine conferred with Amer-
ican officials in Washington on the con-
duct of the war, and a Belgian Commis-
sion headed by Baron Moncheur reached
this country and was received by Presi-
dent Wilson. Lord Northcliffe was sent
from England to act as head of the Brit-
ish Commission.
Congress passed an Espionage bill with an
embargo clause giving the President
power to control exports.
Between 9,000,000 and 10,000,000 men regis-
tered on June 5 in compliance with the
army draft law.
Subscriptions to the Liberty Loan, closed
June 15, reached a total of almost
$2,900,000,000.
SUBMARINE BLOCKADE
The British official statement for the week
ended May 19 showed that eighteen mer-
chant ships of over 1,600 tons each had
been sunk ; for the week ended May 26,
eighteen vessels ; for the week ended
June 2, fifteen, and for the week ended
June 9, twenty-two ships of more than
1,600 tons.
On May 22 announcement was made that
Denmark had lost 150 ships since the
beginning of the war through subma-
rines or mines.
Germany sent a conciliatory reply to Spain's
protest concerning the sinking of the Pa-
tricio, offering an indemnity and a salute
to the Spanish flag. Two other Spanish
ships, the mail steamer C. De Eizaguirre
and the steamship Begona, were sunk.
More than eighty lives were lost on the
so
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Eizaguirre. Pro-ally demonstrations were
held in Madrid.
Several Swedish grain ships were sunk. In
reply to a protest from the Swedish Gov-
ernment, Germany expressed regret. A
Swoosh ship engaged in the work of the
Belgian Belief Commission was also sunk.
Three American sailing vessels, the Dirigo,
the Frances M., and the Barbara, were
sunk.
The British hospital ship Dover Castle was
sunk, but all the patients on board were
saved. One hundred ninety men lost
their lives in the sinking of the South
Atlantic liner Sequana. The Leyland
liner Anglian and the British steamship
Southland were sunk.
A French submarine sank an enemy subma-
rine as it was coming out of Cattaro har-
bor on June 2, escorted by a torpedo boat.
Nicaragua and Haiti severed relations with
Germany.
The Brazilian steamer Tijuca was sunk.
Following the recommendation of Presi-
• dent Braz, the Brazilian Chamber of Dep-
uties passed a bill authorizing the revoca-
tion of neutrality in the war between the
United States and Germany, and au-
thorized the seizure of German ships in
Brazilian ports.
CAMPAIGN IN EASTERN EUROPE
May 20— Russians repulse German attacks
east of Kalncem.
June 2— Germans bombard Russian positions
at Krevo and Brody.
June 4— Russian scouts raid German lines
near Kovel and Pnevi.
CAMPAIGN IN WESTERN EUROPE
May 19— Germans launch strong attack on
the Aisne; small force reaches French
lines northwest of Braye-en-Laonnois.
May 20— British break into Hindenburg line
on a front of over a mile between Fon-
taine-les-Croisilles and Bullecourt; Ger-
mans seize French trenches on a 216-yard
front on the Chemin-des-Dames.
May 22— French repulse strong attacks
against new positions in Western Cham-
pagne, north of Mont Carnillet, and
against the heights of Casque and the
Teton; Germans bombard Rheims.
May 23— French seize the last heights domi-
nating the valley of the Aillette River and
enlarge their positions on the northern
slopes of the Vauclerc and California
Plateau.
May 24— French check German assault on
Vauclerc Plateau.
May 25— Germans penetrate French lines
near Braye, but lose most of the ground
later; British make gains southeast of
Loos.
May 26— French extend their gains on both
sides of Mont Carnillet.
May 27— Germans pierce French lines at the
eastern end of the Moronvilliers Range;
British gain near Fontaine-les-Croisilles.
May 2S— Germans fail in three attempts to
wrest Moronvilliers Heights from the
French.
May 30— Germans attack French trenches
south of Mont Blond, but are driven
back ; fighting resumed south of St.
Quentin.
June 1— Berlin reports unusual activity in
the region of the sand dunes on the Bel-
gian coast, at the Ypres salient, and in
the sector of Wytschaete ; Germans attack
on the Aisne and penetrate French
trenches near the Laffaux mill, but lose
most of their gains ; French capture a
German outpost south of Chevreaux.
June 2— General von Hindenburg announces
thaj: the French and British offensive has
come to a definite conclusion ; French
War Office reports capture of 52,000
prisoners and an enormous amount of
war material since April 1.
June 3— British advance near Lens, but are
forced back by German counterattacks;
Germans enter British lines near Chgrisy,
but are driven out-
June 6— British attack Arras line from Roeux
to Gavrelle and carry German positions
on a front of about a mile on the west-
ern slopes of Greenland Hill, north of the
Scarpe; Germans attack on the Aisne and
make small gains near Braye-en-Lannois.
June 7— British smash salient south of Ypres
with a terrific blow, preceded by gigantic
mine operations, and win Messines,
Wytschaete, Oosttaverne, and other
strongly fortified positions that had been
held by the Germans for two and a half
years.
June 8— British organize new positions south
of Ypres and repulse German counterat-
tacks.
June 9.— Germans make counterattack on a
six-mile front east of Messines and near
Klein Zillebeke, but are repulsed ; Cana-
dians penetrate German lines on a front
of two miles south of Lens ; French repel
attacks along the Chemin-des-Dames.
June 10— British make further gains at sev-
eral points south of Ypres.
June 11— British capture German trench sys-
tem on a front of about a mile near La
Poterie farm.
June 13— British sweep forward on a front of
about two miles east and northeast of
Messines and occupy Gaspard.
June 14— German troops in the Messines
region abandon their positions between
St. Yves and the River Lys.
June 15— British force Germans out of new
positions east and south of Messines and
capture a further portion of the Hinden-
burg line northwest of Bullecourt.
June 16— British driven back in counterat-
tacks east of Loos and from second line
trenches northwest of Bullecourt, but
make gains south of Ypres.
June 17— Germans penetrate French salient
northwest of Hurtebise Farm, but French
BIRDSEYE VIEW OF VERDUN FRONT
This Picture-Map, Drawn in Five-Mile Squares in Perspec-
tive, Shows How the Battle Line Has Moved to
and Fro Since the Germans Attempted to
. Capture the Great French Fortress
(© The New York Timea Mid-Week Pictorial)
THE ITALIAN DRIVE ON TRIESTE
■
L. F
Wg~ t~ i,p^^
ToTT»wwtfti^
A D R / A T I C S £ A
Picture-Map of the Carso Plateau, Across Which the Italians
Are Driving in Their Attempt to Capture
Trieste, the Key to Italia Irredenta
<C$ the Veto Verk Time* Mid-Week Pictorial)
PROGRESS OF THE WAR
31
retake all except a small part of the first
line.
June 18— British fall back east of Monchy-Ie-
Preux; French capture a German salient
in Champagne between Mont Carnillet
and Mont Blond.
ITALIAN CAMPAIGN
May 19— Italians take Hill 652 on Monte
Vodice; Austrians admit loss of Monte
Kuk.
May 20— Italians extend their positions on
Hill 652 and break into Austrian lines
east of Gorizia.
May 23— Italians recapture positions pene-
trated by the Austrians in the Travignolo
Valley.
May 24— Italians break through Austrian
lines from Castagnavizza to the sea, cap-
turing Boscomalo, Jamiano, and strong
heights east of Pietrarossa and Bagni,
and advance in the San Marco, Monte
Santo, and "Vodice areas.
May 25— Italians capture fortified heights
north of Jamiano and gain ground south
of Jamiano to the sea.
May 26— Italians capture a strong network
of trenches from the mouth of the Ti-
mavo River to a point east of Jamiano,
take heights between Flondar and Me-
deazza, and trenches around Castagna-
vizza.
May 27— Italians smash through Austro-
Hungarian positions between Jamiano
and the Gulf of Trieste, driving across
the Monfalcone-Duino Railroad to Me-
deazza, and carry the heights at the
head of the Palliova Valley.
May 28— Italians cross the Timavo estuary
and occupy San Giovanni.
May 31— Austrians fail in attack north of
the Tonale Ridge, on the northern side of
Monte Pizzul, and in the Rocolana Valley.
June 1— Italians defeat Austrian attempts to
recapture heights in the Vodice area.
June 4— Italians drive Austrians from cap-
tured advanced positions on the western
slopes of San Marco.
June 5— Italians repulse massed attacks
south of Gorizia from Dosso Faiti to the
sea and take advance positions in the
sector between Castagnavizza and Ja-
miano.
June 6— Austrians regain positions before
Flondar, south of Jamiano.
June 7— Austrians report successful attacks
near Jamiano and defeat of Italian at-
tacks between the Vipacco Valley and
the sea.
June 11— Italians begin new offensive on the
Asiago Plateau and seize Monte Ortigara
and the Agnello Pass.
June 16— Italians in the eastern Trentino
carry Corno Cavento.
June 18— Italians advance northeast of Ja-
miano and repulse attacks on Monte Mos-
ciagh, on the Asiago Plateau, and on Hill
652 in the Vodice.
BALKAN CAMPAIGN
May 20— Russians repulse German attacks on
the Rumanian front east of Koverka.
May 27— British bombard German positions
near Livancvo.
May 31— Italians in Albania occupy Cere-
voda, Velisest, Osaja, and Cafa.
June 7— Rumanians show activity on the Do-
brudja front ; gun duels in Macedonia on
the right bank of the Vardar and south
of Huma.
June 16— French cavalry occupies five towns
in Northern Thessaly.
June 17— British evacuate several villages on
the Bulgar front, after setting them
afire ; French extend the occupation of
Thessaly.
AERIAL RECORD
Danube towns were raided by the Germans
and many persons were killed in Ismail,
Bessarabia.
Many great raids, in which hundreds of ma-
chines took part, occurred on the western
front. The British dropped bombs on Os-
tend, Zeebrugge, Bruges, and Niemun-
ster. Ghent was also raided and St.
Peter Station partly destroyed. The Lon-
don morning papers on June 2 announced
that 713 airplanes were shot down on the
western front in May, of which 442 were
German and 271 British and French. On
June 5 the French raided eleven points
behind the German lines, including the
City of Treves, in Rhenish Prussia. The
Lafayette Escadrille, composed chiefly
of Americans, fought fifteen battles in
the last two weeks of May.
The Zeppelin L-43 was destroyed by British
naval forces in the North Sea.
Many lives were lost and hundreds of per-
sons injured in raids on England. On May
23 the eastern counties were attacked and
one man killed. On May 26 seventy-six
persons were killed and 174 injured in the
Folkestone raid. Three machines were
shot down. One hundred and four persons
were killed and 403 hurt in a raid on June
13. On June 17 two lives were lost and
sixteen persons injured. One Zeppelin
was brought down.
NAVAL RECORD
A French topedo boat flotilla put to rout a
flotilla of German destroyers on May 20.
One French craft was damaged.
British warships bombarded Ostend and
Zeebrugge. In a running fight between
six German destroyers and the British
squadron one German destroyer, the S-20,
was sunk and another damaged.
Japanese light craft arrived in the Mediter-
ranean Sea to help in fighting sub-
marines.
Thirteen Bulgarian ships bombarded Kavala.
A Russian squadron, cruising along the
Anatolian coast on May 29, bombarded
four ports and destroyed 147 sailing ships
loaded with supplies.
32
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
British warships captured Fort Saliff on the
Red Sea.
The American steamer Mongolia fired four
shots at a German submarine which dis-
charged a torpedo at the liner on June 1.
Neither the Mongolia nor the submarine
was damaged. The American ship Silver
Shell had a running battle with a sub-
marine in the Mediterranean on May 30.
After an exchange of sixty shots the
submarine disappeared. The Standard
Oil steamer Moreni was sunk after a two-
hour battle with a submarine, and four
of her crew were lost.
RUSSIA
The reorganized Cabinet of the Provisional
Government, on May 19, declared itself
a unit for general peace only, and no
annexations or indemnities.
A congress of the Swedish political party
passed a resolution favoring complete
separation of Finland from Russia.
On June 1 the Kronstadt Committee of the
Council of Workmen's and Soldiers' Dele-
gates repudiated the Provisional Govern-
ment and decided to assume control of
Kronstadt. The committee surrendered
on June 6, but their decision was re-
versed on June 11 by agitators, who de-
clared that the declaration of independ-
ence was still in force.
A. I. Konovaloff, Minister of Commerce and
Trade, resigned because of disagreement
with M. Skobeleff, the Labor Minister,
concerning economic and financial ques-
tions. Many strikes occurred in Petro-
grad. General Michael V. Alexeieff re-
signed as Commander in Chief of the
Russian Armies, and General Brusiloff
succeeded him. General Goutor took
Brusiloff's place on the southwestern
front.
An American diplomatic commission, headed
by Elihu Root, and a railroad commission,
headed by John F. Stevens, arrived in
Petrograd. President Wilson sent a note
to the Provisional Government outlining
the objects and ideal's of the United States
in the war. These principles were ap-
proved in a note sent by Great Britain.
The Council of Workmen's and Soldiers'
Delegates, in reply to Austrian overtures,
made in a telegram from Prince Leopold
of Bavaria, adopted a proclamation ex-
pressing opposition to a separate peace.
Robert Grimm, a Swiss Socialist who
acted as Germany's agent in a new peace
move, was expelled from the country.
On June 17 the Duma, in secret session,
voted for an immediate offensive by
Russian troops.
GREECE
On June 12, in response to the demand of
the protecting powers— France, Great
Britain, and Russia— King Constantine
abdicated in favor of his second son,
Prince Alexander. Entente forces landed
at Piraeus and Castella, and occupied the
heights near Phalerum Bay. French
cavalry occupied a number of towns in
Northern Thessaly, and the populace of
Larissa went over to the Venizelos Gov-
ernment. M. Jonnart, the High Commis-
sioner of the protecting powers, issued a
proclamation guaranteeing popular lib-
erty.
MISCELLANEOUS
A revolt occurred in China as the result of
the dismissal of Premier Tuan Chi-jui.
The rebellious provinces, under the lead-
ership of General Chang-Hsun, demanded
the dismissal of the National Assembly,
the revision of the Constitution, the dis-
missal of the President's advisers, the
reinstatement of Tuan Chi-jui, and war
against Germany. The United States
Government sent a friendly message to
the Foreign Office urging tranquillity.
The Spanish Cabinet headed by Marquis
Prieto resigned and a new one was
formed by Eduard Dato. A revolution in
the army was averted by the Premier
granting infantry officers the right to
form committees of defense.
Count Tisza resigned as Premier of Hun-
gary after a struggle over electoral re-
forms. Count Esterhazy succeeded him.
An attempt to form a Coalition Ministry in
Canada failed. E. P. Patenaud, Secre-
tary of State, resigned because of his op-
position to conscription.
Lord Devonport resigned as Food Controller
in England and was succeded by Baron
Rhondda. Colonel Churchill succeeded
Viscount Cowdray as Chairman of the
British Air Board.
The Grand Dukes of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
and Macklenburg-Strelitz consented to far-
reaching revision of the Constitutions of
the duchies.
The French Chamber of Deputies, in secret
session, adopted a resolution declaring
that peace conditions must include the
liberation of territories occupied by Ger-
many, the return of Alsace-Lorraine to
France, and just reparation for damage
done in the invaded regions.
Italian Offensive on the Car so
and Isonzo Fronts
[See rotogravure map opposite Page 31]
DURING the latter half of May,
1917, General Cadorna's forces
on the Isonzo and Carso fronts
made one of the most remark-
able drives of the year — an assault that
lasted eighteen days, with all its orig-
inal fury. The fighting took place amid
the peaks and chasms north of Gorizia,
and on the volcanic Carso plateau to the
south, a region of desolate rocks and
caves, where all the water for the sol-
diers had to be brought by building an
aqueduct, bit by bit, as the army ad-
vanced. This land of caves and hiding
places had been fortified by the Austri-
ans and complicated with broad areas of
barbed wire, behind which enormous 10-
inch guns and innumerable machine guns
swept every path of approach.
The Italians won victories despite
these odds. They took heavy guns up
mountains hitherto ascended only by Al-
pine climbers who roped themselves to-
gether. They swung bridges from one
peak to another. They built trenches,
fortifications, roads, tunnels, retaining
walls 10,000 feet above sea level; all this
in the face of an enemy fighting des-
perately on the defensive.
When the campaign on the Isonzo
closed last November the town of Go-
rizia and 43,000 Austrians had been cap-
tured, and the Italian front, from Plezza
on the north, just over the frontier,
skirted the Monte Nero heights of the
Julian Alps to the bridgehead of Tol-
mino, (Monte Cucco,) swung along the
same range east of Gorizia, passed over
the plain south of that city, and, cross-
ing the Vipacco, struck across the north-
west corner of the Carso plateau to the
sea, two miles from Duino, the Summer
home of Prince Hohenlohe, and fourteen
miles northwest of Trieste.
This was the situation when the Ital-
ians on May 12 began a heavy bombard-
ment of the Austrian positions from
Tolmino to the sea, which two days later
became concentrated across the Isonzo,
five miles north of Gorizia, where the
Austrians by their defenses on the Kuk,
611 meters high, and on the Vodice, 524
meters, still kept the Italians on the right
bank of the stream. On May 13 there
was also a concentration of fire on the
Carso front, south from the Italian posi-
tions of Volkovniak, 343 meters, and
Dosso Faiti, 432 meters, against which
the Austrians later made counterattacks.
Then on Monday morning, May 14, the
Italian infantry crossed the river in
several detachments, deployed on the left
bank, and stormed the ascent of Monte
Cucco. The following day they advanced
east of Gorizia and also on the Carso to
the south. On the 16th they captured
the wooded heights on the east bank of
the Isonzo and took several small vil-
lages with more than 3,000 prisoners. The
17th found the Italians fighting their
way toward the mountain crests of
Vodice and Monte Santo. Heavy British
artillery had been added to the Italian
armament. Duino was captured that
day. Perceval Gibbon, an eyewitness of
part of the fighting, wrote:
" The picturesque point is Monte Santo.
It is a steep cone, with slopes like the
side of a roof, and on the summit strag-
gle white buildings of a monastery long
since shot to ruins. A single cypress, black
and monumental, stands not far from
the shattered walls of the close, clear-
cut against the shell-vexed sky. About it
a frenzy of shells roars and blazes. Our
barrage and theirs mingle in a hellbroth
of fire and smoke, through whose
tempestuous fog emerges at moments
that single statuesque tree, monumentally
and tragically faithful to its duty of
sentinel over the graves of forgotten
saints. But slowly the Italian lines are
crawling uphill, paying with their valor-
ous lives for every yard of progress. If
in England anybody doubted Italy's ca-
34
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
pacity for liberal sacrifice or her inten-
tion toward victory at all costs, he is
now answered."
By stubborn and sustained assaults on
the Carso the Italians on May 23 finally
broke through the Austro-Hungarian
lines on a front of six miles from Cas-
tagnavizza to the sea, taking more than
9,000 prisoners, with the town of Ja-
miano and the strong heights east of
Pietrarossa and Bagni. The next day
enlarged this success, and on the 25th
the Italians took the heights between
Flondar and Medeazza and a strong net-
work of trenches extending from the
mouth of the Timavo River to a point,
east of Jamiano.
On May 27 General Cadorna's forces
smashed through the Austro-Hungarian
positions between Jamiano and the Gulf
of Trieste, passing the Monfalcone-
Duino Railway northeast of San Gio-
vanni and establishing themselves with-
in a few hundred yards of Medeazza.
North of Plava they carried the heights
at the head of the Palliova Valley, thus
joining their Monte Cucco lines~ with
those of Hill 363. This day's work
brought the Italians within eleven miles
of Trieste. The next day these results
were consolidated by crossing the Timavo
estuary and occupying the village of San
Giovanni. In the northern section the
Austrians were hunted out of their sub-
terranean chambers and many prisoners
added to the total, which, by this time,
amounted to about 25,000.
The Austrian losses in killed, wounded,
and missing between May 14 and 29
were estimated at 85,000, and included
five Generals and forty high officers.
A hundred cannon were taken or de-
stroyed. Perceval Gibbon, writing on the
29th, described the scene on the Carso:
" Everywhere there is evidence of the
ghastly Austrian losses. There are whole
areas of ground over which the fight
stamped, its way southeast of Jamiano
and Hudilog and along the battleground
parallel with Castagnavizza Road which
are littered with bodies clad in that dull
gray which is Austria's fighting color.
There, for the first time during this of-
fensive, one sees what was so common
on the Somme — steel helmets of the en-
emy lying about, many smashed or
drilled by bullets."
Two days later the same correspond-
ent added a curious bit of authenticated
history:
"The Italians have just completed ex-
amination of two railway tunnels upon
the line to Trieste, one 200 yards long,
the other slightly less. Both had been
turned into shelters for troops and very
completely equipped. The roofs are
pierced with long ventilating shafts, and
water mains have been carried in. There
is a mass of arms and ammunition here,
and numbers of machine guns.
" It is here that they discovered what
was never certainly known upon this
front, though frequently rumored, name-
ly, machine gunners chained and pad-
locked to their guns. I understand they
have been officially photographed. Each
man has a light steel chain of twisted
links, like a dog chain, shackled around
one ankle and fastened to the tripod of
the gun, and a similar chain padlocked
around his waist and linked up to the
barrel. These prisoners state that the
object is to prevent them leaving the
gun in Italian hands when falling back
before an attack. Another explanation is
suggested by the fact that the chief
forces on this southern edge of the Carso
consist of Rumanians."
With the beginning of June the Italian
offensive abated and the Austro-Hun-
garians began a series of heavy counter-
attacks, in which the daring Honveds did
some terrific fighting and took many
prisoners — Vienna claimed 27,000.
The net result of the month's fighting,
however, is a considerable gain for the
Italian forces.
The Battle of Messines Ridge
A British Victory That Began With the Explosion
of Enormous Mines
THE action of June 7, 1917, in which
the British by one terrific blow
smashed the strong German salient
south of Ypres, was one of the
most spectacular and thrilling episodes of
the war. It took place in the little corner of
Belgium where the allied armies had held
the enemy checkmated for two and a half
years, and where, all that time, they had
been harassed by German guns on the
Messines- Wytschaete Ridge.
For nearly two years several companies
of Australian, New Zealand, and British
sappers had been patiently burrowing
under this low range of hills, placing be-
neath them nineteen powerful mines con-
taining a total of more than 1,000,000
pounds of ammonite. Great charges of
this new explosive had been in a firing
position for fully twelve months, yet the
secret was kept and the dangerous work
went on under the German fortifications.
At 3:10 in the morning of June 7 the
whole series of mines was discharged by
electric contact, blowing off the hilltops
in a vast flame-burst of volcanic fire,
rocking the ground for miles as in an
earthquake, and emitting a roar that was
distinctly heard in England by Lloyd
George, listening for it at his country
home 140 miles away.
At the same time the whole salient was
subjected to the most intense shellfire of
the whole war, the climax of nearly two
weeks of artillery preparation. In the
wake of this infernal rain came the in-
fantry battalions of General Haig under
Sir Herbert Plumer, dashing forward
with rifle and bayonet. Before the day
was over the whole of Messines Ridge was
securely in British hands, with more than
7,000 prisoners and many guns. The
German casualties were estimated at
30,000. Those of the British were about
10,000.
The attack was divided into three
phases. The battle opened with the ex-
plosion of the mines at dawn, which was
the signal for the artillery. Large por-
tions of the German front and support
trenches, dugouts, and mining systems
went up in smoke. The German front
line over the entire distance of ten miles
was captured in a few minutes.
The second phase was the storming
of the Messines-Wytschaete Ridge, which
was accomplished with little loss three
hours after the attack began. The Brit-
ish went forward in a concerted rush
along the whole sector south of Ypres,
from Observation Ridge to Ploegsteert
Wood, north of Armentieres. The third
and final phase, later in the day, was the
assault of the rear defenses, which ran
across the base of the salient formed by
the ridge itself. Here the British found
the enemy in greater strength, and the
fighting was very fierce. Nevertheless,
by nightfall the village of Oosttaverne
and the whole rear position — along a
front of five miles and at a depth of
nearly three miles — had fallen into Brit-
ish hands. The day's work was the largest
since Vimy Ridge. It was achieved by
the British Second Army, under General
Sir Herbert C. O. Plumer, and his force
included English, Irish, Australian, and
New Zealand troops.
Official Report of Battle
The British War Office summarized
the action as follows in its report of
June 8:
The position captured by us yesterday was
one of the enemy's most important strong-
holds on the western front. Dominating- as
it did the Ypres salient and giving the enemy
complete observation over it, he neglected no
precautions to render the position impreg-
nable. These conditions enabled the enemy
to overlook all our preparations for attack,
and he had moved up reinforcements to meet
us. The battle therefore became a gauge of
the ability of the German troops to stop our
advance under conditions as favorable to
them as an army can ever hope for, with
every advantage of ground and preparation
and with the knowledge that an attack was
impending.
36
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
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BIX3CHOOTI
ILKEN,
LVE DINGME
BECELAERE
WLUVELT
GH£LUW\
if
DEGHEM
5HDZLEDE
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lOORSELE,
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ARMENTIERES|
MAP OP YPRES REGION SHOWING GROUND GAINED BY BRITISH IN BATTLE OP
MESSINES RIDGE
The German forward defenses consisted of
an elaborate and intricate system of well-
wired trenches and strong points forming a
defensive belt over a mile in depth. Numer-
ous farms and woods were thoroughly pre-
pared for the defense, and there were large
numbers of machine guns in the German gar-
risons. Guns of all calibres, recently in-
creased in numbers, were placed to bear not
only on the front but on the flanks of an at-
tack. Numerous communicating trenches
and switch lines, radiating in all directions,
were amply provided with strongly con-
structed concrete dugouts and machine-gun
emplacements designed to protect the enemy
garrison and machine gunners from the ef-
fect of our bombardment. In short, no pre-
caution was omitted that could be provided
by the incessant labor of years, guided by the
experience gained by the enemy in his previ-
ous defeats on the Somme, at Arras, and on
Vimy Ridge.
Despite the difficulties and disadvantages
which our troops had to overcome, further
details of yesterday's fighting show that our
first assault and the subsequent attacks were
carried out in almost exact accordance with
the timetable previously arranged. * * *
Following on the great care and thorough-
ness in preparations made under the orders
of General Sir Herbert Plumer, the complete
success gained may be ascribed chiefly to
the destruction caused by our mines, to the
violence and saccuracy of our bombardment,
to the very fine work of the Royal Flying
Corps, and to the incomparable dash and
courage of the infantry. The whole force
acted in perfect combination. Excellent work
was done by the tanks, and every means of
offense at our disposal was made use of, so
that every arm of the service had a share in
the victory.
"The British had to level many bits
of woodland, and then they sprayed
these woods with drums of blazing oil,
which burned them away and made at-
tacking across what would be considered
impregnable natural defenses almost an
easy matter. The communication
trenches were so damaged that it was
impossible for the Germans to make
their way along them in daylight ex-
cept on all fours. Ration parties at-
tempting at night to come up over the
open were badly cut up by the constant
British fire.
Described by Philip Cibbs
Philip Gibbs, the war correspondent,
cabled a vivid story on the day of the
battle, saying in part:
" For five days at least many Ger-
mans were pinned to their tunnels as
prisoners of fire. No food reached
THE BATTLE OF MESSINES RIDGE
37
them. There was no way out through
these zones of death. A new regiment,
which tried to come up last night, was
broken and shattered. A prisoner says
that out of his own company he lost
fifty to sixty men before reaching the
line. For a long way behind the lines
the British heavy guns laid down belts
of shell fire, and many of the enemy's
batteries kept silent.
" The British gunners smothered the
German batteries whenever they were
revealed to the airmen. Those flying
men have been wonderful. A kind of
exaltation of spirits took possession of
them, and they dared great risks and
searched out the enemy's squadrons far
over his lines. In five days from June
1 forty-four separate machines were
sent crashing down, and this morning
very early flocks of airplanes went out
to blind the enemy's eyes and report the
progress of the battle.
" In the darkness queer monsters
moved up close to the lines, many of
them crawling singly over the battle-
fields under cover of woods and ruins.
They were the tanks, ready to go into
action on the great day of the war, when
their pilots and crews have helped by
high courage to a great victory.
" Last night all was ready. The men,
knowing the risks of it all, (for no plans
are certain in war,) had a sense of op-
pression, strained by poignant anxiety.
Many men's lives were on the hazard of
all this. The air was heavy as if nature
itself was full of tragedy. A Summer
fog was thick over Flanders and the sky
was livid. Forked lightning rent the low
clouds and thunder broke with menacing
rumblings. Rain fell sharply, and on the
conservatory of the big Flemish house,
where officers bent over their maps and
plans, raindrops beat noisily.
March Over Dark Roads
" But the storm passed and the night
was calm and beautiful. Along the dark
roads and down the leafy lanes columns
of men were marching and brass bands
played them through the darkness. Guns
and limber moved forward at a sharp
pace. " Lights out," rang the challenges
of sentries to staff cars, passing beyond
the last village and nearer to the line.
Masses of men lay sleeping or resting in
the fields before getting orders to go for-
ward into the battle zone.
" All through the night the sky was
filled with vivid flashes of bursting
shells and with the steady hammer-
strokes of guns. From an observation
post looking across the shoulder of Kem-
mel Hill straight to Wytschaete and Mes-
sines Ridge I watched this bombardment
for that moment when it should rise into
a mad fury of gunfire, before the troops,
lying in those dark fields, should stumble
forward.
" The full moon had risen, veiled by
vapors until they drifted by and revealed
all her pale light in a sky that was still
faintly blue, with here and there a star.
The moon through all her ages never
looked down upon such fires of man-made
hell as those which lashed out when the
bombardment quickened. That was just
before 3 o'clock.
" The drone of a night flying airplane
passed overhead. The sky lightened a
little and showed great black smudges
like ink blots on a blue silk cloth where
the British kite balloons rose in clusters
to spy out the first news of the coming
battle.
Ridges Co Up in Fire
" The cocks of Flanders crowed, and
two heavy German shells roared over
Kemmel Hill and burst somewhere in the
British lines. A third came, but before
its explosion could be heard all the noise
there had been, all these separate sounds
of guns and high explosives and shrapnel
were swept into a tornado of artillery
which now began.
" The signal for its beginning was the
most terrible, beautiful thing, the most
diabolical splendor I have seen in the
war. Out of the dark ridges of Mes-
sines and Wytschaete and that ill-
famed Hill 60, for which many of Brit-
ain's best have died, there gushed up
enormous volumes of scarlet flame
from exploding mines and of earth and
smoke, all lighted by flame spilling
over into fountains of fierce color, so
that the countryside was illuminated by
the red light.
38
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
" Where some of us stood watching,
aghast and spellbound by this burning
horror, the ground trembled and surged
violently, too. Truly the earth quaked.
A boy, who came back wounded, spoke
to me about his own sensations: 'I felt
like being in an open boat in the rough
sea. It rocked up and down, this way
and that.'
" Thousands of British soldiers were
rocked like that before they scrambled
up and went forward to the German lines
— forward beneath that tornado of
shells, which crashed over the enemy's
ground with a prolonged tumult.
" Just as the day broke with crimson
feathers unfolding in the eastern sky
and flights of airmen, following other
flights above the troops, rockets rose
from the German lines. They were dis-
tress signals, flung up by men who still
lived in that fire zone — white and red
and green. They were calling to their
gunners, warning them that the British
were upon them. Presently there were
no more of them, but others, which were
ours, rose in places which had been
German."
The Scene of Destruction
Two days later the same correspondent
visited Wytschaete Wood and looked
down into the vast mine craters. Here
is his description of the captured German
trenches :
" They are horribly smashed, so that
only bits of trench and a few traverses
here and there and concrete emplace-
ments, knocked sideways above the
closed entrances of deep tunnels and
dugouts, remained among the shell
craters. Some bodies of German sol-
diers lie amid this vast midden of war,
their dead faces as gray as their tunics —
but not many of them. Most of those
killed were buried as they died, buried
under the masses of earth flung up by
exploding shells, buried in their tunnels,
which fell in upon them as they crouched
under the drumfire of the British guns
hiding deep in those subterranean cham-
bers, buried by the wild upheaval of
mines which opened the earth beneath
them with yawning chasms a hundred
yards wide and sixty feet deep.
" Bits of tunics, bits of rifles, rags
and tatters of equipment, weapons and
human flesh lie in holes and pools, pro-
truding from rubbish heaps of the
chaotic earth ravaged by British gun-
*fire. Looking down into the mine crat-
ers, the vast Peckham crater or that by
Maedelstede Farm, where the primitive
blue clay had been flung up above the
topmost strata, I agreed with that Ger-
man officer who came back dazed as a
prisoner and said : * This is more than
human nature itself can suffer.'
How the Mines Were Sprung
" On the night of June 7 the Australian
tunnelers, who had waited for the mo-
ment when their year's work would be
accomplished by the touch of a little
spring on a metal plate from which an
electric wire ran to a mine shaft below
Hill 60, assembled in a dugout not far
away. They waited for that moment at
dawn with nerves strung tensely, deeply
excited, though very quiet, at this fright-
ful expectation. They knew exactly the
explosive power of those tons of am-
monal packed under the enemy's po-
sition. There was always the risk of
misadventure, the appalling risk of fail-
ure, because it is tricky business, this
work of a man-made earthquake.
" The metal disk was touched. In just
one tick of time there was the noise of
earth in travail, the rending, rushing
noise breaking out into a vast roar, as
though a cliff were falling down a
precipice.
" Hill 60 opened and let forth a great
eruption of flaming clods. Some Eng-
lish troops took Hill 60 after this ex-
plosion, which flung some of them to
the ground as they rose at the signal of
attack. Below Mount Sorrel and Ar-
magh Wood groups of Wurttembergers
and Jagers rose from holes in the
stricken earth and held up trembling
hands, asking for mercy. They still
shook with terror of the mines. Not
many of them showed any will to fight.
Some of them had to be searched for
below ground, cowering in dark pits
which had been good, deep dugouts and
observation posts with heavy concrete
protection. Now all were smashed like
those I saw by Wytschaete Wood.
THE BATTLE OF MESSINES RIDGE
39
" Just south of these men, astride the
Ypres-Comines Canal, a number of Lon-
don troops were fighting forward to the
ruins of a famous white chateau south
of the canal on the west of Hollebeke.
It was the Chateau Matthieu. The Ger-
mans here did not surrender without a
desperate resistance."
Fighting in Rear Trenches
Another correspondent, describing the
fighting in detail, says that Dam Strasse,
a street of houses built of great blocks of
concrete six feet thick, gave the British
officers great anxiety, as they expected to
meet stiff resistance here ; but they found
that the shellfire had been so amazing as
to shatter many of these blockhouses, so
that the garrison was cowed and surren-
dered by hundreds.
The first check came outside the ruin of
an estaminet, in which a party of Ger-
mans with machine guns and rifles were
determined to sell their lives dearly. They
poured fire into the British, who suffered
a good many casualties here, but would
not be balked, whatever the cost. They
took what cover they could and used their
rifles to riddle the place with shot. One
by one the Germans fell and their fire
slackened. Then the British charged the
ruins and captured all those who still re-
mained alive.
Fresh waves of men came up and went
forward into Ravine Wood, with its tat-
tered trunks and litter of broken branches.
There was another fight, very fierce and
bloody, between some South Country
troops and German soldiers of the Thirty-
fifth Division, who attempted a strong
counterattack. The Englishmen had their
bayonets fixed, and at a word from the
officers they made a quick, grim dash at
the Germans advancing upon them
through Dead Wood with their bayonets
ready also. So that morning sun gleamed
upon all this steel. The bayonets crossed.
The men of Kent went through the ene-
my, thrusting and stabbing, but, though
they saw red in that hour, they gave
quarter to the men who dropped their
rifles and cried " Kamerad." The Ger-
man losses here were very heavy.
An eyewitness gives this account of the
armored tanks and the marvels achieved
by aviators:
" Several tanks came up to share in
the fighting and climbed over all this
broken ground, but did not find much
work to do. All along the battle line
these brown beasts were nosing about,
crawling through the slough, pitching and
tossing over the cratered earth and rear-
ing their long snouts over sandbag bar-
ricades. Their pilots and crews were out
for any kind of adventure over any kind
of ground. They did not have many
casualties and would have been more
successful if the infantry had wanted
more help from them, but the guns had
done most of the work beforehand.
" The completeness of this victory, the
march through of the troops, and the
utter despair of the German troops were
due in an overwhelming way to the guns
and the gunners who served them. It is
only right and just that the highest trib-
ute should be paid to these men, who
worked day and night for nearly a fort-
night under an intense strain and in-
fernal noise, without sleep enough to
relieve the nerve rack, and always in
danger of death. The gunner officers
are hoarse with shouting under fire.
" They were for the moment hollow-
eyed with bodily and mental exhaustion.
The ammunition carriers worked them-
selves stiff in order to feed the guns.
They used up an incredible number of
shells. The gunners of one division alone
fired 180,000 shells with their field bat-
teries and over 46,000 with their heavies.
On the same scale has been the ammuni-
tion expenditure of all the other groups
of guns.
Guns Move to New Positions
" A historic scene, intensely thrilling,
took place after the troops gained the
high ground of Wytschaete and Messines.
An order was passed along to all bat-
teries. Horses standing by were har-
nessed to the guns, and limbers of the
field batteries were lined up. Then half
way throughout the battle the old gun
positions were abandoned after two and a
half years of stationary warfare in a
salient searched every day of that time
by German shells fired by direct observa-
tion from the ground just taken.
" The drivers urged on their horses.
They- drove at a gallop past the old
40
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
screens, and out of camouflaged places
where the men had walked stealthily, and
dashed up the slopes. The infantry stood
by to let them pass, and from thousands
of men, these dusty, hot, parched soldiers
who were waiting to go forward in sup-
port of the first waves of the assaulting
troops, there rose a great following cheer
which swept along the track of the gun-
ners and went with them up the ridge,
where they unlimbered and got into
action again for the second phase of the
fighting down the further slope. Never
before in this war has there been any-
thing like this in excitement and sense of
victory.
Amazing Feats of Aviators
" As the scouts of the gunners, as their
watchers and signalers, were the boys
of the Royal Flying Corps. They were
uplifted with a kind of intoxication of
enthusiasm, and youthful madness took
possession of them. One man's flight, told
in his own dry words, is like a wild night-
mare of an airman's dream. He flew to
a German airdrome and circled around.
A German machine gun spat out bullets
at him. The airman saw it, swooped over
it, and fired at the gunner. He saw his
bullets hit the gun. The man ceased to
fire, screamed, and ran for cover. Then
the airman flew off, chased trains and
fired into their windows.
" He flew over small bodies of troops
on the march, stopped, fired, and scat-
tered them. Afterward he met a con-
voy going to Comines, and he circled
over them hardly higher than their heads
and fired into them. Near Warne-
ton he came upon troops massing for a
counterattack and made a new attack, in-
flicting casualties and making them run
in all directions.
" Another man found himself under
fire by Archies mounted on lorries. He
dived and fired on the gunners, who ran
away and hid. One flying man attacked
and silenced four machine-gun teams in
strong emplacements. Others cleared
trenches of German soldiers, who scuttled
like rabbits into dugouts. They fired
everything they carried, anything which
would kill the enemy or destroy his
material. Having used up all his Lewis
gun ammunition upon the marching
troops, one lad fired his signal rockets
at the next group of men he saw.
" They flew at the field gunners and
put them to flight, at heavy guns crawl-
ing along the roads on caterpillar wheels,
at transport wagons, motor lorries, and
one motor car, whose passengers, if they
live, will never forget that sudden rush
of wings four feet overhead, with a spasm
of bullets about them. The airplane was
so low that the pilot thought he would
crash into the motor car, but he just
planed clear of it as the driver steered
it sharply into a ditch, where he over-
turned with the five occupants. The air-
man went on his journey, scattered 500
infantry, and returned home after a long
flight, never higher than 500 feet above
the ground.
" In this battle of Messines there was
not anybody of the British Army who
did not spend all his strength and take all
risks with a kind of passionate exaltation
of spirit. * * * It is the greatest
and cheapest achievement of the British
arms throughout this war, though the
loss of so many gallant men is sad
enough, God knows. And for the enemy
it is as hard a blow as our taking of
Vimy Ridge two months ago, when he
was staggered by his losses."
The battle of Messines Ridge took from
the Germans the last commanding
natural position opposite the British
lines. Bapaume and Vimy and Messines
Ridges, as well as Monchy Plateau, five
miles east of Arras, were all captured by
the British within three months, and this
has materially changed the military
situation on the western front.
Storming of the Aisne Quarries
By Wythe Williams
[In a cable dispatch to The New York Times, May 25, 1917.]
REGARDING the offensive on the
Rheims-Soissons front, which
began on April 16, 1917, I am
permitted to state that it was
the biggest concentrated effort yet made
by the French Army, although at first
glance it seemed to have accomplished
less material result than any other of-
fensive, except the long-ago offensive
in the Champagne, which can be classi-
fied as a failure. I think all the army
experts will admit that the result needs
explanation. Yet, as the explanation was
made to me while going over the ground,
it was both logical and good, and in sum-
ming it up I believe that the offensive
will in later histories be considered as a
success.
In the first place, the ground chosen
was the toughest proposition anywhere on
the front, yet it was essential to take
the offensive there, for the very reason
that it was necessary to keep on bending
back the line on which the Germans had
already taken the initiative by their re-
treat.
I visited Soissons for the first time in
September, 1914, just after the battle of
the Marne and just at the beginning of
the battle of the Aisne. * * * We
talked confidently about when the Ger-
mans were once disengaged from their
" quarries " and another retreat from the
Aisne would begin, just as had happened
from the Marne. But the Germans re-
mained in those same quarries for two
years and seven months. Day by day
from September, 1914, more guns, bigger
guns, concentrated their fire upon them;
but they held out. Week by week, month
by month, year by year, more guns and
bigger guns and still bigger guns were
added, until there was an unbroken line
of guns that in April of this year opened
the heaviest fire the world has ever
known, pouring 18,000 tons of high ex-
plosives upon the quarries day after day;
and still they held out — almost intact —
until they finally were taken by storm by
the French infantry going up on the hill-
sides wave after wave, driving out the
Germans with bayonets and gas bombs.
I have often heard remarks in the last
few weeks that the chief trouble with the
recent offensive was that the artillery
fire was ineffective. Yes, it was inef-
fective, but now that I have seen those
quarries, I know why. Until the orders
arrived for the infantry to advance and
take those quarry heights " at all costs "
the Germans were quite as safe there as
in a submarine far below the surface of
the sea.
Vast Underground Fortresses
I went down into one of the quarries.
The opening was a tiny hole in solid
granite. I went down and down in pitch
blackness. The officer and I stumbled
down, fumbling at solid rock walls. A
soldier came up to meet us with an elec-
tric lamp, and below we could see a line
of wooden steps, at least a hundred of
them. Then we came into a great arched
cavern that led into another similar one,
and then to another, and then into long
galleries and through dark, narrow pas-
sages, where we had to stoop low, only to
come into other caverns with exits lead-
ing in various directions, and so on until,
at least half a mile toward the German
rear, from where we entered, we walked
out again into daylight. That quarry
alone was big enough to secrete 5,000
German soldiers, who poured from a
dozen similar exits when the French in-
fantry advanced.
Every gallery of these underground
fortresses the Germans raked with ma-
chine guns when stormed. The artillery
positions were so constructed that the
guns could be whirled behind granite
walls whenever necessary to avoid de-
struction by the concentrated French fire.
They were the strongest defenses I
have ever seen. They made every other
fortress, every trench line, every concrete
42
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
abri I have visited seem weak. And now
they belong to the French — all of them.
True, they were only a little way from
the old front line, and now the front
French line is just a little further beyond.
The French paid dearly for them. Their
orders were to capture them " at all
costs." They simply had to have them,
and now that they have them, it does not
seem to me the offensive can in any re-
spect be called a failure.
The positions on that front are now
entirely reversed. Before the French
had all the bad positions and the Ger-
mans the good ones in the quarries and
on the hill crests. Besides, the French
had the River Aisne at their backs, which
was always an uncomfortable thought.
Now the Germans have all the bad posi-
tions. They are down in the hollows and
have another river — a branch of the Oise
■ — behind them.
Also, in the offensive between Soissons
and Rheims the French alone took 30,000
prisoners, while the entire offensive
bagged 55,000 and a total of 600 cannon
and 1,200 mitrailleuse.
In the light of the dwindling man
power on both sides, 55,000 prisoners
means nearly five divisions, and is con-
siderable.
All along the line the French have
undoubtedly got the upper hand. So far
as I am able to learn their air service is
once more supreme, and as for the artil-
lery, both field and heavy guns are now
positively dominant over the enemy, as
has been the case, in fact, ever since the
Somme.
Indeed so perfect is the munition or-
ganization that now every army corps
has a supply station directly behind it,
where there is a platform 350 yards long,
just for discharging heavy shells, an-
other platform the same length for light
shells, another for engineers' supplies,
another for macadam for roads, and an-
other for food.
I was permitted to witness one of the
engagements, beginning with the tuning
up of the heavy guns until after the in-
fantry had advanced — in this case up a
steep hillside — and captured the posi-
tions. As drama it was the most superb
I ever witnessed. On the opposite hill-
side, probably two miles distant, I stood
with the General commanding the army
corps who was conducting the operations.
It was about 3 o'clock on a cloudy after-
noon. I took a position sprawling on a
grass patch at the top, with my back
against a bush blending in color tone
with my clothing, and got my glasses
carefully adjusted for the performance
about to begin. Although it was cloudy
there was no haze, and the absence of
sunshine made everything stand out
more clearly.
An Impressive Stage Setting
The hillside dropped straight before
us, and then, stretching away, was a
great panorama of wooded valleys,
meadows, a winding river, and a steep
rise of a bare, shell-marked slope op-
posed. In the centre of the slope was the
remnant of a town, but only a remnant.
All we could make out was a few piles
of stones against the red earth. Near
the top of the hill ran a darkish line that
marked the French trenches, and beyond,
over the crest, were the Germans. In the
valley at our feet, in the woods and
meadows, were French cannon — but we
could see none of them, all were so care-
fully concealed. Immediately overhead
were a couple of large observation bal-
loons, one attached by ropes to an auto-
mobile that guided it from a road on the
side of our hill, the second guided from a
boat in the river. All about circled air-
planes, both observation machines and
avions de chasse. There were at least a
dozen, some keeping near the balloons
and others swooping high and low over
the German lines on the hill opposite.
There was a constant boom of cannon
that, in connection with the cloudiness of
the day, seemed more like the rolling of
thunder than artillery — especially as the
wind was away from us. We could not
hear the sound of the shells leaving the
guns until the reports first detonated
across the valley. But we could constant-
ly see the bursts of smoke where the
shells were exploding beyond the crest.
But this thunder of guns was only a
minor overture. The General explained
that the real performance was sched-
uled to begin at exactly 3:30 P. M. I
STORMING OF THE AISNE QUARRIES
43
asked how long it would last, and his
laconic reply was: " Until we take their
positions."
It is estimated that in that compara-
tively small sector of the contemplated
attack — it was not more than a couple of
miles in breadth — there were seven to
eight hundred guns, but for this prelimi-
nary attack probably not more than 300
were in action. The remainder, reserved
for the signal of infantry advance, would
then turn on a barrage fire, so hot that
the Germans could not bring up rein-
forcements.
The artillery had been pouring ex-
plosives into those German positions for
several days, it was explained to me.
Already they were all pretty badly de-
molished. It was not considered that the
infantry would have much trouble — ex-
cept from concealed machine guns. That
was what the guns were hunting then.
The Germans evidently knew what was
coming, but I wondered, nevertheless, at
the lightness of their artillery reply.
The day became darker, so dark, in
fact, that down at our feet we could see
bright flashes from the nearest guns.
The General commanding the brigade
leaned carelessly against a tree near me,
holding a watch in his hand. * * *
I was fascinated by my watch as it
ticked around to that fatal 3:30. At the
very tick of the second a blast of fire
went up that shook the hill we were sit'
ting on. Those 500 remaining guns must
all have been fired simultaneously, and
then on until the end of the performance
there was one continual, awful roar of
explosive. The hillside opposite, which
we could see so clearly a whole minute
before, was now completely blotted out in
a vast roll of heavy smoke. Even with
the glasses we could distinguish abso-
lutely nothing.
I looked down into the valley and the
sparks of guns were so bright and fast I
could not count them. The meadows and
woods seemed alive with guns, distin-
guished only by rapid, short flashes of
flame. I fixed my glasses on just one
little portion of the open field and tried
to count the flashes, but gave it up as
quite impossible. There were too many
flashes from different portions of the
field at the same second. It looked as
though the field were suddenly alive with
a swarm of fireflies — that fire was the
winking of the guns as they sent out
their shells.
All in Motion at the Signal
I glanced overhead. Simultaneously
with the signal of attack both balloons
sailed majestically forward until they
now hung out before us over the valley,
guided by the ropes that attached them
to the automobile and the river boat.
The fleet of airplanes, doubled in num-
ber, still circled about them and now
swooped low over the German positions
to report back how the infantry was get-
ting on.
I looked across at the hillside. Just
at the crest I could see three rockets go-
ing up. The officer explained that it was
the infantry's signal to the artillerymen,
asking them to place shells just in ad-
vance of that spot. At another point on
the crest three more rockets appeared,
then three more still further on.
Through that impenetrable bank of
heavy smoke I tried to visualize the
companies of infantry going up to the
crest, meeting the enemy, hurling hand
grenades, and using bayonets, finding
fierce resistance where the machine guns
were hidden, and then sending up their
rockets to show their gunners behind
just where to send them aid. And I
noted that wherever the signal rockets
went up almost immediately after there
would come a great spurt of black smoke.
I went forward late the following aft-
ernoon? not to lines which even then were
too unsafe, but behind them through the
forest from which the Germans had been
driven. It was a strange, unforgettable
sight. The entire forest bed was of long,
slender green leaves and tiny white flow-
ers, lilies of the valley. Resting on a bed
of green leaves, as far as one could see,
were the bodies of German soldiers. A
strange, compelling, and arresting odor
filled the air, an odor indescribably sweet
and unspeakably horrible. It was a com-
bination of the lilies of the valley and
the dead.
Emperor Charles's Throne Speech
In the Austrian Reichsrat on May 31, 1917
For the first time since the beginning of the war the Austrian Parliament at Vienna was
convened by the Emperor on May 31 in the Grand Hall of Ceremonies in the Imperial
Hofburg. Many Deputies appeared in picturesque national costumes, and the entry of
Emperor Charles was greeted with three enthusiastic " hochs," which were repeated when
he took his seat on the golden throne under a red and gold canopy, while the Empress and
Archduchesses ranged themselves on the dais beside him. The Emperor read his speech in a
resonant voice. It was his first Parliamentary address since his accession.
Emperor Charles began with an affec-
tionate tribute to the memory of Empe-
ror Francis Joseph, and continued:
SUMMONED in a fateful time to di-
rect the State, I, from the begin-
ning, have been conscious of the
immense seriousness of the task
Providence has laid on my shoulders. I
feel, however, within me, the will and
power loyally to discharge my duties as
ruler, following the example of my illus-
trious predecessor, and to do justice, with
God's help, to my sublime office.
The interests of the State shall no
longer be deprived of that effective fur-
therance which zealous co-operation of
a popular assembly rightly compre-
hending its power, judicious and con-
scientious, can provide. I have sum-
moned you, honorable gentlemen, to
exercise your constitutional activity, and
I heartily welcome you today on the in--
auguration of your work.
In full consciousness of the constitu-
tional duties taken over from my illus-
trious predecessor, and from my own
deepest conviction, I desire solemnly to
declare to you my unalterable will to
exercise my right as ruler at all times
in a truly constitutional spirit and to
respect inviolably liberties according to
the fundamental law and to preserve un-
abridged to the people that share in the
formation of the State's will which the
prevailing Constitution provides for.
In the loyal co-operation by my people
and its representatives, I see support
for the success of my activity, and I
think that the welfare of the State,
whose glorious existence has been main-
tained in the storms of a world war by
the grim cohesion of its citizens, cannot
in times of peace be more securely
rooted than in the unassailable rights of
a mature, patriotic, and free people.
Mindful of my obligation to the Con-
stitution and adhering to my intention
expressed immediately on my accession
to fulfill this obligation freely, I must
at the same time keep in mind the pro-
visions of the fundamental law which
places in my hands alone the decisions
to be taken at the great moment of the
conclusion of peace. I am, however, con-
vinced that a happy development of our
constitutional life after the unfruitful-
ness of the past years and after the ex-
ceptional political conditions of war time
— apart from the solution of the Gali-
cian question, for which my illustrious
predecessor has already indicated the
way — is not possible without expanding
the Constitution and the administrative
foundations of the whole of our public
life, both in the State and in the sep-
arate kingdoms and countries, especially
in Bohemia.
I trust that recognition of your serious
responsibility for the formation of politi-
cal conditions and your belief in the
happy future of the empire, splendidly
strengthened in this terrible war, will
give you, honorable gentlemen, strength,
in union with me, speedily to create con-
ditions giving scope to free national and
cultural development of equally privi-
leged people. From these considerations
I decided to postpone taking the constitu-
tional oath until the time, which I hope
is not far distant, when the foundation
of a new, strong, and happy Austria will
again for generations to come be firmly
consolidated internally and externally.
Today, however, I declare I shall al-
ways be the just, affectionate, and con-
scientious ruler of my dear peoples in
EMPEROR CHARLES'S THRONE SPEECH
45
the sense of the constitutional idea which
we have taken over as a heritage from
our forefathers and in the spirit of that
true democracy which, during the storms
of a world war, has wonderfully stood the
ordeal of fire in the achievements of the
entire people at home and at the front.
We are still in the midst of the might-
iest war of all times. Let me, from your
midst, with thankful heart offer my im-
perial greeting to all the heroes who for
nearly three years on our far-flung
fronts have loyally discharged the heavy
duty, and on whose iron resistance be-
tween the Alps and the Adriatic the re-
newed desperate enemy attack even now
is breaking to pieces.
Our group of powers did not seek the
sanguinary trial of strength of this
world war. Aye, more than that, it has,
from the moment when, thanks to the
imperishable achievements of the allied
armies and fleets, the honor and exist-
ence of our States no longer appear se-
riously threatened, openly and without
ambiguity made known its readiness for
peace, guided by the firm conviction that
the true formula of peace can only be
found in the mutual recognition that the
positions have been gloriously defended.
The future life of the peoples should,
in our view, remain free from animosity
and thirst for revenge, and for genera-
tions there should be no need to employ
what may be called the last resource of
the State. But this high aim of hu-
manity can only be attainable by such a
conclusion to the war as will correspond
to that peace formula.
The great neighboring people to the
east, to whom old friendship united us,
is gradually becoming conscious of its
true aims and tasks, and it lately ap-
pears to approach this point of view and
seek from an obscure impulse a direc-
tion of policy which will save the treas-
ures of the future before they have been
devoured by a senseless war policy. We
hope that, in the interest of humanity,
this process of internal reformation will
manifest itself externally in a strong
development of will, and that such en-
lightenment of the public mind will also
extend to the other enemy countries.
While our group of powers is fighting
with irresistible force for honor and exist-
ence, it is and remains toward every one
who honestly abandons the intention to
threaten us readily prepared to cease
hostilities, and whoever wishes to reopen
better and more human relations will
certainly find our side ready in a con-
ciliatory spirit. In « the meantime, how-
ever, our fighting spirit will not relax;
our sword will not become blunt.
In true co-operation with our old ally,
the German Empire, and the allies whom
our just cause won during the war, we
shall remain ready to force, if necessary
by arms, a good end to the war, which
we should like to be able to attribute to
a victory of reason.
t deplore the increasing sacrifices
which the long duration of the war im-
poses on our population. I deplore the
blood of my brave soldiers, the privations
of brave citizens, and all the distress and
hardships which are heroically endured
for the sake of the beloved Fatherland.
The efforts of my Government, supported
by well-trained officials, are incessantly
directed toward facilitating the mainte-
nance of the population — whose loyalty
to the State and public spirit find my
thankful recognition — and toward guar-
anteeing that the stock of food will be
made to go around by suitable organiza-
tion. * * *
Always remember, however, that the
strength of the monarchy is rooted not
the least in its' historic associations, and
that only affectionate regard for it can
maintain and develop its living strength.
Therefore, I hope you will zealously cul-
tivate a loyal sense of unity with the
countries of my Hungarian holy crown-
land, which has recently proved itself
one of the principal supports of the mon-
archy.
Honorable gentlemen of both houses,
once again accept my cordial greetings.
It is a great moment which brings a new
ruler for the first time face to face with
the people's respresentatives. May it be
the beginning of a time of flourishing
progress, a time of power and prestige
for venerable Austria, and of happiness
and blessings for my beloved peoples.
God grant it!
War Aims of Allies Restated
RUSSIA'S revolution and the entry
of the United States into the war
brought about a restatement of
the purposes of the war by the
Allies. The Russian Council of Work-
men's and Soldiers' Delegates had pre-
viously forced the Russian Provisional
Government to modify its original dec-
laration of its war aims by forcing the
retirement of Milukoff and the entire
reconstruction of the Cabinet, with
the more radical Socialists in control.
The declaration of the new Government
was summed up in the phrase, " Peace
without annexations or indemnities on
the basis of the rights of nations to de-
cide their own destiny." On June 5 this
policy was again announced in a call for
an international Socialist peace confer-
ence issued by the Russian Central Fed-
erations and Socialist Parties, accom-
panied by a demand that Russia's allies in
the war restate explicitly their war aims.
The first response to this demand was
made in the British Parliament by Lord
Robert Cecil in reply to a question from
a pacifist member of the body, Philip
Snowden.
The debate was originated by Mr.
Snowden, who moved the following
amendment on May 16:
That this House welcomes the declaration
of the new democratic Government of Russia,
repudiating all proposals for imperialistic
conquest and aggrandizement, and calls on
his Majesty's Government to issue a similar
declaration on behalf of the British democ-
racy, and to join with the Allies in con-
formity with the Russian declaration.
Mr. Snowden wanted to know whether
the treaty made with the old order in
Russia was still binding or whether it
had been rendered void by the revolu-
tion; also whether the British Govern-
ment accepted the declared ^policy of the
new Russian Government in regard to
war aims.
Lord Cecil on Russia's Peace Program
The address of Lord Cecil in reply fol-
lows :
WHATEVER there may be in store
for Russia in history, she will
at any rate have the credit of
having carried through, by practically
the unanimous wish, so far as an
outsider is permitted to judge, of the
whole of her people and of every class of
her people, a revolution which has been
stained with far less bloodshed than any
movement comparable with it in size. I
am anxious to make that clear, because,
of course, in dealing with this declaration,
possibly some phrase might escape me
which would appear to be a criticism. I
am anxious to avoid any chance of that
being said. It is quite true that the
phrase which is thought to crystallize
the new policy is the phrase, " No an-
nexation and no indemnity." The honor-
able member for Leicester says that the
word " annexation " is a mistranslation
— at any rate, a completely wrong version
of what is meant. I am disposed to agree
with him.
But what would the real policy of
" no annexation " mean ? Take Arabia.
Arabia has declared its independence
from Turkey. No human being would
suggest that we should use our power of
influence to place Arabia again under the
domination of Turkey. Take Armenia. I
do not know whether it is yet realized
what Armenia really meant and what
crimes were committed upon Armenia.
Here is a statement which says:
" Of the 1,800,000 Armenians who were
in the Ottoman Empire two years ago
1,200,000 have been either massacred or
deported. Those who were massacred
died under abominable tortures, but they
escaped the longer agonies of the de-
ported. Men, women, and children, with-
out food or other provisions for the
journey, without protection from the cli-
mate, regardless of age or weakness or
disease, were driven from their homes
-••••••■»■•..«...........<
WILLIAM GIBBS McADOO
The Secretary of the Treasury, the Man Officially Re-
sponsible for the Successful Flotation of the
Liberty Loan of Two Billion Dollars
(Photo Underwood d- Underwood)
«■•••••>••••■••••■•
KING ALEXANDER OF GREECE
Second Son and Successor of King Constantine, Who
Abdicated on the Demand of France,
Great Britain, and Russia
(Photo American Press Association)
■ ■■*«*■■■■■■••■ iiiiiiMiMiiiiiniiii •iiiiiinn iiuiiiuiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiii"""1
WAR AIMS OF ALLIES RESTATED
47
and made to march as long as their
strength lasted or until those who drove
them drowned or massacred them in
batches. Some died of exhaustion or fell
by the way; some survived a journey of
three months and reached the deserts
and swamps along the middle Euphrates.
There they have been abandoned, and are
dying now of starvation, disease, and ex-
posure " — I am afraid they are dead now,
because this was written some months
ago. " A recent report tells of a group
of survivors at Abu Herrera, mostly wo-
men, children, and a few old men, who
had been without food for seven days."
The most imperialistic annexation
would be of benefit to the people who
suffered such crimes as that. Take the
case of Syria and Palestine. Although
in Syria the numbers are not so great,
yet there in substance the same thing has
taken place. I confess I have some hesi-
tation in denouncing annexation if it
means that no territory which has been
taken by force during this war is not to
be restored to its original owners. If
that is what is meant, then I am certain-
ly unable to accept the policy of no an-
nexation. May I give a few examples?
The favorite example referred to is that
of the German African colonies. I do
not say that we attacked the German
African colonies in order to rescue the
native from misgovernment. We did it
as part of the war against Germany. I
do not say that it would have been right
in any circumstances to go to war in or-
der to rescue the African population from
misgovernment by Germany. But hav-
ing rescued them, are you to hand them
back? That is a very different question,
which requires to be carefully considered.
German East Africa
Just let me read one or two descrip-
tions, because I am not sure that this is
always realized. This, for instance, is
from a description given to us this year
as to the treatment of carriers in Ger-
man East Africa:
" Many carriers are dying of cold. The
treatment of carriers lately by the Ger-
mans has been terrible; their carriers in-
clude our Indian soldier prisoners of war,
and many wretched villagers, young
boys, old men, and women; in fact, they
catch those who cannot run away. They
chain them together, and just work them
until they die of starvation and exhaus-
tion. In following upon Wahle's track
from Walangali to Lupembe we kept
finding dead and dying carriers. Nor
after an action do they trouble any more
about their wounded Askari, but just
leave them to die.
" The great aim of German policy in
German Southwest Africa as regards the
native is to reduce him to a state of
serfdom, and, where he resists, to destroy
him altogether. The native, to the Ger-
man, is a baboon, and nothing more. The
war against the Hereros, conducted by
General Trotha, was one of extermina-
tion; hundreds — men, women, and chil-
dren— were driven into desert country,
where death from thirst was their end;
those left over are now in great locations
near Windhuk, where they eke out a mis-
erable existence; labor is forced upon
them, and, naturally, unwillingly per-
formed. Again with the Hottentots —
their treatment is still more barbarous,
as the Germans are fully determined to
root out that race lock,stock, and barrel."
I do not know, of course, and it is im-
possible to say, what we may not be
forced to do at the end of the war, but if
there is any measure of success I con-
fess I should regard with horror the idea
of returning natives who have been freed
from a Government of that kind. What
about Poland ? I think we are all agreed
that it was desirable to set up an inde-
pendent Poland. Is there to be no an-
nexation there? Are you to say really
that Germany, having taken two prov-
inces from France, they shall not be
restored? Take Italia Irredenta. Are
we really to commit ourselves to the
proposition that under no circumstances
would we restore to Italy provinces pop-
ulated by Italians? I should regret any
acceptance of short, misleading phrases.
Mr. Whyte referred to another phrase —
" No peace with the Hohenzollerns."
There is a great deal in that that is very
attractive to any ordinary British mind,
but at the same time I agree with him
that it is too attractive to be quite true —
at any rate, to be quite prudent as a
tfl
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
definition of national policy. It may be
quite true that it would not be a good
ground for going to war to accomplish
acts of justice and reparation such as I
have described, yet it is quite a different
thing to ask to resign and abandon the
fruits which every one must recognize
are desirable achievements.
" No Indemnity" Cri;
About " No indemnity " I confess that
for us to talk about not wishing for
any indemnity seems to me a little diffi-
cult. What about Belgium? Does the
honorable member say no indemnity to
Belgium?
Mr. Snowden — We have always de-
manded as an essential of any settlement
the restoration to Belgium of its inde-
pendence, and not only that, but of all
the damage that has been done.
Lord R. Cecil— What about Serbia?
What about the northern provinces of
France? Are we to rule out definitely
all reparation for the destruction of
peaceful merchant vessels by subma-
rines? I certainly am not prepared to do
it. Mr. Snowden said the allied Govern-
ments should rewrite their reply to Presi-
det Wilson and issue a new note in very
different terms. He proceeded to give
a description of the note, which, indeed,
I read in the German papers, but which
is altogether at variance with the terms
of the note. The one statement in the
note which I suppose is objected to is
that referring to the turning out of
Europe of the Ottoman Empire. I re-
member the time when it was one of the
greatest doctrines of the most progres-
sive forces in this country that the Turks
were to go out bag and baggage. It was
only we benighted Tories who ever said
anything for the Turks in those - days.
We are all agreed there is nothing to be
said for the Turks now. If that is the
only sentence which the honorable mem-
ber thinks conflicts with the general
spirit of the declaration made by the
Council of Workmen, I cannot see that
there is any ground for saying there is
any substantial difference of opinion be-
tween any of those who have spoken in
this debate. I confess that at this mo-
ment it does not seem to me that it would
be desirable for us to ask for terms of
peace from Germany. There is a well-
known French proverb, Que messieurs
les assassins commencent, (let the mur-
derers begin.)
Beihmann Hollrveg's Speech
To judge by the German Chancellor's
speech, there is no inclination on the
part of the Germans even to state what
terms of peace they are ready to accept.
As far as I can see, what has happened
in Germany now is what has happened
in every domestic controversy in that
country for the last forty or fifty years.
There is a popular demand for some re-
form, an appearance by the Government
that they are going to yield and make
terms, a protest generally couched in
very offensive terms from the Junker
party, and an immediate surrender by
the Government to the Junkers. That is
really the meaning of Bethmann Holl-
weg's speech in the Reichstag yesterday,
and until that spirit has been exorcised
from Germany it appears to me to be
ludicrous — apart from want of dignity
— to suggest that we should ask for
terms from the German Emperor.
We of the Allies are determined not
to accept a peace that will be no peace.
It must be a peace just and durable. I
am a great adherent of the idea of a
league of nations, but before there can
be, in the most sanguine mind, the slight-
est expectation of its success, you must
first establish a sound, just, equitable
peace. The honorable member quoted
some phrase about patriotism. I think
the last word on that subject was said
by Miss Cavell when she was under
sentence of death. " Patriotism is not
enough," she said. I agree; but you do
not want less than patriotism; you want
more — you want the condition, and this
must be the foundation of any peace we
make — justice, chivalry, respect for obli-
gations, and respect for the weak. If we
can secure peace founded on this central
doctrine, I shall be glad to co-operate
with any honorable member of the House
to erect what barriers may be possible
against the recurrence of a devastating
war such as the present is.
President Wilson's Note to Russia
The Allies, however, seemed to have
agreed that the formal reply should be
made by the United States. This was
done in a note cabled to Russia May 26,
but its publication was delayed until
June 10. The note follows:
IN view of the approaching visit of the
American delegation to Russia to ex-
press the deep friendship of the
American people for the people of Rus-
sia and to discuss the best and most prac-
tical means of co-operation between the
two peoples in carrying the present
struggle for the freedom of all peoples
to a successful consummation, it seems
opportune and appropriate that I should
state again, in the light of this new
partnership, the objects the United
States has had in mind in entering
the war. Those objects have been very-
much beclouded during the last few
weeks by mistaken and misleading state-
ments, and the issues at stake are too
momentous, too tremendous, too signifi-
cant for the whole human race to permit
any misinterpretations or misunderstand-
ings, however slight, to remain uncor-
rected for a moment.
The war has begun to go against Ger-
many, and in their desperate desire to
escape the inevitable ultimate defeat
those who are in authority in Germany
are using every possible instrumentality,
are making use even of the influence of
groups and parties among their own sub-
jects to whom they have never been just
or fair or even tolerant, to promote a
propaganda on both sides of the sea
which will preserve for them their in-
fluence at home and their power abroad,
to the undoing of the very men they are
using.
The position of America in this war is
so clearly avowed that no man can be
excused for mistaking it. She seeks no
material profit or aggrandizement of
any kind. She is fighting for no advan-
tage or selfish object of her own, but for
the liberation of peoples everywhere
from the aggressions of autocratic force.
The ruling classes in Germany have
begun of late to profess a like liberality
and justice of purpose, but only to pre-
serve the power they have set up in Ger-
many and the selfish advantages which
they have wrongly gained for themselves
and their private projects of power all
the way from Berlin to Bagdad and be-
yond. Government after Government
has by their influence, without open con-
quest of its territory, been linked to-
gether in a net of intrigue directed
against nothing less than the peace and
liberty of the world. The meshes of that
intrigue must be broken, but cannot be
broken unless wrongs already done are
undone; and adequate measures must be
taken to prevent it from ever again being
rewoven or repaired.
Of course, the Imperial German Gov-
ernment and those whom it is using for
their own undoing are seeking to obtain
pledges that the war will end in the res-
toration of the status quo ante. It was
the status quo ante out of which this ini-
quitous war issued forth, the power of
the Imperial German Government within
the empire and its widespread domina-
tion and influence outside of that em-
pire. That staus must be altered in such
fashion as to prevent any such hideous
thing from ever happening again.
We are fighting for the liberty, the
self-government, and the undictated de-
velopment of all peoples, and every fea-
ture of the settlement that concludes this
war must be conceived and executed for
that purpose. Wrongs must first be
righted, and then adequate safeguards
must be created to prevent their being
committed again. We ought not to con-
sider remedies merely because they have
a pleasing and sonorous sound. Practi-
cal questions can be settled only by prac-
tical means. Phrases will not accom-
plish the result. Effective readjustments
will; and whatever readjustments are
necessary must be made.
But they must follow a principle, and
that principle is plain. No people must
be forced under sovereignty under which
it does not wish to live. No territory
must change hands except for the pur-
pose of securing those who inhabit it a
50
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
fair chance of life and liberty. No in-
demnities must be insisted on except
those that constitute payment for mani-
fest wrongs done. No readjustments of
power must be made except such as will
tend to secure the future peace of the
world and the future welfare and happi-
ness of its peoples.
And then the free peoples of the world
must draw together in some common
covenant, some genuine and practical co-
operation that will in effect combine
their force to secure peace and justice in
the dealings of nations with one another.
The brotherhood of mankind must no
longer be a fair but empty phrase; it
must be given a structure of force and
reality. The nations must realize their
common life and effect a workable part-
nership to secure that life against the
aggressions of autocratic and self-pleas-
ing power.
For these things we can afford to pour
.out blood and treasure. For these are
the things we have always professed to
desire, and unless we pour out blood and
treasure now and succeed, we may never
be able to unite or show conquering force
again in the great cause of human lib-
erty. The day has come to conquer or
submit. If the forces of autocracy can
divide us they will overcome us; if we
stand together, victory is certain and the
liberty which victory will secure. We
can afford, then, to be generous, but we
cannot afford, then or now, to be weak or
omit any single guarantee of justice and
security. WOODROW WILSON.
Entente Peace Terms Defined
MORE precise definition of France's
aims was given by the Chamber
of Deputies on June 5, when, by
a vote of 453 to 55, a resolution was
adopted in the following terms:
The Chamber of Deputies, the direct expres-
sion of the sovereignty of the French people,
salutes the Russian and other allied democ-
racies, and indorses the unanimous protest
which the representatives of Alsace-Lorraine,
torn from France against their will, have
made to the National Assembly. It declares
that it expects from the war imposed upon
Europe by the aggression of imperialist Ger-
many the return of Alsace-Lorraine to the
mother country, together with liberation of
invaded territories and just reparation for
damage.
Far removed from all thoughts of conquest
and enslavement, it expects that the efforts
of the armies of the republic and her allies
will secure, once Prussian militarism is de-
stroyed, durable guarantees for peace and in-
dependence for peoples great and small, in a
league of nations such as has already been
foreshadowed.
Confident that the Government will bring
this about by the co-ordinated military and
diplomatic action of all the Allies and reject-
ing all amendments, the Chamber passes to
the order of the day.
Speaking to the resolution, Premier
Ribot said:
When the hour for supreme decisions
strikes it will be for representatives of the
country to determine the conditions of peace.
We wish to bring about the triumph of
the rights of the peoples and the ideas of
justice and liberty. Do not let us be deceived
by formulae whose makers hide themselves
and who wish to spread the conviction that
we seek conquest. We ask only that what is
ours be returned to us. We demand that the
provinces which never ceased to be French be
restored to us.
The resolution which the Government asks
you to pass demands a reparation, which
none can contest, for appalling damages. The
universal conscience will ratify these preten-
sions.
Appealing to what has been said by the
President of the great Republic of the United
States, we wish to establish in stable fashion
justice and right for all nations, guarantees
for tomorrow, for our children against the
renaissance of barbarism. If we fall back
into our old differences the danger might be
great, but France united cannot be van-
quished.
I ask you in the name of the Government,
in the name of France, that your vote be
unanimous.
British and Italian Aims
The following note was forwarded on
June 11 by the British Government to
the Russian Provisional Government's re-
quest for a statement of war aims:
In the proclamation to the Russian people
inclosed with the note it is said that free
Russia does not purpose to dominate other
peoples or take from them their national
patrimony or forcibly occupy foreign terri-
tory. In this sentiment the British Govern-
ment heartily concur. They did not enter the
war as a war of conquest ; they are hot con-
tinuing it for such object. Their purpose at
WAR AIMS OF ALLIES RESTATED
51
the outset was to defend the existence of
their country and enforce respect for interna-
tional engagements. To those objects have
now been added that of liberating populations
oppressed by alien tyranny.
They heartily rejoice, therefore, that free
Russia has announced her intention of lib-
erating Poland, not only Poland ruled by the
old Russian autocracy but equally that within
the dominion of the -Germanic Empires. In
this enterprise the British democracy wish
Russia godspeed.
Beyond everything we must seek such set-
tlement as will secure the happiness and con-
tentment of peoples and take away all legiti-
mate causes of future war.
The British Government heartily join with
their Russian allies in their acceptance and
approval of the principles laid down by Presi-
dent Wilson in his historic message to the
American Congress. These are the aims for
which the British peoples are fighting. These
are the principles by which their war policy
is and will be guided.
The British Government believe that,
broadly speaking, the agreements they have
from time to time made with their allies are
conformable to these standards, but if the
Russian Government so desire they are quite
ready, with the allies, to examine and, if
need be, to revise these agreements.
An official communication, dated June
13, which was received in Washington
from the Italian Government read:
In Italian political circles it is felt that the
.attitude of the Allies toward Russia warrants
them in questioning the Russian Government
concerning intentions of Russia.
The message of President Wilson has so
thoroughly cleared the situation it is impossi-
ble honestly to connect the alleged democratic
views of the Russian Government with the
pacifist advances of the Central Powers.
The consent on the part of England, in the
name of all the Allies, to revise the conditions
of the alliance excludes every pretext whatso-
ever of the Russian extremists of evading the
duty to fight against Germany and Austria.
In view of these declarations of the Allies,
it is felt that the Russian Government cannot
further delay its decision in order to render
the pro-German tendencies of a part of the
Russian population vain.
Russia must free herself from the dangerous
position she is in now, especially for the sake
of Russian freedom.
This was supplemented by an unoffi-
cial statement made in Washington to
the effect that the Entente Powers had
carefully examined the situation and
reached these conclusions:
1. That the position occupied by Russia
affects the entire plans of the Allies, espe-
cially as regards military operations in the
near future contemplated by England,
France, and Italy.
2. That nothing Russia does can irreparably
damage the cause or the interests of the
Allies.
3. That Japan can be counted upon to pre-
vent Russia from forming an alliance with
Germany or with giving aid to the Central
Powers.
Allies' Position Unsatisfactory to Rus-
sian Socialists
The replies of the Allies to the request
for the war aims was not satisfactory to
the Russian Socialists. Their newspapers
acutely criticised the replies. The most
important and decisive comment was
printed June 15 in the Ivestia, the offi-
cial bulletin of the Council of Workmen's
and Soldiers' Delegates, in these words:
Mr. Wilson is mistaken if he thinks that
such ideas can find reception in the hearts of
a revolutionary people. The Russian revolu-
tionary democracy knows very well that the
road to the passionately awaited universal
peace lies only through a united struggle of
the laboring classes with the imperialists of
the world. It is quite easy to understand
what feelings will be called forth by the
strange pretense of describing the ever-grow-
ing spirit of brotherhood and peace in the in-
ternational Socialist, as also a German in-
trigue. The French and English notes will
undoubtedly not call forth enthusiasm among
the revolutionary democracy.
That these views represent the domi-
nating thought of the party in control in
Russia at the time was confirmed by the
following reply to a letter from the Exec-
utive Committee of the Workmen's and
Soldiers' Council addressed to it by
Albert Thomas, the French Minister of
Munitions; Arthur Henderson, British
Minister without portfolio, and Emile
Vandervelde, Belgian Minister of Muni-
tions, expressing surprise that a call had
been issued by the council for an inter-
national conference to consider peace be-
fore the negotiations between the Brit-
ish, French, and Belgian delegations and
the council had been concluded.
" The Russian revolution," says the
statement, " which is a revolt of the peo-
ple not only against the tyranny of Czar-
ism, but also against the horrors of the
world war, the blame for which falls
upon international imperialism, has
placed before all countries, with extraor-
dinary acutenes^, the urgent need of con-
cluding peace.
At the same time the Russian revolution
52
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
has indicated to the nations a way for realiz-
ing this problem, notably a union of all the
working classes to combat all attempts of
imperialism to prolong the war in the inter-
ests of the wealthy classes and to prevent
peace without annexations or indemnities.
The working classes of all countries can
easily come to a speedy solid agreement only
if they are inspired with their own interests
and remove the aspirations of imperialists
and militarists, who often hide their true
face under a seductive mask. It is evident
that the conference can become the turning
point in the terrible epoch of fratricidal war
only if the members of the conference are
imbued with these ideas. And it is no less
evident that all the questions you have raised
cannot be the subject of discord or a motive
for a continuation of the war.
Having recognized the right of nations to
dispose of their destiny, the members of the
conference will come to an understanding
without difficulty regarding the future of
Alsace-Lorraine and other regions. More-
over, the working classes, relieved of the
mutual distrust with which the imperialists
have envenomed them, will agree regarding
the means of granting compensation and the
amount of such compensation to the coun-
tries devastated by war, like Belgium, Po-
land, Galicia, and Serbia. But it goes with-
out saying that such compensation must
have nothing in common with the contribu-
tion which is imposed on the conquered coun-
try.
Regarding your statement that it is im-
possible for you to break the secret union—
this statement evidently is based on a mis-
understanding, for the Council of the Work-
men's and Soldiers' Delegates claims from
no party as a preliminary condition the re-
nunciation of the policy already pursued by
it. The council expects from the conference
of the Socialists of the belligerent and neu-
tral countries the creation of an Interna-
tionale, which will permit all the working
classes of the whole world to struggle in
concert for a general peace and break the
bonds which unite them by force to the Gov-
ernments and the classes imbued with im-
perialistic tendencies which prevent peace.
The Council of the Workmen's and Sol-
diers' Delegates also considers it futile for
parties to make it an absolute condition of
their taking part in the conference that the
preliminary consent of other parties shall be
obtained to any obligatory decision, for that
would give rise to irreconcilable contradic-
tions on questions an amicable discussion of
which might lead to a solution acceptable to
both parties.
Regarding your desire to obtain a previ-
ous complete agreement between the allied
Socialists, the way in which we put the prob-
lem renders futile any such understanding.
We consider that the conference can succeed
only if the Socialists consider themselves, not
the representatives of the two belligerent
parties, but the representatives of a single
movement of the working classes toward a
common aim of a general peace.
Teutonic Efforts for Peace
The Central Powers' efforts to bring
about a separate peace with Russia
failed, despite the fact that the peace
sentiment among the Russian people is
both intense and widespread. One of the
most daring peace moves made by Ger-
many was that disclosed by the Council
of Workmen's and Soldiers' Delegates on
June 9. The council's statement read:
The Commander in Chief of the German
armies on the Eastern front has sent to our
troops a wireless message proposing to indi-
cate to them a way toward an honorable
peace and a means for ceasing to wage war
without a rupture with the Allies. The Ger-
man General talks this way because he knows
that the Russian revolutionary troops would
reject with indignation any overt proposal for
a separate peace.
That is why the enemy Commander in Chief
invites our armies to a separate armistice and
proposes that we should enter into secret
pourparlers with the German military lead-
ers on the Eastern front. In his wireless tele-
gram the German General declares that a
separate armistice does not offer Germany
any advantage. But this is Untrue, for, in
speaking of the inactivity of the German
Army on the Russian front, the German Gen-
eral forgets what Russia cannot forget, nota-
bly the Russian defeat on the Stokhod. The
German General has forgotten that the Rus-
sian troops know whither the divisions and
heavy batteries are being taken from our
front. The German General has forgotten
that we in Russia hear the sound of the
bloody battles which are being fought on the
Franco-British front. He has forgotten that
Russia knows that the overthrow of her
allies would mean the overthrow of Russia
and the end of her political liberty.
Further light was thrown on the peace
manoeuvres of the Central Powers by the
following dispatch, dated June 7, from
Jassy, the temporary Rumanian capital,
to The London Daily Chronicle:
Following up their earlier attempts in this
region to seduce the Russian troops, the
enemy on the Russo-Rumanian front has now
sent delegates to demand an armistice pre-
paratory to the discussion of peace terms.
Over 100 delegates have arrived on the front
of the Russian Ninth Army under the protec-
tion of a white flag. They include several
officers — two of high rank, one being an Aus-
trian Prince.
The delegates bore letters from General
Roher, commanding the Austrian army group
facing the Ninth Army, and also from Ger-
man army commanders on the Rumanian
WAR AIMS OF ALLIES RESTATED
53
front, stating that the delegates are duly
accredited, and that they have been dis-
patched with the full consent of the Austrian
and German commanders. The peace envoys
stated that they had been selected by the
various Austrian divisions on the Rumanian
front. There are no Germans among them.
The delegates, blindfolded, were taken into
the Russian lines, where the regimental offi-
cers' and soldiers' committee claimed them,
maintaining that it was the soldiers' right,
under the new regime, to discuss and consider
the question of an armistice. Ultimately the
Russian soldiers' committee waived their
claim, and the delegates were sent to the
Ninth Army headquarters.
There the commander took a dignified atti-
tude. He stated simply that he was a soldier
and could therefore listen to no peace pro-
posals, and said it was a matter for the Rus-
sian Government. He also refused the dele-
gates' request that the Russians should ap-
point military delegates to arrange an armis-
tice preparatory to the formulation by the
Austrians of peace terms.
The Russian commander released two of the
higher officers, including the Austrian Prince,
and sent them back to the Austrian lines
bearing a letter in which it was announced
that he declined to entertain the request for
an armistice, saying that he had no authority
to negotiate, and adding that he intended to
treat the envoys as prisoners of war.
Another peace move was that initiated
by the German Catholic clergy. Accord-
ing to Mgr. Baudrillart, rector of the
Catholic Institute in Paris, there was
held at Olten on May 18 a meeting of
Swiss Catholics summoned by the Ger-
man Centre Deputy Erzberger, (Mathias
Erzberger, leader of the Clerical Centre
in the Reichstag.) The latter obtained
the assistance of Swiss Catholics with a
view to taking action with the Entente
bishops in favor of an early peace. A
professor of international law of Lau-
sanne was charged with the task of
sounding the French Catholics, and even
some of the French bishops. Others de-
clared themselves sure of obtaining the
support of certain Italian bishops.
On the other hand, the newly appointed
Governor General of Belgium, General
von Falkenhausen, in an interview pub-
lished in Berlin on June 5, took up the
position that it was no time to talk
peace.
The Kaiser, in a speech to the Bran-
denburg troops a couple of days later,
said:
The enemy is seeking a decision. We
await it calmly, placing our trust in God,
who heretofore has graciously protected and
aided us. Our enemy will be compelled to
sacrifice men until he is exhausted and lays
down his arms.
You must hasten his exhaustion. When
this is accomplished you will have -won for
the German people the position which they
are entitled to occupy. Peace will be dictated,
through you.
Russia's Perilous Transition Stage
The Paralysis of Military Operations
RUSSIA was the scene of dramatic
episodes during the month ended
June 20, 1917. At times the situ-
ation seemed so critical that all
except the most sanguine lost hope of
avoiding anarchy or civil war between
the radicals and conservatives. The first
comforting word came on May 26 in the
report that the All-Russian Council of
Peasant Deputies, which consisted of real
agricultural workers, With no politicians
or professional agitators as members,
had declared against a separate peace and
demanded the vigorous prosecution of the
war under a firm Government. Keren-
sky, Minister of War, the outstanding
figure of the revolution in the firmness,
consistency, and courage of his efforts
for law and order and for fidelity to the
Entente Allies, rose to the crisis; his elo-
quent patriotism aroused a popular re-
sponse and prevented the complete col-
lapse of the army and navy.
Complete economic collapse was threat-
ened at the beginning of June by the ex-
orbitant demands of labor. In many of
the factories the demands by the work-
men for increased wages were actually
greater than the entire profits of the fac-
tories under the best conditions of pro-
duction. The workmen, through their
committees, were in virtual command of
54
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
the factories, and all business had to be
submitted to them for approval. Wages
in a majority of the factories were in-
creased from 100 to 150 per- cent. But
there has yet been no offset by an ad-
vance in prices of the output.
In one of the works in Petrograd the
workmen demanded the immediate pay-
ment of 13,000,000 rubles — normally $6,-
500,000 — to cover an increase of 15 ko-
pecks per hour for each workman since
the beginning of the war. The Directors
of the organization immediately com-
municated with the Government and
asked to be placed under voluntary arrest
as protection against the threats of the
workmen, which, as usual, accompanied
the demand. The Directors were for
two days housed in the Ministry of Jus-
tice. The Government finally informed
the Directors that the matter would be
considered, and, with the demand of the
workmen held temporarily in abeyance,
the Directors returned to the factory.
An eight-hour day was everywhere es-
tablished. In eighteen metal establish-
ments in the Donets district, with a capi-
talization of 195,000,000 rubles and an-
nual profits of 75,000,000, the workmen
had demanded an increase of 240,000,000
rubles. The owners had agreed to 64,-
000,000, but the workmen refused to ac-
cept this. In some of the works the own-
ers decided to cede all the profits to the
workmen, but this did not meet their
exorbitant demands. The demands in
Southern Russian factories aggregate
800,000,000 rubles. In the Urals the in-
crease in wages demanded reaches 30,-
000,000 rubles, while the annual business
does not exceed 200,000,000.
Nerv Army Regulations
The disciplinary regulations of the
Russian Army, as promulgated May 27
by the new Government, constitute a
document of historic interest as betoken-
ing the attitude of advanced Socialists
toward a national army. They are en-
titled " A Decree Regarding the Funda-
mental Rights of Men in the Fighting
Services." The wording throughout is so
chosen as to include every one, from Gen-
erals and Admirals down to drummer
boys, in an absolute equality of rights.
The decree is a document of eighteen
paragraphs. The first three lay down
that all fighting services men shall enjoy
all the rights of free citizens, but must
regulate their conduct by the require-
ments of the service and of discipline.
They are to have the right to belong to
any political party and to speak, write,
or publish anything whatsoever on any
political, religious, social, or other sub-
jects, within the scope of the ordinary
laws. The fourth paragraph gives full
religious freedom; no man is compelled
to attend any forms of prayer anywhere.
The next two safeguard correspondence
and printed matter: "All printed matter,
periodical or otherwise, without any ex-
ception, must be delivered without hin-
drance to the addressees." The seventh
allows the uniform to be discarded ex-
cept when on actual service, with some
exceptions as to garrisons in the war
zone. The eighth paragraph runs: " The
relations between fighting services men
must be based, with strict regard for
military discipline, upon the sentiment
or dignity of citizens of free Russia and
upon mutual confidence, respect, arid
politeness." The next three paragraphs
abolish various details of service as
formerly practiced, such as fixed for-
mulas for replies to superiors, the use of
soldier servants, orderlies, &c. The
twelfth runs : " The compulsory salute,
whether for individuals or commands, is
abolished. For all fighting services men,
in its place, is instituted a voluntary mu-
tual greeting." Exception is made for
such cases as parades and ceremonial oc-
casions. The thirteenth gives freedom out-
side duty hours to quit barracks or ships
on merely announcing such an intention
to superiors.
The fourteenth says that no one can
be subjected to punishment without trial,
but in actual fighting conditions the
superior has the right, on his own per-
sonal responsibility, to take all meas-
ures, even to the use of armed force,
against such as do not fulfill his orders.
The next three paragraphs relate to
punishments, which must nowise offend
against the sense of honor or dignity.
A special note abolishes the form of pun-
ishment known as standing under arms.
The use of any form of punishment ex-
RUSSIA'S PERILOUS TRANSITION STAGE
55
cept such as is indicated in the code is
a criminal act, for which the offender
must be put on trial. No fighting serv-
ices men can in any circumstances be
subjected to physical punishment of any
kind. The last paragraph alone contains
some hint that commanding officers
exist to command. By paragraph eight-
een superiors have the right to make
appointments and temporarily remove
from appointments, and to issue orders
concerning fighting activity or the prep-
arations therefor, but all matters con-
cerning the internal economy of the regi-
ment or ship are in the hands of elec-
tive committees. These, by the regula-
tions already published, consist of men
and officers, the latter being limited to
one-fifth of the number of men elected
to a company or regimental committee.
Action of Soldiers* Delegates
On May 30 the Congress of Delegates
from the front voted the following reso-
lutions :
First, the army in the trenches declares
that it is indispensable to take every meas-
ure to put an end as quickly as possible to
the international carnage and conclude peace
•without annexation or indemnities, on the
basis of the right of all nations to dispose of
themselves, proclaiming- at the same time the
watchword, " Whoever wishes for peace must
prepare for war."
Second, the army, pointing out that the
Russian soldiers have been fighting hitherto
under conditions infinitely worse than those
of the Allies, that the Russian soldier has
had to march almost unprotected against the
enemy's bullets and break with bare hands
the barbed wire entanglements, which the
Allies and the enemy pass freely after artil-
lery preparation, declares that the Russian
front must be provided with munitions and
everything necessary to maintain the princi-
ple, " The more metal, the less gun fodder."
In conclusion the congress declared
that the army appealed to all to whom
free Russia is dear to rally around the
Council of Workmen's and Soldiers' Dele-
gates and the Provisional Government
and not to permit " adventurers to let the
army become manure for foreign fields."
The Cossacks in the Ural district held
a convention and passed a resolution to
give their unqualified support to the tem-
porary Government. They also issued an
appeal to all citizens of free Russia to
follow their example. Among the decla-
rations contained in the appeal were the
following :
" You must remember that the enemy
is watching our interior disorganization.
Away with fraternization and disorders!
We have only one front — our own and
that of our allies. The army must not
remain quiet, but must help the Allies by
advancing."
Seizure of Kronstadt Fortress
A most serious step was taken June 1,
when the Workmen's and Soldiers' Dele-
gates defied the Provisional Government
and decided to assume control of Kron-
stadt, the great fortress which defends
Petrograd. Two days later it was an-
nounced that the Provisional Government
had decided that firm measures must be
taken to compel the seceders to yield, and
two Cabinet Ministers were sent to Kron-
stadt.
A few days later it was announced that
the matter had been adjusted and that the
Provisional Government had re-estab-
lished its authority there. The climax
was reached in the crisis June 2, when a
parade of armed anarchists calling for
the Commune and war on capitalists
marched through the streets of Petrograd
carrying black banners inscribed : " Down
with Authority! " " Long Live the Social
Revolution and the Commune! " There
was no interference from the authorities.
This seemed the turning point of the
frenzy of unrest, for from that time the
news became more reassuring.
On June 5 it was announced that Gen-
eral Michael V. Alexeieff, Commander in
Chief of the Russian Armies, had re-
signed. General Brusiloff, Commander
in Chief of the Armies of the Southwest-
ern Front, was appointed to succeed him.
General Goutor replaced Brusiloff as
commander on the southwestern front.
General Alexeieff was appointed Com-
mander in Chief on April 15, soon after
the retirement of Grand Duke Nicholas
from that post. General Brusiloff a few
weeks previously resigned from his posi-
tion as Commander in Chief of the Armies
on the Southwestern Front, but withdrew
his resignation after a conference at Pe-
trograd.
56
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Peoples Call for Action
On June 8 the alliance of all Russian
commercial, industrial, and banking in-
stitutions held its first meeting. After a
discussion of the politcal situation and
speeches by the Belgian Minister to Rus-
sia and representatives of the French
Embassy it was unanimously resolved
to address to the Entente Allies a decla-
ration rejecting emphatically all possi-
bility of Russia concluding a separate
peace. The resolution also expressed con-
fidence in an approaching decisive vic-
tory over the Central Powers.
A resolution calling upon the army to
submit itself to discipline and defend
revolutionary Russia was adopted by the
Congress of Peasants in session on June
8, in these words:
The peasants aspire to an equitable peace
without humiliating annexation or indemnity
and with the right of each nation to dispose
of itself. International relations and treaties
should be submitted to the control of the peo-
ples interested. Disputes should be settled
by an international tribunal, and not by
force. The congress approves the union of
workers and appeals to the peasants of all
countries to force their Governments to re-
nounce annexations and indemnities.
The congress considers that it is its duty
energetically to defend. its country, recoiling
before no sacrifices in order to sustain the
fighting strength of the army and the
struggle for the safety of the patrimony of
the Russian people. The congress summons
the army to submit itself to discipline and
defend revolutionary Russia, of peasants,
and workers. It grants its benediction to this
war, and will not forget the blood which has
been shed.
Minister of War Kerensky ordered that
the resolution be read to all ranks of the
army and navy. Two hundred girl stu-
dents of the Petrograd Technical Insti-
tute entered their names on the rolls of a
female regiment which was raised by
Ensign Butchkareff. The aim is to start
to the front and to fight in all respects
under the same conditions as men. Scores
of girls and women, anxious to fight, ap-
peared at the offices of the League of
Equal Rights for Women, which has ex-
pressed its approval of Lieutenant Butch-
karefFsi plan.
The Constituent Assembly
On June 12 a council of sixty-one mem-
bers under the Presidency of Kokashkine,
a member of the Duma, met to prepare
for the Constituent Assembly. This As-
sembly will not only draft Russia's per-
manent Constitution, but will also solve
certain immediate problems, the chief of
which are the questions of nationalities
and the conditions of the transfer of the
lands of the nobles to the peasantry. In
this preparatory council sat a group of
constitutional specialists, also deputies
from the army and from all the political
parties, representatives of Jews, Ukrain-
ians, Poles, and other races, and also a
representative of the women, the famous
feminist, Mme. Shishkin Yavein.
The voting age was fixed at 20, with
secret, direct voting by both sexes, and 18
years for soldiers.
An important reform proclaimed June
12 is the introduction of the small unit
of local self-government, in which all
classes may participate equally. Here-
tofore the smallest of such units was
the district Zemstvo, which adminis-
tered a very large area, cantons and
communes having purely peasant ad-
ministrations. Henceforth the cantons
will be administered by representatives
of all classes voting equally.
These reforms, though they were pro-
claimed autocratically by the Provis-
ional Government, were enthusiastically
received, as they satisfy the historic na-
tional demands, which the former Gov-
ernment repeatedly promised, but never
fulfilled.
It was decided to allow the former
Emperor and members of the imperial
family the privilege of voting.
On June 14, as evidence of the grow-
ing confidence of the Government, a de-
cree was issued declaring all acts of mili-
tary disorder to be insubordination, in-
cluding refusal to fight and also incite-
ment to fight against the Government.
Such acts, says the decree, are punish-
able by long sentence to servitude in the
penitentiary and the deprivation of
rights to property and also the right to
receive land under the coming land re-
distribution.
General Denikine, former Chief of
Staff, was nominated to succeed Gen-
eral Gurko who had resigned his com-
mand of the armies on the western front.
RUSSIA'S PERILOUS TRANSITION STAGE
57
The conflict caused by Finland's claim
that the rights of the former Emperor
as Grand Duke of Finland did not pass
automatically to the Provisional Govern-
ment was satisfactorily settled by a new-
law which will be valid until Russo-Fin-
nish relations are permanently regu-
lated by the Constituent Assembly. The
right to decide all State transactions,
excepting affairs affecting Russian sub-
jects, and also the right to fill the date
for the opening and closing of the Fin-
nish Diet is conceded to the Finnish Sen-
ate. Finland also gets the right of legis-
lative initiative, the right to confirm the
budget, revoke administrative decrees,
summon the Ecclesiastical Council, and,
finally, the right to pardon offenders,
counted in almost all countries as a
sovereign prerogative. The law prac-
tically confers on Finland complete in-
ternal autonomy.
The American Mission in Russia
THE American Commission to Rus-
sia headed by Elihu Root, former
Secretary of State, reached Petro-
grad via Vladivostok on June 13. The
commission was cordially received and
housed in the former Winter Palace of
the Czar.
On June 15 the American Ambassador,
David R. Francis, presented the Root
mission to the Council of Ministers in
Marinsky Palace, explaining that the
members of the mission had come to Rus-
sia to discover how America could best
co-operate with its ally in forwarding the
fight against the common enemy. The
presentation was very informal. M. Ke-
rensky, the Minister of War, just back
from the front, wore the khaki blouse of
a common soldier.
Mr. Roofs First Address
The Ministers listened with rapt atten-
tion to Mr. Root's address, which was as
follows :
Mr. President and Members of the Council
of Ministers : The mission for which I have
the honor to speak is charged by the Gov-
ernment and people of the United States of
America with a message to the Government
and people of Russia. The mission comes
from a democratic republic. Its members are
commissioned and instructed by a. President
Who holds his high office as Chief Executive
of more than 100,000,000 free people by virtue
of popular election, in which more than 18,-
000,000 votes were freely cast, and fairly
counted pursuant to law, by universal, equal,
direct, and secret suffrage.
For 140 years our people have been strug-
gling with the hard problems of self-govern-
ment. With many shortcomings, many mis-
takes, many imperfections, we still have
maintained order and respect for law, indi-
vidual freedom, and national independence.
Under the security of our own laws we have
grown in strength and prosperity. But we
value our freedom more than wealth. We
love liberty, and we cherish above all our
possessions the ideals for which our fathers
fought and suffered and sacrificed that
America might be free.
We believe in the competence of the power
of democracy and in our heart of hearts
abides faith in the coming of a better world
in which the humble and oppressed of all
lands may be lifted up by freedom to a her-
itage of justice and equal opportunity.
The news of Russia's new-found freedom
brought to America universal satisfaction
and joy. From all the land sympathy and
hope went out to the new sister in the circle
of democracies. And the mission is sent to
express that feeling.
The American democracy sends to the de-
mocracy of Russia a greeting of sympathy,
friendship, brotherhood, godspeed. Distant
America knows little of the special conditions
of Russian life which must give form to the
Government and laws which you are about
to create. As we have developed our in-
stitutions to serve the needs of our national
character and life, so we assume that you
will develop your institutions to serve the
needs of Russian character and life.
As we look across the sea we distinguish
no party, no class. We see great Russia as
a whole, as one mighty, striving, aspiring
democracy. We know the self-control, essen-
tial kindliness, strong common sense, cour-
age, and noble idealism of the Russian char-
acter. We have faith in you all. We pray
for God's blessing upon you all. We believe
you will solve your problems, that you will
maintain your liberty, and that our two
great nations will march side by "side in the
triumphant progress of democracy until the
old order everywhere has passed away and
the world is free.
One fearful danger threatens the liberty of
both nations. The armed forces of a military
autocracy are at the gates of Russia and the
Allies. The triumph of German arms will
mean the death of liberty in Russia. No
enemy is at the gates of America, but Amer-
ica has come to realize that the triumph of
58
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
German arms means the death of liberty in
the world; that we who love liberty and
would keep it must fight for it, and fight for
it now when the free democracies of the
world may be strong in union, and not delay
until they may be beaten down separately in
succession.
So America sends another message to Rus-
sia—that we are going to fight, for your free-
dom equally with our own, and we ask you
to fight for our freedom equally with yours.
We would make your cause ours, and, with
a common purpose and mutual helpfulness of
a firm alliance, make sure of victory over
our common foe..
Mr. Root then added : " You will recog-
nize your own sentiments and purposes in
the words of President Wilson to the
American Congress, when on the 2d of
April last he advised a declaration of war
against Germany," and he quoted from
that address, closing as follows:
That partnership of honor in the great
struggle for human freedom the oldest of the
great democracies now seeks in ^fraternal
union with the youngest. Practical and specific
methods and the possibilities of our allies' co-
operation the members of the mission would
be glad to discuss with the members of the
Government of Russia.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, M.
Terestchenko, who rose from a sickbed to
attend the presentation, responded with-
out notes, expressing great joy in wel-
coming the commission from America.
He said that Russia's revolution was
based on the wonderful words uttered by
America in 1776. He read part of the
Declaration of Independence and ex-
claimed :
" Russia holds with the United States
that all men are created free and equal."
M. Terestchenko sketched the history
of the Russian revolution briefly, saying
that the Russians, enslaved for centuries,
threw off all the old order just as the
wind blows Autumn leaves from the
forest. Russia now faces two problems,
said the Minister, the necessity of creat-
ing a strong democratic force within its
boundaries and the fighting of an exter-
nal foe. Then he declared for war and
expressed unbounded confidence in the
power of Russia to meet the situation.
The text of President Wilson's note to
the Russian Government explaining the
aims of the Root Commission was made
public June 18, and is as follows :
The High Commission now on its way from
this country to Russia is sent primarily to
manifest to the Russian Government and
people the deep sympathetic feeling which
exists among all classes in America for the
adherence of Russia to the principle of
democracy, which has been the foundation
of the progress and prosperity of this coun-
try. The High Commissioners go to convey
the greetings of this Republic to the new and
powerful member which has joined the great
family of democratic nations.
The Commissioners who will bear this fra-
ternal message to the people of Russia have
been selected by the President with the spe-
cial purpose of giving representation to th&
various elements which make up the Amer-
ican people and to show that among them all
there is the same love of country and the
same devotion to liberty and justice and loy-
alty to constituted authority. The commis-
sion is not chosen from one political group,
but from the various groups into which the
American electorate is divided. United, they
represent the Republic. However much they
may differ on public questions, they are one
in support of democracy and in hostility to
the enemies of democracy throughout the
world.
The commission is prepared, if the Russian
Government desires, to confer upon the best
ways and means to bring- about effective co-
operation between the two Governments in
the prosecution of the war against the Ger-
man autocracy, which is today the gravest
menace to all democratic Governments. It
is the view of this Government that it has be-
come the solemn duty or those who love
democracy and individual liberty to render
harmless this autocratic Government, whose
ambition, aggression, and intrigue have been
disclosed in the present struggle. Whatever
the cost in life and treasure, the supreme
object should be and can be attained only by
the united strength of the democracies of the
world, and only then can come that per-
manent and universal peace which is the
hope of all people.
To the common cause of humanity, which
Russia has so courageously and unflinching-
ly supported for nearly three years, the
United States is pledged. To co-operate and
aid Russia in the accomplishment of the task,
which as a great democracy is more truly
hers today than ever before, is the desire of
the United States. To stand side by side,
shoulder to shoulder against autocracy, will
unite the American and Russian peoples in a
friendship for the ages.
With this spirit the High Commissioners of
the United States will present themselves in
the confident hope that the Russian Govern-
ment and people will realize how sincerely
the United States hopes for their welfare and
desires to share with them in their future
endeavors to bring victory to the cause of
democracy and human liberty.
Fruits of Diplomatic Missions
Closing Addresses of French and British Envoys,
and Summary of Their Work
MARSHAL J0FFRE and Vice
Premier Viviani, with the other
members of the French diplo-
matic mission to the United
States, sailed secretly from New York in
the night of May 15, and the world knew
nothing of their departure until their
safe arrival at Brest was announced on
May 23. They traveled on the same
French steamer that had brought them
over, and were convoyed by a French
warship. The State Department at
Washington issued a note of appreciation
to the press, which had imposed a volun-
tary censorship on itself, for having suc-
cessfully withheld every detail of news
that might have jeopardized the safety of
the visitors.
The series of eloquent speeches deliv-
ered in the United States by Rene Vivi-
ani, head of the French mission, was re-
corded at length in the June issue of
Current History Magazine, with the ex-
ception of the f fnal one in New York, de-
livered at the official dinner of the May-
or's committee at the Waldorf-Astoria.
Viviani s Waldorf Speech
After paying a graceful tribute to New
York and to the American people, M.
Viviani recalled again the deeds of Joffre
at the battle of the Marne, and con-
tinued :
Well, what did we make manifest to the
whole world? Two qualities: ' One which all
men knew who know the glorious traditions
of France throughout the ages — dash, in-
trepidity, valor, contempt of death ; but an-
other quality was denied us, that of en-
durance, that of patience, that of quiet cour-
age; the steady heart and unshaken nerves
under the storm of shot and shell. Now, in
two battles we combined both qualities as if
we would offer them up to the whole world
as a homage and a lesson. In August, 1914,
we showed what dash French troops pos-
sessed in spite of weariness, in spite of the
heat of an endless Summer, the exhaustion of
three weeks' incessant fighting. Suddenly,
miraculously, the whole French Army stood
at bay and turned upon its enemy.
And the man who commanded that army had
remained calm and impassive. Every evening
he telephoned to me, who was then Premier
of France, the result of the military opera-
tions; at this very moment I can hear his
voice come to me over the wires, quiet,
grave, unbroken by the slightest emotion.
And that voice spoke its unflinching confi-
dence in final victory in spite of all. And
when the hour had struck, the moment come,
the order was issued, was forwarded to the
armies, the Generals ; every officer read it
to his men : " My children, here we stand.
Halt and face the barbarians. Die to the
last man rather than retreat another step ! "
Such was French dash, French valor. It
counted for nothing in German eyes. But
the day came when the other virtue was
shown, that on which they relied yet less. One
day they dreamed Verdun could be taken, not
because it was in itself the greatest prize ; it
would have been no victory— but to drive into
France and impose peace— for our enemies
think they can let peace loose on the world
as they unchain war. And so German armies
were piled up on the French front. It was
impossible for us to advance against such
odds. Our Generals spoke : " Children, not
one step back; if you yield a yard, let every
yard have its bloody cost for your enemy."
And through the endless days and nights,
under shot and shell, under the avalanche of
shells that tore up the very earth, among
their falling comrades, led by their officers,
our men held fast, contesting every inch of
ground, fighting for months and months with-
out an instant's respite, checking the whole
weight of the German Army. And now when
we leave our land, when we say those two
names— the Marne and Verdun— we mingle
in one the two master virtues of our race-
valor and patience, courage and -endurance.
What yet remains to be done? For three
long years the English and the French, sword
in hand, have fought, .not for England alone,
not for France alone, but for humanity, for
right, for democracy. For three long years
the Russian soldiers in the northern snows,
victorious in southern Europe, have fought
for the same ideal ; for two years seductive,
virile Italy has scaled the Alps and shattered
with its hands the stony barrier that stifled
its liberty ; for' three years Serbia, murdered,
trampled under foot ruthlessly, has fought;
for three years heroic Belgium has main-
tained her honor against a perjured foe. For
three long years we have striven, face to face
with our enemy, tightened our grasp upon
her throat, held our own.
60
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
And now, when we are still strong and un-
dismayed, neither worn out nor doubting,
still full of force and resource, comes free
America to our side, radiant with its demo-
cratic ideals and ancient traditions, to fight
with us. She read in President Wilson's in-
comparable message which has gone to the
heart of every Frenchman the deep reasons
why she could not but enter into this war.
Yes ; doubtless you had your slaughtered dead
to avenge, to avenge the insults heaped on
your honor. Tou could not for one moment
conceive that the land of Lincoln, the land of
Washington, could bow humbly before the im-
perial eagle. But not for that did you rise ;
not for your national honor alone ; do not
say it was for that. You are fighting for the
whole world ; you are fighting for all liberty ;
you are fighting for civilization ; that is why
you have risen in battle. And just now Mr.
Choate said : " The English and French Mis-
sions are here to tell us what to avoid and
what to do."
And your Mayor expressed in an accurate
formula his generous conception of our rela-
tions when he said: "America is founded
on French idealism and English common
law." Nothing could be truer; it is all the
truth; I can add nothing to his words. But
I will tell you what you can do. You are
remote from our battlefields; no Zeppelins
can fly above your towns and scatter their
bombs over the cradles of your innocent
children; German ships are blocked in the
Kiel Canal; they cannot defile your waters;
at this distance you cannot hear the roar of
the cannon. But can you imagine that you
are not, in sooth, as close to us, in spite of
distance, as we are to you— that Germany
is not as near you as she is to us, that the
peril is remote! No. The menace of Ger-
many lies where Mr. Balfour so philosoph-
ically defined it. He told you that the men-
ace of Germany lies in her scientific organ-
ization, and I will attempt to interpret his
words in the spirit that prompted them. We
are all agreed Prussian militarism must be
crushed; so long as the world contains it
there is no safety in it for democracy. But
what is Prussian militarism? It was not
born yesterday; it was not born in 1914. It
is an ancient sore. It is the bestial and in-
human expression of a philosophy, the out-
come of a whole race so madly intoxicated
with conceit, that it imagines it is predes-
tined to dominate the world, and is amazed
to see free men dare to rise and contest its
rights. And if you had not risen against
it, it is not with artillery, not with shells, not
with submarines, not with Zeppelins, you
would have been attacked.
It is by the methods and spirit of Germany
gradually filtering into your brains, impreg-
nating invisibly your hearts, and little by
little violating your souls and consciences.
That was the hidden danger, the menace of
Germany. You realized the peril, and you
have risen to face it, to fight a menace not
to you alone, but to all civilization. Now
all we free men are one in will. The hour
for the liberation of all men has struck at
last. All have risen in arms in the good
flight, fought by us, by our children, to the
bitter end. And we will never falter till
victory crowns our aims. And when in far-
off days after this war history shall tell why
we fought, in days yet ringing with this strife,
long after the voice of the cannon is silent,
then impartial history shall speak. It will
say why all the peoples arose in battle, why
the free allied peoples fought. Not for con-
quest. They were not nations of prey. No
morbid ambitions lay festering in -their hearts
and consciences.
Why then did they fight? To repel the most
brutal and insidious of aggressions. They
fought for the respect of international treaties
trampled under foot by the brutal soldiery of
Germany, they fought to raise all the peoples
of the earth to free breath, to the ideal of
liberty for all, so that the world might be
habitable for free men— or to perish. And
history will add: "They did not perish. They
vanquished. They shattered the ponderous
sword that German militarism aimed against
the conscience and the heart of all free men."
And thus together we shall have won the
moral victory and a material one. It is that
dawn I greet, that hour of fate I bow my
head before. May the soul of Washington
inspire our souls ; may the great shade of
Lincoln rise from its shroud. We are all re-
solved to battle till the end for the deliver-
ance of humanity, the deliverance of democ-
racy. Rise then, brother citizens, and lift
your brows to the level of your flag!
Results of Conferences
Arthur J. Balfour, head of the British
mission, delivered his farewell address
before the National Press Club at Wash-
ington on May 24. The next day he and
the other Commissioners crossed into
Canada on their way home, after having
spent six fruitful weeks in the United
States, a longer period than any other
Foreign Secretary had been away from
London since the Napoleonic wars.
The situation in France depicted by M.
Viviani and Marshal Joffre is believed to
have been largely responsible for the
American Government's decision to send
at once an expeditionary force of about
25,000 men, a division of nine regiments
of railroad engineers, and six base hos-
pitals. The British visitors, having faced
the same problems that now confront
America in training large armies for for-
eign service, were able to clear away
many doubts in technical matters.
FRUITS OF DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS
61
The most important understandings
arrived at were in trade matters. In
general it was decided that the United
States should give the Allies preferen-
tial treatment in commerce. It was
agreed that all shipping, so far as pos-
sible, should be devoted to emergency-
transportation, with a view to defeating
the German submarine campaign. Brit-
ish trade experts have worked out accu-
rately the amount of ship tonnage need-
ed to continue the flow of life necessi-
ties to England and France, and the
Federal Shipping Board has a detailed
program for meeting that need, with a
priority schedule showing the order of
importance of the various commodities
and the minimum amounts necessary.
A definite understanding was reached to
cover both American and Canadian
wheat for sale to the Allied Wheat Exec-
utive Committee, and arrangements
were made for full Canadian co-opera-
tion through the proposed Food Ad-
ministration Bureau.
Munitions control and purchase were
similarly centralized through the Allied
Buying Committee, although without
price control. The Council of National
Defense charged itself with so increas-
ing manufacture as to provide for the
American war army without cutting off
exports vitally needed abroad.
It was agreed that the United States
would co-operate as far as possible in
maintaining the British blockade, and
would participate through Consuls in the
rationing of Holland and Scandinavia,
with a view to preventing American
products from reaching firms dealing
regularly with the enemy.
The shipping problem, in view of the
April ravages of submarines, was the
most urgent of all, and the American
shipbuilding program was speeded up as
a direct result of the British representa-
tions on this subject. One of England's
greatest shipping experts was sum-
moned across the seas to supply more
technical details than the mission pos-
sessed. Three members of the British
party were left in Washington to con-
tinue work on trade problems. Confer-
ences with General Goethals and Mr.
Denman of the Federal Shipping Board
helped to shape the plans of that body.
Many of the seized German ships were
turned over to the French, Italians, and
Russians upon the British statement
that England had enough tonnage for
herself and" was strained only to meet
the needs of her allies. The Shipping
Board, however, decided not to pool all
American shipping with the other allies
in the International Committee in Lon-
don, owing to the need of American im-
ports from outside the war zone. Means
for curtailing the wasteful use of ocean
tonnage, which were communicated by
the British envoys, have been embodied
in a bill on that and kindred subjects
now before Congress.
Balfour in Canada
The British mission remained in Can-
ada until the end of May. The most
striking address delivered there by Mr.
Balfour was the one before the two
houses of Parliament at Ottawa, in
which he declared that the British Em-
pire had " staked its last dollar on de-
mocracy," and continued:
I know the democraries of the Old "World
and the New will come out of this struggle,
not merely triumphant in the military sense,
but strengthened in their own inner life, more
firmly convinced that the path of freedom is
the only path to national greatness.
Foreign speculators about the British Em-
pire, before the war began, said to them-
selves that this loosely constructed State re-
sembled nothing that ever existed in history
before, that it was held together by no
coercive power, that the mother country could
not raise a Corporal's guard in Canada, Aus-
tralia, New Zealand, or wherever you will ;
that she could not raise a shilling by taxa-
tion.
She had no power except the power which
a certain class of politician never remem-
)ers — the moral power of affection, sentiment,
common aims, and common ideals. Even
those of us who believed the new experiment
of the British Empire was going to succeed
felt it was difficult that so vast an empire, so
loosely knit, should be animated by one
soul, or that the indirect thrill of common
necessity should go from end to end.
No greater miracle has ever happened in the
history of civilization than the way in which
the co-ordinated British democracies worked
together with a uniform spirit of self-sacrifice
in the cause in which they believed not merely
their own individual security but the safety
of the empire and the progress of civilization
and liberty itself were at stake.
The Italian Diplomatic Commission
THE Italian War Commission, headed
by the Prince of Udine, a cousin of
the King, was officially received by
President Wilson May 24. The members
included the following: Prince Udine,
eldest son of the Duke of Genoa; Senator
Guglielmo Marconi, the inventor of wire-
less telegraphy; Marquis Birsarelli,
Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs;
Enrico Arlotta, Minister of Maritime
and Railway Transportation, a leading
banker of Italy; General Gugliemetti,
Military Attache; Commander Vannu-
telli, representing the Italian Navy; Al-
vise Bragadini of the Transportation De-
partment; C, Pardo of the Department of
Industry and Commerce; Gaetano Pietra
of the Agricultural Department, and
Deputies Ciufelli and Nitti, former Min-
isters.
In his formal address to the President,
the Prince of Udine said:
I am proud, indeed, Mr. President, be-
longing as I do to a house which has never
conceived royal power otherwise than asso-
ciated with the most complete liberty of the
people, to have been chosen, together with
the gentlemen of this commission, to greet
you on behalf of my King and cousin.
You will read the message which the King
of Italy, a faithful interpreter of our coun-
try's thought, has addressed to you. Permit
me, however, to express the great sympathy
and deep admiration which I feel for this
great and noble country.
As an Italian, a sailor and a Prince, I con-
sider it a happy omen that I and my col-
leagues, who have been chosen by the Gov-
ernment from among the worthiest, should be
the symbols of the fulfillment of a sincere
aspiration of ours. I rejoice that Italy is now
united in a brotherhood of arms with the
American people and that it will always
in the future be united with them by common
ideals for the carrying out of the work of
liberty and of civilization.
The first conferences with the Amer-
ican Government were held May 28.
The problem of transporting coal to
Italy was the most important feature of
the discussions. Italy, it was said, need-
ed coal to assure the continued manufac-
ture of guns and ammunition and the
maintenance of war industries which had
been created since the outbreak of hos-
tilities with Germany. Italy, it was as-
serted at the conference, was not in ur-
gent need of foodstuffs, but did need
coal, iron, lumber, agricultural machin-
ery, locomotives, and railroad equipment.
If Italy could obtain coal in the United
States it was said that her problem of
making brick for use in the construction
of mountain dugouts and trenches would
be solved. She had heretofore imported
brick from the United States because she
could not afford to utilize her meagre
coal supply in their manufacture.
The American representatives were in-
formed that the industries of Italy had
grown during the war. Italy, it was said,
was at this time making her own guns,
and they had proved to be as effective
as those manufactured by the French
and Austrians.
Following the conference it was an-
nounced that an ample quantity of coal
and some other supplies had been assem-
bled at certain ports and were ready for
shipment whenever vessels could be ob-
tained.
Prince Udine to the Senate
The Prince of Udine and the Italian
mission were received on the floor of
the United States Senate May 31. In
his address to the Senate he said:
The message of your President, as our
sovereign has said, is worthy, by the nobility
of its conceptions and the dignity of its form,
to rank with the most inspiring pages in the
history of ancient and immortal Rome. It
was greeted with the enthusiasm of faith
when it made clear the objects of the war
and defined the aims of American action.
By proclaiming that right is more precious
than peace ; that autocratic Governments,
supported by the force of arms, are a
menace to civilization ; by affirming the
necessity of guaranteeing the safety of the
world's democracies ; by proclaiming the
right of small nations to live and to prosper,
America has now, through the action of her
President, acquired a title of merit which
history will never forget.
Italy entered into the war with aims
equal to those which you pursue. Her ter-
ritory had not been invaded, her insecure
boundaries had not been violated. Our peo-
ple understood that the sacrifice of free
nations was the prelude to their own sacri-
fice, and that we could not remain indiffer-
THE ITALIAN DIPLOMATIC COMMISSION
63
ent without denying the very reasons of our
existence.
Italy wants the safety of her boundaries
and her coasts, and she wants to secure her-
self against new aggressions. Italy wants to
deliver from long-standing martyrdom pop-
ulations of Italian race and language that
have been persecuted implacably, and are
nevertheless prouder than ever of their Ital-
ian nationality. But Italy has not been and
will never be an element of discord in Eu-
rope, and as she willed her own free na-
tional existence at the cost of any sacrifice,
so she will contribute with all her strength
to the free existence and development of
other nations.
By increasing the ruthlessness of subma-
rine warfare and thus rendering navigation
unsafe and dangerous, our enemies hope to
win the war by increasing misery and suf-
fering. They hope that our powerful ally,
Great Britain, will lack food; that France
will lack food and men, and that Italy will
lack especially food, and that which is more
important, coal for the war, for industries,
and for railways. The problem of shipping
is for all of us the greatest problem of the
war.
With our united efforts we shall van-
quish all these difficulties, and that which
the force of arms, secretly prepared and un-
expectedly employed, was not able to accom-
plish, will not be accomplished by disloyal
means on land and water. We shall triumph
over all these difficulties if we continue our
efforts in brotherly agreement, united by
the great duty which we now have volun-
tarily taken upon us for a cause which is
superior to all worldly interests, and which
partakes of an almost divine nobility.
The mission of which I have the honor to
be the head and in which there are represen-
tatives of the Senate of the kingdom, of the
Chamber of Deputies, and members of the
Government, desires to express through me
the liveliest sympathy to the representatives
of the American people.
The mission, was officially received by
the House of Representatives June 2
and the Prince delivered an address ex-
pressing1 warmest appreciation of Amer-
ica's entry into the war, which gave an
assurance of victory. An address was
also delivered by Senator Marconi.
The mission was hospitably enter-
tained in various cities.
Stale of Italian Finances
A resume of the Italian financial con-
dition before the United States entered
the war and granted a loan of $100,000,-
000 to the Government at Rome showed
that Italy had spent up to Dec. 31, 1916,
$2,783,075,040 for the War Department
and $156,198,335 for the Navy. For the
departments of Commerce, Agriculture,
Transportation, Colonies,. Interior, and
Treasury the expenditures amounted in
the same period to $3,200,000,000.
Comparing the future expenditures
and the income of the nation, it was
calculated that the income would be
about $80,000,000 larger than the expen-
ditures. This result was attained by
sound financing, together with the im-
position at that time of new taxes. The
total loans raised by Italy up to June 15,
1917, during the war is about $3,000,000,-
000, chiefly at 5 and 5% per cent.
Viterio Scialoia, a member of the Ital-
ian Chamber, in an address to the Amer-
ican people delivered at Rome June 7,
expressed the warmest appreciation of
the reception given the mission by the
American people, closing with these
words :
'"* The alliance between Italy and America
will lead to new and greater commercial rela-
tions, new sympathy in spirit and in common
political actions with a, view to realization
of conditions of liberty for the peoples who
still suffer from the violence imposed upon
heir nations by tyrannical Governments, such
as Austria, or from violent conquest, such as
the conquests of Germany. All this will be
a solid basis for the relations of the future,
which can never be shaken, as it is impossible
to see how even the slightest of differences
could arise.
The Facts Supporting President
Wilson's War Message
THE historic message of President
Wilson, delivered before Congress
on April 2, 1917, has been offi-
cially published by the Govern-
ment, with annotations giving the leading
facts on which the rupture with Ger-
many was developed, citing the issues in
international law, and contrasting the
spirit of Prussianism and Americanism.
This publication is to be distributed to
the schools throughout the country.
In a foreword it announced that the
editorial annotations are the work of
Professor William Stearns Davis of the
History Department of the University of
Minnesota, assisted by Professor C. D.
Allin and Dr. William Anderson. The
official sponsor for the publication adds :
The message is the best possible preparation
for all loyal Americans who are studying the
causes and justification for the present war,
and who are trying to discover the proper
mental attitude they themselves should take
toward the personal part which they may be
called to play in the struggle. * * * Mr.
Wilson contrasts the American and Prussian
political philosophy and methods of doing
things in a way that would become even more
convincing if he had been allowed time to
enter into specific details. Solemn official
promises made only to be broken, conspira-
cies to burn and blow up American indus-
tries, to hamper our manufactures and crip-
ple our Government by strikes and riots,
spies in every centre of political and indus-
trial activity, plans made on American soil
and financed by German funds to dynamite
canals, bridges, and munition factories in
Canada, invitations to Mexico in times of
peace to join with Germany in dismembering
our Union, have led people and President
alike to see submarine warfare as but a
more flagrant expression of a German State
policy running amuck in absolute disregard
of every sense of national and international
morals and decency and callous to the claims
of common humanity.
A military autocracy astride the ruins of
Europe and dominant on the seas by virtue
of an arm that both serves and reveals its
ambitions and irresponsibility has forced
America to accept its challenge. A new
Monroe Doctrine must be defended on the
pathways of the seas and in the fields of
Flanders if the Western World is to be pre-
served as the .citadel of a free-developing,
forward-looking democracy.
Current History Magazine, May,
1917, published the official text of the
President's war message. Professor Da-
vis's annotations are here reproduced,
with brief references to the sentences
commented upon. Thus the annotations
are here woven into a consecutive thesis,
elucidating and amplifying the war mes-
sage. In explaining the President's open-
ing reference to his choices of policy,
which he could not adopt constitutionally
without Congressional advice, the editors
remark:
There had been only two other periods in
the history of the country equally serious —
1770 and 1861. Nobody can pretend that there
have been any other crises in American his-
tory (barring the Revolution and the civil
war) when so much that citizens of this
country count dear has been at stake. The
War of 1812, the Mexican and Spanish wars
seem as child's play beside the present exi-
gency. Now, as this message makes clear,
the very liberties of the world and the possi-
bilities of peaceful democracies are at stake.
If Germany should win this war, and thus
become supreme on land and sea, the very
existence of free democracies would be im-
periled.
President Wilson had the sworn duty to
lay the facts before Congress and recom-
mend to it the needful action. The Con-
stitution of the United States prescribes his
duties in such emergencies.
It is worthy of note that the Constitution
lays this duty and power of declaring war
directly upon Congress, and that it can not
be evaded by Congressmen by any referen-
dum to the voters, for which not the slightest
constitutional provision is made.
Congress performed this duty by voting on
the war question as requested. The vote of
the Senate was 82 to 6 for war; of the
House 373 to 50. Such comparative unanimi-
ty upon so momentous a question is almost
unparalleled in the history of free nations.
Beginning of Ruthless Policy
The President's reference to the adop-
tion of unrestricted submarine warfare
by the German Government is comment-
ed upon as follows :
The German Chancellor in announcing this
repudiation of all his solemn pledges in the
Imperial Parliament, [Reichstag,] on Jan.
31, frankly admitted that this policy involved
" ruthlessness " toward neutrals. " When
FACTS SUPPORTING PRESIDENT WILSON'S WAR MESSAGE 65
the most ruthless methods are considered the
best calculated to lead us to victory and to a
swift victory * * * they must be em-
ployed. * * * The moment has now ar-
rived. Last August [when he was, as he
himself here admits, allowing the American
people to believe that in response to its pro-
test he had laid aside such ruthless methods]
the time was not yet ripe, but today the
moment has come when we can undertake
this enterprise."
And the promise of the German Gov-
ernment, withdrawn on Feb. 1, is re-
ferred to in these terms:
The broken Sussex pledge. On May 4, 1916,
the German Government, in reply to the pro-
test and warning of the United States fol-
lowing the sinking of the Sussex, gave this
promise: That " merchant vessels both with-
in and without the area declared a naval
war zone shall not be sunk without warning,
and without saving human lives, unless the
ship attempt to escape or offer resistance."
Germany added, indeed, that if Great Brit-
ain continued her blockade policy, she would
have to consider " a new situation."
On May 8, 1916, the United States replied
that it could not admit that the pledge of
Germany was " in the slightest degree con-
tingent upon the conduct of any other Gov-
ernment," (i. e., on any question of the
English blockade.) To this Germany made
no reply at all, and under general diplomatic
usage, when one nation makes a statement
to another, the latest statement of the case
stands as final unless there is a protest
made.
The promise made by Germany thus became
a binding pledge, and as such was torn up
with other " scraps of paper " by the Ger-
man " unlimited submarine warfare " note
of Jan. 31, 1917.
Regarding the President's references to
the " cruel anl unmanly business " of
sinking merchant ships, and the " certain
degree of restraint " observed at that
time, the editors cite these facts:
As to the proper usages in dealing with
merchant vessels in war, here are the rules
laid down some time ago for the American
Navy, (a fighting navy, surely,) and these
rules hardly differed in other navies, includ-
ing the Russian and Japanese :
United States Naval War Code, on treat-
ment of merchant vessels stopped or captured
by American men-of-war, (1900 ed., P. 48:)
" The personnel of a merchant vessel cap-
tured as a prize are entitled to their personal
effects.
" All passengers not in the service of the
enemy, and all women and children on board
such vessels, should be released and landed
at a convenient port at the first opportunity.
" All persons in the naval service of the
United States who pillage or maltreat in any
manner any person found on board a mer-
chant vessel captured as a prize shall be
severely punished."
United States Naval War College, " Inter-
national Law Topics," 1905, Page 6: "If a
seized neutral vessel cannot for any reason
be brought into court for adjudication it
should be dismissed."
United States Naval War Code, on safety
required for persons on a captured vessel,
(United States Naval War College, " Inter-
national Law Topics," 1913, Page 165:) " The
destruction of a vessel which has surrendered
without first removing its officers and crew
would be an act contrary to the sense of
right which prevails even between enemies in
time of war."
And also Lawrence, (standard authority on
international law,) " International Law,"
Page 406 : " It is better for a naval officer to
release a ship as to which he is doubtful than
to risk personal punishment and interna-
tional complications by destroying innocent
neutral property."
Sinking of Hospital Ships
The President's reference to the sink-
ing of hospital and relief ships was elab-
orated as follows :
Mr. Wilson was undoubtedly thinking of the
cases of the British hospital ships Asturias,
sunk March 20, and the Gloucester Castle.
These vessels had been sunk although pro-
tected by the most solemn possible of inter-
national compacts. The Germans seem to
have acknowledged the sinking of the Asturias
and to have regarded their feat with great
complacency. Somewhat earlier in the war
the great liner Britannic had been sunk while
in service as a hospital ship, and the evi-
dence seems to be it was torpedoed by a
U-boat, although the proof here is not con-
clusive. Since this message was written the
Germans have continued their policy of mur-
dering more wounded soldiers and their
nurses by sinking more hospital ships.
The Belgian relief ships referred to were
probably the Camilla, Trevier, and the
Feistein, but most particularly the large Nor-
wegian steamer Storstad, sunk with 10,000
tons of grain for the starving Belgians. Be-
sides these sinkings, two other relief ships —
the Tunisie and the Haelen — were attacked
unsuccessfully.
And to his words, " I was for a little
while unable to believe that such things
would in fact be done by any Government
that had hitherto subscribed to humane
practices of civilized nations," this note
was added:
No nation assuredly has made prouder
claims than Germany to a superior " kul-
tur," or made louder assertions of its desire
to vindicate " the freedom of the seas."
His sentence referring to the " wanton
and wholesale destruction of the lives of
66
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
noncombatants, men, women, and chil-
dren, engaged in pursuits which have al-
ways, even in the darkest periods of mod-
ern history, been deemed innocent and
legitimate," is elucidated in these words :
Mr. Wilson could have gone further back
than "modern history." Even in the most
troubled period of the Middle Ages there was
consistent effort to spare the lives of non-
belligerents. Thus in the eleventh century
not merely did the Church enjoin the " truce
of God " which ordered all warfare to cease
on four days of the week, but it especially
pronounced its curse upon those who out-
raged or injured not merely clergymen and
monks, but all classes of women. We also
have ordinances from this " dark period "
of history forbidding the interference with
Shepherds and their flocks, the damaging of
olive trees, or the carrying off or destruction
of farming implements. All this at a period
When feudal barons are alleged to have been
waging their wars with unusual ferocity.
Contrast also with the German usages this
American instance :
On May 12, 1898, Admiral Sampson with the
American fleet appeared before Santiago,
and conducted a reconnoissance in force
to see if Cervera's squadron was in the
port, but he did not " subject the city to a
regular bombardment " because that " would
have required due notice " for the removal
of the women, children, and the sick. He
did this notwithstanding the fact that a
sudden attack, well driven home, would prob-
ably have given him the city. In the attack
on the forts alone, which he actually made,
his ship Captains were carefully charged to
avoid hitting the Spanish Military Hospital.
(See H. Doc. No. 12, Fifty-fifth Congress,
Third Session, Page 368.)
No one certainly has ever accused the
American Navy of " hitting soft " or of being
unwilling to wage the most strenuous kind
of honorable warfare.
American Vessels Destroyed
President Wilson's brief reference to
the sinking of American ships calls for
this definite list:
American vessels sunk by submarines fol-
lowing German decree of ruthless submarine
policy, Jan. 31, 1917.
Following eight or more American vessels
which had been sunk or attacked earlier, in
most cases in contravention to international
law, these ships also had been sunk following
the repudiation of her pledges by Germany :
Feb. 3, 1917, Housatonic.
Feb. 13, 1917, Lyman M. Law.
March 16, 1917, Vigilancia-.
March 17, 1917, City of Memphis.
March 17, 1917, Illinois.
March 21, 1917, Healdton, (claimed to have
been sunk off Dutch coast, and far from the
so-called " prohibited zone.")
April 1, 1917, Aztec.
March 2, 1917, Algonquin.
Furthermore, no American should forget
the sinking of the William P. Frye on Jan.
28„1915, by a German raider. This act under
normal circumstances would be a casus belli.
The raider, the Prinz Eitel Friedrich, then
impudently took refuge in an American port.
And the American lives lost in such
sinkings are summarized as follows:
American lives lost on the ocean during the
war. (See Cong. Rec, 65th Cong., 1st sess.,
p. 1,006.)
American lives have been lost during the
sinking of at least twenty vessels, whereof
four were American, one Dutch, and one Nor-
wegian. In one or two cases the vessel tried
to escape and made resistancs, and the loss
of life was possibly excusable for the Ger-
mans. In the bulk of the cases the destruc-
tion was without fair warning and without
reasonable effort to give the passengers and
crew chance to escape.
Among the more flagrant cases were :
May 7, 1915, Lusitania, 114 Americans lost.
Aug. 19, 1915, Arabia, 3 Americans lost.
Sept. 4, 1915, Hesperian, 1 American lost.
Oct. 28, 1916, Marina, 8 Americans lost.
Dec. 14, 1916, Russian, 17 Americans lost.
Feb. 26, 1917, Laconia, 8 Americans lost.
March 16, 1917, Vigilancia, 5 Americans
lost, (United States.)
March 21, 1917, Healdton, 7 Americans lost,
(United States.)
April 1, 1917, Aztec, 28 Americans lost,
(United States.)
Some on Aztec probably not American citi-
zens, although she was a regular American
ship.
In all, up to declaration of war by us, 226
American citizens, many of them women and
children, had lost their lives by the action
of German submarines, and in most instances
without the faintest color of international
right.
Losses of Other Neutrals
The President's reference to the de-
struction of " ships and people of other
neutral and friendly nations " is supple-
mented with these facts:
The Norwegian Legation at London has an-
nounced that during February and March,
1917, 105 Norwegian vessels of over 228,000
tons have been sunk, and 106 persons thereon
killed, and 222 are missing.
On Feb. 22, 1917, seven Dutch vessels which
left an English port on promise of " relative
security " from the Berlin authorities, were
all attacked by German U-boats and six of
them were sunk. Germany has admitted that
Its boats did the deed, and has expressed
M regrets " to Holland, although adding
blandly " the incident proves how dangerous
it is to navigate the prohibited zone, and
gives expression to our wish that neutral
FACTS SUPPORTING PRESIDENT WILSON'S WAR MESSAGE 67
navigators remain in their ports." As a re-
sult of this policy of terrorism, the ships of
Holland have been practically driven off the
seas. Many of them have taken refuge in the
harbors of the United States.
Spaniards have been exasperated by the de-
struction of their vessels, the most recent in-
stance being that of a Spanish ship, with a
Spanish cargo, sunk in Spanish waters.
Swedish oversea commerce is practically
ruined by the fear. of their owners at the in-
discriminate ruthlessness of the submarine.
The United States Government made an of-
ficial estimate that by April 1, 1917, no less
than 668 neutral vessels had been sunk by
German submarines since the beginning of
the war. This did not include any American
vessels. (New York Times History of the
War, May, 1917, pp. 241 and 244.)
" The challenge is to all mankind.
Each nation must decide for itself how it
will meet it." To these words of the
President's war message Professor
Stearns adds this summary of what other
nations have done:
Practically all the civilized neutral countries
of the earth have protested at the German
policy. Some, like Brazil, China, Bolivia, and
Guatemala, have broken diplomatic relations
with Germany.
The neutral States of Europe, fearful of be-
ing caught in the horrors of the great war,
have protested just as far as they have
dared. Holland and Denmark may, of course,
at any time see a German army over their
borders. Norway and Sweden are hardly in
a safe position, but they have made their ve-
hement protest at the German outrages.
Spain, which had exercised a forbearance
similar to that of the United States, has
finally, after futile protests, been obliged
(May 18, 1917) to send Germany a note in the
nature of an ultimatum, demanding repara-
tion for the past and guarantees for the
future.
The statement that the motive of the
United States in going to war would be
" only the vindication of right " is eluci-
dated thus:
Submarines are such exceptional instru-
ments of warfare that it is held by authori-
ties on international law that they ought
never to submerge in neutral waters, other-
wise it is impossible for a neutral to control
them and be responsible for them as with or-
dinary visiting warships.
Says Professor Theodore S. Woolsey of
Yale, a very high authority :
" I think there can be no doubt that the
U-boat is to be regarded as a surface cruiser
with no additional rights and privileges and
with the same duties and liabilities. Hence
in neutral waters it should not submerge.
Submergence imperils neutrality, by making
the performance of neutral duties more ardu-
ous and the evasion of neutral rights easier."
(American Journal of International Law,
January, 1917, p. 139.)
Arming Merchant Vessels
Concerning armed neutrality and its
present impracticability in defending our
right to use the seas without suffering
" unlawful violence," this comment is
offered :
In 1798, on account of the attacks on our
commerce by French cruisers and privateers,
Congress empowered President John Adams
to arm merchant vessels, to let them defend
themselves, and to let our warships attack
the offending French vessels.
There were several really serious naval
battles, (especially when the U. S. S. Con-
stellation took the French frigate L'lnsur-
gente, 1799,) and international experts are of
the opinion that very probably an actual
state of war existed. In any case the coun-
try was headed straight into war, and prepa-
rations were being made to raise a strong
army with Washington again as commander,
with Alexander Hamilton under him, while
an alliance was being discussed with Eng-
land. Then at the last moment Napoleon,
who had just come to power, had the wisdom
to offer terms President Adamstcould accept.
The German Imperial Government had no
such wisdom or restraint.
" The German Government," said the
President, " denies the right of neutrals
to use arms at all within the areas of the
sea which it has proscribed even in the
defense of rights which no modern pub-
licist has ever before questioned their
right to defend."
Editor's annotation:
Before the outbreak of the war the follow-
ing were the standing orders in the German
Navy for dealing with even enemy merchant
vessels, and if that was the case how much
more consideration should be given to neu-
trals. The new German orders are a brazen
contradiction of their own previous precepts.
(German Prize Code, p. 75.)
General orders of German Admiralty staff,
Berlin, June 22, 1914. (Note date.)
" If an armed merchant vessel of the enemy
offers armed resistance, such resistance may
be overcome with all means possible. The
crew are to be taken prisoners of war. The
passengers are to "be left to go free unless it
appears that they participated in the resist-
ance." (German Prize Code, p. 68, par. 116.)
" Before proceeding to the destruction of
the (neutral) vessel (which has been seized
for proper reason) the safety of all persons
on board, and, so far as possible, their ef-
fects, is to be provided for."
Dr. Wehberg, (great German authority on
International law, quoted in American Jour-
nal of Int. Law, Oct., 1916, p. 871.)
68
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
" The enemy merchant ship has the right of
defense against enemy attack, and this right
it can exercise against * visit,' (i. e., being
stopped and investigated,) for this indeed is
the first act of capture. The attacked mer-
chant ship can indeed itself seize the over-
powered warship as a prize."
And still again —
In Oxford, 1913, at a meeting of the Insti-
tute of International Law, at which the rep-
resentatives of Germany, as well as of all
other great nations, were present, it was de-
cided as a firm principle :
** Private vessels may not commit acts of
hostility against the enemy; they may, how-
ever, defend themselves against the attack of
any enemy vessel." (American Journal of In-
ternational Law, vol. 10, 1916, p. 868.)
The President's words, " we will not
choose the path of submission and suffer
the most sacred rights of our nation and
our people to be ignored or violated," are
supported with these citations:
Right of American citizens to protection in
their doings abroad and on the seas no less
than at home. Decided by Supreme Court of
United States. (Slaughter House Cases, 16
Wall., 36.)
" Every citizen has the right to demand the
care and protection of the United States when
on the high seas or within the jurisdiction of
a foreign Government."
See Cooley's " Principles of Constitutional
Law," third edition, page 273, (standard au-
thority. )
Obviously a Government which can not or
will not protect its citizens against a policy
of lawless murder is unworthy of respect
abroad or obedience at home. The protection
of the lives of the innocent and law-abiding
is clearly the very first duty of a civilized
State.
Declaration of War
In regard to the President's advice that
Congress pronounce Germany's action to
be " nothing less than war against the
Government and people of the United
States," the editors remark:
Wars do not have to be declared in order to
exist. The mere commission of warlike or
unfriendly acts commences them. Thus the
first serious clash in the Mexican war took
place April 24, 1846. Congress ** recognized "
the state of war only on May 11 of that year.
Already General Taylor had fought two seri-
ous battles at Palo Alto and Resaca de la
Palma.
Many other like cases could be cited; the
most recent was the outbreak of the war
between Japan and Russia. In 1904 the Jap-
anese attacked the Russian fleet before Port
Arthur, and only several days after this
battle was war " recognized."
If the acts of Germany were unfriendly, war
in the strictest sense existed when the Presi-
dent addressed Congress.
With reference to "the granting of
adequate credits " :
Bills passed by Congress, with dates on
which they were presented to President :
April 5, S. J. Res. 1— Declaration of war.
April 17, H. R. 12— Deficiency Appropriation
bill for the year ending June, 1917.
April 23, H. R. 2,762— Bond Issue bill.
April 23, H. R. 2,339— Increasing number of
midshipmen at Annapolis.
April 23, H. R. 2,008— Extending minority
enlistments in the navy.
April 23, H. R. 2,338— Authorizing additional
officers for Hydrographic Office.
April 23, H. R. 2,300— Increasing age limit
for officers in Naval Reserve.
April 23, H. R. 1,771— Amending Naval Ap-
propriations act for the year ending June,
1917.
May 5, H. R. 2,893— Permitting foreign Gov-
ernments to enlist their nationals residing in
the United States.
May 10, S. J. Res. 42— Authorizing seizure of
interned German ships.
May 11, H. R. 13— Army Appropriation bill
for the yCar ending June, 1918.
May 15, H. R. 2,337— Enrollments of aliens
in the Naval Reserve.
May 16, H. R. 3,330— Increasing Navy and
Marine Corps to 150,000 men.
May 18, S. 1,871— Conscription bill.
Bills in conference on May 17 :
April 16, H. R. 11— Sundry Civil Appropria-
tions for the year ending June, 1918.
April 16, H. R. 10— Military Academy Ap-
propriations for the year ending June, 1918.
May 15, S. 2— Espionage bill.
Bills awaiting action of one house :
S. 383— Passed Senate April 9, punishing the
destruction of war material.
H. R. 328— Passed House May 9, car short-
age.
H. R. 3,971— Passed House May 2, Special
War Appropriation bill.
The President said of the Entente Al-
lies: "They are in the field, and we
should help them in every way to be ef-
fective there." The editors make this
comment :
To any one who will reflect upon the sub-
ject, it will soon appear to be preposterous
folly to suggest that we " go it alone "
against Germany, and to fail to give all pos-
sible aid to her original enemies. Obviously
unless we send munitions, troops, submarine
chasers, &c, to France, England, and possi-
bly Russia, since the German high sea fleet
does not at present come out, the war for us
will mean little more than calling names
across the Atlantic — until the European war
is ended, and then if Germany has a pound
of strength left (and very possibly she might
be victorious) she can vent on us all her hate
and fury, and exact from us the indemnities
FACTS SUPPORTING PRESIDENT WILSON'S WAR MESSAGE 69
she can not wring from a bankrupt Europe.
So obvious is the military necessity of giv-
ing every possible help to the present enemies
of Germany that those who try to thwart
this are almost open to the very grave crimi-
nal charge of giving aid and comfort to the
enemies of the United States.
Regarding the Presidents reference to
his previous utterances :
On Jan. 22 Mr. Wilson spoke In favor of a
league to secure peace. On Feb. 3 he an-
nounced he had broken diplomatic relations
with Germany, but expressed the earnest
hope that issues would not proceed to a clash
of arms. On Feb. 26 he asked for " armed
neutrality," but still avoided an actual state
of war.
Menace of Autocracy
The reference to the menace of " auto-
cratic Governments, backed by organized
force which is controlled wholly by their
will, not by the will of their people," calls
forth the following:
Contrast these two standards : Bethmann
Hollweg addressing the Reichstag, Aug. 4,
1914:
" We are now in a state of necessity, and
necessity knows no law. Our troops have
occupied (neutral) Luxemburg and perhaps
already have entered Belgian territory. Gen-
tlemen, this is a breach of international law.
The wrong— I speak openly— the wrong we
hereby commit we will try to make good as
soon as our military aims have been at-
tained.
" He who is menaced as we are, and is
fighting for his highest possession, can only
consider how he is to hack his way through."
Or Frederick the Great again, the arch
prophet of Prussianism, speaking in 1740 and
giving the keynote to all his successors :
" The question of right is an affair of Minis-
ters. * * * It is time to consider it in
secret, for the orders to my troops have been
given," and still again : " Take what you
can ; you are never wrong unless you are
obliged to give back." ("Perkins, France Un-
der Louis XV.," vol. 1, pp. 169-170.)
Against this set the words of the first
President of the young American Republic,
speaking at a time when the nation was so
weak that surely any kind of shifts could
have been justified on the score of necessity.
Said George Washington in his first in-
augural address, (1789 :) " The foundations
of our national policy will be laid in the pure
and immutable principles of private morality.
There exists in the course of nature an indis-
soluble union between virtue and happiness,
between duty and advantage, between honest
policy and public felicity " [and] " the pro-
pitious smiles of Heaven can never be ex-
pected on a union [or government] that dis-
regards the eternal rules of order and right,
which Heaven itself has ordained."
The present war is for a large part being
waged to settle whether the American or the
Prussian standard of morality is valid.
The phrase applying the same stand-
ards of conduct to Governments as to in-
dividuals calls forth a brief statement of
the nature of the evil in Germany:
The autocratic spirit of the German Empe-
ror is clearly revealed in his own utterances,
(cf. p. 11.) The Imperial Government is in
form a Government by the Emperor and the
Imperial Diet. The dominant factor in the
latter is the Federal Council, (Bundesrat,)
appointed by the Kings and Princes. Here,
as King of Prussia, William, II. can make or
break any policy. Prussia is the controlling
factor, political, economic, and military, in
modern Germany. In area it constitutes two-
thirds of Germany, and five-eighths of its
population and two-thirds of the members of
the lower house of the German Congress are
Prussians. Within Prussia there is little
limit on the power of William II. In a Con-
stitution which his great uncle " decreed " in
1850 the rights of the King and of the Jun-
kers (the feudal military nobles east of the
Elbe) are carefully guarded.
The Constitution of Prussia has remained
practically unchanged and the electoral dis-
tricts and three-class voting system of nearly
seventy years ago still exist. Liberal indus-
trial and socialistic elements in the great mod-
ern cities and manufacturing areas are with-
out adequate representation in the Prussian
Diet, and the old country districts are practi-
cally " rotten boroughs," where the peasant
who votes by voice, not written ballot, is at
the mercy of his feudal noble landlord. It is
the latter who back the throne and its auto-
cratic power so long as the policy suits their
narrow provincial militaristic views formed
in the days of Frederick the Great and his
despotic father and revived and glorified by
Bismarck.
A ttitude of German People
It was not upon the impulse of the
German people that the Kaiser's Govern-
ment acted in precipitating the war. The
editors of the war message cite the fol-
lowing evidence:
When the crisis was precipitated late in
July, 1914, there was a strong peace party in
Germany, and earnest protests were made
against letting Austrian aggression against
Serbia start a world conflagration. In Berlin
on July 29, twenty-eight mass meetings were
held to denounce the proposed war, and one
of them is said to have been attended by 70,000
men. The Vor warts (the great organ of the
Socialists) declared on that day, " the indica-
tions proved beyond a doubt that the cama-
rilla of war lords is working with absolutely
unscrupulous means to carry out their fearful
designs to precipitate an international war
and to start a worldwide fire to devastate
70
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Europe." On the 31st this same paper as-
serted that the policy of the German Govern-
ment was " utterly without conscience.'' Then
came the declaration of " war emergency,"
(Kriegsgefahr,) mobilization, martial law,
and any expression of public opinion was
stilled in Germany.
The German people had not the slightest
share in shaping the events which led up to
the declaration of war. The German Empe-
ror is clothed by the imperial Constitution
with practically autocratic power in all mat-
ters of foreign policy. The Reichstag has not
even a consultative voice in such matters.
The German Constitution (Art. 11) gives to
the Emperor specific power to " declare war,
conclude peace, and enter into alliances."
The provision that only defensive wars may
be declared by the Emperor alone puts the
power in his hands to declare this and any
other war without consulting any but the
military group, for no power in modern
times has ever admitted that it waged ag-
gressive warfare. William II. declared this
War without taking his people into the slight-
est confidence until the final deed was done.
The whole tendency of responsible German
statesmen has been to ignore the people in
foreign affairs. The retired Chancellor,-
Prince von Biilow, defended this policy blunt-
ly on the ground that the Germans were not
capable of self-government, saying, " We are
not a political people."
As for William II., speeches without num-
ber can be cited to show his sense of his own
autocratic authority— e. g., speaking at Ko-
nigsberg, in 1910—" Looking upon myself as
the instrument of the Lord, regardless of the
views and the opinions of the hour, I go on
my way." And another time: " There is but
one master in this country ; it is I, and I will
bear no other." He has also been very fond
of transforming an old Latin adage, making
it read, " The will of the King is the highest
law."
Other Wars of Aggression
" It was a war determined upon as
wars used to be determined upon in the
old unhappy days," continued the Presi-
dent, " when peoples were nowhere con-
sulted by their rulers and wars were pro-
voked and waged in the interest of dy-
nasties or of little groups of ambitious
men who were accustomed to use their
fellow-men as pawns and tools." The edi-
tors add:
President Wilson probably had in mind
such wars as those of Louis XIV., waged by
that King almost solely for his own glory
and interest and with extremely little heed
to the small benefit and great suffering they
brought to France. The War of the Spanish
Succession (begun in 1701) was particularly
such a war. History, of course, contains a
great many others begun from no worthier
motive, including several conducted by Prus-
sia and earlier by Philip II. of Spain.
There is abundant evidence that the situa-
tion in Europe in July, 1914, was regarded by
the German "jingo" party — von Tirpitz,
Bernhardi, et al. — as peculiarly favorable.
Russia was busy re-arming her army, and her
railway system had not yet been properly
developed for strategic purposes. France was
vexed with labor troubles, a murder trial
was heaping scandal upon one of her most
famous statesmen, and her army was re-
ported by her own statemen as sadly un-
ready. England seemed on the point of be-
ing plunged into a civil war by the revolt of
a large fraction of Ireland.
Such a convenient crippling of all the three
great rivals of Germany might never come
again. The murder of the Archduke of
Austria at Serajevo came, therefore, as a
most convenient occasion for a stroke which
would either result in great increase of Teu-
tonic prestige or enable Germany to fight
with every possible advantage.
There is official Italian evidence that Ser-
bia would have been attacked by the Teutonic
powers in August, 1913, if Italy had con-
sented to help the scheme. Her refusal made
the Austro-German war lords wait until July,
1914, when they felt the situation favorable
enough to be' able to strike without waiting
for the aid of Italy. (Signor Giolitti, in
Italian Parliament, Dec. 5, 1914.)
Ems Incident Recalled
In confirmation of the statement that
" a steadfast concert for peace can never
be maintained except by a partnership of
democratic nations," the method used by
Germany to provoke the war of 1870 is
cited :
The willingness of Prussian rulers to pre-
cipitate war and to throw aside ordinary con-
siderations for peace is best illustrated, of
course, by the famous " Ems incident " of
1870.
At that time Bismarck had decided that the
quickest way to promote German unity and
serve his political schemes was to precipi-
tate a war with France. The inflamed state
of public opinion in France against Prussia
made the task easy for him. On July 13,
1870, he received a telegram from King Will-
iam I., telling of an interview he had had
with the French Ambassador about a very
ticklish matter, and leaving it to Bismarck
to decide what facts it was wise to give to
the press.
Bismarck, after consulting von Moltke as to
the state of the army, deliberately cut down
and sharpened the wording of the telegram,
very moderately phrased, from the King so
as to make it appear that a deliberate insult
had been offered the French Ambassador,
and then gave out this text of the dispatch
for publication. This so enraged Paris public
opinion, that war was immediately declared.
FACTS SUPPORTING PRESIDENT WILSON'S WAR MESSAGE 71
Bismarck took great pride in this stroke,
and the facts are related in all the standard
German histories, as well as many others
which copy them. .
Bismarck always regarded the manner in
which he precipitated this war as a master-
piece of statecraft. It remained a kind of
glorious example of true public policy for the
next generation of public men in Germany.
(See the account by Bismarck himself in his
memoirs translated as Bismarck: The Man
and the Statesman.)
Germany at The Hague
" Only free people can hold their pur-
pose and their honor steady to a common
end, and prefer the interests of mankind
to any narrow interest of their own."
The great humanitarian aims of The Hague
peace conferences of 1899 and 1907 were the
limitation of armaments and the compulsory
arbitration of international disputes. Una-
nimity among the world powers was essential
to the success of both. None dared disarm
unless all would do so. The great democra-
cies, Great Britain, France, and the United
States, favored both propositions, but Ger-
many, leading the opposition, prevented their
adoption. She agreed with reluctance to a
convention for optional arbitration, but re-
fused at the second conference even to discuss
disarmament. (See Scott, James Brown,
" The Hague Peace Conferences of 1899 and
1907," I., index, " Armaments " and " Arbi-
tration.")
The President's statement that the
Russian autocracy, now fallen, was not
Russian in origin, character, or purpose,
is confirmed with these facts:
The whole autocratic regime has been im-
posed on a people whose instincts and institu-
tions are fundamentally democratic. The de-
posed Romanoff dynasty began in an election
among the nobles. Peter the Great and the
more despotic of his successors created large-
ly by imitation and adaptation of German
bureaucracy the machinery with which they
ruled. Underneath this un-Russian -machin-
ery of despotism Russian communal and local
life has preserved itself with wonderful vital-
ity.
During the Russian revolution of 1905-1906
it was perfectly evident that the German
Government was doing its uttermost to help
the Czar and the old regime. The passage of
revolutionary exiles into Germany was con-
stantly hindered ; many were arrested by the
Prussian police, and all who succeeded in en-
tering Germany were kept under constant es-
pionage.
The Czar and the Kaiser were hand in glove
to a large extent before the war broke out.
The German White Paper, which was pub-
lished at the outbreak of the war, containing
telegrams which passed personally between
Nicholas II. and Wilhelm II., gives repeated
appeals from one to the other as representa-
tives of a common interest.
Intrigues in United States
The reference to the Prussian autoc-
racy's spies and intrigues in the United
States is thus elaborated:
Besides undoubtedly many matters which
from reasons of public policy the Government
has still kept hidden, the House of Represen-
tatives Committee on Foreign Affairs when it
presented the war resolution following the
President's message, went on formal record
as listing at least twenty-one crimes or un-
friendly acts committed upon our soil with
the connivance of the German Government
since the European war began. Among these
were :
Inciting Hindus within the United States to
stir up revolts in India, and supplying them
with funds for that end, contrary to our neu-
trality laws.
Running a fraudulent passport office for
German reservists. This was supervised by
Captain von Papen of the German Embassy.
Sending German agents to England to act
as spies, equipped with American passports.
Outfitting steamers to supply German raid-
ers, and sending them out of American ports
in defiance of our laws.
Sending an agent from the United States to
try to blow up the International Bridge at
Vanceboro, Me.
Furnishing funds to agents to blow up fac-
tories in Canada.
Five different conspiracies, some partly suc-
cessful, to manufacture and place bombs on
ships leaving United States ports. For these
crimes a number of persons have been con-
victed, also Consul General Bopp of San
Francisco (a very high German official ac-
credited to the United States Government)
has been convicted of plotting to cause
bridges and tunnels to be destroyed in Can-'
ada.
Financing newspapers in this country to
conduct a propaganda serviceable to the ends
of the German Government.
Stirring up anti-American sentiment in
Mexico and disorders generally in that coun-
try, to make it impossible for the United
States to mix in European affairs.
[N. B.— This last, from a humanitarian
standpoint, seems peculiarly outrageous. Ger-
many had not the slightest grievance against
the helpless Mexicans. To incite them to re-
volt against their own Government and to
make war on the United States simply in-
volved their misery and probable destruction,
in return for a very doubtful and roundabout
gain for Germany. The greatest wrong was
not to the United States but to Mexico.]
German military usage has been quite in
this spirit, however, and approves of such do-
ings. (See German War Code, standard
translation, p. 85.)
" Bribery of enemies' subjects, acceptance
of offers of treachery, utilization of discon-
72
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
tented elements in the population, support of
pretenders, and the like, are permissible ; in-
deed, international law is in no way opposed
to the exploitation of crimes of third parties."
This, of course, is an outrageous travesty
of international law. As Holland (" Laws of
War on Land," p. 61) said, speaking of such
acts, The Hague Conference " declined to add
to the authority of a practice so repulsive "
by legislating upon the subject. What would
the German people say of America, if our
Government hired assassions to murder Kai-
ser Wilhelm or von Hindenburg?
The Zimmermann Note
The German Government's intrigues,
including the attempt to embroil us with
Mexico, " have played their part in; serv-
ing to convince us at last that that Gov-
ernment entertains no real friendship for
us, and means to act against our peace
and security at its convenience." The
facts underlying this statement are cited
as follows:
A Prussianized Germany, triumphant in
Europe and dominant on the seas, would find
Its occasion to strike down America in its
Isolation and make of us the overseas tribu-
tary of a new Roman Empire. There can be
no question that the future of democracy and
of independent national life is hanging in the
balance in this struggle.
The famous " Zimmermann note," exposed
by our Government March 1, is a document
that should stick in the memories of all
Americans. Remember, it was composed on
Jan. 19, 1917, at a time when Germany and
America were officially very good friends,
and the date was just three days before Mr.
Wilson appeared in the Senate with his
scheme for a league to assure peace and jus-
tice to the world.
Zimmermann admitted the authenticity of
the note, and only deplored that it had been
discovered. The significant parts were these :
" Berlin, Jan. 19, 1917.
" On Feb. 1 we intend to begin submarine
warfare unrestricted. In spite of this, it is
our intention to keep neutral the United
States of America.
" If this attempt is not successful, we pro-
pose an alliance on the following basis with
Mexico : That we shall make war together
and together make peace. We shall give gen-
eral financial support, and it is understood
that Mexico is to reconquer the lost territory
in New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona. The de-
tails are left to you for settlement."
The rest of the dispatch tells the German
Minister in Mexico to open secret negotia-
tions with Carranza the moment war with
us is certain, and to get Carranza to draw in
Japan.
Germany has attempted to apologize for
this note by saying that they did not intend
to do anything unless we first declared war.
It is a complete retort that decent nations do
not go around preparing schemes for the dis-
memberment of other nations with which
they are at peace, and that Zimmermann's
whole proposal sprang out of an evil con-
• science, because he realized that the sub-
marine policy projected was so vile that the
United States could not submit to it without
utter loss of self-respect, and he did us the
justice of believing we were not such extreme
cravens as to refuse to fight.
The whole dispatch was so gross a revela-
tion of international immorality that Ger-
man-American papers immediately denounced
it as a forgery, only to have its genuineness
brazenly acknowledged and defended by
Berlin.
In the presence of such an organized
power " there can be no security for the
democratic Governments of the world.
* * * The world must be made safe for
democracy." Comment :
It is worthy of note that although nearly all
the nations opposed to Germany concluded
the so-called ■■ cooling off " arbitration
treaties with the United States, negotiated by
Mr. Bryan, Germany, although indulging in
certain meaningless talk about " approving
the principle " of arbitration, &c, declined to
join in the compacts.
There was no arbitration treaty that could
be invoked when trouble arose with Ger-
many.
On March 30, 1911, the German Imperial
Chancellor had stated openly in the Reichs-
tag that no general arbitration treaty would
be useful for Germany, since it afforded no
guarantee for- a permanent peace. If condi-
tions changed, from the time it was made,
he said, then, " every arbitration treaty will
burn like tinder and end in smoke." (Quoted
in Bernhardi, " Germany and the Next
War," p. 33.)
Germany and Fair Play
"We shall, I feel confident," said the
President, " conduct our operations as
belligerents without passion and our-
selves observe with proud punctilio the
principles of right and of fair play we
profess to be fighting for." The editors
add:
" Fair play " has small part in the Prus-
sian military usage, however. (See German
War Code, Introduction, par. 3 ; authorized
translation, p. 52.)
" A war conducted with energy cannot be
directed merely against the combatants of
the enemy State, and the positions which
they occupy, but will in like manner seek to
destroy the total intellectual and material
resources of the latter. Humanitarian
claims, such as the protection of men and
their goods, can only be taken into considera-
tion in so far as the nature and object of the
war permits."
FACTS SUPPORTING PRESIDENT WILSON'S WAR MESSAGE 73
See also Clausewitz, (the Prussian military-
authority and oft-quoted oracle.) Treatise
" On War " (Vom Kriege.) V. : Kap. 14, (3.)
Speaking of the desirability of crushing
down a hostile country by requisitions, &c,
he commends it because of " the fear of re-
sponsibility, punishment, and ill-treatment,
which in such cases presses like a general
weight on the whole population." This re-
course (of requisitions) has " no limits ex-
cept those of the exhaustion, impoverishment,
and devastation of the country."
By this Prussian gospel, not merely is war
inevitably " hell," but it is to be made, de-
liberately the lowest stratum of hell, and the
means of rendering it such are to be worked
out with scientific precision. •
Concerning Austria-Hungary's attitude
on the submarine issue:
Austria had a serious clash with the United
States in the Ancona case late in 1915, when
Americans perished, thanks to the ruthless
action of an Austrian submarine. In reply
to American protests Austria promised to
order her commanders to behave with hu-
manity, and (compared, at least, to her Ger-
man allies) she kept her word with reason-
able exactness.
On April 8, however, Austria, probably act-
ing under German pressure, broke off diplo-
matic relations with the United States with-
out waiting for action by our Government,
and the same was done a little later by Ger-
many's other obedient vassal, the Sultan of
Turkey.
The President's avowal of our sincere
friendship for the German people, as dis-
tinguished from their Government, re-
ceives this annotation:
There are now two Germanies— the old noble
idealistic Germany ; the new hard, material-
istic nation, created by Prussia. Americans
would fain love and recall the former.
Here is what two of their own writers said,
men of leadership and insight, speaking very"
shortly before the war :
Professor Rein of Jena : " A one-sidedness
which only esteems material values and an
increasing control over nature is destructive
in its influence, and this one-sidedness set in
during the nineteenth century in Germany.
We Germans have ceased to be the nation" of
thinkers, poets, and dreamers, we aim now
only at the domination and exploitation of
nature."
And again Professor Paulsen of Berlin :
" Two souls dwell in the German Nation. The
German Nation has been called the nation of
poets and thinkers, and it may be proud of
the name. Today it may again be called the
nation of masterful combatants, as which it
originally appeared in history."
Proofs of President's Patience
"We have borne with their present
Government through all these bitter
months, because of that friendship, exer?
cising a patience and forbearance which
would otherwise have been impossible."
The facts back of this passage are thus
arrayed:
No one can accuse Mr. Wilson of the least
precipitancy in bringing matters to an issue.
Of course, on the contrary, his persistent at-
tempts to bring the German Government to
recognize the claims of reason and humanity
have caused him to be bitterly criticised. De-
spite this criticism he has patiently and stead-
ily held to the policy announced a year ago,
** to wait until facts became unmistakable and
were susceptible of only one interpretation."
(Sussex note, April 18, 1916.)
Here is a partial list of the stages in the
U-boat campaign :
1. Dec. 24, 1914. Admiral von Tirpitz throws
out hints in* a newspaper interview of a whole-
sale torpedoing policy. He directly asks,
" What will America say? " This was con-
siderably before the so-called English block-
ade was causing Germany any serious food
problem.
2. Feb. 4, 1915. German Government pro-
claims a war zone within which any ship may
be sunk unwarned.
3. Feb. 10, 1915. Mr. Wilson tells German
Government it will be held to " strict ac-
countability " if any American rights were
violated in this way.
4. April 22, 1916. German Embassy pub-
lishes in New York papers warning against
taking passage on ships which our Govern-
ment had told their people they had a perfect
right to take.
5. May 7, 1915. Sinking of Lusitania.
6. May 13, 1915. Mr. Wilson's " first Lusi-
tania " note.
7. May 28, 1915. Germany's reply defending
the sinking of the Lusitania.
8. June 9, 1915. Mr. Wilson's " second Lu-
sitania " note.
9. July 21, 1915. Mr. Wilson's " third Lusi-
tania " note, (following more unsatisfactory
German rejoinders.)
10. Aug. 19, 1915. Sinking of the Arabic,
whereupon ,von Bernstorff gave 'an oral
pledge for his Government that hereafter
German submarines would not sink " liners "
without warning.
11. February, 1916. (After still more debat-
able sinkings,) Germany makes proposals
looking toward " assuming liability " for the
Lusitania victims, but the whole case is soon
complicated again by the " armed ship "
issue.
12. March 24, 1916. Sinking of the Sussex,
passenger vessel with Americans on board.
13. April 10, 1916. Germany cynically tells
United States she cannot be sure whether she
sunk the Sussex or not, although admitting
one of her submarines was active close to the
place of disaster.
14. April 18, 1916. President Wilson threat-
ens Germany with breach of diplomatic rela-
74
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
tions if Sussex and similar incidents are re-
peated.
15. May 4, 1916- Germany grudgingly
makes the promise that ships will not be sunk
Without warning.
16. Oct. 8, 1916. German submarine ap-
pears off American coast and sinks British
passenger steamer Stephano with many Amer-
ican passengers (vacationists returning from
Newfoundland) on board. Loss of life almost
certain had not American men-of-war been on
hand to pick up the refugees.
[From this time until final break several
other vessels sunk under circumstances which
made it at least doubtful whether Germany
was living up to her pledges.]
17. Jan. 31, 1917. Germany tears up her
promises and notifies Mr. Wilson she will be-
gin " unrestricted submarine war."
18. Feb. 3, 1917. Mr. Wilson gives Count
von Bernstorff his passports and recalls Am-
bassador Gerard from Berlin.
In all modern history it may be doubted if
there is another chapter displaying such pro-
longed patience, forbearance, and concilia-
toriness as that shown by Mr. Wilson and
Mr. Lansing in the face of a long course of
deliberate evasion and prevarication to them
personally, as well as outrage after outrage
upon the property, and, still more, upon the
Jives of very many American citizens.
Germans in America
" "We shall happily still have an oppor-
tunity to prove that friendship in our
daily attitude and actions toward the
millions of men and women of German
birth and native sympathy who live
among us and share our life, and we shall
be proud to prove it toward all who are
in fact loyal to their neighbors and to
the Government in the hour of test."
On April 6, 1917, President Wilson issued a
proclamation in which he asserted that
" alien enemies " who preserved the peace,
kept the laws, and gave no aid to the ene-
mies of the United States " shall be undis-
turbed in the peaceful pursuit of their lives
and occupations, and shall be accorded the
consideration due to all peaceful and law-
abiding persons, and toward such [persons]
all citizens of the United States are enjoined
to preserve the peace and to treat them with
all such friendliness as may be compatible
with loyalty and allegiance to the United
States."
In May the Attorney General issued a
statement congratulating the country on the
friendly relations between Americans and
German residents, the absence of disorders,
and the necessity of interning only a very
small number of persons, (about 125,) an in-
significant fraction of the whole number of
German citizens in this country.
At almost the same time the cables carried
dispatches that the German police had or-
dered strict measures of oversight and re-
straint for the few Americans remaining in
Germany, although all such persons were
probably people whose ties with Gerrnany
made them almost more at home there than
in their nominal country.
' " If there should be disloyally, it will
be dealt with with a firm hand of stern
repression ":
The treason statutes of the United States
have seldom been invoked, but they exist and
possess teeth.
It is treason to " levy war against the Uni-
ted States, adhere to their enemies, or give
them aid or comfort." (Ch. 1, sec. 1, Rev.
Stat.) The penalty is death, or imprisonment
for at least five years, and a fine of at least
$10,000.
It is "misprision of treason " to know of
any treasonable plots or doings and fail to
report the same to the authorities. The pen-
alty is seven years' imprisonment. The pen-
alty for inciting a rebellion or insurrection is
ten years, and the crime of entering into any
correspondence with a foreign Government
to influence it in any dispute with the Uni-
ted States, or to defeat any measures taken by
our Government, calls for three years' im-
prisonment. (Ch. 1, sec. 5.) There is also a
penalty of six years' imprisonment for any
seditious conspiracy to oppose the authority
of the United States.
All these laws President Wilson has, by
recent proclamation, (April 6, 1917,) remind-
ed the people are in full force.
" Giving aid and comfort to the enemies of
the United States " has been defined in the
courts (30 Federal Cases, No. 18272.) as:
" In general, any act clearly indicating a
want of loyalty to the Government and sym-
pathy with its enemies, and which by fair
construction is directly in furtherance of their
hostile designs." Such deeds are, of course,
liable to all the penalty of treason.
In extreme cases, also, of " rebellion and
invasion " the Constitution specifically gives
the Government power to suspend the writ of
habeas corpus, (Constitution, Art. I., sec. 9,
par. 2;) in other words, to arrest and im-
prison on mere suspicion witnout trial, and
this was actually done in the civil war.
In support of the President's statement
that " the right is more precious than
peace, and we shall fight for the things
which we have always carried nearest our
hearts," the editors cite the following
contrast:
Abraham Lincoln, (second inaugural ad-
dress, 1865:)
" With malice toward none, with chanty
for all, with firmness in the right as God
gives us to see the right, let us finish the
work we are in— to bind up another's wounds,
to care for him who shall have borne the bat-
tle, and for his widow and orphans ; to do all
which may achieve and cherish a just and
FACTS SUPPORTING PRESIDENT WILSON'S WAR MESSAGE 75
lasting peace among ourselves and with all
nations."
Friedrich von Bernhardi, (German Lieu-
tenant General, and acceptable mouthpiece,
not of the whole German Nation, but of the
Prussian military caste which holds the Ger-
man Nation in its grip :)
" Might is at once the supreme right, and
the dispute as to what is right is decided by
the arbitrament of war," (p. 23.)
[" It is outrageous to presume that] a weak
nation is to have the same right to live as a
powerful and vigorous nation," (p. 34.)
" Which of these two national view-
points," the editors ask, " is to be al-
lowed to dominate the world? "
A Cry From the Canadian Hills
By LILIAN LEVERIDGE
The author of these heart-searching lines, a Canadian, wrote them for The Daily Ontario
as a tribute to her brother, Private Frank Leveridge, a member of the Thirty-ninth Canadian
Battalion, who died of wounds in France.
Laddie, little laddie, come with me over
the hills,
Where blossom the white May lilies, and
the dogwood and daffodils;
For the Spirit of Spring is calling to our
spirits that love to roam
Over the hills of home, laddie, over the
hills of home.
Laddie, little laddie, here's hazel and
meadow rue,
And wreaths of the rare arbutus, a-blow-
ing for me and you;
And cherry and bilberry blossoms, and
hawthorn as white as foam,
We'll carry them all to Mother, laddie,
over the hills at home.
Laddie, little laddie, the winds have many
a song
And blithely and bold they whistle to us
as we trip along ;
But your own little song is sweeter, your
own with its merry trills;
So, whistle a tune as you go, laddie, over
the windy hills.
Laddie, little laddie, 'tis time that the
cows were home,
Can you hear the klingle-klangle of their
bell in the greenwood gloam?
Old Rover is waiting, eager to follow the
trail with you,
Whistle a tune as you go, laddie, whistle
a tune as you go.
Laddie, little laddie, there's a flash of a
bluebird's wing,
0 hush! If we wait and listen we may
hear him caroling.
The vesper song of the thrushes, and the
plaint of the whip-poor-wills,
Sweet, how sweet is the music, laddie,
over the twilit hills.
Brother, little brother, your childhood is
passing by,
And the dawn of a noble purpose I see
in your thoughtful eye.
You have many a mile to travel and many
a task to do;.
Whistle a tune as you go, laddie, whistle
a tune as you go.
Laddie, soldier laddie, a call comes over
the sea,
A call to the best and bravest in the land
of liberty,
To shatter the despot's power, to lift up
the weak that fall.
Whistle a song as you go, laddie, to an-
swer your country's call.
Brother, soldier brother, the Spring has
come back again,
But her voice from the windy hilltops is
calling your name in vain;
For never shall we together 'mid the
birds and the blossoms roam,
Over the hills of home, brother, over the
hills of home.
Laddie! Laddie! Laddie! "Somewhere
in France " you sleep,
Somewhere 'neath alien flowers and alien
winds that weep.
Bravely you marched to battle, nobly
your life laid down,
You unto death were faithful, laddie;
yours is the victor's crown.
Laddie! Laddie! Laddie! How dim is
the sunshine grown,
As Mother and I together speak softly in
tender tone!
And the lips that quiver and falter have
ever a single theme,
As we list for your dear, lost whistle,
laddie, over the hills of dream.
Laddie, beloved laddie! How soon should
we cease to weep
Could we glance through the golden gate-
way whose keys the angels keep!
Yet love, our love that is deathless, can
follow you where you roam,
Over the hills of God, laddie, the beauti-
ful hills of Home.
The New Phase of Air Raids
On England
BETWEEN May 23 and June 16,
1917, there were five aerial at-
tacks on England in nearly all of
which the Germans used air-
planes instead of Zeppelins. Two of the
raids were particularly serious in the
number of civilian lives lost. The first
of the series took place on May 23, when
four or five German aircraft flew over
the eastern counties of England and
dropped bombs, killing one man. The
second attack, on May 25, resulted in
the killing of 76 persons and the in-
juring of 174; practically all the casual-
ties occurred at Folkstone, on the south-
east coast. The principal victims were
women and children who had been stand-
ing in a long line in the town's busiest
street waiting to buy potatoes.
It was 6:30 P. M. when a peculiar
humming noise in the sky warned the
people of the approach of danger. The
German airplanes, numbering about six-
teen, were not more than three minutes
over the town before they passed away
in the direction of the sea. Most of the
bombs were dropped on Folkestone. Of
the killed twenty-seven were women and
twenty- three children; and of the injured
forty-three women and nineteen children.
Airplanes of the Royal Flying Corps
immediately went in pursuit and the Ger-
man aircraft were also engaged by the
Royal Naval Air Service from Dunkirk
on their return journey. The Admiralty
reported that three of the enemy air-
planes were shot down in mid-Channel.
The attack was methodically organized.
The first squadron of five airplanes was
followed after short intervals by a second
squadron and then a third and fourth,
each of which repeated the tactics of the
first. Scarcely any part of Folkestone
escaped injury. At least sixty bombs
were dropped, falling in a shower all
over the town. The worst damage done
was from a group of bombs which struck
the business thoroughfare thronged with
people. At one spot here sixteen women,
eight men, and nine children were killed,
and forty-two persons were injured. The
intervals of comparative quiet after the
departure of each squadron of raiders
were only broken by the sound of distant
firing of naval guns out at sea and were
even more harrowing to the populace
than were the brief periods when the
bombs were actually bursting in the
town.
After each visit the people in shelters
or cellars asked each other whether this
was the last. Hours after the last raider
had gone many people kept to their shel-
ters in the belief that more raiders were
coming. There was much employment
for voluntary relief workers. The hos-
pitals were crowded not only with in-
jured, but with women and children
suffering from shock, while the police
and constables had their hands full pa-
trolling the devastated districts and at-
tending to the work of rescue, identifica-
tion, and the hundreds of odds and ends
which such a crisis brings to an unpre-
pared town.
Reports from the surrounding district
indicated that there were some bombing
of neighboring villages, even at some
distance, inland. The bombs were
dropped, for the most part, as the Ger-
man airplanes were making a wide circle
to approach from the land side.
The third of this series of air raids
took place on the evening of June 5, when
sixteen German airplanes came over the
North Sea and dropped many bombs on
the small towns and villages in Essex
and Kent. Only fourteen of them re-
turned to their home base, for two were
brought down by British guns. Only
two persons were killed and twenty-nine
injured in the bombarded districts. The
raiders met with a lively reception, extra
precautions having been taken by the
British authorities after the previous
raid. The Germans were attacked by
British aviators before they had an op-
portunity to carry out their raiding
THE NEW PHASE OF AIR RAIDS ON ENGLAND
77
intentions to any great extent, and the
British anti-aircraft guns were very-
effective. The official statement said
that the raiders also attacked the naval
establishments in the Medway. A con-
siderable number of bombs were dropped
and a certain amount of damage was
done to house property, but the damage
done to naval and military establish-
ments was practically negligible.
The worst raid of all was that made
upon London on June 13 in the broad
daylight of noon. A squadron of German
airplanes bombed the East End and the
business sections of the city, killing 97
persons and injuring 437. Many of the
victims were women and children, 120 of
the latter being either killed or injured.
The large number of casualties was due
to the fact that the eating places in the
East End were crowded at the hour of
the raid, schools were still in session, and
large numbers of people were on the
streets. Of the victims, an official an-
nouncement stated 55 men, 16 women,
and 26 children were killed, while the
injured comprised 223 men, 122 women,
and 94 children. No damage of a mili-
tary or naval nature was done. Only
one of the attacking airplanes was
brought down.
A supplementary official report
stated : " The first bombs were dropped
on the eastern outskirts of London at
about 11:30 A. M. Numerous bombs fell
in rapid succession in various districts in
the East End. One bomb fell in a rail-
way station, hitting an incoming train.
Seven persons were killed and 17 injured
here. Another bomb fell on a school,
killing 10 and injuring about 50 children.
A number of warehouses were damaged
and fires were caused. A few bombs also
were dropped near North Foreland and
opposite the banks of the Thames, four
persons being injured. The air raid over
London lasted about fifteen minutes. The
raiders were engaged by guns of the East
London defenses and a large number of
airplanes of the Royal Flying Corps and
Royal Naval Air Service were sent up as
soon as the enemy was reported off the
coast. Several engagements took place
in the air."
The most tragic episode of the attack
was the bombing of a London County
Council School, of which the following
graphic description was given by a
soldier who went to assist the teachers :
" I found the class mistress, who had
got the uninjured children into a passage
where, if there came another bomb, they
would be less likely to be hurt. She was
all alone until I came. Then we both set
to get out the uninjured. She brought
down two or three from the upper room
first, then we went into the classroom
where the bomb had sunk into the earth
when it exploded. The sight was a ter-
rible one, and but for the excitement it
would have been unbearable. Many of
the little ones were lying across their
desks, apparently dead, and with terrible
wounds on heads and limbs, and scores of
others were writhing with pain and moan-
ing piteously in their terror and suffer-
ing.
" Many bodies were mutilated, but our
first thought was to get at the injured
and have them cared for. We took them
gently in our arms and laid them out
against a wall under a shed. I didn't
count them, but I should think there were
twenty or thirty. I was just wondering
what we should do next when some more
people came to help, including soldiers,
naval cadets, police, and special con-
stables. We were frantic for ambulances
and it was impossible to carry them to
the hospital, which was half a mile away.
Just then two lorries drew up and the
driver suggested that he should help. We
packed the poor little souls on the lorries
as gently as we could and he drove as if
he was afraid of something giving away
and so at last we got them to the hos-
pital.
" While they were gone I put a sentry
on the door, and I can tell you it was
a tough job. The women were not in the
slightest degree panicky, but they were
selfish in their love at first and in their
earnestness to get at their own babies
endangered by others who were lying on
the floor. Some mothers were almost in-
sane with grief, and when they couldn't
find their own children would rush
through the bodies looking for them, and
when you remember that there was a
hole in the roof four feet deep and cover-
ing the whole area of the classroom it
78
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
will be understood what that meant. The
worst part of our task was the last —
that of picking up the mutilated frag-
ments of humanity."
Two Zeppelins made an attack on the
east coast of England in the night of
June 16. The official report said that
one of the airships crossed the Kentish
coast at 2 A. M. and dropped bombs on a
coast town, killing two persons, injuring
sixteen, and wrecking a large number of
houses. The second airship attacked a
coast town of East Anglia, but did no
damage before it was engaged by the
Royal Flying Corps, brought down in
flames, and destroyed.
Thousands of people witnessed the end
of this Zeppelin. The attack by anti-
aircraft guns on the dirigible lasted fully
half an hour, and people ran from their
houses half dressed to watch the fight.
•When the black object, drifting across
the sky from the southeast to the north-
west, was seen to burst into flames the
spectators cheered tumultously. It had
been first winged by a land gun, and
was then finished by an airplane, which
the Zeppelin fought to the last with her
guns. The dirigible dropped in a field
of corn, far from any habitation, and
was entirely destroyed. All of the crew
were killed and their bodies badly
charred. Some of the men appeared to
have jumped from the airship.
1,430 Airplanes Shot Down in Two Months
THE intensity of the aerial warfare
on the western front is indicated by
the figures showing the number of
airplanes lost in April and May. A com-
pilation from the British, French, and
German official reports shows that 717
airplanes were shot down during April,
the Germans losing 369, the French and
Belgians 201, and the British 147. Dur-
ing May 713 airplanes were shot down
on the western front. The Germans lost
442 and the British and French 271, of
which 86 were admitted to have been
British and the remainder, by inference,
French. Thus, in two months, 1,430 air-
planes were destroyed.
How the British and French have
gained the supremacy of the air was
described by Major L. W. B. Rees of the
British Flying Corps, during a visit to
Washington. While the Allies' opera-
tions are conducted almost entirely be-
yond the German lines, the Major said,
the German machines now cross over the
allied lines only rarely in raiding parties.
The British fly on three levels with three
kinds of machines. The lowest are the
artillery directors, who circle about in
big figure eights about 6,000 feet above
the enemy trenches and flash back direc-
tions to the British gunners by wireless.
Above them, at 10,000 feet, are the heavy
fighters with two men to a machine and
able to keep the air for four hours at a
speed of 110 miles per hour. At a height
of 15,000 feet are the single-man light
fighters, capable of 130 miles an hour
and of ascending the first 10,000 feet in
ten minutes.
The Germans have given up all at-
tempts to guide their artillery by air-
plane and seek only to smash up the
allied reconnoissance over their lines.
Their machines are largely of one class,
therefore, fast, heavy fighters, generally
biplanes, which are continually seeking
to swoop down on the British artillery
observers and send them to the ground
before the British fighting patrols can
reach them. Recently, however, the Ger-
mans have developed another light fight-
ing machine, which by climbing to 20,000
feet seeks to overtop the British light
fighters and clear them out.
British losses have been running re-
cently as high as thirty to forty machines
a day, because of the extraordinary
chances taken over the enemy's lines. As
a rule they go out in squadrons of six,
divided into three pairs and prepared to
swoop down in unison on any German
machine that may come up.
Major Rees gave it as his opinion that
the British had defeated the Germans in
every way in the air and deprived them
of invaluable reconnoissance power. The
a
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AMERICA'S CALL TO ARMS
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One of the Most Striking Posters Used in Recruiting the
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USNAVY RECRUITING STATION
A Poster Used by the Navy Recruiting Department to Obtain
the Increased Personnel Required for the War Fleet
(Poster by James Montgomery Flagg)
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1,430 AIRPLANES SHOT DOWN IN TWO MONTHS 79
Zeppelin is now practically useless as a tance. Many American machines are in
military weapon. Germany's whole artil- use in England for training purposes,
lery observation is conducted by means but none on the fighting line,
of captive balloons. A short time ago The most brilliant of British military
the British and French made a combined aviators has been officially reported
attack at 4 P. M. and knocked down every killed. He was Captain Albert Ball,
captive balloon from the North Sea to D. S. O., who was reported missing early
Switzerland. Not for three days did in May and is now known to be buried
another balloon appear in sight. at a place named Annoeullin. Captain
Pilots can be trained in about three Ball had brought down over forty enemy
months, according to Major Rees, and machines. He was only 21 years of age,
should be from 19 to 25 years old, weigh- was absolutely fearless, but never a reck-
ing not much over 160 pounds. The less flier. General Trenchard of the
supreme consideration he gave as in- Royal Flying Corps described him as the
telligence and reliability, as the task in- most daring, skillful, and successful
trusted to the airmen is of vital impor- pilot the Royal Flying Corps ever had.
The Death of Prince Karl Friedrich
When Prince Karl Friedrich, the Kaiser's nephew and royal airman, was
brought down on the French front and held prisoner until he died of his wounds,
he was visited every day by the Rev. M. Caldwell, a British Baptist minister,
who is serving as official Chaplain to the German prisoners in France. The
young Prince talked freely to him, describing his capture in these terms:
" I was doing important work for my commander when I was attacked by
British aeronauts. I kept on my course at first, but soon found I had to defend
myself against their determined onslaught. The contest was keen and exciting.
I was hit on my foot, and the pain was intense, but that was not my undoing.
My machine was hit in a vital part, and, although I did my utmost to get back
to my lines, I was compelled to descend in full view of the Australians. I saw the
predicament I would be in when I landed, so decided to burn my machine and
run for it. The Australians were too clever for me, and gave me a warm time
when I took to my heels. I had a sporting chance, and took it, but I was not a
winner. I felt a twitching sensation in my back, and fell forward, done for.
The Australians, whose prisoner I became, treated me with the greatest kind-
ness. They are sportsmen, and great men. I have a wonderful admiration for
them. If I am anything, I am a sport. I have played tennis with Wilding and
other first-class players. I shall never forget the jolly time I had in England
when I played them all."
The dying man added: " God is with me. When I was christened the pastor
read out a text from the Bible, which he repeated at my confirmation, and gave
me as my lifelong message from God. I fear I did not value it enough before I
was wounded, but since then it has been a source of consolation to me. It keeps
returning to my thoughts. It is, ' If God be with us, who can be against us ? '
What greater evidence could I have of its truth than the kindness which has
been shown me ? Now you come daily to speak of God and pray for me. I am
grateful to you and all who wish me well. I lie here a helpless prisoner, but
I have no regrets. I did my best for my country, and I am hot sorry I am
finished with the war. I want to live. I am young, and when the war is over, I
shall go back and help to build up my nation again."
A Great Fight in the Air
[Described by a British War Correspondent at the Front
THIS is the story of how five Brit-
ish airplanes fought twenty-
seven Germans and beat them,
sending- eight to earth crashing,
crippled or in flames. It was on Satur-
day, May 5, 1917, a day of great heat,
when there was a haze so thick that you
could hardly see the ground from a height
of 2,000 feet. Our men had started fairly
late in the afternoon, and at 5 o'clock
were well over in enemy country, when,
with the sun at their backs, they saw two
enemy machines ahead. They tried to
close with the enemy, who made some
show of giving fight. It was only a
show, however, for as our leading ma-
chine drew near the Germans turned and
made with all speed for home.
The tactics suggested that the two
enemy machines were only decoys, in-
tended to lure our little flotilla as far
as possible from its base — and the sus-
picion was soon confirmed. Even as we
started to chase the two flying enemies,
out of the haze and void on all sides new
fleets came closing in.
The new arrivals flew in three forma-
tions, two of which contained eight ma-
chines, and the third contained nine,
making twenty-five German airplanes,
all of a uniform fighting type, to. whom
the other two, which now ceased to run
away, joined themselves, making twen-
ty-seven enemy machines in all.
One of the enemy fleets, taking ad-
vantage of the thick air, had passed be-
hind our little squadron and came at it,
as from the direction of our own lines,
straight between it and the sun — an
awkward direction from which to have
an enemy flying at you in the late after-
noon, when the sun is getting fairly low.
The other two fleets came from the
southeast and northeast. As they ap-
proached they spread out so that our
men were ringed around with enemies on
every side.
The fight began at about 11,000 feet;
but in the course of the things that fol-
lowed it ranged anywhere from 3,000 to
12T,000, up and down the ladders of heav-
en. And an extraordinary fact is that,
all the while that it went on, the German
anti-aircraft guns below kept at work.
Usually, as soon as airplanes engage
overhead, the " Archies " are silent for
fear of hitting the wrong man; and
whether the German gunners were drunk
with excitement at what was going on
above them, or whether it was that our
machines formed so isolated and compact
a mass in the heart of the great mael-
strom that it seemed still possible to
shoot at them in safety, is not known.
At all events, the tumult in the skies was
increased by the constant pumping into
the tangled mass of shells from the
ground.
The actual fighting lasted for a full
hour, from 5 to 6 o'clock, an extraordi-
nary time for such a thing, and during all
that hour our men fought tooth and nail.
And the fight had lasted but a few min-
utes when we drew first blood, and an
enemy machine which Captain A. had at-
tacked went down in flames, with the
wings of one side shot away. Then it
was Lieutenant B.'s turn. He caught his
adversary at close range fairly, and the
German airplane went down, turning
over and over as it fell straight down
11,000 feet, leaving a trail of smoke be-
hind. Lieutenant C. scored next, his
enemy's machine spinning plumb down to
where, somewhere below the haze, it must
have crashed.
Then, for a moment, it seemed that our
luck was turning. Lieutenant B.'s engine
gave out and he was " compelled to leave
the formation." It is a simple phrase,
but what it means is that, helpless and
with engine still, the airplane dropped
out of the fight from 11,000 feet down to
3,000 feet. It was a dizzying drop, and
as he fell, an enemy, seeing him defense-
less and scenting easy prey, went after
him.
But other eyes were watching. Lieu-
tenant C. saw his crippled comrade slip-
ping downward and saw the German div-
A GREAT FIGHT IN THE AIR
81
ing after. Quick as a flash he followed,
and before the German could do his work
the British airplane was almost touching
the tail of his machine, and in another
second the German turned clean over in
the air and then crashed nose foremost
down into the abyss.
Then, almost by a miracle, B.'s engine
caught its breath again. Once more the
machine was under control, and B., who
was one of those who were new to the
game, climbed and rejoined formation.
Some 8,000 feet he had to climb, with
the baffled " Archies " blazing at him
from below, up into the inverted hell
above, where his four comrades were
fighting enemies who outnumbered them
six to one. Just as he " rejoined " an-
other German fell. It was A.'s second
victim of the day, and friend and foe
alike saw the machine go, sheeted in
flames, down into the gulf.
Then once again it seemed that a
throw had gone against us, for, still un-
der control, but with flames bursting
from its reserve petrol tank, one of our
machines began to drop. Again an ene-
my, glimpsing an easy quarry, dived for
the flaming ruin as it fell, but, quicker
than he, A. also dived, and while our
crippled machine, still belching flames,
slid off, with its nose set for home, the
German, mortally hit, dropped like a
stone.
It was just retribution. The unwrit-
ten laws of this marvelous game pre-
scribe that no honorable fighter attack
an enemy in flames. Such an enemy is
out of the fight, and has trouble enough
for a brave man. The German who
dived for our burning machine knew
that he was doing an unchivalrous thing,
and it may be that that knowledge un-
nerved him so that he paid the penalty.
Strangely enough, our burning airplane
got home. I have seen the wreckage,
with the reserve petrol tank on the roof
bearing two bullet holes on one side and
great ragged tears on the other where
the bullets passed out. The whole tank
is scorched and crumpled. The flames
had burned away the whole central span
of the upper plane. The thick rear main
spar was charred and burned through,
and two ribs were completely severed
and hung with loose, blackened ends.
Yet, like a great blazing meteor, it
crossed our lines and came to earth, not,
indeed, at its own home, but on safe and
friendly ground; and, as another airman
said to me in admiration, " He made a
perfectly topping landing."
Meanwhile the wonderful fight was
drawing to a close. The British pilot,
Lieutenant D., emptied a belt from his
machine gun into an enemy when so
close that his wings almost brushed the
other's rudder; and the enemy turned
turtle, clear over on his back, and, spurt-
ing out a thick column «ef black smoke,
went down.
Some of the enemy were already draw-
ing off, but our men were in no mood
to let them go. It is harder to get out
of a losing fight than it is to begin it,
and before the enemy mob could disen-
tangle itself from the battle two more
of their machines had gone to earth —
one, his third in the fight, falling to
Lieutenant C. and one to Lieutenant E.
Then the last four of our machines,
still lords of the air, came home.
How American Aviators Saved Verdun
The demand of the United States Gov-
ernment for the production of 3,500 air-
planes before the end of 1917, the output
to be doubled each succeeding year, as an-
nounced by the Council of National De-
fense, lends added interest to this state-
ment of Leon Cammen, Vice President of
the American Aeronautical Society:
ALL we hear of over here are the
_ exploits of the daredevils of the air,
the men who have, brought down
their nineteenth or their twentieth
Boche. We don't hear of the less
spectacular but fully as valuable work
of the men who fly in squadrons against
squadrons of the enemy, who do recon-
82
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
noissance work or who act as the eyes
of the big guns and hover over the
section under bombardment spotting
the falls of shells and directing the gun-
ners. And it isn't generally known that
American fliers are ideal for such work,
just as they are unsurpassed for the
more thrilling task of single combat.
The point is that the French are not
so. There is in France a class of men
who are pre-eminent as individul fliers,
whose skill and daring may be matched
but cannot be excelled even by an Ameri-
can. But this class is limited in number,
and back of it the average Frenchman
does not make an ideal aviator. It is the
American who has shown himself es-
pecially adapted to this work.
It was a group of American fliers,
the Escadrille Lafayette, who saved
Verdun. That surprises you? But it is
true. I have it on authority of French-
men themselves, army men and fliers,
and there is no doubt of the truth. It
was at Verdun, too, that military men
first realized the value of the airplane
for something more than bomb-dropping
work. For, yon must remember, avia-
tion abroad was not much further ad-
vanced at the outbreak of war than it
is here today; not so far. At first the
planes, just ordinary exhibition ma-
chines, were employed to carry bombs
to be dropped on enemy territory. It was
Verdun that taught their value for re-
connoissance and gun sighting.
The attack on Verdun came so sud-
denly and so unexpectedly that for three
or four days the French thought it a
feint designed to force the withdrawal of
their men from about Ypres so that the
Germans might break through to Calais.
When the French found that it was a
genuine attack they faced, the Germans
already had sent their airmen scudding
over Verdun and its environs. They had
mapped the two railroads — one a broad
gauge, one a narrow gauge — that en-
tered Verdun from the southwest and
provided the only mechanical road for
the entrance of munitions into the for-
tress and town. How thoroughly they had
dtfne their work has been disclosed to me
by French officers, who have shown me
photographs of the district, revealing
that the German shells fell in squares,
clearly mapped out by their aviators, so
that almost undamaged sections of the
town were surrounded by ruins where
storehouses and depots had stood, the
uninjured parts being residential sections
on which the Germans had not wasted
a shell.
But they destroyed the railroads, or,
rather, made them incapable of service
by almost continuous fire, so that when
General Petain undertook the defense
of Verdun he found at hand munitions
for less than ten days, and the only
means of introducing more a motor road
running south from Verdun to Buc. The
salvation of Verdun, and probably of
France, depended on keeping this road
open, yet the German fliers had already
begun to speed past Verdun, directing
the shell fire of their big guns against
just this road. Petain sent an urgent
call for aviators to drive off the German
fliers and to confound their artillerymen
by depriving them of the services of their
flying " spotters."
And they sent him the Escadrille
Lafayette, the American fliers who al-
ready had made a name for themselves
by their daring and hardihood. The
Americans went aloft over Verdun and
gave battle to the Germans. They drove
them back and kept them back so that
no man might direct a gun against that
road to Buc — " La Voie Sacree," or the
Sacred Road, as the French now call it.
And over it rolled the trains of mo-
tors bringing the munitions and supplies
that made Verdun a turning point in the
war. So much the Escadrille Lafayette
accomplished. Do you wonder they want
American aviators ?
Downfall of King Gonstantine
THE long diplomatic struggle be-
tween King Constantine of Greece
and the Entente Allies culminated
on June 12 in the abdication of
that monarch. He was at once succeeded
by his second son, Prince Alexander, as
King of the Hellenes.
The opposition of the Entente Allies to
Constantine was based upon the allega-
tion that he was not only pro-German in
his sympathies, but that he repeatedly
tried to bring Greece into the war on the
side of the Central Powers. The ex-King,
on the other hand, declared that his sole
aim was to preserve Greek neutrality and
to spare his people from the horrors and
miseries of war.
Early in June the Entente Allies had
arrived at the conclusion that the time
for decisive action had arrived. M. Jon-
nart, a former Foreign Minister and now
a member of the French Senate, was ap-
pointed High Commissioner to represent
France, Great Britain, and Russia, the
three protecting powers of Greece. After
visiting Saloniki, the Allies' headquarters
and seat of the Provisional Government
headed by M. Venizelos, M. Jonnart pro-
ceeded to Athens and, on June 11 placed
before the Greek Premier, Alexander
Zaimis, the demands of the allied Gov-
ernments. The abdication of King Con-
stantine was insisted upon, and the
Crown Prince George was also ruled out
on the ground that he shared his father's
pro-German leanings. The second son,
Prince Alexander, was indicated as ac-
ceptable. Alexander, who is only 24
years old, is amenable to the ideas of the
protecting powers in regard to the part
which Greece should play in the war.
M. Jonnart informed the Premier that
troops had been placed at his disposal,
but that they would not be landed until
the King had given his answer.
Premier Zaimis, in his reply to M. Jon-
nart, said that he recognized the disinter-
estedness of the protecting powers,
whose sole object was to reconstitute the
unity of Greece under the Constitution,
and that a decision would be taken by
the King after consulting with the
Crown Council, composed of former Pre-
miers. On the morning of June 12 Pre-
mier Zaimis communicated King Con-
stantine's decision in the following letter
to M. Jonnart:
The Minister and High Commissioner of
France, Great Britain, and Russia :
Having demanded by your note of yester-
day the abdication of his Majesty, King Con-
stantine, and the nomination of his successor,
the undersigned, Premier and Foreign Minis-
ter, has the honor to inform your Excellency
that his Majesty the King, ever solicitous for
the interests of Greece, has decided to leave
the country with the Prince Royal, and nomi-
nates Prince Alexander as his successor.
ZAIMIS.
The deposed monarch's proclamation
announcing his abdication, which was
posted throughout the streets of Athens,
reads:
Obeying the necessity of fulfilling my duty
toward Greece, I am departing from my be-
loved country with the heir to the throne and
am leaving my son Alexander my crown. I
beg you to accept my decision with calm, as
the slightest incident may lead to a great
catastrophe.
Before King Constantine's decision was
announced, many Greeks, loyal to the
Crown, gathered for the protection of
the sovereign. On the evening of June
11 2,000 reservists formed a cordon
around the palace in his defense, if that
should be necessary, and a delegation
headed by Naval Commander Mavro-
michaelis was received by Constantine
and pledged the devotion of the army and
the people to his cause. The King's only
reply was an appeal that they should re-
main calm. All efforts of agitators to
start a manifestation failed, and the
army officers announced their intention
to obey the order of the Government to
take no part in any demonstrations and
to maintain peace.
The announcement of King Constan-
tine's abdication made in the British
House of Commons by Andrew Bonar
Law, Chancellor of the Exchequer, was
received with cheers, but a less favorable
reception was given his statement that
Prince Alexander had succeeded his
father. The Chancellor said that Alex-
ander had taken the oath as King of
84
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Greece. " We hope," added the Chancel-
lor, " that this change may make for the
restoration of the Constitutional Govern-
ment of that country. Mr. Bonar Law
was asked by Arthur Lynch, member for
West Clare : " What does the Govern-
ment expect to gain by the abdication of
the King when it is perpetuating the
same abuses under another name ? " Mr.
Bonar Law replied: "What we hope to
gain is a Constitutional Government
representing the whole of Greece." John
Gordon Swift MacNeill, member for
South Donegal, asked if in fact permis-
sion had been given to Constantine to
abdicate and if, in regard to the fact that
he had practically been expelled from the
throne, he should be allowed to nominate
his successor. The Chancellor replied
that it would not be in the public
interest to give any more information at
present, but that Mr. MacNeill was
wrong in saying that his successor had
been nominated by Constantine."
Premier Ribot, addressing the French
Chamber of Deputies on June 14, said
conditions in Greece had become intoler-
able; that the attitude of Constantine
had nullified the Constitution of Greece
and amply justified the protecting pow-
ers in intervening in such manner as to
secure the indispensable unity of the
country. " Greece," said M. Ribot, " was
divided into two hostile camps, one hos-
tile to the Allies and the other support-
ing them courageously with Eleutherios
Venizelos bearing aloft the real flag of
Greece." Great applause greeted the
mention of the name of M. Venizelos. M.
Ribot then proceeded to explain to the
Chamber the advantages which would
arise from the new regime in Greece.
Military measures by the Allies were
taken simultaneously with M. Jonnart's
action at Athens. French and British
troops were landed in Thessaly and Cor-
inth, the French War Office announce-
ment on the subject being:
The troops charged with control of the har-
vests in Thessaly have penetrated that
province without difficulty as far as the
region of Elassona.
The ex-King and all the members of
his family, except the new King, left
Athens on June 13, embarking at the
Piraeus on a British warship. One of
Constantine's private secretaries had
previously arrived at Lugano, in Switzer-
land, to look for a large villa suitable for
the exiled royalties. Prince von Biilow,
the former German Imperial Chancellor,
and several other German diplomatists
are staying at Lugano.
A telegram from Berlin on June 15
stated that Emperor William had sent
the following message (not confirmed)
to one of the Greek diplomatic represen-
tatives abroad for transmission to former
King Constantine:
I have heard with wrath of the infamous
outrage committed by our common enemies
upon you and upon your dynasty. I assure
you that your deprivation can be only tempo-
rary. The mailed fist of Germany, with
further aid from Almighty God, will restore
you to your throne, of which no man by
right can rob you. The armies of Germany
and Germany's allies will wreak vengeance
on those who have dared so insolently to lay
their criminal hands on you. We hope to
welcome you in Germany at the earliest
opportunity. A thousand cordial greetings
from your WILLIAM.
M. Jonnart, the High Commissioner
who brought about the abdication of King
Constantine, published on June 16 the
following proclamation to the Greek
people :
France, Great Britain, and Russia desire
the independence, greatness, and prosperity
of Greece. They intend to defend the brave
little land they have liberated against the
united efforts of the Turks, Bulgarians, and
Germans. They are here to checkmate the
manoeuvres of the hereditary enemies of the
kingdom. They will put an end to the re-
peated violations of the Constitution, of
treaties, and the diplorable intrigues which
led up to the massacre of soldiers of the
Allies.
Yesterday Berlin was in command of Athens
and was gradually leading the people under
the yoke of the Bulgarians and Germans
We resolved to re-establish the constitutional
rights and unity of Greece. The protecting
powers, therefore, demanded the abdication
of the King. They have ne intention of
tampering with the constitutional preroga-
tives; they have other aims, namely, to as-
sure the regular and constitutional progress
ot the country, to which the late King George,
of glorious memory, had always been scrupu-
lously faithful, but which King Constantine
had ceased to respect.
Hellenes, the hour of reconciliation has
arrived. Your destinies are closely associ-
DOWNFALL OF KING CONSTANTINE
85
ated with those of the protecting powers,
your ideals are the same as theirs, your
hopes are identical. We appeal to your good
sense and patriotism.
Today the blockade is raised. Any reprisal
against Greeks, to whatever party they be-
long, will be pitilessly repressed. No breach
of the peace will be tolerated. The liberty
and prosperity of every one will be safe-
guarded. This is a new era of peace and
labor which is opening before you. Know
that, respectful of the national sovereignty,
the protecting powers have no intention of
forcing upon the Greek people general mobili-
zation.
Long live Greece, united and free !
Following the ex-King's departure
from Athens, Entente troops were landed
at Piraeus and Castella. Some of the
troops occupied the heights near Pha-
lerum Bay, while others marched to
Athens. The landing at Piraeus was ef-
fected in perfect order. At the sugges-
tion of Premier Zaimis,the Greek superior
officer was placed at the disposal of
General Sarrail to facilitate the housing
of the troops. Senator Jonnart said that
they would remain ashore pending their
return to resume the struggle against
" Greece's traditional foes." He also in-
formed Premier Zaimis that when the war
was over and order which the Allies
would exact had been re-established,
Constantine would be permitted to re-
sume his throne if such was the will of
the Greek people.
The entrance of the United States into
the war, it was stated on high authority
in London, had a direct and important
influence in bringing about the solution
of the Greek difficulty. American in-
fluence was characterized by the author-
ity in question as a fresh breeze of de-
mocracy sweeping out the corners where
the autocracies which disregard the
claims of their peoples have been shel-
tering.
Plans for dealing with the situation
which King Constantine provoked first
began to assume definite shape at the
British, French, and Italian conference
held in Savoy, when Premier Lloyd
George and Paul Painleve, the French
War Minister, found themselves in entire
agreement, and the Italian representative
was seen to be nearly of the same mind.
The execution of the details of the plan
was placed in the hands of the French,
of course in full collaboration with their
allies, and Senator Jonnart was. selected
to take on the work with whatever sup-
port might be necessary from General
Sarrail and the Admiral commanding the
allied fleets in Greek waters.
Two Offers of Autonomy for
Albania
AFTER the occupation of Serbia
/\ and Montenegro by the Central
JL JL Powers in 1916 the northern por-
tion of Albania was overrun by
Austrian troops, while the Italian troops
continued to hold the southern portion,
including the important port of Avlona,
(or Valona,) on the Adriatic. Both
powers have since issued proclamations
offering autonomy to Albania. On March
10, 1917, the official announcement was
made in London that Austria-Hungary
had issued a manifesto granting the Al-
banians autonomy under an Austrian
protectorate. The London statement as-
serted that the purpose was to justify a
levy upon Albanians for the Austrian
armies.
Dispatches from Rome on June 4 con-
tained the first intimation that Italy also
was making a definite offer of this kind
to Albania. A semi-official statement in-
formed the world that a proclamation of
the unity and independence of Albania —
under an Italian protectorate — had been
issued " in support of the principle of na-
tionality, which is one of the objects of
the Allies in the war." The statement
added :
" Since the cessation of Ottoman do-
minion, Italy has aimed to reconstruct
Albania, while Austria has used Albania
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
as a means to exercise dominion through
the Balkans. She promised a deceiving
autonomy, which, if accepted, would soon
put the country under the Austrian
yoke."
Italy has been co-operating in recent
months with the British, French, and
Serbian forces in the Balkans, and now
RTTi&NE
WHERE AUSTRIANS AND ITALIANS
ARE FIGHTING FOR ALBANIA
has 300,000 men on that front, chiefly be-
yond the Albanian boundary, in Serbia,
where the Allies' Saloniki forces con-
front the Austro-Bulgarians north of
Monastir. This large army was trans-
ferred across the Adriatic into Southern
Albania with the loss of only one trans-
port and 400 men. Early in June the
Italian forces renewed active operations
against the enemy at Berat in Albania.
An Italian Deputy, Eugenio Chiesa,
who recently journeyed across Albania
and Northern Epirus to Saloniki, made
this statement to a correspondent in
Rome:
" The Italian occupation in Albania and
Northern Epirus extends well into the
Greek Kingdom. Not only have the Ital-
ians occupied Valona and its hinterland,
but they have passed a long way to south
of the boundary between Greece proper
and Northern Epirus at Cape Stylos, and
have extended in a northern direction as
far as the River Kalamas, opposite the
south end of Corfu, which was intended
by the thirteenth protocol of the Berlin
Congress of 1878 and by the Berlin Con-
ference of 1880 to have been the north-
western frontier of Greece, but which,
since the last Balkan wars, has been well
within the enlarged northwestern boun-
dary."
The trilingual proclamation of General
Ferrero, of which Signor Chiesa gave the
correspondent a copy dated April 1, in-
formed the inhabitants that for purely
military reasons the Allies had ordered
their troops to occupy the region south of
the frontier fixed by London. To the
north of Valona the Italian occupation
goes as far as the River Vojusa, while in-
land the Italian outposts are at Kalibaki,
on the road from Janina to Premeti.
" I am opposed," said Chiesa, " to the
permanent occupation of these places,
nor do I believe the Italian Government
intends to retain them. I consider as
sincere the manifesto of the commandant
of Valona, but Valona Kanina, the old
Arta, north of Valona, the surrounding
districts and the Isle of Saseto must re-
main Italian, not only for strategic but
for sanitary reasons, owing to the neces-
sity of draining the pestilential marshes
which affect the health of Valona. Veni-
zelos, with whom I spoke at Saloniki,
frankly recognized this occupation of Va-
lona, Saseto, and the territory of Valona.
" The Italians have already constructed
over 400 kilometers of roads and opened
over 125 schools where both Italian and
Albanian are taught."
The New Republic of Koritza
Reorganization in Albania
FEW people know that the process of
remaking the map of Europe has
been begun already by the Entente
Allies in Albania. As long ago as Dec.
12, 1916, they established the capital of a
free and independent Albanian Republic
in the Koritza district. This district at
present marks the limits of the embryo
State, for the Austrians still hold most
of Albania; but it possesses all the ma-
chinery of a modern Government — a rul-
ing council, an army 600 strong, postage
stamps, paper money, a national flag,
foreign alliances, even a budget that cov-
ers expenditures.
The French Army was the sponsor of
this new-born State. The aim of its
foundation was as much strategical as
political. At the end of 1916 the Bulga-
rians were in occupation of the whole
district south of Lakes Ochrida and
Prespa, and their patrols came as far
south as Koritza. The Greeks were in
control of the town. They were Royalists,
and Koritza was a centre of espionage
and contraband. The German mail to
and from Athens used to pass through
there several times a week. The Aus-
trians had bands of paid komitadjis
(irregulars) ranging the whole district.
When the French patrols first reached
Koritza they soon found that the hostil-
ity of the local Albanians was not so
much love of the Austrians as resentment
of any fresh incursion of foreigners into
their country. By ousting the Royalist
Greeks and allowing the proclamation of
the independence of Albania with Koritza
as capital, the French converted enemies
into allies.
Themistocles Germeni, a Christian Al-
banian Nationalist, who was one of the
principal chiefs of irregular bands in
the pay of the Austrians, was won over
so rapidly by this measure that he be-
came Prefect of Police of the new re-
public. Authority is exercised by an
elected council of fourteen members,
seven Mussulman and seven Christian.
They raise money by taxation — $9,000 a
month; $7,000 of this goes to pay their
Albanian gendarmerie, of whom a part
are fighting by the side of the French
against the Austrian paid bands and
showing themselves of great use as
guides.
The success of the measure of pro-
claiming, or rather reproclaiming, the
independence of Albania is said to be
complete. In fact, every power involved
in Albania seems to be driven to the
conclusion that the Albanians must be
humored rather than dragooned. The
Italians have proclaimed Albanian inde-
pendence at Premeti, in their sphere,
and the Austrians appear to have done
something of the same kind on their side
in the north.
It was the Conference of London in
1913 that first founded an independent
Albania and put it "under the Prince of
Wied. He was driven out in May, 1914,
by revolution, and succeeded by Essad
Pasha as President of the Albanian Re-
public. In September, 1914, Essad de-
clared war on the Austrians, and has
throughout remained a loyal ally of the
Entente, though, like other rulers of
small States, he has temporarily lost his
country and is now in Saloniki. Five
hundred Albanians who have followed
him are fighting at the front, brigaded
with the French.
Though recognized as President of
Albania and flying his standard — a
black star on a red ground — over his
house in Saloniki, Essad Pasha con-
stantly maintains that the present is not
the time to decide about the future of
Albania. The task of the moment is to
eject the Austrian invaders from the
country, and the congress of allied
powers who settle the terms of peace
will do the rest. But he holds strongly
the view, nevertheless, that the only sat-
isfactory Albania will be one where the
Albanians rule themselves.
Shipping Sunk by Submarines
Record From May 14 to June 13, 1917
THE destruction of merchant ship- 000 tons of goods entered French ports,
ping by submarines continues to and during April 4,300,000 tons,
be very considerable. Adequate The most recent British Admiralty
figures are not available, but the figures show that while there was a de-
estimates of allied Government officials crease in the number of ships sunk for a
are alarmingly high. Thus, in the few weeks, there has been a fresh burst
French Chamber of Deputies on May 25, of destructive activity on. the part of the
M. Cels, a member of the Marine Com- German submarines. Continuing the of-
mittee, gave the following striking ficial weekly record of British merchant
figures to show the growing menace of ships destroyed, as published in the June
submarine warfare : issue of this magazine, we find :
Tons of Over Under
Shipping 1,600 1,600 Fishing
Sunk. Tons. Tons. Vessels.
1915 1,204,000 Week ended May 20. . 18 9 3
1910 2,079,000 Week ended May 27.. 18 1 2
1917— first four months only 2,400,000 Week ended June 3. . 15 3 5
M. Cels said that one method of meet- Week ended June 10. 22 10 6
ing the submarine menace was to build m . , ^ ^ , ~7n ™ 71
,. , 1A1/1 ,, , . ... ., Total for four weeks. 73 23 16
ships, but in 1916 the whole world s ship- _ A • • • _ • . ,
, ., ,. . i i ^ r,™ ™« > For the previous four weeks the totals
building only reached 1,780,000 tons. were. Ships over 1>600 tons> 120. under 1>600
Admiral Lacaze, the Minister of Ma- tons, 55; fishing vessels, 36.
rine, the same evening made a statement Norway's losses in May also showed a
supplementing that of M. Cels. With decrease as compared with March and
the captured enemy tonnage and the ton- April> the number of shipS sunk being 49.
nage purchased and constructed, he said, Denmark's losses since the war, according
the allied and neutral tonnage at the be- to a Copenhagen dispatch of May 22,
ginning of 1917 was about the same as at place the number 0f ships sunk by sub-
the beginning of the war. For the first marines 0r mines at 150, with the death
four months of 1917 the total losses might of 210 Danish seamen. A number of
be put at 2,500,000 tons. Taking into Swedish ships have been sunk during the
account the rate of construction, without month> but details of size are not avail_
being unduly optimistic, the losses for able The Athens newSpaper, Patris, on
the year, if the submarine warfare con- M 2g printed a m of 102 Greek ships>
*^nn .Z Sam! mtenSlty' WOfd be with an aggregate tonnage of 300,000,
^^V°n^ °i * ttnnaA^.of over which had been sunk by German sub-
40,000,000. With what the Allies were marines> thug ]eaving to ^ Qnly 149
doing in restricting imports they could, ^ ^ ft ^ tQ of m0Q^
with their present tonnage, meet the re- , , _ . , _
quirements of the country and assure the Amon^ the lar^er shlPS reP«rted sunk
transport of war material. The Minister durinS the month have been the British
pointed out that the figures of tonnage transport Transylvania, 14,000 tons, with
sunk up to May 23 showed a marked de- the loss of 413 lives, mainly soldiers; the
crease, being only 290,000 tons, and he British steamer Southland, 11,899 tons;
then gave statistics proving that the Ger- the British transport Cameronia, 10,963
man blockade had never been effective, tons, with the loss of 140 soldiers, and
since up to the present the French ports the British hospital ship, Dover Castle,
had received as many ships as they could 8,271 tons.
accommodate. These vessels had brought Among American ships sunk were
everything of which the country stood in three sailing vessels: The Dirigo, 3,005
need. During the month of March 4,200,- tons, with a cargo valued at $500,000, on
SHIPPING SUNK BY GERMAN SUBMARINES
89
May 31; the Frances M., 1,229 tons, on
May 18, and the Barbara, 838 tons, on
May 24. According to the skipper of the
American schooner Margaret B. Rouss,
after that vessel was torpedoed in the
Mediterranean, the crew of the German
submarine robbed him and his crew of
every article they possessed when they
were in the lifeboat.
Methods of Fighting U-Boah
Admiral Lacaze, in the French Cham-
ber of Deputies, May 26, threw some
light upon the methods employed to
counterattack the submarines. He said:
I see no reason why I should not speak
of these methods in public. It would be
childish to think they are unknown to the
enemy. They consist of a system of patrol
boats, of arming merchantmen with guns,
and fitting them with wireless ; of seaplanes,
nets, mines, smoke-raising devices, and drag-
nets.
I sought to get patrol boats built here and
buy them abroad. I scoured the world over
with missions, covering the ground^ from
America to North Cape, from the Cape of
Good Hope to Japan, but England had been
beforehand. When I entered the Ministry I
found 243 patrols. Now we have 552. I have
drawn up a scheme which will increase the
figure to 900. I continue to buy in London,
the world's centre for shipping. I am obliged
to do so because our shipyards had been al-
most completely abandoned ; because, as a
result of that short-war theory which weighed
so regrettably upon all decisions taken at the
outset of the war, the yards had been trans-
formed into war material factories to meet
the pressing need of the national defense.
We have now got back most of the arsenals
and a number of private yards, together with
skilled workmen.
The guns we mount on the patrol boats
have been referred to disdainfully, but you
cannot put ten-centimeter guns on a small
vessel. A patrol boat on guard, armed with
95-millimeter guns, met two submarines
armed with 105-millimeter guns, sank one and
put the other to flight.
We have 1,200 dragnets as well as 170,500
curtain nets and 5,000 20-foot float nets,
which indicate the presence of submarines.
We have special bombs for submarines and
apparatus to throw them.
We have organized seaplane posts all
around the coasts, so that the zone of action
of each post joins that of its neighbor on
either side. By October all merchantmen and
patrollers will be fitted with wireless and all
merchantmen supplied with guns of as heavy
calibre as possible, for which measures pro-
grams have been drawn up even beyond what
was thought possible.
For building the plates and frames required
M. Loucheur, Under Secretary for Munitions,
in charge of the manufacturing sections, has
started up again all the rolling mills. They
will be able to supply us with the plates I
asked for, and we hope that the merchant
marine will also be able to obtain the quan-
tity of plates to which it is entitled.
Speaking in the Chamber of Deputies
again on June 7, Admiral Lacaze said
that the proportion of submarines sunk
had increased to a marked extent. " We
are employing," he added, " a very effi-
cient method, and we are able to see the
possibility of developing this method so
as to render it more efficacious." The
Minister, reviewing the submarine situa-
tion, said that Germany had announced a
blockade and had fixed a certain date.
The result had been that the Allies were
not blockaded. Their ships had gone
wherever it was necessary to go. At no
moment could any one say that France
had been blockaded, either near at hand
or at a distant point.
The Navy Department at Washington
has received reports stating that more
submarines are being run down, captured,
and destroyed than ever before, and al-
though the exact details cannot be di-
vulged, it is known that the American
destroyer flotilla, under Rear Admiral
Sims, has been playing an active part in
the work with the British and French
fleets. Recently twenty-eight German
submarines were captured or destroyed
in a single week.
The increased success of the campaign
against the U-boats is attributed more to
improvements in organization than to
any new devices. It is said the presence
of American destroyers has enabled the
British and French to send some of their
small craft to their bases for docking
and sorely needed repairs, after virtually
continuous service for the last two years.
Hardships of the U-Boat Service
Captain L. Persius, Leading German Naval Critic,
Praises the Men Who Torpedo Merchant Ships
This article from the Berliner Tageblatt has been translated for Current History
Magazine, both on account of its human interest and because it reveals the prevailing
German mental attitude toward ruthless submarine warfare.
AT present the crews of the German
/\ submarines are the objects of
A. _Y» particularly warm interest. Of
course, their heroic activities
have been followed with undiminished
attention ever since that notable 22d of
September, 1914, when the never-to-be-
forgotten Weddigen sent three English
armored cruisers to the bottom of the
North Sea with well-aimed torpedoes
from the U-9. That the "David," the
little submarine, is able to give the
deathblow to the huge " Goliath," the
battleship, and that it possesses powers
far exceeding the expectations placed
upon this most modern instrument of
battle before the war, has been proved
by the torpedoing of the ships of the
line before the Dardanelles, which put
an end to the entire Anglo-French un-
dertaking, in particular, and further-
more by the sinking of many other en-
emy warships.
But the U-boats have made them-
selves the centre of attraction only since
they have shown their effectiveness in
the warfare on commerce. Here an en-
tirely new field was opened to them.
On Oct. 26, 1914, the British merchant-
man Glitra fell a victim to a U-boat
(U-17) southwest of Skudenaes on the
Norwegian coast. This was the first
destruction of a merchant ship by a sub-
marine. Soon others followed on the
Atlantic coast of France, in the Irish
Channel, &c. The world stared in sur-
prise. The U-boats were attacking the
enemy's commerce. That was a novelty
never anticipated. During the two and
a half years that have passed the feel-
ing of certitude has grown more defi-
nite from month to month that the U-
boat may be destined to cut off the
main artery even of Great Britain, ruler
of the seas, through the tying up of her
imports, and that thus the U-boat
points to the way in which the "free-
dom of the seas " may be insured in the
future.
If the nation whose existence is most
closely connected with the uninterrupt-
ed importation of foodstuffs sees that
for its own life it must move for the un-
disturbed peaceful use of the seas even
in war times, then the last barrier will
fall — i. e., all the paragraphs contrary
to civilization, those speaking of prizes,
privateering, contraband, &c, must be
removed from sea law; in short, the
principle that ought to be taken for
granted by civilized nations that private
property may not be destroyed on the
water, as it may not be infringed upon
on land in time of war, will be recog-
nized.
The men who are helping create this
condition desired in the interests of
humanity and the development of cult-
ure are the crews of the U-boats. Of
course, in order to carry out their task,
they need instruments, vessels, and
weapons of the most cunning construc-
tion. The creators of these things, the
shipbuilders and engineers, must not be
forgotten when the triumphs of the sub-
marine weapon are brought to mind.
Only after the war will the world recog-
nize to its full extent what the German
people owes to its U-boat builders and
to the constructors of the many pieces
of machinery concealed in the U-boats,
and what almost incredible technical
progress has been made in Germany
since the Fall of 1914, not only in the
perfection of products, but also in the
rapidity with which the desires of the
front have been fulfilled. Any one who
might be permitted to raise the curtain
just a little and to penetrate the veil
that now naturally covers everything
HARDSHIPS OF THE U-BOAT SERVICE
91
connected with U-boat construction
would be overwhelmed with the extent
of what has been created by German
science in every necessary line.
A seaman's lot is never easy. Night
and day he is separated from a watery
grave only by a thin plank. And yet
his existence seems like paradise com-
pared with that of the U-boat man. This
man dispenses with what every one re-
gards- as indispensible for life — light
and air. When the road to hades gapes
for the U-boat man it leads through
darkness and torment. He knows that
he is threatened most by a slow death
through suffocation. Everybody else —
with exceptions like stokers, men in the
magazines, and some others — enjoys
the fresh air and looks up and sees
above him the broad canopy of heaven
when in the roar of the battle he must
enter the gates of the Great Beyond.
Indeed, in every case, " Dulce et decorum
est pro patria mori." But our sym-
pathies will be more deeply moved when
we think of the death of the U-boat man.
Of course the U-boat man also sees
some of the bright side of life, and it
would be wrong to pass by without
noting this. On board a big battleship
the individual is more or less lost in the
crowd. He is only one among the more
than 1,100 men composing the crew of a
modern ship of the line. On board the
U-boat every one is an important per-
sonality. There are rarely more than
thirty men in a high seas U-boat. So
every one, be he sailor or oiler, has
several duties to perform; so every one is
fully acquainted with all the numerous
mechanisms and expert in their use.
The commander, watch officer, and
chief engineer know every one of their
men thoroughly. They stand in a com-
radely relationship to them, they share
their sufferings and joys in every way.
Their food is all cooked in the same
kettle and gift cigarettes of the same
brand are found between their lips when
the boat bobs up for a brief rest and the
weather permits. Below decks smoking
is not allowed. To be sure, the com-
mander has a tiny room of his own — in
which to write his official reports, &c.
But the lack of light and air, the
absence of every comfort, the dangers
that menace them every hour, yes,
every minute, are the common lot of all
U-boat men. There is, however, greater
responsibility upon the officers and the
chief engineers, although every single
U-boat man, sailor and oiler alike,
knows that oftentimes a slight over-
sight or a false move will seal the fate
of himself and his comrades.
The most careful selection among
the volunteers, who are always offering
themselves in great numbers for the
U-boat service, is just as important as
the long period of training during which
the U-boat aspirants are schooled in
every branch of their difficult service.
They must all be in superior health and
be what they call " fixe Kerle " — i. e.,
quick in perception and decision, never
timid or hesitating, skilled, and also in-
finitely serious in their conception of
duty, dependable and steadfast. The
sailor must be a " thoroughbred sea-
man," the oiler a perfect mechanic.
The members of the crews are
trained at the U-boat school. There
they became acquainted with all the
complicated apparatus, the expert use
of which forms the basis for every suc-
cess. The pupils are made familiar with
the instruments that show the condition
of the atmosphere, the trim of the boat
and the height and depth, with the func-
tions of the numerous valves, slides and
levers, &c, and with the safety and
life-saving apparatus, a thorough
knowledge of which is indispensable for
every U-boat man. In addition to these
general points, the submarine sailor
must have skill in navigation, in sig-
naling, in serving and launching tor-
pedoes and in handling the deck guns
and their ammunition, while the oiler
must understand the care of the engines
that drive the U-boat above and below
the water well enough to enable him,
in case of necessity, to take the place of
the engineers and, if possible, that of
the chief engineer.
Correspondingly greater demands are
made upon the officers and the engin-
eers. Every U-boat commander is al-
most a " superman." He must possess
extraordinary gifts of both an intellect-
92
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
ual and physical kind if he wants to fill
his post with success. To him belongs
a quite special talent. The officers'
corps of the German Navy includes a
number of such " supermen." These
commanders are reinforced by an ex-
cellent body of engineers, whose loyalty
and knowledge already in times of peace
had more than once demanded unlimited
recognition.
The U-boat commander and chief en-
gineer, manager of the boat and com-
mander of the weapons on board and
manager of the engines — that is, the
forces that give life to the boat — are
supported by a personnel of sailors and
oilers capable and filled with the joy of
service. They all blend in a whole that
firmly binds " a row of brothers " in
danger and distress, and that, if a pitiless
fate so decides, maintains its firmness
in loyal comradeship in death itself.
The Heroic Men of the Athos
By Hughes Le Roux
To the soul of America, on the eve of her entry into the world war, this stirring tale
of heroism was dedicated. Printed in Le Matin, Paris, it has been specially translated for
Current History Magazine.
IT is not enough to say: " Such a
liner has sunk, gutted by a German
torpedo. * * * The conduct of
the crew and of the passengers was
splendid. * * *" It is necessary to
go further and set forth before the eyes
of the world certain explanations which
will show what, in this third year of the
war, the expression " splendid conduct "
means in French.
I wish to place on record the story of
how the Athos died, with the tricolor
floating from her mizzenmast. The affair
took place on Feb. 17, 1917. Launched
by an attacking submarine which re-
mained unseen, the torpedo penetrated
the liner. The Captain calculated that
he had ten minutes to save whatever could
be saved.
A torpedoed steamship does not simply
sink; she often blows up. She tosses
into the air men's bodies, smashed, dis-
membered, shot forth by the explosion
like stones from a sling. On board the
Athos there was an engineer officer who
made up his mind: "At least, I will
prevent that! "
The liner was listing frightfully. By
the narrow steel stair, slimy with oil, the
officer, whose hand was already muti-
lated, made his way down into the engine
room, from which he knew he would
never come forth again. He shut off the
valves; he handled the control levers; he
checked the explosion. He sleeps now in
the abysses of the sea. This was his
choice. His name was Donzel. Let us
salute him!
At Hongkong the Athos had embarked
a thousand Chinese coolies, the sallow-
faced workers who come to France to
replace our lacking workmen. They be-
gin their journey under contracts worthy
of France and of themselves — a part of
their earnings is kept back for their
wives, their parents, their children, those
whom they love as we love our own kin.
These Asiatics were in charge of a
French Captain and a dozen Corporals
and interpreters.
These officers and interpreters did not
say to themselves : " There are four hun-
dred million more Chinese in China! Let
us think first of our own lives. They are
more valuable." Until the last second
they worked to secure the safety of these
foreign laborers who had intrusted them-
selves to Fance. For themselves, the ship
was their coffin. We salute Captain Sil-
vestre and his valorous aids!
The Athos was bringing back to France
three German prisoners. They had been
taken aboard at the port of Indo-China.
They had wormed their way into our col-
ony to whisper words of treason and of
hate in the ears of the natives whom
France is governing in friendship, guid-
ing them toward a higher justice. Pris-
THE HEROIC MEN OF THE ATHOS
93
oners below decks, they were in charge of
a Sergeant.
At the moment when the German tor-
pedo pierced the hull of the French ship,
this Sergeant thought: " These Germans
are human beings. I will not leave
them in their cells simply because their
fellow-countrymen are infamous." He
went below. He had time to open two
cabins. He set free two Germans, who
succeeded in getting up on deck and
jumping into the sea. They were picked
up. He, the French Sergeant, was
drowned while opening the door of the
third cabin to save the third of his
enemies.
Dear friends in America, would you
not wish, in the list of your Laconia
dead, to write the name of Sergeant
Moujeau between those of Mrs. Hoy and
Miss Hoy — of Sergeant Moujeau, who
died in order to bear witness, before the
world, that France is the fatherland of
honor for all men, good and evil equally ?
Further, the Athos had taken aboard a
battalion of Senegalese sharpshooters,
under the orders of Major Colonna
d'Istria. Paris and France know them
well today and love them, these black
soldiers. In our field hospitals, the
hands of our wives and of our daughters
have dressed their wounds. France has
taught them to live and die with joy, for
a bit of ribbon, for a ray of honor.
They were in numbers on the Athos,
and inevitably in the ship's boats and
on the rafts there was not room for
every one. Their officers organized the
work of rescue under rigid discipline.
Naturally, these officers elected to re-
main with those for whom there would
not be room, and to go first into the
abyss. This, then, is what happened:
At the moment when the liner sank,
drawn up in ranks as though on parade,
Major Colonna d'Istria's Senegalese
sharpshooters presented arms. They
sank with their hands upon their rifles,
with bayonets fixed. They were saluting
France. Commandant Dorise, Captain of
the Athos, had not left the bridge. He
dominated this scene of death by the
calmness of his voice and orders. When
the sinking ship went under he was
thrown from a height of sixty feet. But
his soul remained with his ship. He was
already a dying man. He was kept afloat
in the water' by Maurel, the supervisor
of the mails, and Ensign Verdelhan, as
a bit of glorious wreckage. He was dead
when they landed him in Malta, where
his grave will be.
This, then, is what did not sink with
the Athos!
A Harrowing Sea Story
Captain Chave's Report
ONE of the most heroic and terrible
sea episodes of the war is enshrined
in the report made by Captain Ben-
jamin Chave to the owners of the British
merchant steamer Alnwick Castle, which
he had commanded. The Alnwick Castle
was torpedoed without warning by a
German submarine 320 miles at sea, off
the Scilly Isles, in April, 1917, and the
crew were left in six open boats at the
mercy of wild North Atlantic gales,. Some
of these boats were never heard of again.
The one with Captain Chave contained
twenty-nine men, and their awful suffer-
ings are an index to what the missing
ones endured before they perished.
The Captain's boat soon lost sight of
the others. There were only three men
with him who could help him to steer,
and one of these soon became delirious.
The wind and waves were unsafe for
sailing. There was a terrible fight with
the sea, and the men were constantly
soaked with spray and pierced with the
bitter north wind. Water was served out
twice daily — each portion about one-third
of a condensed milk tin. A can of milk
was divided among four men once a day,
and a six-pound can of beef was appor-
tioned daily among twenty-nine persons.
The men's thirst became terrible, and
pitiful appeals for water were made. An
94
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
extra ration was served to a few of the
weaker men.
The ship had been sunk on a Monday,
and on Thursday morning the wind fell
for a couple of hours, and several show-
ers of hail fell. The Captain continues:
" The hailstones were eagerly scraped
from our clothing and swallowed. I or-
dered the sail to be spread out in the hope
of catching water from a rain shower,
but we were disappointed in this, for the
rain was too light. Several of the men
were getting light-headed, and I found
that they had been drinking salt water,
in spite of my earnest and vehement
order.
" It was with great difficulty that any
one could be prevailed on to bale out the
water, which seemed to leak into the boat
at an astonishing rate, perhaps due to
some rivets having been started by the
pounding she had received.
" Our water was now very low, and we
decided to mix condensed milk with it.
Most of the men were now helpless, and
several were raving in delirium. The
foreman cattleman, W. Kitcher, died and
was buried. Soon after dark the sea be-
came confused and angry. I furled the
tiny reef sail and put out the sea anchor.
At 8 P. M. we were swamped by a break-
ing sea and I thought all was over. A
moan of despair rose in the darkness, but
I shouted to them to * Bale, bale, bale ! '
and assured them that the boat could not
sink. How they found the balers and the
bucket in the dark I don't know, but they
managed to free the boat while I shifted
the sea anchor to the stern and made a
tiny bit of sail and got her away before
the wind.
" The wind died away about midnight,
and then we spent a most distressing
night. Several of the men collapsed, and
others temporarily lost their reason, and
one of these became pugnacious and
climbed about the boat uttering com-
plaints and threats. The horrors of
that night, together with the physical
suffering, are beyond my power of
description.
" When daylight came the appeals for
water were so angry and insistent that I
deemed it best to make an issue at once.
After that had gone around, amid much
cursing and snatching, we could see that
only one more issue remained. One fire-
man was dead and another nearly so.
My steward was almost gone. We tried
to pour some milk and water down his
throat, but he could not swallow. No
one could now eat biscuits, it was impos-
sible to swallow anything solid, our
throats were afire, our lips furred, our
limbs numbed, our hands were white and
bloodless. During the forenoon on Fri-
day another fireman died and my steward
died, also a cattleman collapsed and died
about noon.
" To our unspeakable relief we were
rescued about 1:30 P. M. by the French
steamer Venezia. A considerable swell
was running, and in our enfeebled state
we were unable properly to manoeuvre
our boat, but the French Captain, M.
Paul Bonafacie, handled his empty vessel
with great skill and brought her along-
side us, sending out a lifebuoy on a line
for us to seize. We were unable to climb
the ladders, so they hoisted us one by
one in ropes until the twenty-four live
men were aboard. The four dead bodies
were left in the boat, and she was fired
at by the gunners of the Venezia, in
order to destroy her, but the shots did
not take effect."
An illustration of the spirit that ani-
mates officers of the British merchant
service is found in the concluding words
of Captain Chave. In spite of the fact
that when he was torpedoed he had sur-
vivors of another vessel on board, which
in its turn had observed another steamer
blown up, and that he himself witnessed
a further steamer sunk, in spite of the
terrible sufferings which he had experi-
enced, he adds: "At present I have not
regained fully the use of my hands and
feet, but hope to be fit again before ar-
rival in England, when I trust you will
honor me with appointment to another
ship."
p»""""
GUGLIELMO MARCONI
Pioneer of Wireless Telegraphy, Who Is a Member of the
Italian War Mission to the United States
(Photo © Harris <fc Ewing)
LORD NORTHCLIFFE
The Noted British Newspaper Owner, Who Has Come to
America to Act as Head of the British War Mission
\ (Photo © Underwood d Underwood)
rsiitiau ■■■•■■ ■■■■■■■■■■iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitilliiiiiiiitlliiimiiiin ■miiilliiiliililiiliiil
Adventures of Submarine Victims
Eight Spanish sailors from the crew of
the British vessel Gravina, which was
sunk by a German submarine on Feb. 7,
1917, reached their homes in Barcelona
in April. One of them gave the follow-
ing account of their remarkable experi-
ences :
THE Gravina was struck by a torpedo
amidships, and broke in halves.
The fifteen survivors were able to
keep afloat by clinging to two bales of
corkwood. In about half an hour's time
we saw a submarine coming toward us.
We shouted, " We are Spaniards, we are
Spaniards! Save us! " The submarine
came near to us, and many of the crew
were on its platform looking at us and
laughing at our struggles. We expected
to be picked up quickly, but, no, we still
had to remain in the water another ten
minutes while the submarine 'officers
prepared their cameras to photograph us.
Having done this, they proceeded to save
us. They threw lifebelts attached to
ropes and got us on board. We had been
fighting against death for three-quarters
of an hour.
We were immediately made to go below
through the afterhatch to the part of
the submarine used for discharging tor-
pedoes and storing ammunition. In this
floating prison we found two companions
in misfortune, the Captains of two Eng-
lish steamers sunk by the same sub-
marine.
The monotonous but not tranquil life
was disturbed from time to time by a
rapid manoeuvre. Some vessel was in
sight, and it was necessary to sink it.
They forced us to load the torpedo, an
operation which was performed with all
the repugnance of honorable men. They
opened the chamber of the tube, made us
lift the torpedo and put it in. After-
ward they gave the order to fire, and
after a few seconds of anxiety 'we heard
a formidable explosion. The German
seamen jumped, laughed, and sang. They
had hit the target. During the twelve
days that we were on board they sank
five vessels, among them a Swedish sail-
ing ship which was sunk by cannon shots.
Generally speaking, we went down at
night time, and, although submerged, we
always navigated. In the daytime we
came up on to the surface of the sea,
which, however, they never allowed us
to see. We were aware of it by the
change of motors. Our region of opera-
tion (that is, of the submarine) was for
nine days south of Ireland.
On Feb. 15, 1917, we started on the
homeward trip to the naval base, as the
German seamen informed us. We went
up the west side of England, round the
north, and then to Jutland, always on
the surface, and in three days arrived
in the waters of Heligoland. One of us
managed to see the engineer's diary,
where the following particulars appeared:
" Eighteen miles speed on the surface
and thirteen miles submerged; 12,000
tons. Crew of thirty," and in each page
was noted U-81. Four hours before ar-
riving at the Island of Heligoland they
made all the prisoners go up on the deck
platform, and they photographed us.
They then ordered us down below again
to the torpedo room. The port where we
landed was not very large. There were
about a dozen submarines and four or
five destroyers there, but all the quays
and jetties bristled with seamen with
bayonets fixed. * * *
Three days after our arrival in prison
camp we were awakened by cries from
the Russians who slept in the hut. Fire
had broken out in one hut apart from the
others, which served as a dungeon where
they shut up prisoners who were rebel-
lious. That day six Russians, one French-
man, and one Englishman were under-
going this punishment. The prisoners
naturally called to be let out, but in vain.
The sentry remained unmoved. No doubt
he was awaiting orders from his su-
periors. Those inside the dungeon were
being stifled. The Englishman broke the
panes of a small window, with the idea of
freeing himself and his companions. The
sentry, seeing him leaning out of the win-
dow, gave him a tremendous bayonet
thrust in the chest. The wounded man
96
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
fell like lead. A small but revolting
struggle then took place. The prisoners
attempted to get out, and the German
soldier reddened his bayonet again and
again with the blood of the men shut up,
who saw with horror that the fire was in-
creasing. The conflagration could not be
extinguished by the other prisoners until
it had done its work. The eight unhappy
individuals who occupied the dungeon
were corpses. For an hour afterward
nothing was heard but shouts of indigna-
tion. It looked as if a formidable out-
break would take place. The guards were
immediately reinforced, and we were sur-
rounded by a number of German soldiers.
The commander of the camp issued an or-
der stating that he was sorry for what
had occurred, and that on the following
day he would allow the funeral of the
victims to take place with ceremony.
It was not all the prisoners who re-
signed themselves to suffer what was
imposed on them. The English, above
all, were the most rebellious. One day
we were present at a scene which was
celebrated with great rejoicing in all the
camp. An English seaman, who already
had one eye ' blind as a result of blows
they had given him on a previous occa-
sion, refused to obey two officers who
ordered him to go to work. They reviled
one another mutually, and finally the
Englishman invited them to fight, giving
them such punches that as a consequence
we* saw them for days afterward with
their heads bandaged. The German sol-
diers were the first to scoff at the cow-
ardice of their superiors. The English
sailor was condemned to bread and wa-
ter until the end of the war.
What saddened me most were the
seventy old men and thirty children of
12 to 14 years of age, all English except
one, who was French; they were young-
sters who had been captured on board
the vessels sunk, and ran from hut to
hut asking for sweets and tobacco.
Another day I also suffered a great shock
on seeing the English Captain of our
steamer Gravina, who had so far re-
ceived no news from his family, who
came up to us to beg bread. " I have
always been good to you. Have com-
passion on me. Give me a little piece
of bread, if you can spare it." We
certainly had no reason to complain of
his treatment of us, and we respected
him. We gave him all we could.
[On April 14 the eight Spanish seamen
were entrained for the Swiss frontier.
All the way they were much struck by
the number of wounded and by the gen-
eral air of depression among the people.]
Come Into the Garden, (of Eden,) Maude
(With Apologies)
[Contributed to The Times of India on the occasion of
General Maude's victorious advance in Mespotamia]
Come into the garden, Maude,
For the black-browed Turk hath flown ;
Come into the garden, Maude,
For the fall of Kut atone ;
And the " Woodbine " spices are wafted abroad
And the bluff of the Hun is blown.
For the screen of darkness moves
And your star of Glory's high,
Beginning to glow in the light we love
In the light of victory.
To shine in the folds of the Flag we love,
To fight for till we die.
The Threat of "Mittel-Europa"
By Thomas G. Frothingham
" The perennial conflict^ between land and
water transport, between natural and artifi-
cial conditions, in which the victory is likely
to rest, as heretofore, with nature's own
highway, the seas."— Mahan.
GERMANY attained one of her most
, coveted aims — the " bridge to the
East " — when, early in the war,
Turkey and Bulgaria joined the
Central Powers, and General von Mack-
ensen swept through Serbia, opening up
the last European section of the Berlin-
to-Bagdad railway. The world at once
recognized a menace in Germany's pos-
session of this coveted commercial
weapon. It so happens that Admiral
Mahan has left on record a dispassionate
estimate of the measure of this menace,
and his words are of vital interest at
this stage of the war.
The Teutonic desire to control the Near
East is only a modern form of one of the
oldest problems in the world, a legacy of
the ancient empires and of the Middle
Ages, the dream of Napoleon. Seizure of
this source of power by some rival has
long been the. dread of England. To com-
bat imagined attempts at such control on
the part of Russia was Great Britain's
self-imposed task for three generations.*
The great Slavic Empire, though vainly
attempting to find an outlet to the sea,
was never a real danger; yet to guard
against the imaginary threat of this im-
pending avalanche England unwisely
built up Germany into a dominating
power and retained Turkey in Constanti-
nople, both designed to be barriers
against Russia. Both are now united
against Great Britain.
It is this union of Germany and Tur-
key that makes the present Teutonic con-
trol of the passage to the East a serious
matter for the whole commercial world.
No longer is it a question of the great
undeveloped Slavic empire seeking an
outlet to the sea ; it is a new military and
trade weapon already firmly in the grasp
♦British Foreign Policies and the Present
War. — Current History, May, 1917.
of the most efficient military power ever
developed. The Teutons at present domi-
nate the whole Balkan Peninsula, as well
as the Dardanelles; Serbia, Montenegro,
and Rumania have been overcome in de-
tail and are out of the running. Russia
has passed through a revolution, and at
present is not to be considered as an ac-
tive military factor.
The Russian Empire, before the sudden
collapse of its armies that came with
the revolution, had given promise of
checking, and even cutting off, Teutonic
domination through the Russian advance
in Asia Minor and north of Bagdad.
Now all this is at an end — at least for
the present. It is true that Bagdad is
in British hands, but the consolidation of
the great strip of territory from Ger-
many, through Austria-Hungary, the
Balkan States, and Asia Minor, to the
East may be called an accomplished fact
from a military point of view.
Teutonic control of these territories
implies ownership of long lines of land
transportation and domination of com-
merce through them. What danger is
there for the rest of the commercial
world in this situation, with so great a
power ready to use such control to its
own advantage? Even under such effi-
cient control, can artificial conditions of
land transportation compete with the
great natural lanes of the sea ? Never in
history has this proved possible, yet
here are all the elements of the most
efficient machinery ever devised to build
up such a structure. The foundation of
this Germanic edifice is the Bagdad Rail-
road, originally projected as a line from
the Levant to the Persian Gulf, now en-
larged into the railway systems reaching
from Hamburg on the North Sea to the
Euphrates and Tigris Valleys in Asia
Minor.
In a paper by Admiral Mahan, pub-
lished in 1902, from which was taken the
quotation at the head of this article, is a
most interesting discussion of the mili-
tary and commercial values of this rail-
98
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
road as originally planned. He sums up
the merits of the railway in words that
are well worthy of study in the present
circumstances:
This new line will have over the one now
existing the advantage which rail travel al-
ways has over that by water, of greater spe-
cific rapidity. It will, therefore, serve par-
ticularly for the transport " of passengers,
mails, and lighter freights. On the other
hand, for bulk of transport, meaning thereby
not merely articles singly of great weight or
size, but the aggregate amounts of freight
that can be carried in a given time, water
will always possess an immense and irre-
versible advantage over land transport for
equal distances. A water route is, as it
were, a road with numberless tracks. For
these reasons, and on account of the first
cost of construction, water transport has a
lasting comparative cheapness, which, so far
as can be foreseen, will secure to it forever a
commercial superiority over that by land. It
is also, for large quantities, much more
rapid; for, though a train can carry its
proper load faster than a vessel can, the
closely restricted number of trains that can
proceed at* once, as compared to the numer-
ous vessels, enables the latter in a given
time, practically simultaneously, to deliver a
bulk of material utterly beyond the power
of the road.
These wise conclusions were drawn
from the first project of the railway
from the Levant to the Persian Gulf —
and these fixed conditions, with which a
railway has to contend, are multiplied by
length. So it must be kept in mind that
even German efficiency has a hard prob-
lem to solve in the railroad from Berlin
to the East.
A study of the map will show that the
proper economic uses of these railway
systems are the normal functions of any
railroads, to distribute goods brought by
water, to deliver goods for shipment by
water, and to connect neighboring coun-
tries. Under such natural commercial
conditions, as pointed out by Admiral
Mahan, the great bulk of freight shipped
for long distances would not use the rail-
ways, but no matter what concessions
might be made in rates, would be carried
over the seas. Railways can never com-
pete with waterways.
So the conclusion is obvious that, un-
der natural conditions, even though these
railways may be under Teutonic control,
they are of great value to the countries
through which they run; but that, while
of great advantage to German trade,
they are not a source of undue power to
Germany. Such power, which Germany
has unquestionably sought, can therefore
only be founded on artificial conditions.
Is there, then, any dangerous power in
the conditions which have been created
by Germany? That there is a danger
would only be denied by one who is blind
to German methods and German ambi-
tions. This should be stated as baldly
as possible. Germany aims to establish
such a control over these regions that all
commercial gains shall be hers, and the
other nations be excluded. The ruthless-
ness and tenacity of purpose of Germany
have been so plainly shown that it is no
wonder Germanic control of " Mittel-Eu-
ropa " is widely held to be the greatest
menace of the war.
But, as is often the case, this dread
has become exaggerated. In fact, it has
been allowed to grow out of all propor-
tion to the other great interests at stake
in this war. There are counteracting
forces that tend to make the situation
normal. There has been so much fear of
Germanic control of the passage to the
East that the hardships for Germany and
her allies of such enforced conditions
have not been considered.
Germany's commerce would suffer from
this restricted traffic. To hold their own,
even with all possible favoritism shown
to them, the German merchants must
make proper use of the waterways or
submit to a ruinous tax on their trade.
The same is true of Germany's friends
and allies — and this leads at once to nat-
ural conditions of commerce.
With German merchants and the mer-
chants of her friendly States the worst
sufferers, how is it possible to attempt
to confine traffic to the railways? Yet
such must be the basis of any abnormal
German domination in the East. Conse-
quently, leaving all the other nations out
of consideration, the interests of Ger-
many and her allies are against the mis-
use of control that has been so widely
considered the dangerous threat in the
present conditions.
There is another restraint on this
much-feared Teutonic influence. To be
THE THREAT OF MITTEL-EUROPA
99
maintained at all such a central control
must be that of nations closely united
and unanimous in purpose. Where can
this be found in these regions ? With all
the diversities of interest, with the an-
tagonisms of races and religions, is it
possible that Germany has built a har-
monious machine that has accomplished
what has never been done in history —
diverted the bulk of commerce from the
sea to the land?
Studying the question in this way from
conditions that have prevailed through-
out all history — and still exist — we realize
that this issue must not be magnified and
allowed to cloud our minds. The mili-
tary results secured by Germany should
not be underestimated, but neither should
they be misunderstood. In 1915 the Teu-
tonic allies were practically besieged.
Since then Hindenburg and his lieuten-
ants have not only raised this siege, but
have conquered great areas of territory
rich in much-needed supplies. With Rus-
sia paralyzed by revolution, all serious
opposition to the German armies in the
East is for the time ended. These are
serious and far-reaching military condi-
tions, but they must not be distorted into
anything worse.
Prices in 1914 and 1917
IN the United States Senate on May 2
Senator Gallinger of New Hamp-
shire presented a table prepared by
the Old Dutch Market Company showing
a comparison of prices in April, 1914,
with those of April, 1917. It revealed
the fact that the average increase was
85.32 per cent. The table is as follows:
COMPARISON OF RETAIL PRICES OP
FOODS DURING APRIL, 1914, BEFORE
THE WAR, AND APRIL, 1917
GROCERIES
April, April, Inc.
1914. 1917. P. C.
Sugar, granulated, lb .$0.04 $0.09 125
Flour :
Gold Medal, lb 7.25 14.00 93
Hecker's, lb 6.50 13.50 107
Milk:
Condensed, can 09 .15 67
Evaporated, tall can 07% .12 65
Evaporated, small can 03% .06 70
Tomatoes, standard, 2%'s, can. .07 .17 142
Corn, standard, 2%'s, can. . .07 .13 85
Peas, D. J 07 .10 45
Baked beans 08 .13 65
Cornmeal, lb 02% .05 100
Hominy, lb 03 .05 66
Rice, best, lb 08 .09 12
Oatmeal, lb 03% .06 70
Macaroni, spaghetti, bulk, lb. .08 .13 65
Prunes, small, lb 05 .08 60
Salmon :
Chum, can 08, .14 75
Red Alaska, can 14 .23 64
Soups, can 08 .13 65
Navy beans, best, lb 07% .18 140
Lima beans, dried, lb 07 .20 185
Catsup, bottle 08 .12 50
Syrup, can 08% .12 41
Corn flakes, (Quaker,) pkg. .04% .08 78
Split peas, lb 06 .12 100
April,
1914.
Scotch peas, lb 05
Black-eyed peas, lb 04
Butter, first grade, lb 30
Eggs, fresh, dozen 21
VEGETABLES
Potatoes, peck 23
Kale, peck 20
Spinach, peck 20
Onions, yellow, lb 04
Lettuce, head 05
Sweet potatoes, peck 35
Cabbage, new, lb 03
Yams, peck 40
BEEF
Rib roast, lb 20
Chuck roast, lb 17
Plate (soup meat) 13
Porterhouse steak, lb 28
Sirloin steak, lb 24
Round steak, lb 20
Chuck steak, lb 18
Hamburg steak, lb 15
PORK
Fresh hams 15
Fresh shoulders 13%
Fresh pork chops, lean 16
Fresh pork chops, loin 18
Fresh pork roast, lean 16
Fresh pork roast, centre 18
Corned shoulders 13%
Corned hams 15
Smoked hams, whole 17
Smoked hams, sliced 28
Smoked shoulders 13%
Smoked bacon, sliced 24
Smoked sausage 12%
Lard :
Pure, lb 12%
Compound, lb 10
Total of items, 60.
Total increase, 5,119 per cent.
Average increase on all items shown
list, 85.32 per cent.
April, Inc.
1917. P.C.
.09
80
.08
100
.55
83
.38
80
.90 291
.40 100
.40 100
.13 250
.10 100
.75 114
.15 400
.60
50
.25
25
.22
30
.16
23
.37
32
.34
42
.32
60
.25
38
.20
33
.27
80
.22
58
.28
80
.32
80
.28
75
.30
66
.20
50
.24
60
.25
47
.45
60
.21
50
.34
42
.25 100
.25 100
.20 100
on this
China and the World War
By Gardner L. 'Harding
Author of "Present Day China"
THE months following Feb. 1, 1917,
not only — by bringing America
into the great war — changed the
face of the Western Hemisphere;
they made a lasting alteration in the Far
East also. On Feb. 9, Wu Ting-fang,
Foreign Minister of the Chinese Repub-
lican Government, handed a note to Ad-
miral von Hintze, the German Minister to
Peking, that made a rupture between the
Chinese and German Governments ulti-
mately inevitable. Six days before Presi-
dent Wilson had issued an appeal urging
neutral powers everywhere to show their
abhorrence of Germany's new campaign
of unrestricted submarine warfare by
breaking off relations with the German
Government. China's response was
therefore of special interest to Ameri-
cans, especially as, accompanying a copy
of the note to Germany, a special note
was handed to Dr. Reinsch, the Ameri-
can Minister to Peking, in which there
appeared the following significant
words:
China, being- in accord with the principles
set forth in your Excellency's [President
Wilson's] note, and firmly associating itself
with the United States, has taken similar
action by protesting energetically to Ger-
many against the new blockade measures.
China also proposes to take such other action
in the future as will be deemed necessary for
the maintenance of the principles of inter-
national law.
The sentences of greatest weight in Dr.
Wu's first note to Germany were these:
The new measures of submarine warfare
inaugurated by Germany are imperiling the
lives and property of Chinese citizens even
more than the measures previously taken,
which have already cost China many lives
and constitute a violation of international
law. * * * If, contrary to expectation,
this protest be ineffective, China will be con-
strained, to its profound regret, to sever
diplomatic relations.
China's reasons for taking this stand
were amply covered by specific ills and
grievances at Germany's hands, and by
the wider strategy of China's own political
position. For specific grievances, China
had a death roll of over 200 peaceful mer-
chant seamen, lost on neutral and bellig-
erent ships at the hands of German sub-
marines. In principle also the ambitious
and rapidly developing Chinese mercan-
tile communities, whose cornerstone of
commercial progress is unrestricted ac-
cess to the high seas, had begun to distin-
guish sharply by Feb. 1 between the salu-
tary restraint of allied policing and the
indiscriminate outrages of German pi-
racy. The Allies, furthermore, were the
principal guarantors of China's integrity
and autonomy, and in the closer associa-
tion with them which thus became so op-
portune, China's assurance of a place at
the peace conference, which she might
expect as an actual and belligerent ally,
was the third major element which in-
duced her Government to take its first
step toward war.
Influenced by America
Lastly, China's move was due to her
increasing and always sympathetic re-
sponsiveness to the foreign policy of the
United States, the only power which to-
day holds no concessions or spheres of in-
terest in her sovereign territory, and has
exacted no punitive indemnity from her
Government. For China, on America's
invitation, capably and energetically pre-
sented to the Peking Government by Dr.
Reinsch, not only took the first step to-
ward breaking off relations with Ger-
many, but incidentally, for the first time
in her modern history, assumed in a diplo-
matic note a position of active interest
and presumptive interference in the af-
fairs of European nations.
The German answer to China's note
did not reach Peking till the first days of
March, though by Feb. 25, Dr. Yen,
China's Minister to Berlin, announced
that the German Government had as-
sured him orally that Germany could not
alter her submarine campaign. By
March 9, however, Admiral von Hintze
had handed to the Chinese Government a
CHINA AND THE WORLD WAR
101
formal refusal to accede to China's de-
mands, offering merely the barren assur-
ance that Germany was willing to open
negotiations so as better to " respect the
lives of Chinese and their property,"
* * * "hoping" that China would not
break off diplomatic relations, and
" promising " that Germany would do her
utmost to secure China's participation in
the peace conference if friendly relations
between the two countries were main-
tained.
China's attitude, in the meantime, had
substantially matured toward the final
rupture. Three factors, in the main,
brought her to this decision. The Japa-
nese Government, through Baron Motono,
its Foreign Minister, had publicly an-
nounced that it would put no obstacle in
the way of China's independent action.
Tuan Chi-jui, then Prime Minister of
China under President Li Yuan-hung, had
assured the nation that the Allies were
prepared to guarantee China adequate
concessions upon her becoming a bel-
ligerent. Chief among these concessions,
as stated by Premier Tuan, were the
abrogation of the Boxer indemnities
(roughly, $15,000,000 in 1916) for the
period of the war, and possibly for an
even longer period; the extension to
China of the right to raise her customs
duties above the statutory 5 per cent, now
allowed on a diminishing scale of price
levels dating back more than ten years,
and the removal of the foreign troops in-
stalled after the Boxer -outrages along
the Peking- Mukden Railroad. And, third-
ly, under the influence of these guaran-
tees and the possibility of gaining even
further concessions, and encouraged by
relief from Japanese constraint, China's
disputing factions took a larger view of
their country's welfare and gave the issue
with Germany a clear field for imme-
diate decision.
Diplomatic Relations Severed
That decision was a foregone conclu-
sion. Every politically important ele-
ment in China's limited but energetic
sphere of public life was in favor of
breaking off with Germany. The Presi-
dent and the Prime Minister, the Cabinet,
and the military parties of the north,
and particularly the radically inclined
Parliament, largely representing the
ideas of the southern parties, all decisive-
ly ratified this momentous step. Scat-
tered elements opposed it, such as a
group of radicals led by the famous ex-
President Sun Yat-sen, but the southern
parties as a whole approved it and backed
it. This was clearly shown when, on
March 11, Premier Tuan Chi-jui appeared
before both houses of Parliament and put
the question of rupture with Germany
to a final vote. The outcome, a majority
of 158 to 37 in the Senate and 331 to 87
in the House, or a joint support of the
Premier's policy by 4 to 1, manifested
impressively the decision of liberal
China and gave the Government an im-
mediate mandate to break off relations
with Germany.
Thereupon, on March 14, Dr. Wu Ting-
fang handed to Admiral von Hintze a
final note, of which the closing words
effectually put China's position as fol-
lows:
It [the German reply] is therefore not in
accord with the object of that [the Chinese
Government's] protest; and the Government
of China, to its deep regret, considers its
protest to be ineffectual. It is therefore con-
strained to sever the diplomatic relations at
present existing with the Imperial German
Government.
Admiral von Hintze was at once given
his passports, and China inaugurated her
new status toward Germany by seizing
German merchant ships at her ports, in-
cluding six at Shanghai, and interning
their crews on shore. Germany's imme-
diate loss through her rupture with China
went much further than this, however.
China had been the centre and the base
of extensive plotting and propaganda in
the German cause throughout the Far
East. The mutiny at Singapore, sedi-
tious propaganda in India, and the mys-
teriously financed Mongolian bandits
who roved along the Siberian border dur-
ing the first two years of the war are
instances of Germany's opportunity, if
not of her actual achievements, in the
way of using China's neutrality as a safe
and convenient shield for the virtual war
measures with which we became some-
what earlier so disagreeably familiar in.
America. With the loss of China's friend-
ship, all this was substantially curtailed.
102
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Loss of Trade Advantages
There is still to be considered Ger-
many's loss of an economic base there.
Germany had 244 companies in China at
the beginning of the war, with a total
capitalization of over a quarter of a bill-
ion dollars. Her trade had increased by
120 per cent, in the eight years preced-
ing the war, years in which American
trade had remained practically station-
ary. It was also of a carefully planned
strategic quality, specializing in engi-
neering afield in inland China and in
representing the firms of many other
nations as middlemen in the treaty ports.
It had ballasted its favored position
everywhere with special concessions;
thus it had to lose not merely its own
material substance, but just the sort of
imponderable advantage derived from
long penetration which is hardest to re-
cover; and which China's unfriendliness
at once enormously accentuated.
The positive advantage to the Allies of
China's rupture with Germany was much
less obvious, but it was by no means in-
significant. China had by Feb. 1 already
sent some 100,000 of her sons as indus-
trial workmen in Government shops, con-
trolled establishments, and war munition
factories in general behind the battle
lines in France. The closer association
with the Allies that became opportune
after March 14 opened the way imme-
diately to increase this service far be-
yond previous plans; so that China's vast
labor supply was again drawn upon, and
estimates were made for its utilization
by the allied Governments in a non-
combatant army of 200,000, or even 250,-
000 men. England also commenced to
recruit Chinese labor, in close co-opera-
tion with the Chinese Government, not
only for service in the factories — and on
the farms — of Europe, but for her great
construction works in Mesopotamia;
while in another extreme of the world's
climate Russia, too, enlisted thousands
of Chinese woodsmen and northern peas-
ants to serve her agricultural needs as
loggers and farm hands in Siberia and
Russian Mongolia.
Though there was no immediate pros-
pect, or desire, even after China might
declare war on Germany, of sending Chi-
nese troops to Europe, the prospective
disposal of China's enormous stocks of
iron and coal, as well as those of tin and
antimony, of which latter China pro-
duces a substantial portion of the world's
annual yield, constituted a really estima-
ble allied advantage. Her 500,000-ton*
production of iron ore and her 13,000,-
000-ton* production of coal, both of ex-
cellent quality, were each factors in the
economic scale in a world reduced to the
ultimates in men and metal.
Beginning of Internal Disorder
China's own domestic political situa-
tion, stabilized by the crisis of March 14,
became less and less stable, however, as
that crisis receded. In that situation
there were three capital factors. Domi-
nance in China in a military sense was
held by the Prime Minister, Tuan Chi-
jui, who was also Minister of War and
leader of the conservative party of the
Generals and old officials generally
known (though the designation is not
quite accurate) as the northern party.
Dominance in a political sense was held
by the liberals, led by the President, Li
Yuan-hung, an ex-General of the first
revolution and a mid-Chinaman from
the Yang-tse Province of Hupeh, and
backed up by a Cabinet representing the
constructive and liberal forces, as dis-
tinct from the radicals, of the Repub-
lican Government. The third major
force, the radical element which was
mainly responsible for the first revolu-
tion, in 1911, was intrenched in control of
the Senate, and held the balance of pow-
er, with the assistance of so-called inde-
pendents, in the House of Representa-
tives.
As the question of China's entrance
into the war drew, during April and May,
more and more urgently to a decision,
sharp and irreconcilable differences be-
tween these parties began to be revealed.
Already there had been one crisis, be-
tween March 6 and 8, when the Prime
Minister, in the heat of a disagreement
with the President, had left the capital
and conducted the Government indepen-
♦Approximate estimates. See China Year
Book, 1916.
CHINA AND THE WORLD WAR
103
dently from Tien-tsin. The issue then
was whether or not Tuan Chi-jui had the
right to send a telegram to Tokio which
virtually broke off relations with Ger-
many, without consulting Parliament,
through the agency and under the tute-
lage of Japan. President Li eventually
induced him to return to the capital and
submit the question to Parliament, with
the result that China broke with Ger-
many quite as decisively, but independ-
ently, with respect to any foreign advice
or control whatsoever.
Early in May the Prime Minister be-
gan to press for China's immediate en-
trance into the war. The President's
party and the radical parties demurred,
first, because they professed not to know
positively what guarantees the Allies
were prepared to give, and, secondly, be-
cause they feared — so they asserted — the
plenary powers which a state of war
would place in the hands of the Premier
and his reactionary followers. A mili-
tary conference of the chief northern
Generals, which had been summoned to
the capital in April, gave color to the gen-
eral fears of a reactionary ascendency by
making frequent and vigorous demands
for intervention. At length the Premier
invited them to meet with the Cabinet,
and on May 2 it was announced that the
Cabinet was unanimously committed to
an immediate declaration of war against
Germany.
Drifting Toward Rebellion
On May 10 the Premier appeared be-
fore Parliament, and amid scenes of great
disorder, and in a session surrounded by
soldiers and crowds friendly to the north-
ern party, vehemently urged an uncondi-
tional and immediate declaration of
China's belligerency on the side of the
Allies. After stormy sessions lasting the
greater part of the night, Parliament
voted down the Premier's policy. The
press of the southern parties thereupon
directly accused the Premier of seeking
the war only as an excuse for instituting
martial law and assuming control of the
Government. The Premier rejoined by
summarily arresting the editor of the
leading radical paper in Peking, the bi-
lingual English and Chinese Peking Ga-
zette, who had also accused Tuan of con-
niving at Japanese ascendency over
China's war policy. On this the Presi-
dent acted with equal promptness, and
on May 23 dismissed Tuan Chi-jui from
office.
Tuan's dismissal was the signal to the
northern Generals not merely to endeavor
to recover their lost prestige, but to rise
in actual rebellion against the Govern-
ment. President Li attempted to con-
ciliate them by appointing as Premier
on May 29 Li Ching-hsi, nephew to the
great statesman Li Hung Chang and one
of their own leaders; and Parliament
ratified his nomination by a decisive and
obviously conciliatory majority. But the
northern Generals, after seizing every
trunk railroad to Peking and after plac-
ing their own soldiers around the Presi-
dent's immediate person in Peking, de-
clared on June 3 that they no longer rec-
ognized Li Yuan-hung's authority and
appointed a Provisional Government,
with Hsu Shih-chang, former Premier
under Yuan Shih-kai and Viceroy in Man-
churia under the Imperial Government,
as Dictator. They then issued a procla-
mation from Tien-tsin reiterating their
demand for China's immediate entrance
into the war, but insisting that that ac-
tion must be accompanied by the dis-
missal of Parliament, the extinction of
the almost completed liberal Constitu-
tion, and the reinstatement of Premier
Tuan Chi-jui. They disclaimed vigor-
ously any desire to set up a monarchy
and professed themselves on June 5 to be
loyal to the republic.
The situation remained a complete
deadlock. On June 7 the American Gov-
ernment dispatched the following note to
Peking, the first word to be received
from any of the powers, which lent the
full weight of American influence to the
cause of conciliation:
The United States Government learns with
the most profound regret of the dissensions
in China and expresses a sincere desire that
tranquillity and political co-ordination be
forthwith established.
The entry of China into the war, or the
continuance of the status quo in her relations
with the German Government, are matters of
secondary importance. China's principal ne-
cessity is to resume and continue her political
entity and proceed along the road to national
development. In China's form of govern-
104
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
ment, or the personnel which administers the
Government, America has only the friendliest
interest, and desires to be of service to China.
America expresses the sincere hope that
factional and political disputes will be set
aside and that all parties and persons will
work to re-establish and co-ordinate the Gov-
ernment and secure China's position among
nations, which is impossible while there is
internal discord.
On the same day Secretary Lansing
added to the salutary impression of this
note by vehemently disclaiming the
statement that America had given any
aid or encouragement to the rebellion.
On June 11 Dr. George Morrison, British
adviser to the Chinese President, added
an intimation of the policy of his Gov-
ernment by urging " in the strongest pos-
sible manner the retention of Parlia-
ment " and by saying directly to Presi-
dent Li Yuan-hung, " You must retain
Parliament." Professor Ariga, the Japa-
nese adviser, gave the less decisive ad-
vice that President Li had the right to
dismiss Parliament if he wished to do so.
The American adviser, Dr. W. Wil-
loughby, interviewed in Tokio, summed up
the situation in the following words : " I
look for turmoil of long duration between
militarism and constitutionalism "; dur-
ing which, it would seem to be inferred,
China's genuinely serviceable participa-
tion in the war will be indefinitely de-
layed.
[Editorial Note. — A dispatch from Peking,
dated June 13, announced that the Presi-
dential mandate dissolving Parliament had
been signed by Ching Chao-chung as Acting
Premier, and that it was believed that the
dissolution would bring about civil war, as
the leaders in the southern provinces had
telegraphed President Li Yuan-hung that
they no longer recognized his authority, de-
spite the fact that the President had accom-
panied the dissolution mandate with a long
statement attempting to justify his action.
The President again called into conference at
the palace Dr. George Morrison and Professor
Nagao Ariga, who repeated the advice they
had previously given. The President said
that he had already placed his seal on the
mandate, and asked what he could do, declar-
ing that he could not obtain the signature of
any of the members of the Cabinet to the
document. Dr. Morrison replied that the
President had better tear it up. Professor
Ariga said that if the President was unable
to obtain a countersignature of a member of
the Cabinet he should get one from the head
of the judiciary.
A Tokio dispatch of June 12 stated that the
alleged failure of the United States Govern-
ment to consult Japan before presenting its
note to China had caused considerable resent-
ment in Japan. Secretary of State Lansing
on June 13 authorized the statement that the
text of the note as first published in Japan
was false and that the irritation expressed by
the Japanese press had been caused by the
fabricated text. The correct text was ob-
tained later and accurately printed in the
Japanese newspapers. Nevertheless, the latest
dispatches show that Japanese opinion holds
that the United States should be asked to
recognize Japan's special position in China in
order to prevent future misunderstandings.]
Better to Die
By FLORENCE EARLE COATES
Better to die, where gallant men are dying,
Than to live on with them that basely fly:
Better to fall, the soulless Fates defying,
Than unassailed to wander vainly, trying
To turn one's face from an accusing sky!
Days matter not, nor years to the undaunted;
To live is nothing, — but to nobly live!
The poorest visions of the honor-haunted
Are better worth than pleasure-masks enchanted,
And they win life who life for others give.
The planets in their watchful course behold them —
To live is nothing, — but to nobly live! —
For though the Earth with mother-hands remold them,
Though Ocean in his billowy arms enfold them,
i They are as gods, who life to others give!
[Official Report]
Story of the Russian Upheaval
By Christian L. Lange
Secretary of the Interparliamentary Union and Correspondent of the Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace
Dr. Lange, a resident of Christiania, has served in the Norwegian Parliament, and was a
member of the Second Hague Conference. The report here printed (with minor omissions) is
the result of a special investigation in Russia undertaken by Dr. Lange at the instance of the
Carnegie Endowment. It was written April 20, 1917, before the resignation of Milukoff
and the reorganization of the Provisional Government.
I LEFT Christiania on March 12, when
as yet nothing was known at all
about what was going on at Petro-
grad. At Stockholm, where I stop-
ped two days to meet the Interparlia-
mentary Group of the Riksdag, I read
telegrams about the riots in the Russian
capital. I also learned of the adjourment
of the Duma.
The journey to Russia is now [Spring
of 1917] very long, the Baltic being im-
passable. One has to go north by rail for
forty hours. I left Stockholm Wednesday,
March 14, in the afternoon, and only Fri-
day morning I reached the frontier at
Haparanda. In the train I had already
seen the first communication from the
Executive Committee of the Duma that
it had seized the reins of Government,
that the Czar's Ministers were in prison,
that the Petrograd garrison had joined
the Duma, and that the town was quiet.
At Tornea, the Finnish railway ter-
minus, we were examined by the Rus-
sian gendarmerie, as usual at European
frontiers during the war. I had a
laissez-passer from the Russian Minister
at Christiania and was not even searched,
and I heard from my fellow-travelers
that their examination had also been
very lenient. The people at the station
knew less of what had passed at Petro-
grad than we. They had not seen the
first communique, and the Finnish wo-
man who kept the bookstall at the sta-
tion was delighted when I slipped to her
a Swedish paper 'which gave the text of
the document.
Our excitement reached its pitch when
we slowly came up to the platform at
Bielo-Ostrov, where the customs and
passport examinations take place. We
were standing ready with our bags, lug-
gage tickets, passports, and everything
— the platform was empty, not a human
being to be seen. Then, all of a sudden,
the carriage door opens, enters a little
dwarf, no taller than my writing desk,
and he cries out as he rolls down along
the corridor: " Liberty is supreme. All
the gendarmes are sent to prison to
Petrograd. No more passports, no cus-
toms. Only liberty reigns! "
He was our herald of the revolution!
And he proved true. The train left at
once, without any examination at all,
and within two minutes we all carried,
God knows how, red badges in our but-
tonholes. I got mine from the carriage
maid, who tore asunder a, piece of red
flag cloth and freely distributed the
pieces, and she at once became very
communicative. There had been a strike
for some hours on the railway lines, a
strike of pronounced political character.
The men had insisted on the removal of
some high Russian officials in the rail-
way administration. As soon as they
had obtained satisfaction, they returned
to work. This accounted for the delays
we had had and still had.
Conditions in Petrograd
On our arrival at Petrograd we found
the city quiet. We met some soldiers pa-
trolling the streets; here and there we
saw groups of young students with white
bands around the left arm bearing in red
the letters G. M. (Militia Guard) and a
gun thrown across the shoulder. Once
or twice we met some persons returning
from a dinner party. Otherwise the streets
were as if dead, not a horse and carriage,
nor a tram. When we had crossed the
106
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
great bridge we saw the dreary ruins of
the big police court on the Lieteny Pros-
pect, (one of the main thoroughfares.)
It had been burned, but otherwise no
traces of destruction were to be seen so
far. The popular exasperation had
turned against the police and its head-
quarters. Unfortunately, some very im-
portant documents were destroyed at
the same time; not only the etats civils,
the registers of the population, their age,
status, and so on, but also the archives
of the secret police have in part been
destroyed, so it is now one of the difficult
tasks of the new administration to trace
the agents provocateurs, who were every-
where.
As I walked along the Nevsky, I met a
procession of workmen, soldiers, and wo-
men singing the revolutionary hymn — an
old song, I was told — sung to a tune
evidently borrowed from the " Marseil-
laise," but in rather a depraved setting.
The text may be rendered as follows
Let us give up the ancient'world.
Let us shake its dust from our feet.
We want no idol in gold.
We hate the palace of the Czars.
We will go to our suffering brethren.
We will go to those who are starving.
With them we execrate the felon,
And we will challenge him to fight.
March, march, workmen, forward !
The procession carried red banners, on
which was written " Land and Liberty,"
" Down with Autocracy," &c. It was a
revolutionary sight, but at the head of
the procession in the very middle of the
street I saw a strange sight. High up
in a car drawn by a horse a man was
standing, turning, turning incessantly
his cinematograph, preparing his " Films
of the Russian Revolution." Then I un-
derstood that I was really a witness of
historic events, but also that all danger
was passed. Petrograd had settled down
to civilized life.
Czar's Dread of War
The revolution of 1917 was inevitable.
I remember very well that, when at Pe-
trograd in February, 1914, I was told by
Milukoff that the Czar Nicholas had
" une peur bleue de la guerre," because
he very well realized that there had been
an intimate connection between the war
with Japan and the ensuing revolution
of 1905-1906. This dread of the Czar
was in Milukoff's eyes one of the guaran-
tees of European peace, at any rate a se-
curity against aggressive tendencies on
the part of Russia. On the other hand,
there was then in Russia great apprehen-
sion of German and Austrian aggression,
especially in connection with the negotia-
tions which were to come as to the re-
newal of the Russo-German Treaty of
Commerce, which was to expire in 1917.
War with the Central Powers was con-
sidered as inevitable, and it may have
served as an argument for war in 1914
that Russia at any rate had strong allies.
I was told now in 1917 that there had
been divided counsels in the Government
of 1914. The majority of the Ministers
favored war; a minority, represented by
Sazonoff, the Ministers of Finance and
of Agriculture, Bark and Kriwoshein,
were for peace, and the Rietch, which
supported the peace policy of Sazonoff,
was even prohibited for a time. The
Czar was, as usual, vacillating; fits of
seeming restiveness alternated with
periods of complete apathy, and as it
happened his " peur bleue de la guerre "
had no decisive importance. Sazonoff
was, however, at any rate able to take
up an attitude which left the responsi-
bility of aggression with the other side.
But there is no doubt that also at Petro-
grad— as indeed in all capitals — there
was a military party pushing toward
war. The responsibilities for the war
are divided, European, but they should
evidently be apportioned in different
degrees.
But when the war came, it was im-
mensely popular in Russia. Slavonic na-
tionalism, which was an important ele-
ment in aristocracy and among the great
landowners, turned against Austria-Hun-
gary and Germany, who were bent on
crushing the Slavonic sister State, Ser-
bia. The progressive elements saw the
immense importance of the dissolution of
the league of the three Emperors, formed
around the pactum turpe of the partition
of Poland, which had held good for up-
ward of a century and a half, and no less
the great potentialities which might flow
from the alliance with Western democ-
racy. Their hopes were high during the
STORY OF THE RUSSIAN UPHEAVAL
107
first year of the war, as letters from
Efremoff and from Milukoff at that time
testify. They saw in Germany the
stronghold of reaction and of militarism
in Europe, and trusted that its downfall
would be followed by that of Russian au-
tocracy. It has happened otherwise. But
at any rate this feeling created a wide-
spread feeling of responsibility for the
war, of the necessity of supplementing,
as far as in them lay, the shortcomings
of the administration and of the bu-
reaucracy.
Work of the Zemstvos
Thus was called into being a spon-
taneous participation in the war work
from the best and most healthy elements
within Russian society. The Association
of the Zemstvos on one side, a voluntary
institution formed by the members of
the Municipal Councils of the " Gouv-
ernements," consequently by men versed
in local government and in public af-
fairs, combined with the leaders of the
great commercial and industrial enter-
prises to form all sorts of committees
outside the administration. In a hun-
dred ways they have been able to help
and to prove their efficiency. When
Brusiloff prepared his great offensive,
he had, of course, to secure his rear.
Trenches were to be dug for the eventu-
ality of a retreat. But he could not use
his own soldiers, as their offensive force
might be sapped if they knew that posi-
tions were prepared for a retreat. Then
the, Association of the Zemstvos at once
mobilized 500,000 peasants, who did the
work. Another General complained that
his companies were suffering through the
fact that so many soldiers were called
off to become cooks. In a very short time
50,000 men, not fit for military work, but
able to do service as cooks, were put at
his disposal. In innumerable ways the
Industrial Committee has helped to or-
ganize the importation of munitions and
of raw materials for the war industries.
Middle Class's Influence
Quietly the direction of Russian life
and activity during the war was more
and more taken over by the middle class
itself, and its services appeared all the
more brilliant against the dark setting of
the incapacity, the corruption, not to men-
tion the occasional treason, of the old
administration. It is, so to speak, the
leaders of this activity who have now
undertaken also the nominal direction of
Russia. The new Premier, Prince Lvoff,
was President of the Association of
Zemstvos. Gutchkoff, [then,] Minister
of War; Konovaloff, [then,] Minister of
Commerce and Industry; Chingareff,
[then,] Minister of Agriculture, all
played leading or prominent parts in the
different organizations and committees
controlling the private activity for the
war, while Milukoff, [then,] Minister for
Foreign Affairs, has represented the Rus-
sian people before the world, through his
work in the press or through his nume-
rous addresses abroad during the war.
A new official Russia was silently in for-
mation. It has now risen, shaking off
the feeble fetters which Czardom, bu-
reaucracy, and police were trying to lay
on a people prepared to work out its own
salvation, while the powers of old mani-
festly proved incapable of their task.
It is impossible to rate highly enough
the importance and the influence of the
Duma in this silent preparation of the
momentous revolution of 1917. If a bet-
ter horoscope is undoubtedly to be cast
for this revolution than for its predeces-
sor of 1905-1906, it is chiefly because the
Duma, through its existence alone, has
educated Russian public opinion toward
common national aims. In the Duma
the Russian Nation has found a com-
mon symbol, and through the speeches
there, especially during the war, the
silent desires and hopes of the masses
and of the classes have found expres-
sion and distinct objects for a national
policy. Some of these speeches are so
characteristic that they may be cited
even here.
Spirit of the Duma
When Milukoff had made his famous
attack on Sturmer, an attack which led
to the Minister's fall and to the aban-
donment for the time being of the pol-
icy for a separate peace with Germany,
Efremoff, leader of the Progressives. — an
intermediary party between the Octo-
brists and the Cadets, these latter not
by far a radical party — made a speech
108
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
in which he said: "There is little use
in removing the mushrooms from a rot-
ten trunk, they will sprout again, as
soon as weather favors. The only ef-
ficient cure is to cut down the rotten
trunk." This is pure revolutionary doc-
trine. And Kerensky once took for his
text the famous sculptural groups on the
Anitchkoff Bridge on the Nevsky, repre-
senting four tamers of horses in differ-
ent attitudes. He said:
" In the first group you see the tamer
dominating his horse; in the second and
third group, the horse is more and more
freeing itself from its master; in the
fourth group the man is on the ground
under the hoofs of the horse, who is
galloping freely along. The tamer is
the Bureaucracy, the horse is the Rus-
sian people. It will know how to obtain
its liberation."
It would be a great mistake to think
that the Fourth Duma was anything re-
sembling a revolutionary assembly. As
will be known, the reactionaries and Na-
tionalists, together with the Centre,
formed a solid majority against any evo-
lution, even toward Parliamentary Gov-
ernment; even the Octobrists were
against Ministerial responsibility. But
so glaring was the incapacity of the old
regime that a bloc was formed during
the war by all the bourgeois parties
from the Cadets to the Nationalists.
This group united on the single aim of
pushing on the war and silently prepar-
ing for the moment when the catas-
trophe to Czarism was to come. The
reactionaries dwindled down to insignifi-
cance. Even the notorious Purishke-
vitch, who took service in the army,
joined the bloc, and the still more no-
torious Markoff II. was pictured in a
cartoon sitting sulking in his corner as
the " only Russian conservative."
This was long before the revolution.
The Cadets had to make sacrifices in
order to keep this bloc together. Thus
they voted, and Milukoff himself spoke,
against a proposal of raising the ques-
tion of Ministerial responsibility before
the Duma. " The time was not ripe."
Miluokff's attitude then impaired his
popularity with the radical elements, and
this fact, together with his imperialistic
attitude with regard to the objects of
the war, may compromise his position.
As a matter of fact, he is rather isolated
in the Government. But the bloc was
maintained, and the way paved for a
united advance, when the movement of
action was to come.
Czar Like Louis XVI,
It is doubtful whether the Duma would
ever have taken an initiative of revolu-
tion, but the fact that even Rodzianko,
the moderate Octobrist President of the
Duma, was ready to take the chair in
the new Executive Committee; that the
still more conservative Shulgin was
ready to go with Gutchkoff to force
Nicholas to abdicate, shows how far the
conviction of the necessity of a pro-
found change had spread. Everybody
saw that a catastrophe was coming.
But they did not know when. Would it
be during the war, would it be after?
Nobody was able to tell. But they saw
the necessity of preparation, of, so to
speak, mobilization for the eventuality.
The Executive Committee was secretly
formed; even the Ministers were desig-
nated long ago. Therefore, the decisions
could be made so quickly when the su-
preme moment arrived.
Czardom took upon itself to force mat-
ters to an issue. Nicholas Romanoff will
probably figure in history as no less a
tragical personality than Louis XVI. In-
deed, there are several points of resem-
blance. But above all they are alike in
having had consorts whose influence be-
came fatal to them; both partook of the
intense unpopularity their wives had in-
curred. The Empress Alexandra has not
been wasteful or extravagant as Marie
Antoinette, but her connection with the
notorious Rasputin, to whom in her hys-
teria she became quite submissive, sapped
no less the last remnants of loyalty to the
dynasty. Rasputin's corpse was buried
in the imperial park at Tsarskoe Selo, and
it was told that the corpse had been re-
moved to be burned; in order to put an
end to this sordid story and to any at-
tempt at beatification of the " Starest,"
an ikon (a saint's image) was found with
the corpse, on the back of which were
written the names Alexandra, Olga,
Tatyana, &c. — the whole family.
STORY OF THE RUSSIAN UPHEAVAL
109
But the supreme trait of similarity be-
tween the two ill-fated Queens is their
" enemy connection " — Marie Antoinette
" Pautrichienne "; Alexandra the German,
female cousin of Wilhelm the Kaiser.
And unfortunately there is no doubt that
the Czaritsa's " enemy connection " was
far from innocent. She has not only been
active in all the tentative efforts for a
separate peace, but I was told in diplo-
matic circles that on one occasion an of-
fensive movement, fully prepared, had
been stopped by a telegram signed by her
name. A wireless was in function at
Tsarskoe Selo, corresponding with Nauen.
Anybody can see how all this must
have killed the last remnants of loyalty,
already undermined by the notorious in-
capacity of the administration to cope
with the problems of the war. The con-
tinual changes of Ministers proved the
vacillation at the head of affairs. Czar-
ism was evidently tottering to its fall.
Quern Deus perdere vult, prius de-
mentat. The Government, in an act of
sheer desperation, added open provoca-
tion to its glaring faults and shortcom-
ings. By stopping the transport of food
to Petrograd it intended to call forth
riots in the capital; they were to serve
as pretexts for an adjournment of the
Duma, for the creation of a practical
dictatorship probably in the hands of
Protopopoff or of a " strong " General,
and lastly for the conclusion of a sep-
arate peace. Efremoff told me that one
was on the track of a telegram to this ef-
fect: "Almost all transports to Petro-
grad stopped. Everything goes well."
Under it the signature of a Minister.
Porver of the Proletariat
The form which the provocation took
called in the element which made the
revolution. The Duma would perhaps
have been capable of a coup d'etat, and
Efremoff told me that in fact this had
always been the favorite hypothesis. But
the proletariat are willing to pay with
their lives. And the proletariat found
an associate in the garrison of Petro-
grad. These two facts are of capital im-
portance; the latter gave the victory to
the revolution; both together determined
the democratic character of the events,
and it seems as if this characteristic has
come to stay. The democratic elements
have been very strong in the revolution
itself, and these forces are organizing
themselves in order to maintain their in-
fluence.
The troops at Petrograd combined with
the workmen refused to shoot at the peo-
ple, and turned their guns against the
police. The explanation of this extraor-
dinary fact is to be found in the compo-
sition of these troops. They were not
real garrison soldiers; they were partly
older reserve soldiers, recently called to
the colors after having passed years in
their villages, partly young recruits, who
had not yet undergone the influence of
the barracks. They were really a peas-
ant democracy, who through their stay in
the regiments had developed a certain
class feeling, not as soldiers, but as peas-
ant laborers having interests in common
with the Petrograd proletariat, among
whom many of them probably have found
friends or relatives from their own vil-
lages. When ordered to fire on the peo-
ple they immediately protested and fired
on the police instead. And the two
popular forces then turned to the Duma
as the representative of the Russian Na-
tion, asking the National Assembly to
take the lead which had fallen from the
hands of the Government.
In order to co-operate, the soldiers and
workmen organized their council, to
which each regiment and each factory
sent a delegate. Through an Executive
Committee and a delegation they opened
negotiations with the Duma, whose Ex-
ecutive Committee, as stated above, was
ready to act.
Kerens^ Chief Figure
The central figure in this situation be-
came the Duma member for Saratoff,
Kerensky, a young barrister. This re-
markable man is the leader of the
"Revolutionary Socialists" — thus far a
misnomer, as they are revolutionary
only as the word applies to the method
of their action. As long as the autocracy
existed they approved of terroristic at-
tempts. After the revolution they de-
clared for parliamentary action and pop-
ular propaganda alone, and one of
Kerensky's first decrees as Minister of
110
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Justice abolished capital punishment.
In their program they can hardly be
said to be Socialists; it is rather an
agrarian party aiming at the creation of
a class of small proprietors, and most
of their adherents are peasants and land
laborers, while the workers of the towns
rally round Tscheidze, who is an orthodox
Marxist and whose program appeals to
the industrial workingman.
Kerensky was the link between the
bourgeois Duma and the Council of Work-
men's and Soldiers' Delegates. Through
his unique eloquence and moral courage he
was able to exert an enormous influence
during these first difficult weeks, and
the state of his health is a serious mat-
ter. It is bad, for he is suffering from
tuberculosis of the kidneys, one of
which has been removed, alas, very late,
for the Russian surgeons had not dis-
covered what was really the matter; it
was during a visit to Finland that the
very serious state of his health was dis-
covered and the necessary operation un-
dertaken.
He is sitting in the new Government
as the representative, but at the same
time as the hostage, of democracy. It
would be most difficult to find a substi-
tute, and every well-wisher for Russia
will hope and pray that he may be
spared for the great mission awaiting
him. He made an extraordinary impres-
sion on me during my conversation with
him; a soul of fire, sincere, and truthful
to himself, at the same time a powerful
intelligence and a born leader. His
powers of work are said to be extraor-
dinary. * * *
The Constituent Assembly
The big question, besides the prosecu-
tion of the war, is the organization and
the convocation of the Constituent
Assembly. The Government program
says the assembly was to meet " as soon
as possible." I suppose the Ministers
are likely to put the stress on the last
word. Indeed, I hardly spoke with one
bourgeois politician without his shaking'
his head over the impossibility of co-
ordinating the working of this assembly
with the active prosecution of the war.
They, therefore, sincerely hope to see
the end of the war in the Autumn. But
if the end does not come, they are likely
to insist on the necessity of postponing
"the assembly.
• On the other hand, the more extreme
elements wish to strike the iron while
it is hot, and the last proclamation from
the council requests the immediate or-
ganization of the assembly. The Pre-
mier, Prince Lvoff, has said it was to
meet within a period of at least three, at
most six, months. The problem is not
only one of organization; for instance,
how are the soldiers at the front to vote,
the vote being not only the act of putting
a ballot in a box, but a method of con-
tributing to form a real public opinion
on a series of very grave questions?
There is also the serious difficulty of
having a deliberative assembly sitting
discussing intricate constitutional and
social problems while the greatest war
in history is being waged at the fron-
tier. Indeed, it is highly to be desired
that the bloodshed might come to an
early end, if for no other reasons, lest
the future of Russia should be compro-
mised.
Outlook for the Republic
As to the future constitution, there is
officially and outwardly absolute unanim-
ity; the cadets, even the progressives,
have put the democratic republic on their
program. Indeed, no sane politician, at
the present juncture, considers any other
solution as possible. Monarchy, and es-
pecially the dynasty, is compromised be-
yond remedy; none of the Grand Dukes is
to be thought of as Czar, because it would
imply dangerous family connections. But
bourgeois politicians are far from en-
thusiastic republicans. They see the
danger in such an enormous empire pass-
ing at one single step from an autocracy
to a republic, and they are not blind to
the advantages of monarchy as a symbol
of the unity and the indivisibility of the
nation. This did not imply any senti-
mentalism toward the Little Father, and
I was told that the existence of this senti-
ment even among the peasants was great-
ly exaggerated. There was only cool po-
litical calculation in it. Efremoff went
to the length of saying to me : " If we
only had had a very popular General — "
STORY OF THE RUSSIAN UPHEAVAL
111
This would seem a most dangerous ex-
periment. And I know that Milukoff and
other cadet leaders reluctantly approved
of the republic being admitted to their
program.
I imagine that the solution contem-
plated is a sort of federal republic, based
on the nationalities and racr.s within the
enormous empire as constituent parts,
probably supplemented with local divi-
sions in the Great Russian provinces.
This solution, more or less on American
lines, can, as in the United States, be
combined with a strong executive power.
It sounds like a prophecy that the Amer-
ican Constitution has sometimes been de-
fined as a " Czaristic " republic.
Already the Government program had
outlined large liberties of speech, of asso-
ciation, even of strike — the first instance,
I believe, in history. The last point is of
special importance to the industrial work-
man, and through his participation in the
revolution he has also obtained another
advantage — the eight-hour day. It is in-
teresting to note that one of the Freres
Nobel expressly stated that they were de-
lighted with the result of this regime. Its
efficiency was better than the former one
with the long hours, which had tempted
to passivity and even to sabotage.
These problems of industry are, hew-
ever, not by far so important to Russia
as the all-dominating agrarian problem,
which will absorb a great part of the ac-
tivity and the interests of the Constituent
Assembly. In his heart of hearts every
Russian is an agriculturist, in his dreams
a landed proprietor. " Land and lib-
erty " was written on every second red
banner. The soldiers, peasants them-
selves or peasants' sons, voiced this de-
sire, and everybody realized that it had
to be satisfied on a very large scale.
Rural Conditions
The state of the Russian countryside
during the war is very curious, and in a
certain respect an unexpected one. The
absolute prohibition of vodka — very
strictly executed — in the Petrograd
hotels I saw no stronger drink than
kvass, a sort of ginger beer — has stopped
the chief expense of the peasants toward
luxury; the soldiers' wives and mothers
receive Government support; the absence
of workmen creates a great demand for
laborers, with a consequent rise of
wages; all this combines to create an un-
known prosperity in the villages. The
peasant girls are able to buy a greater
number of those gowns which, hanging
new and not yet used in the large ward-
robe, are to impress their suitors. They
are now said to decline work offered to
them with the remark: "I have got
gowns enough." The peasants, among
them the soldiers on returning from the
front or from captivity, will be able to
buy land. On the other hand, the great
landowners are often unable to work
their fields because of the scarcity of
labor. They will, therefore, be willing
to sell land. So far all seems well.
The danger is that there may be ideas
of the laborer's right to own the land he
till now has been working on. There will
be hot debates about the principle of ex-
propriation and its application. The
landowners will say : " Why shall landed
property alone be considered as more or
less liable to confiscation? Why not as
well the industrial plant, or personal
property? " Fortunately, immense tracts
of land will be at the disposal of the na-
tion in the form of public domains or of
land belonging to the monasteries. Here
thousands on thousands of peasants can
be made proprietors without any great
difficulty, and means can perhaps be
found of financing also the transfer of
private land from the great owners to
small holders. Everybody will see the
great seriousness of this problem and its
bearing on the future of Russia. In this
new class of small farmers new Russia
will find the basis of its democracy, just
as the French Revolution found it for
France.
Difficult Racial Problems
The Government program proclaimed
the abolition of all disabilities for racial
and religious reasons. This principle,
loyally executed, will automatically take
away the sting in the otherwise so thorny
questions of delimitation within the em-
pire, especially in the west, where on the
wide plains, the different nationalities —
Poles, Ukrainians, Lithuanians, Ests, and
other Baltic races — merge imperceptibly
one into the- other, or in the Caucasus,
112
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
where the motley diversity is as great.
No doubt, however, there will still be
great difficulties in this respect, and more
especially this will be the case with the
Jews. I had no special opportunity of
studying the Semitic problem, and there-
fore shall only give one piece of informa-
tion, which shows on one hand its acuity,
on the other the apprehensions as to the
future.
The leading inspirer of the cadets is
said to be an Israelitic Petrograd bar-
rister, Vinaver, a close friend of Milu-
koff and an exceptionally able man.
The Government had ^nominated him a
Senator, member of the High Court, but
he declined, because he would not expose
the revolution to the risk of being dubbed
a " Semitic machination." Generally the
Jews took up an attitude of great re-
serve. Pogroms were still considered as
possible.
To return to the problems of nation-
ality, there are two questions under this
head which require special treatment,
namely, Finland and Poland.
The complete liberation of Finland,
the reversal of all laws and decrees is-
sued contrary to the Finnish Constitu-
tion, and the proclamation of the right of
the Finnish people to decide, through
their own representatives, the future re-
lations between Finland and Russia, was
on one hand the fulfillment of an old
pledge from Russian liberals to the
Finns. Especially Milukoff, Rodicheff,
now Secretary of State for Finland, and
Stakhovitch, now Governor General, had
engaged themselves strongly on this line.
It was, moreover, a sort of morning gift
to Western democracy which has always
taken a special interest in progressive
Finland. And it was — last, but not least
— a stroke of generous and far-sighted
policy against the German machinations
in Finland, which surely in certain con-
tingencies might have been extremely
dangerous: Finland is the glacis of Pet-
rograd.
The Case of Finland
It is no secret that during the war
numerous young Finns have crossed the
frontier to go to Germany, where hun-
dreds of them have been trained as offi-
cers to lead an eventual Finnish insur-
rection. It is said that thousands of
young men in Finland itself have been
equipped in secret for military service:
two pairs of boots, a Winter coat, a gun,
&c. But it was understood that no move-
ment was to be initiated if the Germans
did not succeed in throwing artillery
across the Gulf of Finland. . Hence the
extreme importance of the Riga front.
This- movement found chiefly its ad-
herents among the Swedish party in Fin-
land, a political faction decidedly on the
wane, but still important because of its
strong intellectual and economic position.
However, only part of them favored this
policy of despair, which really amounted
to a driving out of the devil by Beelze-
bub. Some adherents were also said to
have come from the " Old Fennomans,"
a conservative party which often has
been very weak-kneed toward Russia.
Their belief in authority as the supreme
prop of social life may have brought
some of them to admire the Prussian
spirit. * * *
[The Swedish Party late in May issued an
address demanding a separate republic for
Finland, but it received no approval at Pe-
trograd.—Editor Current History Magazine.]
Finns very well see the realities of the
problem — that Russia and Finland are
indissoluble for plain geographical rea-
sons. It would be sheer insanity for
Finland to rely on the support of Ger-
many, from which it is divided by the
sea, while Russia dominates its entire
land frontier to the east, while the Rus-
sian capital is situated at a distance of
only a few miles. Moreover, Finnish in-
dustrial merchandise and dairy produce
arc dependent on the Russian market.
The Finns do not desire their country
to be merged in the Russian Empire as
one of its constituent parts. They de-
mand a separate existence, a Finnish
State at Russia's side, united with the
empire through a sort of loose union,
giving to Russia only the direction of
foreign affairs. The problem is a deli-
cate one, besides entirely new in the his-
tory of constitutional law, if Russia is to
become a republic, and as the Finns are
a difficult race to treat with, tenacious,
STORY OF THE RUSSIAN UPHEAVAL
113
sometimes revengeful, it may tax the
powers of statesmen on both sides.
Free Poland Possible
The proclamation from the Russian
Government to the Poles is the highest
bid made during the war for the sym-
pathies of this people, which, after a
tragedy of more than a hundred years,
can at last look forward with certainty
to a future of political independent life
for part, if not for the whole, of the
race. And this bid is not only a clever
diplomatic device made to win the sym-
pathy of the Poles, it is a sincere appli-
cation of the principle of nationalities.
The Russians, of course, wish to see a
reunited Poland, including the Polish —
but not the Ukrainian — part of Galicia,
the whole of Posnania, and the Polish
parts of Silesia and West Prussia. Only
this enumeration suffices to show what
problems will be raised in connection
with this program. Germany is far from
entertaining any idea of this sort. But
if an independent Poland were formed,
say, out of Russian Poland and Western
Galicia, it would certainly exercise a
most powerful attraction on the Poles
in the Prussian irredenta. It is incom-
prehensible how Austria and Germany
have been capable of creating their
" Kingdom of Poland " after the experi-
ence of Austria with an Italian and a
Serbian irredenta. The need for Polish
soldiers must have been enormous, in-
deed.
Many will doubt the sincerity of Russia
in giving full freedom of action to the
Poles as to the future of their new
State. I had an opportunity of discuss-
ing the question with Efremoff, now a
member of the Executive Committee,
consequently in close touch with the
Government, and his opinion was that,
after all, an entirely independent Poland
would perhaps represent the best solu-
tion for Russia. A buffer State might
be useful against Germany, though he
saw the danger of the absence of mili-
tary frontiers, if the principle of inter-
national anarchy were still to prevail.
But he added that a complete severance
from Poland would present certain inner
advantages to Russia. Polish nobles had
bought land in Russia, and they were
hard masters to the Russian peasants.
Many Poles had obtained high situations
in Russian administration, and after a
very short time their offices had been
filled with Poles. It is curious to ob-
serve this animosity against a seemingly
subject race which has been able to ob-
tain a superior social position. There
are parallels in the relation between
English and Scots, between English and
Irish.
It goes without saying that full sepa-
ration would raise most difficult prob-
lems; Polish industry is dependent on
the Russian market; a tariff arrange-
ment would at any rate be necessary. A
connection between Poland and Germany
would spell economic ruin to Polish in-
dustry, as it could not withstand Ger-
man competition. For this reason alone
no Pole in his senses can have seriously
entertained the idea of looking westward.
In any case, whether the solution is to
be one of complete separation or one of
a connection with Russia, there will be
the most difficult problems of delimi-
tation. * * *
Able to Keep War Going
There is no doubt that Russia is still
able — from an exclusively military point
of view — to prosecute the war. Its of-
fensive powers are impaired through lack
of munitions and guns. But the new
regime has, at any rate, done away with
the artificial impediments created by the
late Government and the dynasty, and
Russia still disposes of great reserves in
man power — it was said about forty divi-
sions, at least one million of fully trained
men, besides the young recruits now be-
ing trained, and one year gives another
million — and in officers. Especially there
is a large reserve of cavalry officers
who might be used also as leaders of
infantry. Besides, a potential reserve is
to be found in young cultivated Jews
who have been trained as soldiers but
have not been admitted to serve as offi-
cers. They would be able — if need be —
to act as garrison officers and in other
subsidiary military situations.
The financial position is far from good.
The debt is enormous, the paper money
114
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
flooding the country is daily increasing
in bulk, and the foreign exchange is de-
plorable, because the exports have prac-
tically ceased. But, economically speak-
ing, the position of Russia is probably
better than that of any other European
country now at war. Agriculture is Rus-
sia's chief pursuit; in consequence it is
suffering far less than highly industrial-
ized countries like Great Britain, Ger-
many, or France. It can find within its
own borders nearly everything it may
want. The problem is one of transpor-
tation and of organization.
Russia, then, still can certainly go on
with the war for years. And its present
Government is firmly determined to re-
main true to the London agreement,
and to conclude peace only in common
with the other allies. It must not be
forgotten that the support of the West-
ern Powers was decisive for the very
success of the " miraculous " revolu-
tion, that Russia financially is dependent
on France and Great Britain, tied to
them by " golden chains." The Govern-
ment and the Duma both are bent on
prosecuting the war as one of liberation
for Europe in general. Russia has freed
itself; now Germany and Austria are to
follow suit. This is a conception com-
mon to bourgeois liberals and to So-
cialist workingmen. Both regard the
two Central Powers as the props of re-
action in Europe. The middle classes
and the peasants, moreover, consideir
the war as a means of liberation from
the commercial domination of Germany,
established by the treaty of 1907.
[Dr. Lange concludes his report with the
prediction that Russia will remain true to
the Allies. 1
The Career of Kerensky
ALEXANDER KERENSKY, the real
£\. leader of the Russian revolution,
first became Minister of Justice in
the Provisional Government and recently
succeeded Gutchkoff as Minister of War,
achieving wonders in reviving the army
as a fighting force during May and June.
He was born about thirty-five years ago
in Tashkent, a Russian town in Middle
Asia. Although of small means, he suc-
ceeded in obtaining a university educa-
tion and becoming a lawyer. From the
beginning of his practice he was an en-
ergetic defender of workmen and peas-
ants, appearing in their interest when
they were arrested and oppressed by
agents of the Czar's Government. He
included the Jews among his clients, and
fought for the% rights which the anti-
Semitic powers denied them. The climax
of his legal career came in 1912, when
he represented the workmen in an inves-
tigation following the shooting by the
police of some sixty strikers in the gold
fields along the River Lena. His work
in this case made him famous through-
out Russia as a friend of the revolution-
ary forces and an enemy of the auto-
cratic Government.
The lawyer entered public life about
four years ago and was elected to the
Duma, where he became the leader of the
Socialist labor forces. He was constantly
under the eye of the Czar's police, who
dared not touch him, however, without
real provocation, because of his member-
ship in the national body. They thought
they had this provocation shortly before
the revolution, when Kerensky attacked
the Government in a speech in the Duma,
and, according to information, the order
for his arrest had been prepared when
the revolution nullified it.
As a member of the Duma, Kerensky
strengthened his attack upon the Czar's
Government by exposing the corruption
and pro-Germanism among the ruling
powers. The Black Hundreds of Russia
were so German in their sympathies that
they were called the " Prussian leaders,"
instead of the " Russian leaders," and
they were the most intolerant and auto-
cratic of all the factors in the old regime.
Kerensky investigated their conduct dur-
ing the war and made public exposure
of their sentiments.
He also turned the spotlight upon
wholesale corruption among the officials
THE CAREER OF KERENSKY
115
who purchased supplies for the army,
and by this work did much to hasten the
revolution.
When the revolution was making its
first rumblings heard, the Czar ordered
the dissolution of the Duma, and Keren-
sky, rising in his place, said: "We will
not go. We will stay here." And the
Duma stayed.
Kerensky was made Minister of Justice
in the original Provisional Government,
and one of his first official acts was to
issue an order releasing all the political
prisoners in Siberia.
His friends testify that one of his out-
standing qualities is tact, and it was by
this that he was able, they say, to assist
materially in reconciling disputing fac-
tions and persuading them to form the
present Provisional Government.
Kerensky is described as a slight, mod-
erately tall, blonde man who looks more
like an Englishman than a Russian. He
is said to be one of the most forceful
public speakers in Russia and a clear-
thinking man, possessing ability to pre-
sent his thoughts with compelling logic.
His popularity among the masses, ac-
cording to report, amounts to enthusias-
tic faith.
Details of the Czar's Abdication
Nicholas II. abdicated the throne of
Russia at Pskof Station on March 15,
1917. A correspondent of the Paris
Temps has obtained from M. Choulgine,
one of the actors in the memorable scene,
the following detailed narrative of what
took place:
AS our train stopped in the station of
L Pskof, one of "the Emperor's Aids
de Camp entered our carriage and
said: "His Majesty is awaiting you."
We only had to go a few steps to reach
the imperial train. I was not in the
least moved. We had reached that ex-
treme of physical tension after the days
which we had just lived in Petrograd,
when nothing can either astonish or seem
impossible.
We entered a brightly lighted saloon
carriage upholstered in pale green. The
Court Chamberlain and General Narisch-
kine were there and the Emperor en-
tered immediately; he was wearing the
uniform of one of the Caucasian regi-
ments. He seemed quite calm and shook
hands with us; he was in fact more cor-
dial than cold. He sat down and told
us to do the same. Gutchkoff sat by
him near a small round table; I sat op-
posite Gutchkoff, Freedericks sat a little
further along, and General Narischkine
took his seat at a table, ready to take
down all that was said, as he had been
asked to do by the Emperor. General
Russky entered at that moment, apolo-
gized for not having been there when
we arrived, bowed to us and took his
place next to me, that is, opposite the
Czar.
Gutchkoff spoke. I was afraid that
he would be pitiless and that he would
say something cruel to the Emperor.
But I soon felt reassured. Gutchkoff
spoke at length and quite easily. The
parts of his speech seemed to come in
perfect order. He did not refer to the
past,- but spoke of the present, trying to
make his hearer understand how far the
country had fallen. He spoke with low-
ered eyes and his hand on the little
table, and so he could not see the face
of the Czar, and this made it easier for
him to finish his painful speech. He
ended it by stating that the only way out
of the situation was for the monarch to
abdicate in favor of the little Alexis,
with the Grand Duke Michael as Regent.
At the moment when Gutchkoff was say-
ing these words, Russky leaned toward
me and whispered : " This has already
been decided."
Then the Emperor spoke. His voice
and his gestures were much calmer, much
more simple than Gutchkoff's manner
and speech had been. Gutchkoff was
deeply moved by the momentous nature
of the interview, and this made him em-
phatic. " I have thought a great deal
yesterday and today," said Nicholas IL,
in the same tone of voice as if he had
116
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
been speaking of some ordinary busi-
ness. " Up to 3 o'clock today I was pre-
pared to abdicate in favor of my son,
but I have since realized that it would
be impossible for me to be separated
from him." The Czar here paused slight-
ly, and then continued as calmly : " You
will understand me, I hope ! That is why
I have decided to abdicate in favor of
my brother." He was then silent as if
he expected some reply.
I then said: *' This proposition is a
surprise to us; we only considered an
abdication in favor of the Czarevitch
Alexis. I therefore request to be per-
mitted to have a few minutes' private
conversation with Alexandre Ivanovitch
(Gutchkoff) so that we may give a con-
sidered reply. The Czar consented, and
I forget now how the conversation was
resumed, but it is a certain fact that we
made no difficulties in accepting the ob-
jections which were set before us. Gutch-
koff said that he did not feel he had the
courage to combat the feelings of a
father, and considered all pressure im-
possible on that point. It seemed to me
that, on hearing this, a trace of satisfac-
tion passed over the face of the sovereign
whom we had just dethroned. * * *
We therefore accepted, under these con-
ditions, the Emperor's solution.
He then asked us if we could guaran-
tee with certainty that the act of abdica-
tion would bring peace to the country
and not provoke further effervescence.
We replied that, as far as it was possible
to foresee the future, we did not expect
difficulties of that kind. I am not quite
certain as to when exactly the Czar re-
tired into the next carriage to sign
the act. He came back at about 11:15,
holding a few small-sized pieces of
paper in his right hand. He said
to us: " This is the act of abdication,
read it." We read it in low tones. The
document was in noble language. I felt
ashamed of the text which we had rapid-
ly written down. I, however, asked the
Emperor to add to the phrase, " We re-
quest our brother to govern in full unity
with the representatives of the nation
sitting in the legislative assemblies," the
following words : " And to give assur-
ance of this on oath to the people." The
Czar consented and immediately added
what I asked, changing, however the al-
teration, which finally read, * And to
enter with them upon a sworn and in-
violable agreement." Thus Michael
Alexandrovitch was a constitutional
sovereign in the full acceptation of the
term. Events have gone beyond! the
form of government which we were
considering.
The act was copied in type on small
sheets of paper. * * * Two or three
copies were made. The Emperor signed
in pencil. * * * When I looked at
my watch for the last time it was 11:48.
What Has Paralyzed Russia's Armies
M. Tscheidze's Political Ideal
A British newspaper correspondent re-
cently talked with M. Tscheidze, head of
the Petrograd Committee of Workmen's
and Soldiers' Delegates, the central revo-
lutionary organization that has its net-
work of committees throughout Russia
and the Russian Army. Coming from the
man who, with Kerensky, may be said to
control Russia's war policy, his ideas may
be of far-reaching importance. The cor-
respondent wrote :
M TSCHEIDZE, in appearance, is
# our own John Burns in duodeci-
mo. He is a highly educated man
and a lawyer. After courtesies, this
brisk little gentleman, sitting sideways
on an upright chair, with both hands
clasped on the back of it, announced that
while with all the will in the world he
would answer any question about Rus-
sian socialism which I cared to put to
him, he would first of all be greatly
obliged if I would allow him to address a
few questions to me on a matter of very
first-rate importance.
His questions did not at that time seem
to me of very first-rate importance. I
now realize how important they were —
nay, how important they are still. In-
deed, the future of our relations with
WHAT HAS PARALYZED RUSSIA'S ARMIES
117
democratic Russia may turn upon the an-
swers which Britain makes by her policy
to these questions of M. Tscheidze.
Briefly, his questions come to this : Is it
not true that the war has destroyed Eng-
lish liberalism? Is it not a fact that we
have surrendered all those liberties for
which we profess ourselves to be fight-
ing? What has happened to our right of
public meeting, our free speech, our lib-
erty of the press, even to our right of
trial by jury? In a word, has not this
war forced us to abandon the democratic
principle of government which has been
Britain's glory for so many years, and
obliged us to adopt the Prussian system
of a military dictatorship, which we de-
nounce?
Very earnestly did I seek to persuade
M. Tscheidze that there is all the differ-
ence in the world between democracy's
deliberate choice of a certain curtailment
of its liberties, in its own general inter-
ests, and an absolutist system of govern-
ment holding in its iron grip a nation
which has never been free to decide under
what form of government it will live. He
saw what I meant, but was not convinced.
His point was that Britain's course had
acted as a check to the democratic move-
ment all over the world; that it had tend-
ed to discredit the democratic principle,
and that those men who were fighting
for freedom in other nations felt them-
selves depressed by Britain's submission
to a virtual dictatorship.
"Is it not true," he demanded, "that
your soldiers decide what shall be printed
and what not ? "
" Only in the interests of our strategy,"
I replied, believing at the time that what
I said was true.
"Is it not true," he demanded, "that
your soldiers decide what meetings
should be held and what suppressed? "
I made a like answer.
" Is it not true that your soldiers seize
people and lock them up in prison with-
out trial ? "
I flatly denied this, not knowing at the
time that Miss Howson, for one, had
been so treated — she has now been nine-
teen months in prison without legal ad-
vice and without a trial.
M. Tscheidze then held forth to me on
the general question. War, he declared,
is the most dangerous enemy of freedom.
Rights are surrendered which may never
be regained. The man of thought is dis-
placed by the man of action. Reason
gives way to force. The destinies of the
human race are taken out of the hands
of the thinker and intrusted to- the sol-
dier. With the soldier in power no one
knows what may happen — no one is per-
mitted even to discuss what ought to
happen. The soldier only thinks in
slaughter and destruction. He has no
political instincts, no sense of statesman-
ship. His one business is to kill. He
kills, and keeps on killing till there is
nothing more to kill. It is not safe to
trust the world to such a man. The
thinkers must continue to think. Dis-
cussion must be free, so that truth may
emerge.
It is a dangerous policy to dismiss the
Russian Socialist as a dreamer or to
lament, as is done in some quarters, that
the people of Russia have fallen victims
to the sentimental idealism of Tolstoy.
* * * The Rusisan Socialist believes
that the Germans themselves will de-
stroy Kaiserism. He is not, believe me,
false to our ideals in this war. The
trouble that he causes springs only from
the fact that he hungers and thirsts
with all the force of his idealism to get
what we want by reason and not by
force.
The Russian and French
Revolutions
1789—1917: Parallels and Contrasts
THE clamor in the fortress of
Kronstadt for .the immediate trial
and punishment of the deposed
Czar is a vivid reminder of the
French Revolution, in the perilous days
at the close of 1792, when Dantbn, Robe-
spierre, and Marat, the leaders of the
extremists, were debating the punish-
ment of Louis XVI., who was condemned
to death and executed on Jan. 21, 1793.
The charge against Louis XVI. was
"treason against the nation"; he had
been proved guilty of treasonable com-
munication with Leopold, Emperor of
Austria, whose armies were threatening
the very life of revolutionary France.
The parallel is made closer when we com-
pare the role of the former Russian
Empress — a German Princess, at heart
devoted to the German Emperor and the
German cause — with the ill-fated Marie
Antoinette, sister of the Austrian Em-
peror, fanatical upholder of despotic gov-
ernment and fatal counselor of Louis of
France. And, just as Marie Antoinette
had, with blind and ruinous obstinacy,
exercised her baneful fascination over the
French King, most of all in the selection
of Ministers, so Alexandra of Russia,
prompted thereto by Germany's tool,
Rasputin, in fact brought about the fall
of Nicholas II. by leading him to appoint
men like Sturmer and Protopopoff to rule
the Russian Empire.
Louis XVI., faced by national bank-
ruptcy brought on by the excesses and
fiscal follies of his predecessor, had chosen
at first wise men like Turgot and Necker;
Turgot, of whom Carlyle said that there
was " a whole pacific French Revolution
in that head," might have saved France
from a revolution of violence by his wise
reforms and economies — abolition of the
corvee, of the internal tolls on the trans-
port of grain, of the ancient guilds which
strangled labor; equalization of burdens,
abolition of feudal dues, systematized
public education. But all this was
brought to nought through the fanatical
hostility of Marie Antoinette, whose sulk-
ing and pouting induced Louis XVI. to
betray and dismiss Turgot. Necker fol-
lowed, advocating similar reforms, but
once more the Queen demanded and ob-
tained his dismissal; and, with the ap-
pointment of Calonne and his successors,
unscrupulous favorites of Marie Antoi-
nette, the revolution of violence became
inevitable. These men were the Sturmers
and Protopopoffs of revolutionary
France.
Duma and Constituent Assembly
There is a parallel equally close be-
tween the succession of assemblies in the
two countries. Louis XVI., after Turgot
and Necker had been dismissed, tried to
govern through the Notables of France, a
body of men of the privileged classes, not
elected but in effect nominated by the
sovereign, who bear a close resemblance
to the old Council of the Empire in Russia.
When the Notables accomplished nothing,
but, on the contrary, blocked every proj-
ect of reform, there was a general out-
cry for the summoning of the States Gen-
eral ; and from this body was evolved the
revolutionary Constituent Assembly. In
the same way, the Council of the Empire
in Russia gave way before the Imperial
Duma, and the Duma did much to bring
about the Russian revolution.
The French States General was a re-
version to an older form of government
that had gradually been forced out of
existence by the growing autocracy of the
Kings of France. It had been summoned
last in 1614. By a curious coincidence,
the last great representative assembly in
Russia met almost at the same time — in
1613 — this being the Constituent Assem-
bly which elected the house of Romanoff.
And, as the States General had at first no
intention either to dethrone Louis XVI.
THE RUSSIAN AND FRENCH REVOLUTIONS
119
or to bring about a revolution, so the
Russian Duma expected to open the way
not to a republic but to a constitutional
monarchy. And in both countries it is
practically certain that, had the sover-
eign wisely and loyally yielded at the
critical moment, establishing genuine
representative institutions aiid a Minis-
try responsible to the representatives of
the nation, no revolution would have
taken place. In both countries, likewise,
the final and fatal opposition came from
the foreign Queen and through her dan-
gerous power over the sovereign.
Voltaire and Tolstoy
In Russia, as in France, there was a
long preparation for the coming revolu-
tion, carried out not by politicians and
statesmen, but by a brilliant and impas-
sioned group of philosophical essayists
and writers. There is, at first blush,
small resemblance between Voltaire,
" that leering old mocker," as Lowell
called him, and the grimly serious, al-
most lugubrious Count Tolstoy; but the
contrast between them is largely the dif-
ference between the Gallic and the Sla-
vonic genius.
We think of Voltaire as an iconoclas-
tic philosopher, jeering at churches; he
valued himself rather as a dramatist, a
poet, a writer of imagination, and was,
without doubt, far prouder of his plays
than of his theories. Tolstoy had a like
twofold influence. Transcendently great
as an imaginative writer, the author of
" Anna Karenina," of " War and Peace,"
of " The Resurrection," he himself held,
in his later years, that these things were
valueless; that only his moral and
political theories had real worth. History
has, in a way, indorsed his judgment; for
it is to the philosophic anarchism and
pacifism of Tolstoy that we owe much of
the dominant mood of Russia at this
moment, from the seizure of land by the
peasants of Pskov and Bessarabia to the
dangerous "fraternization" in the
trenches, where the youthful soldiers be-
lieve that they are carrying out Tol-
stoy's interpretation of the command
" Love your enemies." Tolstoy wrote the
gospel which the revolutionaries of
Kronstadt and Schluesselburg are trying
to carry out. His tracts are the inspira-
tion of the Lenins and Lomanoffs who
are urging Russia to make peace with
her enemies, to open the era of universal
brotherhood.
But, just as against the philosophical
aloofness of Voltaire stood the impas-
sioned anarchism of Rousseau — Rousseau
with his " Social Contract," opening with
the words, " Man was born free, but he is
everywhere in chains," which inspired the
opening phrase of the American Declara-
tion of Independence, has his Russian
counterparts in Herzen and Bakunin, the
real fathers of Russia's revolutionary so-
cialism. Tolstoy, while preaching against
political, social, and economic injustice,
also preached pacifism and absolute non-
resistance; his doctrines, logically fol-
lowed, could never have led to armed re-
volt, though they might have inspired and
reinforced it. But Herzen and Bakunin
were all for action ; for the forcible seiz-
ure of power by the proletariat, for the
formation of such an internationale as
the extremists in Petrograd are advo-
cating today. It is true that many of
the phrases of the Russian extremists
were created by Karl Marx, when he
wrote " Capital " ; such ideas as the de-
scription of the present world conflict as
" a capitalistic war " ; but the real drive
and force of these ideas in Russia is due
to the influence and writings of men like
Herzen and Bakunin, and their disciples,
Prince Peter Kropotkin and Maxim
Gorky. It is quite true that Kropotkin's
long sojourn in England has made him
enthusiastically pro-ally, but that does
not cancel his earlier preaching of
anarchism. In one sense he is pro-ally
because he sees that the democracy of
England and France is far closer to the
absolute liberty which is his ideal.
Feudalism and Bureaucracy
To a very large degree the French
Revolution was a passionate uprising
against feudal privilege; against the ter-
rible oppression and depression of the
peasantry of France. Immediately after
the taking of the Bastile, on July 14,
1789, the downtrodden peasantry through-
out France rose in armed insurrection;
roving bands plundered and demolished
the chateaux of the nobles, filling the
120
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
land with a carnival of bloodshed and out-
rage.
Here we have the first sharp contrast.
Russia had no feudal system. And while
in France hardly one-fifth of the land
was in effective possession of peasant
proprietors, in Russia much less than
one-fifth was in possession of hereditary
landlords who might be compared with
the feudal nobles of France. This, be-
cause, as a result of the great Act of
Emancipation carried out by the Czar,
Alexander II., in 1861 — two years before
Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation —
large masses of the Russian peasantry
became landowners, while some four-
tenths of Russia's arable land formed the
Crown demesne, having, therefore, no
landlord but the Czar himself. And, as
one of the first acts of the revolutionary
Government of Russia was to declare the
Crown demesne forfeit, there were, for
this enormous tract of over a million
square miles, no land-owning nobles to
dispossess.
There was an equally sharp contrast
between the methods of procedure in the
two countries. While France saw wild
excesses of outrage and bloodshed in
every province, in Russia the very small
fraction of the land seized by the peas-
ants was taken without brutality on the
one side, without resistance on the other.
So far, not a single murder has been at-
tributed to this cause in Russia, though
there have been many cases of plunder
and incendiarism. The real enemy in
Russia was not feudalism, but bureau-
cracy. It follows that one chief cause of
later disorder in revolutionary France —
the creation of the class of emigres, or
exile nobles — can have no existence in
Russia. The French emigres, the land-
owning nobles who survived the first
uprising and massacre in the Summer of
1789, fled across the eastern frontier,
largely to Austria and Prussia, and did
everything in their power — and success-
fully— to incite these strongholds of
despotism to make war on revolutionary
France. One group of emigres went to
Russia.
** The Cause of Kings "
With the emigres there is another
striking contrast between revolutionary
France and revolutionary Russia. In
France, war, the tremendous cycle of
wars la'sting for nearly a quarter century
and involving all Europe, Western Asia,
Egypt, and, ultimately — in 1812 — the
United States also, sprang directly from
the French Revolution and primarily
from the Declaration at Pilnitz, in which
the Austrian Emperor and the King of
Prussia united in announcing that the
cause of Louis XVI. was " the cause of
Kings," and that, therefore, revolutionary
France must be crushed into subjection.
In Russia, on the contrary, the revolution
sprang from the war, and directly from
the belief that the imperial house of Rus-
sia was planning to make common cause
with the Austrian Emperor and the King
of Prussia — who had become the German
Emperor — against the people of Russia
and against the democracy in all lands.
But in both countries the link between
the throne and the central despots was
the foreign consort of the sovereign:
Queen Marie Antoinette in France and
the Hessian Princess who became Czarina
Alexandra in Russia.
Moderates and Extremists
In April, 1792, revolutionary France
declared war against Austria, Louis XVI.
being still nominally King, while Francis
II. had succeeded Leopold as Austrian
Emperor.
There is a striking resemblance be-
tween the parties in the revolutionary
France of that year and those in revolu-
tionary Russia today. The Girondists, so
called from the Gironde, the department
on the Bay of Biscay with Bordeaux as
its capital, from which its leaders came,
who were also called the men of the
Plain, because their seats were on the
main floor of the assembly, correspond
pretty closely to the group of the Duma,
led by Milukoff and Rodzianko, who
really planned for Russia not a republic
but a limited, constitutional monarchy
after the English model; while the Jaco-
bins, so called because they met in a
building formerly held by the Jacobin or
Dominican friars of Saint Jacques, pretty
closely correspond to the extremists who,
in Russia, fulminate in the Council of
Workmen's and Soldiers' Delegates. The
THE RUSSIAN AND FRENCH REVOLUTIONS
121
initial policy of Rodzianko and Milukoff
was exactly the policy of Mirabeau;
though matters have not reached the
point in Petrograd which they had
reached in Paris when Mirabeau wished
to raise the provinces against the capital,
to check the drift toward anarchism.
The parties in the Duma, in fact, adopted
the names created in the Assembly of
revolutionary France, and there has been
exactly the same shifting of the centre
of gravity from right to left. And, just
as, by 1792, the old party of the Extreme-
Right had practically gone out of exist-
ence in Paris, so the old Petrograd Ex-
treme-Right has ceased to exist. The
Girondists, who had begun as the Consti-
tutionalist Left- Centre, became the party
of the Right; just as the Constitutional-
Democrats of Petrograd, called, from the
initial and final letters of their name,
the C-D-ts or Cadets, who, under the
leadership of Milukoff, were the Left-
Centre Party in the Imperial Duma, have
now become the party of the Right, with
the extreme revolutionary Socialists and
even the Anarchists, ranged against them
on the Left.
Exactly in what way these extremists
got hold of the Council of Workmen's and
Soldiers' Delegates is not yet clear; but
it is quite clear that, in the acts of that
body, the soldier delegates have very lit-
tle part, since, being mere boys without
anything more than the most rudimen-
tary education and with no experience of
life, they could, in the nature of things,
play no real role in complicated political
discussions. All real power is in the
hands of a small group of leaders like
Tscheidze and Tseretelli — both of them
natives of the Caucasus, of non-Russian
origin — while it seems clear that many of
their decisions, such as the formula,
" Peace without annexations or contribu-
tions," are directly inspired by German
agents.
It is worth noting that the pacifist-ex-
tremists have their exact parallel in revo-
lutionary France: Robespierre, Danton,
and Marat were all in favor of peace and
very active in opposing the declaration
of war against Austria, which virtually
opened the great epoch of the Napoleonic
wars.
And, just as Danton upset the Giron*
dist Moderates and established the radi-
cal Government of the Commune of Paris,
so the Council of Workmen's and Sol-
diers' Delegates at Petrograd has at-
tempted to upset the Provisional Govern-
ment of the Duma Moderates, though so
far unsuccessfully, the expedient of a
Coalition Government being at present
tried. But the council has just issued a
manifesto declaring that, by forming this
Coalition Government, they have not, in
fact, abated any of their original de-
mands. Danton's ominous words, " The
allied Kings march against us. Let us
hurl at their feet, as the gauntlet of bat-
tle, the head of a King," find their echo in
Kronstadt's demand for the "punish-
ment " of Nicholas II. ; but it is entirely
possible that the Kronstadt demand is
simply a German scheme, intended to
plunge Russia into a civil war between
the extremists and the wiser moderates.
Gallic and Russian Temperament
The moment we try to pair off the
leaders in the two revolutions, we are con-
fronted with the fundamental differences
in temperament between the Gallic and
Slavonic races. That difference has al-
ready been strikingly manifested in three
things: in the fact, already noted, that,
confiscation of land in Russia has been
carried on without brutality on the one
side, and without resistance on the other;
in the second fact that, while Louis XVI.
fought against the revolution openly and
secretly, fairly and treacherously, and
owed his death to that resistance, Nich-
olas II. frankly accepted the Russian
revolution at once, never contemplating
resistance, but, with evident loyalty and
sincerity, wishing Russia all success in
her new venture, publicly praying for the
welfare of the Government which had
deposed him. Thirdly, revolutionary
Russia began by abolishing capital pun-
ishment, while revolutionary France in-
vented the guillotine. On the one hand,
a fiery people, instantly leaping to action,
easily rushing into wild, even ferocious,
excess ; on the other, a people singularly
gentle, even phlegmatic, by nature very
orderly and slow to violence. This fun-
damental difference in temperament has
122
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
shown itself at every point since the
Russian revolution began.
Take, for example, the fighting at
Petrograd from March 10 to March 15,
when the Czar abdicated. First reports
of the numbers killed spoke of thousands.
But, when the bodies of " the martyrs of
the Russian revolution " came to be in-
terred with solemn ceremonies, they
numbered only 182 in all. Without doubt,
there were many casualties on the other
side, beginning with ex-Minister Sturmer,
who was reported to have died of fright,
and including numbers of the political
police, as well as officers of the army
and navy, like General Kashtalinski and
Admiral Butakoff, well known in Wash-
ington as Russian Naval Attache when
Count Cassini was Ambassador; many of
them fanatically murdered in the first
delirium of liberty. And there have been
lynchings throughout Russia, chiefly of
men supposed to be German spies.
But, on the whole, there has been won-
derfully little violence. Even the anar-
chist demonstrations in Petrograd, the
revolts at Schliisselburg and Kronstadt,
and the declaration of independence in a
southern district — all of them, most prob-
ably, engineered by German agents — have
been met with only the gentlest handling,
with persuasion rather than force, in
sharp contrast to the Parisian slaughters
during the Red and the White Terrors, or
even the comparatively recent holocaust
of Parisian Communists in 1871, when,
after desperate fighting in the streets,
court-martial executions of large batches
of prisoners continued for many months,
to be followed by numberless sentences of
transportation; these incisive measures
being taken by the men who founded the
Third Republic, the present Government
of France.
Kerens^ Not L\\o. D anion
In Russia there have been no "mas-
sacres of the Champ de Mars," no " Sep-
tember massacres"; the Petrograd Field
of Mars, so named after its French coun-
terpart or the older Campus Martius at
Rome, has been the scene only of the
ceremonial burial of the " martyrs of the
revolution." ' This expresses the profound
differences between the Slavonic and the
Gallic temperament which makes direct
comparison between the leaders impos-
sible.
It is true that Alexander Kerensky,
the present Minister of War, has been
compared to Danton, who* played such a
heroic part in creating and inspiring the
armies of France to fight against the
Austrian and Prussian invaders; but, in
truth, there is small likeness beyond the
fact that both were radical lawyers.
Kerensky seems much more truly to re-
semble the great Carnot, who " organized
victory " for France. And men like
Tscheidze and Tseretelli, who might con-
ceivably wish to play extremist roles like
those of Marat and Robespierre, are not
Russians or Slavs at all but Asiatics
from the Caucasus Mountains.
Further, in Russia it is the leaders,
the famous Generals, who are urging the
nation to fight, while the common sol-
diers hang back. In France, the men in
the ranks were full of militant ardor,
while the Generals, like Dumouriez,
played traitor, surrendering fortresses to
the enemy; even Lafayette at one time
lost his nerve and fled to the Austrians,
who promptly clapped him into a dungeon,
whence only Napoleon's victories deliv-
ered him, so that he survived to play a
great and worthy part in the Revolution
of 1830.
A Charasteristic Episode
There is a certain parallel between the
internal fighting in France, in La Vendee,
and in the south, at Toulon, where Na-
poleon won his spurs, and the threatened
conflicts at Kronstadt and in the Russian
Army. But, through the decisive firm-
ness of Kerensky and the Commander in
Chief, General Brusiloff, the loyalists
seem certain to win, and to win with lit-
tle or no bloodshed. The sweeping vic-
tory of the loyalists was announced from
Petrograd on June 11, in a dispatch tell-
ing how General Stcherbatof f — one of the
four army commanders under Brusiloff,
in the great drive of 1916 — had given an
order to disband, for pacifist disloyalty,
a regiment of infantry and two regiments
of sharpshooters.
Three regiments of another division
were ordered to take up a new position
THE RUSSIAN AND FRENCH REVOLUTIONS
123
on the Rumanian front, but refused to
do so, and thereupon received an order to
disband. The soldiers openly mutinied.
The men of one of the regiments arrested
the commander and seven officers, tore
their badges from their uniforms, and
beat two officers, leaving one insensible
on the road. Thereupon a loyal com-
mittee of soldiers of the whole army,
after deliberating with the army staff,
decided to take stern measures against
the mutineers, whose ringleader was
named Philipoff. A resolute General
was chosen, having under his command
two divisions of loyal cavalry, two bat-
talions of infantry, one light battery,
armored motor cars and airplanes. Occu-
pying positions against the mutineers, he
sent them an ultimatum, demanding the
surrender of their ringleader and com-
manding them to take up their positions
as ordered, and to undertake to serve
faithfully in the future.
The mutinons soldiers, seeing that they
were surrounded, attempted to negotiate,
but at the last moment Philipoff incited
them to new resistance. The loyalist
General immediately ordered his guns
into action, whereupon the rebels uncon-
ditionally accepted the ultimatum and
surrendered Philipoff and others, who
were carried off to prison in an automo-
bile. The loyal troops, enraged . at
this clemency, fired at the automo-
bile, but their commander, in order to
save the- prisoners' lives, jumped into the
car, whereupon the firing ceased.
What a striking illustration of Russian
gentleness; the whole thing settled, ap-
parently without bloodshed; the sole
casualty recorded being one officer beaten
into insensibility, while the mutinous
ringleaders, instead of being shot after a
drumhead court-martial, are sent to
prison, the General risking his life to save
theirs.
Through all parallels and resemblances
this striking contrast of temperaments
between the Frenchman and the Russian
stands out sharply; throughout, the Rus-
sian revolution has been seasoned with
mercy.
A Royal Volunteer for the American Army
The Due d'Orleans, who under different conditions might have been King of
France, has offered his services as a volunteer in the United States Army. Early
in April he sent the following telegram to Lieut. Col. John P. Nicholson of the Mili-
tary Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States:
" At the moment when America is entering the war I come to claim the
honor and the right to serve the common cause of civilization and humanity. Son
of Comte de Paris, veteran of the Federal Army, myself a member of the Military
Order of the Legion of the United States, I ask you to take the steps necessary
to obtain for me a place under your flag." .
The Due's reference to his father recalls the fact that when the American
civil war broke out Louis Philippe d'Orleans, Comte de Paris, joined the United
States Volunteers as Captain and Aide de Camp in 1861. He served on the
staff of General McClellan in the Army of the Potomac, resigning in July, 1862,
and died in 1894 at Stowe House. The commission was forwarded to him from
Washington by Secretary W. H. Seward in September, 1861.
Lieut. Col. Nicholson replied to the present Duke, informing him that his
tender was received with great enthusiasm by the commanderies of the order, and
that it was presented to the President, but that it did not yet appear that there
was a willingness to accept volunteers. The President's Secretary had written:
" While regretting that the services of the Due d'Orleans would not seem to be
required, the department nevertheless appreciates very highly the Due's proffer."
Military Operations of the War
By Major Edwin .W. Dayton
Inspector General, National Guard, State of New York; Secretary, New York
Army and Navy Club
Major Dayton has long- had the official recognition of the United States War Department
as an expert authority on strategy and tactics. This is the fifth article in a series which he
is writing for Current History Magazine, covering in a rapid narrative all the military events
of importance since the beginning of the present conflict.
V. — Second Battle of Ypres — Von Mackensen's Victories
[See map of Ypres region, in " The Battle of Messines Ridge," elsewhere in this issue of
Current History Magazine]
THERE was a general anticipation
among the Allies in the early part
of 1915 that May Day in that year
would be a sort of military New
Year's Day. It was confidently predicted
that about that time the French Army,
and more especially the British Army,
would begin an offensive which would
drive the invaders out of Belgium and
France. The British disappointment at
Neuve Chapelle in March was regarded as
a premature effort to begin the drive be-
fore the plans had been sufficiently ma-
tured, but the French successes in Cham-
pagne showed the Gallic armies to be well
in hand and thoroughly prepared for
hard fighting. French troops were hold-
ing about 90 per cent, of the long west-
ern battle front, and both French and
British combined to defend the important
salient around Ypres. All the publicists
were busy prophesying allied attacks, and
only a very few of the really expert
writers suggested the possibility of a re-
newed German attack.
Second Battle of Ypres
In the previous October the first battle
of Ypres had been fought, and that tre-
mendous German effort to drive a way
through to Calais had ended in defeat
when the final charges of the Prussian
Guard failed on Nov. 11. Ypres is an
important local centre of communications,
with important roads radiating northeast,
east, and southeast. In April, 1915, the
allied lines circled above and beyond the
town from four to five miles, except at
the south, where the lines from Hill 60
to the Yser Canal were rather less than
two miles away.
It will be worth the student's while to
trace the position on the map as it was
on April 22. Beginning at Yser Canal
on the north, French troops were in the
trenches which curved eastward through
Bixschoote to a point beyond Lange-
marck, whence General Alderson's Cana-
dian division with four brigades stretched
over the front to a point beyond Grafen-
stafel. From the Canadian right the
British Twenty-eighth Division occupied
the trenches down to the Polygon Wood
two miles east of Hooge. At the edge
of this wood Princess Patricia's regiment
was on the left of General Snow's
(Twenty-seventh) division, which carried
the line on down east of the Veldhoek
Ridge to Hill 60, where at the re-entering
angle Snow's right flank joined the
Fifth Division of General Morland. The
trenches held by the Canadians had
originally been dug by the French, and
they were wet and shallow. The dead
were buried thick in the sides and bottom,
so that it was an ugly task to try to
improve these positions.
On April 17 seven British mines were
exploded under Hill 60 and two British
regular regiments captured and held the
position. For several days the Germans
made almost continuous counterattacks,
and both sides lost heavily in the strug-
gle for this little hill, which was im-
portant because it would afford the
British an opportunity to enfilade some
of the German trenches toward Hollebeke
on the south. On the 20th the German
heavy artillery began to bombard the
town of Ypres with the object of block-
ing the British transport, which was
MILITARY OPERATIONS OF THE WAR
125
supplying the positions covering the place,
and a large number of civilians were
killed.
The First Cas Attacks
Early in the evening of April 22 a
light, steady breeze was blowing over the
lines from the northeast, when suddenly
a low greenish bank of vapor was ob-
served drifting upon the French trenches.
Soon a demoralized stream of French
colonial soldiers was pouring back from
the Bixschoote-Langemarck sector, wild
with the terror of an unheard-of attack.
The Germans had pumped out of cylin-
ders a large quantity of heavy chlorine
gas, which rolled low and thick into the
trenches, blinding, choking, and suffocat-
ing men utterly unprepared and un-
warned. A horrible death came upon
hundreds, and those of their comrades
able to run broke in gasping horror upon
the surprised Canadian reserves in the
rear.
The result of this rout was a gap in
the allied lines four miles wide, through
which the Germans followed the de-
moralized French troops back to the
canal between Boesinghe and Steen-
straate. The Canadians were less af-
fected by the gas, but their left flank,
held by General Turner's brigade, was
compelled to bend back east of the
Poelcapelle road to a wood at the right
of St. Julien.
Late in the night various units were
brought up to fill the gap between St.
Julien and Boesinghe, and under the com-
mand of Colonel Geddes of the Buffs, this
mixed force succeeded in blocking what
for some hours at least had been an open
road toward Ypres. Providentially, the
Germans were so busy forcing a way
across the canal near Lizerne that they
missed the chance for a smashing drive
into the town of Ypres, where the streets,
blocked by shell-strewn ruins, were con-
gested by all the transport trains and the
mad struggle to straighten out the tangle
into which the gas surprise had thrown
the whole northern sector. On Friday
the Canadian Third Brigade was covering
St. Julien, and, despite heavy attacks,
lack of food, and low physical conditions
following the nausea of the gas, this
heroic force managed to preserve touch
with Geddes's right flank.
Early on the morning of the 24th, after
a violent artillery attack, the second
great gas attack was launched by the
Germans. Observers preserved a care-
ful record this time, and we know that it
took the deadly green bank of gas two
minutes to roll across the ground inter-
vening between the opposing trenches. It
rose not above seven feet at most, and
was deadliest toward the bottom. The
heavy gas rolled down into and penetrated
every corner of the trenches. There
were then no such defensive appliances
as the now familiar gas masks. Wet
handkerchiefs, an erect position, and the
avoidance of any deep breathing were
the only protective measures known, and
even these were but slightly understood.
Those who inhaled it deeply found their
lungs filled with the fluid and suffered
terribly; their blue, swollen faces and
bulging eyes, added to spasmodic gasping
efforts to breathe, made the victims things
of horror. More than half a mile to the
rear the gas was still strong enough to
cause violent nausea and dizziness.
Allies Forced to Retreat
Under this attack the worn-out Cana-
dian Third Brigade gave way and re-
treated below the Ypres-Passchendele
road. Colonel Lipsett's Eighth Battalion
made a superb defense of the pivotal po-
sition on the hill at Grafenstafel and
prevented a German flank attack which
would have turned the whole eastern part
of the line.
On Sunday morning, the 25th; large
British reinforcements had arrived, and
a determined effort was made to recover
St. Julien; but in spite of the hardest
kind of fighting the effort was defeated
and the lines forced back to Fortuin. The
pivot at Grafenstafel was helped by the
addition of fresh regiments, and held;
but in the heavy fighting of Monday the
Germans won Fortuin and drove the Brit-
ish back another 400 yards behind Han-
nabeeke Brook. The Northumberland
brigade and the Lahore division (In-
dian) suffered a bloody repulse in an ef-
fort to retake St. Julien. The Fortieth
Pathans (the " Forty Thieves ") fought
K'6
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
well and lost not only their Colonel but
nearly every British officer.
For a week attacks and counterattacks
continued, but by May 3 it became evi-
dent that prudence demanded the sur-
render of some of the ugly angles in the
line, and the British shortened their hard-
pressed front by a skillful retreat to a
new line closer to Ypres. The French
Ninth Corps (regulars) had taken posi-
tion on the east bank of the Yser Canal,
and on a curve toward the southeast their
right joined the British left west of
Shelltrap Farm, half way between St.
Julien and St. Jean. The new British
position curved east and south through
Frezenberg and Hooge to Hill 60. The
front between- Grafenstafel and Polygon
Wood had been withdrawn fully two
miles.
On May 5 the Germans took Hill 60,
and on the 8th and 9th they drove the
British back of the Frezenberg Hill to
Verlorenhoek. In this fighting shellfire
reduced the First Suffolks to seven men,
and the Second Cheshires fought until
they had only one officer left. Many
other units had similar losses in this pe-
riod; 900 eight-inch shells fell in the
trenches occupied by one regiment of ter-
ritorials.
Heavy British Losses
On May 13 the First and Third Cavalry
Divisions under General de Lisle were
desperately engaged in the sector be-
tween Hooge and Verlorenhoek. The
dismounted cavalry included some of the
most famous regiments in British army
annals as well as a number of Yeomanry
regiments. The divisions fought splen-
didly and suffered great losses, but were
compelled to yield more ground between
Bellewaarde Lake and Verlorenhoek.
Shelltrap Farm, captured by the Ger-
mans, was retaken in a bayonet charge
by the Second Essex.
On May 24 the Germans again released
gas, this time on a front of three miles
from Shelltrap Farm to Bellewaarde Lake.
This time the cloud rose much higher
and the wind carried it over the lines to
the southwest. The troops had by now
been furnished with respirators, but
more ground was yielded in this sector
when the gas was followed by a storm
of shells and heavy infantry attacks.
The hard-pressed British lines were saved
by the heroic fighting of the cavalry
supports, who again suffered great loss.
The famous Ninth Lancers lost many
officers, including that splendid soldier,
Captain Francis Grenfell, who had won
the Victoria Cross and greatly dis-
tinguished himself in the battles of 1914.
So toward the end of May the second
battle of Ypres died away and the bodies
of more than a hundred thousand allied
soldiers were added to the soil of this
hard-held salient in the western battle
front. Two years have passed since then,
and on this front the lines remain about
Ypres almost as Grenfell saw them last.
In that Spring of 1915 the man power
of the Allies on the battlefields began
to gain numerical superiority over the
enemy, and that superiority has grown
steadily since then. Yet still the Ger-
man stands there and waits for us.
Campaign in the South
In March and April, 1915, the news
vendors throughout the world were at
their wits' end to determine who had last
captured Hartmanns-Weilerkopf, for that
mountain spur changed hands over and
over again in the hard campaign fought
in the Vosges. The Chasseurs Alpins
under Maud'huy fought a series of small
battles along the Valley of the Fecht
with Colmar, an important railhead, for
objective. Numerous small successes
seemed to pave the way for a serious
drive against the German frontier, but no
really great move developed. Through-
out the rest of 1915 the lines remained
almost exactly as they settled down after
the series of minor battles in the late
Winter and Spring of that year.
Attacks on St. Mihiel Salient
When the German attack upon Paris
was repulsed and thrown back after the
battle of the Marne, the invaders still
held the strategically important salient
south of Verdun, at St. Mihiel, where
their guns on the heights at the Fort of
the Camp des Romains commanded the
plains for miles and the valley of the
Meuse below Verdun. In the Spring of
1915 an important item in the French
Russia's Minister of War, Described as the "Strong Man"
of the Reconstructed Government
(Photo Q Underwood rf Underwood)
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President of the Russian Workmen's and Soldiers' Council,
Addressing Sailors of the Baltic Fleet
(Photo © International Film Service)
■■••■•••••■••■a... ..........
MILITARY OPERATIONS OF THE WAR
127
program was the squeezing out of this
salient, and the plan adopted was to drive
in the already rather constricted sides.
The principal attack was aimed at Les
Eparges, a dozen miles north of St.
Mihiel, where the Germans had ousied
themselves since the previous September
in fortifying a naturally strong position
which defended the lines of communica-
tion inside the salient.
On April 5 and 6, in heavy rain, the
French infantry attacked with the
bayonet, and positions were won and lost
all the way up to the summit of the
coveted height. On the 8th several
French regiments fought their way to
the top and held their ground until rein-
forced on the following day, when the
victory was completed. Further to the
north the French advanced to Etain, and
it appeared as though the German com-
mander would certainly be compelled to
fall back upon the high ground in front
of Metz; but the demands for a vigorous
attack far to the north prevented the de-
velopment of this campaign, which was
destined to make no further progress
toward the great German frontier
fortress. The Germans were left in pos-
session of the St. Mihiel salient and of
the positions circling Verdun and joining
the lines of the Crown Prince in the
Argonne — positions back of which they
were able to prepare for the great at-
tacks upon Verdun in the early part of
1916.
The Campaign in Arlois
In May, 1915, two great objectives
confronted the British and the French
commanders. General Joffre's task was
to take Lens and advance toward Douai,
Valenciennes, and Namur, while the Brit-
ish target was the great northern city
of Lille.
The Germans held their lines about
Lens in strong force, and the chalk of
the region had been carved into skillful
defensive positions. General Foch took
command of the French forces in this
sector, where seven corps were gathered
with 1,100 guns. Opposed to him was
von Bulow, outnumbered and outgunned,
but in a series of mutually supporting
positions of great strength.
On May 9 Foch's guns hurled 300,000
shells upon the German lines between La
Targette and Carency. Then the infan-
try charged and took La Targette, and
carried the attack into the streets of Neu-
ville St. Vaast, where the battle raged at
close quarters from house to house. The
centre pushed on across the Arras-
Bethune road, and in the morning hours
succeeded in advancing nearly three
miles. The left at Carency made slower
progress because of the more difficult ter-
rain, but by the day's end the French had
made a brilliant advance on a front of
about five miles, and had captured over
3,000 prisoners with a large number of
machine guns and some cannon.
This battle raged on through the 10th,
11th, and 12th, and on the afternoon of
the last day the last survivors of the gar-
rison in Carency surrendered. The
cemetery of Neuville St. Vaast and the
summit at Notre Dame de Lorette, as well
as Ablain, were taken by the French,
whose attacks would not be denied.
On May 13 in heavy rain the French
continued the attacks, now aimed at
Angres, Souchez, and Neuville St. Vaast,
and from then on through the rest of the
month one after the other of the wonder-
ful series of separate German fortifica-
tions were captured. On May 29 Ablain
fell, and on the 31st the sugar refinery at
Souchez was stormed after changing
hands a number of times. Early in June
Neuville St. Vaast was taken, but just to
the south lay the famous Labyrinth,
where the battle raged for a long time
in deep galleries, sometimes fifty feet
under ground.
Aubers Ridge and Festubert
The British campaign toward Lille was
ushered in as a co-operative offensive
timed to coincide with the French attacks
in Artois. A first objective was the win-
ning of the Aubers Ridge overtopping the
old fatal field at Neuve Chapelle. On
Sunday, May 9, the First Corps and the
Indian Corps advanced upon theisouthern
end of the Bois du Biez, a mile and.a half
east of Richebourg l'Avoue. The Eighth
Division attacked further north, toward
Fromelles and the northern slopes of the
Aubers Ridge. The artillery had failed
properly to prepare the way, and the in-
128
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
fantry were stopped by unbroken wire
entanglements with heavy resulting
losses and little or no gains.
A week later, on the 16th, there was
another strong attack east of Festubert,
after a bombardment in which the French
75s assisted. There was much close
fighting and the bombers of the First
Grenadiers did good work. A company
of the Scots Guards got too far ahead
and was cut off. Some days later its
men were found lying with plenty of
German dead about them.
This battle of Festubert ended in the
last week of May with a net result of
having given to the British the enemy's
first-line trenches on a front of over
3,000 yards. In addition some second-
line trenches were taken, with nearly 800
prisoners and ten machine guns. But
despite the extremely heavy losses in-
curred, the attack had nowhere succeed-
ed in breaking the enemy line. In June
the Belgians won a German blockhouse
south of Dixmude, and throughout that
month and July there was a prolonged
struggle for the ruins of the chateau at
Hooge, just east of Ypres. There were
several minor battles near Givenchy,
Festubert, and Hooge, but invariably the
British forces were compelled to abandon
sections of enemy trenches won at severe
cost. The only big thing on the side of
the Allies was the casualty list.
In the early Summer a series of small
victories were won in the Vosges by the
French Alpine Chasseurs, who captured
Metzeral in June, and in July stormed
the Sondernach Ridge, pushing their ad-
vance close to Minister.
Late in June and early in July the
German Crown Prince made four attacks
upon the French lines in the Argonne
along the Vienne-le-Chateau and Binar-
ville road. Only small gains resulted,
and on July 7 the Kaiser's heir hurled a
stronger attack against the hill called
La Fille Morte, which was captured, but
later retaken by the French. It seemed
impossible for the Crown Prince to win
any glory in " the day " (der Tag! ) for
which he had openly longed in the years
of peace.
It is a difficult thing now for most
people to admit what they believed two
years ago. In the Spring of 1915 the
consensus of European military opinion
was that the Russians were prepared to
launch a tremendous campaign with huge
armies and adequate equipment. They
had won a strong hold in the Carpathians
and were supposed to be ready for a
crushing invasion of Hungary. Possibly
there would be men and guns enough to
strike as well toward Southern Germany
via Cracow.
Russian Front in 19 1 5
The Russians took Przemysl on March
22, and on the 25th they crossed the
Pruth. Early in April they won the
crest of the mountain barrier for all of
seventy miles, and Brusiloff was within a
few days' march of the Hungarian plains
below. In a short campaign of a few
weeks in Bukowina the Russians claimed
to have captured 70,000 prisoners and
many guns. Late in April General von
Linsingen feinted toward Stanislau and
succeeded in drawing down that way the
Russian mobile reserves.
In December Dmitrieff had dug him-
self into a good defensive position behind
the Donajetz Riyer, and felt so secure
that no positions to the rear had been
prepared, in case retreat might become
needful, for no such possibility seemed to
threaten.
The supreme command of the German
army groups was given to that idol of
the German Army, von Mackensen, who
had for the great operation about to be
undertaken as many as 2,000,000, and
perhaps 2,500,000, men. On April 28
the Austro-German armies lay on the left
bank of the Donajetz down to the Cracow-
Tarnow Railroad, and thence on the left
bank of the Biala down to the mountains
below Rapa and Grybow. On that day
von Mackensen struck his first blow from
his right flank toward Gorlice. May 1
saw the attack developed further north,
where, under a tremendous artillery fire,
a crossing was effected over the Biala
and Crezkowice was taken. Gorlice, too,
was stormed, and by the 2d the whole
Russian front in this sector was in full
retreat toward the Wislowka River,
twenty miles in the rear. The Caucasian
corps of Irmanov' came to Dmitrieff's
MILITARY OPERATIONS OF THE WAR
129
help, and the Wislowka was held until
May 7, when the Germans forced a cross-
ing at Jaslo. The flank of the army in
the Carpathians was turned, and its hur-
ried retreat involved heavy losses, but
desperate fighting enabled Brusiloff to
get his army clear of its perilous position
in the mountains.
FIELD MARSHAL VON MACKENSEN
(©. F. 0. Koch)
By May 14 the Russians were across
the San, and the bridgehead at Jaroslav
was defended until men and guns were
over. The fortnight had been a costly
one for Russia. Her armies had retreat-
ed something over eighty miles, and some
corps had lost 75 per cent, of their
strength.
The Grand Duke Nicholas took over the
Russian command. On May 5 a Russian
army under General Ewarts turned in a
strong counterattack, which, after sev-
eral days' fighting, drove back a German
force advancing toward Ostrowiecz with
a loss of 30,000 casualties. Toward the
south, too, a vigorous counterstroke made
good progress and threatened Kolomea
and Czernowitz. The German checks on
both flanks did not interfere with von
Mackensen's main attack, which developed
on May 15 and became one of the great
battles of the war.
The Battle of the San
The chief German attack was aimed at
the sector between Jaroslav and Prze-
mysl, and at midnight on the 15th the
northern town fell. On the 18th the Rus-
sians lost Sieniawa, and in the south
von Marwitz captured the railway junc-
tions at Dobromil and Sambor, on the
Dniester, and drove on toward the north
against the fortif cations about Przemysl.
Pushing on, he took Hussakow and Lut-
kow.
Von Mackensen crossed the San at
Radymno and on June 2 entered Prze-
mysl, which the Russians had held for
some two months or more. On June 1
von Linsingen captured Stryj, and the
Prussian Guard took prisoners and guns
from Brusiloff. On June 7 the same vic-
tor forced the Dniester at Zurawno and
was well on his way toward Lemberg.
Brusiloff turned, and in a three-day bat-
tle drove von Linsingen back over the
river with the loss of 15,000 prisoners,
and some guns.
However, the great German advance
continued, and Mosciska, east of
Przemysl, was captured June 14, and
the Russians were back on the San, the
Tanev, and the Grodek Ponds. By the
16th von Mackensen was advancing to-
ward Rava Russka, and after taking
Javorov his army entered that position
as well as Zolkico on June 20. On the
22d the great City of Lemberg was taken,
and Galicia was once more in Austrian
hands.
At this time the German invasion be-
ginning at the north was approaching
Windau on the Baltic Sea, and the Ger-
man line, curving southeast, reached
close to Shavli, and toward the south
cut between Suwalka and Grodno; then
back on a curve west of Warsaw and
across the Vistula at the junction with
the Tanev; thence on a broad out curve
toward Brody and down to Halicz. In
the north, Libau, the seaport, had been
taken early in May, and throughout that
month and June Courland was being
overrun by the German forces, which,
before long, were threatening Riga. The
British and French efforts fo help Russia
by a diversion in the west at Festubert
130
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
and Souchez were signal failures so far
as their effect on the campaign in the
east was concerned.
Battles in Front of Warsaw
After the fall of Lemberg the German
General Staff prepared to attack War-
saw, now a dangerous salient for the
Russians, with German armies threat-
ening the railway communications both
north and south of the ancient Polish
capital. The strongly fortified city was
the target, but the real object was a
much greater thing. The Germans
planned not only to capture cities and
provinces, but to surround and destroy
the field armies opposing their progress.
They hoped to induce the Russian com-
mander to commit great forces to the de-
fense of certain important localities
where the favorite Hindenburgian tactics
might, by far-flung flank movements,
surround and capture or destroy them.
A very powerful army was mobilized
in the vicinity of Thorn for the great new
effort after the capture of Lemberg. In
the south the German campaign pro-
gressed methodically. Early in July they
took Krasnik and Zamosc. In the first
week of July the Russians won an im-
portant four days' battle along the Lublin
highway above Krasnik, capturing 15,000
prisoners and many guns.
Late in June the German army of von
Linsingen crossed the Dniester, and on
the 28th captured Halicz. The Russians,
fighting stubborn rear-guard actions,
finally halted on the left (east) bank of
the Zlota Lipa, a northern tributary of
the Dniester. The battle line further
north was temporarily halted along the
River Bug, at Kamionka and Sokal, but
by the middle of July von Mackensen had
his vast force ready to strike new and
irresistible blows from Courland in the
north all the way down to Galicia.
Przasnysz, north of Warsaw, was taken
on -July 14 by General von Gallwitz, and
within the next few days the Germans
reached the lines of the Rawka and the
Bzura, and the Russians fell back to
Blouie, a prepared position fifteen miles
west of Warsaw. By July 20 the Russian
defense on the north had fallen behind
the Narco, a tributary of the Bug north-
east of Warsaw, and by July 23 von
Gallwitz won crossings over the Narev
and two days later reached the River
Bug between Novo Georgievsk and Se-
rock.
Meanwhile von Mackensen was fight-
ing a successful campaign midway be-
tween Lemberg and Warsaw. On July
GRAND DUKE NICHOLAS
(© Undenoood &■ Uhderwood)
18 he captured Krasnostav and Pilasko-
wice, where he was dangerously close to
a vital Russian line of communications —
the railway from Lublin through Chulm
to Kovel. After a series of hard-fought
but nearly always successful actions the
Germans south of Warsaw pressed on,
and by July 22 had the Vistula bridge-
head at Nova Alexandria, following the
capture of Radom and a number of other
positions west of the great river.
In the far north the German wave
rushed on, submerging Tukkum and
Windau (July 20) and rapidly threat-
ened Mitau, an important railway junc-
tion southwest of Riga. On July 29 von
Mackensen cut the railway south between
Lublin and Chulm, and on the 30th both
towns fell.
Fall of Warsaw and Kovno
On Aug. 4 the Russians who had held
the point of the salient at Blouie fell
MILITARY OPERATIONS OF THE WAR
131
back through Warsaw, for the sides of
the salient were pinching in dangerously,
and on Aug. 5 German cavalry entered
Warsaw. The successful withdrawal of
the large garrison was the forerunner
of a long series of similar successes.
Over and over again Russian flanks were
strongly held while large armies nearly
trapped were safely extricated. The
campaign went on from victory to vic-
tory, but the German Generals were
always denied the darling wish of their
strategy — the capture or destruction of
the armies which they were able to de-
feat but not to annihilate. On Aug. 4
Ivangorod fell, and the middle of the
month the Germans were pressing for-
ward toward the railway Chulm-Brest-
Litovsk- Grodno.
On Aug. 17 Kovno was taken, with
20,000 prisoners and 200 guns, after of-
fering a heroic resistance. The fall of
this important and strongly fortified city
on the Niemen was a deadly blow to the
Russian scheme of defense, for it opened
the way toward the main railway line
from Poland to Petrograd via Vilna.*
On Aug. 19 von Beseler (the victor at
Antwerp) after a three weeks' siege took
Novo Georgievsk with another 20,000
prisoners and more than 700 guns. This
great fortress close to Warsaw had been
relied upon to withstand a long siege,
and meanwhile threaten the communica-
tions of German armies pushing east
into Russia. The hope was vain in face
of von Beseler's great siege guns.
On Aug. 23 Ossowietz fell, and Tykocin,
just south of the fortress, was stormed.
Two days later the Germans took Brest-
Litovsk, the fortress covering the railway
to Moscow. On the 26th they captured
Bialystok, the great railway centre south
of Grodno. Olita, a fortress defending
the crossings of the Niemen north of
Grodno, fell on the 27th. Further to the
north the Germans began an attack
against Friedrichstadt in an attempt to
force a crossing of the Dvina above
Dvinsk. On the last day of August
♦General Grigorieff was tried by a Russian
court-martial and sentenced to fifteen years'
imprisonment at hard, labor for insufficient
measures of defense and absence from Kovno
during the siege.
Lutsk, on the Styr, in Volhynia, was
captured, and on Sept. 2 the Germans
took Grodno, against which von Beseler's
siege artillery had been concentrated.
The Russians lost only the rear guard of
2,000 men and a few fortress guns.
Czar Assumes Command
On Sept. 5 the Czar took personal com-
mand of all the Russian armies, and sent
the Grand Duke Nicholas to command in
the Caucasus. Early in September the
Russian lines east of Grodno retired to a
position reaching from Orany (at the
crossing of the Petrograd railway over
the Meretchanka River) to Mosty, on the
Niemen. On Sept. 18 Vilna, a position of
great strategic importance, fell after a
brave resistance in which two divisions
of the Russian Imperial Guard played a
distinguished part. Von Eichorn, the
German commander, pushed 40,000 cav-
alry with 140 guns toward the flank of
the Russian position, and the garrison
barely effected their escape along the
line toward Minsk. By the end of Sep-
tember the Czar's troops were making a
stand along a line through Smorgon, be-
tween Vilna and Molodetchno, and south
to Novo Grodek.
Further southward, von Mackensen
reached and captured Pinsk on Sept. 16,
but a week earlier the Russians made a
surprise attack in front of Tarnopol and
along the Sereth, in which they captured
383 officers, 17,000 men, and nearly 100
guns.
That success was continued and the
German flank driven back to the Stripa
with heavy additional losses. Dubno
was retaken, and General Ivanoff seemed
for a time to threaten dangerously von
Mackensen's right flank.
A long series of battles were fought
through the Autumn and early Winter
about Czartorysk and Rafadowka, in
Volhynia, and along the Rivers Styr,
Stripa, and Zlota Lipa, in Eastern Ga-
licia. Above Pinsk the Germans held
securely Baranovitchi, an important com-
mercial and railway centre east of
Slonim. All efforts failed to capture
Dvinsk, and the Dvina marked the limit
of German progress toward Petrograd.
On the west front of Riga the German
132
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
lines curved back west of Babit See and
Lake Kanger to the west shores of the
Gulf of Riga.
From Riga to Czernowitz the battle
front measured about 785 miles, and
while the Russians bent the southern end
back along the Dniester in the Spring of
1916, when they recaptured Bukowina
from Brody (in Galicia) on to the north,
the military frontier has remained al-
most exactly as the great German vic-
tories of 1915 left it. The adequate de-
fense of that frontier, inclosing, as it
does, all of Western Russia, "required
the maintenance on that front of nearly
2,000,000 Austro-German troops.
The Religious Revival in France
By Major William Redmond, M. P.
[Major Redmond died June 9, 1917, from wounds received in action two days before. He
was a brother of John Redmond, the Irish Nationalist leader, and had been a member of
Parliament for the East Division of Clare since 1892. He was one of the idols of his native
land and was beloved alike by friend and opponent. The subjoined article, written shortly
before he fell, is here published by arrangement with The London Chronicle.]
WITH all the evil that has fol-
lowed in its train it is good to
find at least one beneficial re-
sult from the war. It has led
to the revival of religion in a most re-
markable way.
As to this, practically every one is
agreed, and it is apparent in a hundred
directions. Perhaps this revival is most
marked of all in France, and there it is
attributable in no little degree to the
splendid record of the French priests in
the army. To many people it seemed a
wrong thing that the ministers of the
Prince of Peace should be called upon to
take up arms and play a part in the
terrible work of bloodshed and slaughter
which has converted so large a portion
of Europe into a veritable shambles.
What seemed wrong, and what was from
some point of view wrong no doubt, has
in the result turned out a blessing.
The spectacle of thousands of priests
marching and fighting for the country
and the flag has touched deeply the heart
of France, and many and many a man
who was, perhaps, ready enough to pro-
claim himself an anti-Cleric will never so
describe himself any more. The bravery
displayed by the French priests in battle
(2,000 have been killed) has been only
equaled by their devotion to their holy
office. Few things are more appealing
than the sight of the soldier-priest turn-
ing to administer the last consolations of
religion to his fallen comrades round
about. And this has been witnessed on
every battlefield of France, and it has
its natural effect upon the impression-
able French character, and the effect
will remain long after the last shot of
the war has been fired.
To those who have been brought to
France by the war the manifestations of
religion everywhere displayed have come
more or less as a surprise, especially to
those who had been led to believe from
the action of many successive French
Governments that the Church was more
or less a thing of the past in France.
It is hard, of course, to judge of the
real depth or intensity of religious feel-
ing, but all one can say is that if this
can be done by noticing the attendance
at church, then the religion of France
is today very true and very sincere.
For over a year the writer of these
lines has been with the British Army in
France and has been billeted in scores
of villages and small towns. Everywhere
the way in which the civil population
thronged the churches on Sundays and
holidays was very noticeable, and in the
larger towns more noticeable still. It
may be that the attacks which the enemy
have made on holy places have caused
a revulsion of feeling in France. The
ruins of Rheims cathedral, Ypres, and so
many other churches in the land have
stricken the population with remorse and
THE RELIGIOUS REVIVAL IN FRANCE
133
sorrow. Certain it is, be the real reason
what it may, there has been a great re-
vival in the devotion of the French people
since war broke out. Of course the cyn-
ical will say, "When the devil was sick
the devil a saint would be," &c.
The writer has seen more deep and
reverent devotion displayed by worship-
pers inside the walls of semi-ruined
churches which had their stained glass
windows shattered than ever he has seen
before. Probably more fervent prayers
have been poured out before broken
crosses and shell-torn statues of our
Saviour in France and Belgium than were
ever offered in peace time before the
most beautiful shrines in the whole
world. Religion has been perhaps the
one thing in all the world so far strength-
ened and built up afresh amid the hor-
rible ravages of war. That there has
been a similar result all over the world
and away from the actual scene of war
is also apparent.
The fact is that the ruin and carnage
have been so stupendous, the sacrifices
have been so great, the horrors have been
so widespread and have so penetrated
into almost every family circle that
almost every human being in the world
has turned to look for hope and com-
fort beyond the grave. Miserable indeed
is the man or woman who is not assured
that that hope and comfort are so to
be found, for in sooth this war has made
this transitory world but a sorry place!
The writer of these impressions has been
with a section of the British Army in the
field, which numbers very many Catholic
soldiers in its ranks. The conduct of
these men has undoubtedly had a good
effect upon the population wherever they
have been stationed. The majority of
the soldiers are of Irish nationality,
though of English and Scottish and over-
seas Catholic soldiers there are also not
a few. The simple and yet deep faith
exhibited by these men upon all occasions
made a wonderful impression on the
French and Belgian peoples.
- It is not at the very best a happy thing
to have one's country occupied by foreign
troops, even though they come to defend
your soil from the invader. Masses of
men overrunning villages and towns and
eager for some sort of relaxation from
the rigor and hardship of trench life are
apt to give trouble, even though well be-
haved and well disposed in every way.
It is always a source of anxiety to the
higher command to secure that nothing,
even by inadvertence, shall be done by
the troops to cause annoyance to the in-
habitants of occupied territory. The out-
standing feature of the British occupa-
tion of France and Belgium has been the
fine and chivalrous spirit displayed by
the men. They have put themselves on a
footing of the best and kindest sort with
the people, and complaints of any kind as
to their behavior are few and far be-
tween.
But, in addition to the relief of the
people in finding the troops kind and
considerate, imagine the good impres-
sion created when the French people find
that large numbers of the men are
devoted to their own religion and more
earnest in their practice of it. When
Irish regiments are billeted in a village
the church large enough for the villagers
becomes at once too small. It is thronged
by the soldiers, and the cure finds his
congregation enormous, and has, in con-
junction with the army Chaplains, to
arrange for many services on Sunday.
The General commanding a division com-
posed for the most part of Irish Catholic
soldiers informed the present writer that
his division never left an area without
the local authorities, and notably the
cure, coming to him to express their
appreciation of the good behavior of
the troops and their admiration for their
earnest devotion to their religion.
There is no doubt that the scourge of
war has purified the hearts of many
people, and the advent of large numbers
of Catholic troops into France has prob-
ably helped to bring back to some
Frenchmen an appreciation of something
which they may have seemed to have
almost lost. Thus in one way, and a way
of no little importance, the war has
wrought a change for the better in
France.
Who Pays for the Cost of War
By William A. Wood
IT may be said in a fair spirit that
the beliefs of the best of men di-
vide on the problem of the cost of
war. It has been shown by Ward
in his " Pure Sociology " that war has
been a leading factor in the development
of that which we call civilization. Un-
questionably this is true, if we tabulate
the results; but sound reasoning re-
quires that it be shown that there is no
better way. There is a' better way.
Ward's deduction does not mean that
he favored war as a means to an end:
he simply stated the fact from the point
of view of the sociologist. The problem
is at once ethical as well as sociological.
What has been should not necessarily be
continued. The basis of the sociological
aspect is human achievement ; that of the
ethical is the power of the mind; and in
the religious field we have the main-
springs of human conduct.
A few facts need consideration: The
object of nature is function. The object
of man is happiness. The object of so-
ciety is action. Severally and jointly
man is equipped with certain potential
qualities, both of mind and body, and in
the exercise of these faculties he achieves
whatever he sets his mind to do. The
mind itself is not a force, but jt is the
directive agent that guides the dynamic
qualities of men. In those epochs of civil-
ization which mark the movements of
man toward development and progress,
that which has proved sturdiest among
human qualities is the virtue of the pio-
neer; and as obstacles have given way
before the march of human achievement,
the more serviceable and permanent ele-
ments of life have been successfully set
up. These are not to be lost sight of in
the glamour of war. The human race is
unconquerable, and in the long run man
wins over nature and becomes master of
nature and of nature's laws.
Thus we may trace our progress, from
its faint beginnings in tribal successes
onward to the establishment of those
substantial moral gains which connote the
value of the human soul in its struggles
with nature. Whatever nature has set
up as a hindrance has been largely over-
come, but the mistakes which man him-
self makes constitute a drag on his prog-
ress. They check what is otherwise the
dominion over nature which man aims to
secure, and they do it by heaping up the
compound interest assessed against suc-
ceeding generations. And in this cate-
gory war is the great offender. It is
true in the laws of biology that the
forces of anabolism and katabolism are
pitted against each other, but in this
conflict of unlike elements the forms of
life are born and-come to maturity. That
fruition is the gift which nature pro-
vides for the sustentation of the lives of
men. And it is on this basis that man
successfully builds, for in the partnership
of the individual with others the co-oper-
ation of the many rewards the unit with
increased fruitage.
Every explosion of powder is costly, if
at the end of the range we have a human
being, and the cost must be paid for both
by the living and the unborn. Every ex-
plosion of powder is costly in any case,
for the price of the marksman is the
price which he pays for the securing of
the game. Bows and arrows and repeat-
ing rifles cost human labor, and when
men shoot arrows and bullets into the air,
they must go and pick them up or else
make other ones. When they explode
shells, they must make new shells in their
place. If they keep on firing, some one
else must make the ammunition and fur-
nish new guns, for guns wear out as well
as shells. When men consume 'more than
they produce, they must soon stop either
the production or the destruction. Fire-
works once a year cost labor; fireworks
for nearly three years that batter forts
and dismember bodies must be paid for in
the only element that can produce them,
namely, human labor.
A nation at war is keeping a ledger,
and as the balance is on the debit side,
redoubled efforts are necessary to re-
WHO PAYS FOR THE COST OF WAR
135
store the equilibrium. No juggling with
figures can offset this inexorable law of
nature. No human reasoning can com-
pensate nature for the consumption of
her resources; nothing but human labor
can compensate her. Her bounties con-
tain no values until they are carved out
by specific and productive human energy;
and when these values are once created
in the form of wealth, they fall under the
law of katabolism. If man hastens the
breaking-up process by recklessness or
by war, he must pay for it in continued
expenditure of effort, he must pay the
cost. When a man borrows anything
from nature he may use it or not, as he
wills; but in any instance what he bor-
rows must be returned to her reservoirs.
War quickly destroys what man pro-
duces, but the cost is paid for, not in
money, but by labor augmented many
times over as a price paid for the follies
of men. Constructive labor yields per-
manent results; war uproots them. Bat-
tleships are not paid for by Governments,
but by subjects of the nation. A thou-
sand men on a warship produce nothing;
the same men in action destroy both ship
and enemy. The payment of taxes comes
out of human labor; the payment of in-
terest on loans is a double burden, falling
on those who now live and labor, and
striking hard against those who are later
to become creators of the nation's wealth.
We are still paying pensions on a war
that ended 102 years ago. Wars are
paid for in human sacrifice — in human
lives; but they are also paid for in sac-
rifice that eats up the products of man's
labor; and when these visible things are
shot to pieces, an increase of human
energy alone can replace them. Men
who build battleships are also paying for
the battleships. If the ships go to the
bottom, no power on earth can replace
them save human labor; and the more
ships at the bottom, the greater the drain
on the living labor which creates them
out of earth's material.
Take an illustration from our national
sports, baseball and college football.
Who pays the salaries of the twenty-two
players on each of the sixteen teams of
the major leagues? Who accounts for
the cost of training the college men for
their annual seasons on the gridiron?
Manifestly those who pay as witnesses of
the games. Suppose a quarter of all
these men were killed and the same pro-
portion injured for life. Suppose hos-
pitals and nurses were supplied to meet
these losses and that they were kept up
during the entire season. Suppose fresh
players were drawn from the ranks and
drafted into the daily slaughter on the
diamond or the gridiron in times of peace.
Would any man of ordinary judgment
infer that this loss constituted no drain
on the nation?
You cannot pay for war out of taxes.
War is liquidated by the human cost, and
by cost is meant that continued outgo of
human labor which is the sole source of
wealth. In addition to the destruction
of the human element and the accom-
panying blasting of the material element,
war makes a steady drain on the future;
that is to say, the cost is passed on for
many decades, through pensions and in-
terest, and in no sense will nature let up
in her demands. We borrow from na-
ture as well as from bankers, and when
nature recalls the things we have taken,
her mandates are scrupulously carried
out. War hastens the destruction of all
these elements, speeds up the processes
by which wealth is torn to pieces, and
when these things are shattered and scat-
tered they must be replaced by human
toil and increased human sacrifice. Taxes
laid on interest augment the national
burden by increasing the tax gatherers,
who must be paid out of the national rev-
enues. And in the last analysis the re-
ceiver of interest is essentially a non-
producer and as such he has to be fed
along with those who do the fighting and
the destroying.
Man pays for war. It is his creation,
and as long as he keeps it up he will have
to stand for the game. Governments
create war debts, but subjects pay them.
Kings and Congresses may declare war,
but that is only bequeathing to innocent
successors the obligations that must be
met. It cost Russia $600,000,000 to for-
tify Port Arthur. It cost Japan $400,-
000,000 to batter it to pieces. But the
cost is not in money; it is in human lives
and human wealth, and such destruction
136
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
ultimately rolls up what no generation
can pay. Seventy cents out of every dol-
lar received by our Federal Government
was paid out for military purposes, with
the nation still at peace. If the baseball
players killed in the supposititious war-
fare above cited were to leave widows and
orphans requiring pensions, who would
stand for the increased expense of our
national game? The cases are parallel in
their economic bearing, and show the
principle involved in human loss.
The problem of the cost of war is so-
ciological and must be examined in the
light of the forces and resultants of hu-
man action. Fire insurance companies
pay for losses, but not until after they
have collected an adequate fund from
the community. Life insurance pre-
miums provide the source out of which
claims are met, else what other source
could pay for them? If the companies
get interest on loans, that only brings
other factors into the problem. The cir-
cle is thus widened, but the principle re-
mains the same; namely, that from hu-
man labor is drawn the fund that com-
pensates for losses sustained. War raises
those losses to the nth degree and leaves
to posterity the burden of paying for
other people's quarrels. The interest
claims pile up faster than they can be
discharged, and drain away from con-
structive labor the higher fruits of hu-
man toil.
Were half the power that fills the world with
terror,
Were half the wealth bestowed on camps
and courts,
Given to redeem the human mind from error,
There were no need of arsenals or forts.
Nearly 24,000,000 Men Engaged
Sir William Robertson, Chief of the British General Staff, made these note-
worthy statements in a dinner speech at the Mansion House. London, in May.
1917: J
No two wars and no two battles were ever fought under exactly the same
conditions, and no war has ever differed so greatly from its predecessor as does
the war in which we are now engaged. Airplanes, for instance, have entirely
changed the whole strategical and tactical conduct of operations. The use of
enormous masses of heavy artillery is another new factor, and has made efficient
preparation for battle dependent upon the most elaborate system of communica-
tions and transport, and has demanded the highest qualities of organization in
general. During the last five or six weeks, I suppose, we have expended some
200,000 tons of ammunition, which have had to be moved by road, rail, and sea
from the factories in England to the guns in France and man-handled probably
not less than half a dozen times. As you can imagine, this has entailed a great
deal of railway work at the front as well as in England, and the skillful and
determined way in which the work has been executed by the railway managers
and employes who have assisted us is beyond all praise.
But the greatest peculiarity of all is the colossal size of the armies engaged.
In the 1870 war armies were counted by the hundred thousand, and at the battle
of Gravelotte, where the heaviest losses were incurred, the total casualties were
only about 33,000 men on both sides, while for the whole war the total casual-
ties on both sides were less than half a million. In the present war the killed
alone can be counted by the million, while the total number of men engaged
amounts to nearly 24,000,000.
In fact, this war is not, as in the past, a war merely of opposing armies,
but a war of nations, and there is not today a man or woman in the empire who
is not doing something either to help or to hinder the winning of the war. A
man of great distinction told me the other day that he estimated the weight of
purely military effort at only 25 per cent, of the whole, the remaining 75 per
cent, being, strictly speaking, of a non-military nature, and made up of many
elements — agriculture, food, shipping, diplomacy, &c. I think he is probably
not far wrong, and when people ask me, as they sometimes do, how the war is
getting on, I feel inclined to reply, " Why ask me? Why not ask yourself and
the remainder of the 75 per cent.? K
The Heroic Death of Dr. Glunet
By Robert de Lezeau
Dr. Jean Clunet, who died of typhus at Jassy, Rumania, in April, 1917, had so memorable
a career that the Paris Figaro gave a leading place on its first page to the subjoined article,
which has been specially translated for Current History Magazine.
ONE of the simplest and most in-
spiring of heroes has just suc-
cumbed to the terrible epidemic
of spotted typhus that is ravage
in'g Rumania. He died in the hospital
which he had created from the ground
up, at the bedside of the sufferers, whom
he continued to aid to his last breath
with all his science and all his faith: two
warring sisters who had become recon-
ciled in his great heart. We who knew
him here in Jassy, at the place of his
supreme sacrifice, cherish his memory
as that of one of the greatest French-
men we have ever known.
Jean Clunet was the son of a lawyer
who has acquired just renown in the do-
main of international law. A former
hospital interne, assistant in the Medical
Faculty, and finally appointed to the
Chair of Pathological Anatomy in the
Medical College at Nancy, Jean Clunet
gave himself up to science with a tire-
less ardor that engrossed his whole mind
and heart. He always had a sort of
predestination for sacrifice. Wherever
he could devote himself to others, save
lives, comfort souls, Clunet was there.
In 1912 he visited Morocco, and one
day a native servant who had become
attached to him said: " Master, you must
leave here — quick, quick, at once! They
are going to massacre all the foreign-
ers."
Though he had no duty to perform,
Jean Clunet remained. The next day
the revolt at Fez broke out, with all its
horrors — massacres, lynchings, tortures.
With two comrades he found safety in a
blind alley, which the insurgents could
not capture, though they besieged the
entrance. Twenty-four hours later two
local officials whom Clunet had cured of
illness sent their escorts to rescue him.
Once free, he paid no attention to the
mobs that were still raging, but went
everywhere that the wounded lay. The
dying called him and the living threat-
ened him. v Clunet was in his element.
He dressed wounds, he performed oper-
ations, he saved lives. And when this
hard work was done he learned that
among the Jewish population, which had
taken refuge in dense masses before the
Sultan's deer cages, an epidemic was
breaking out. He threw himself into
this new task, took all the precautionary
measures, evacuated the infected cases,
disinfected the whole place, and averted
the epidemic. And after two months of
this intense labor he returned to France
feeling that he had had what he went
for — a pleasure trip.
The great war broke out, and Clunet
was at the front from the first day. A
surgeon in the 332d Regiment of the line,
he was with the vanguard at the battle
of Charleroi. Then came the retreat,
in the course of which two orderlies
were killed at his side and two horses
were struck down at the moment when
he was mounting into the saddle. No
matter! It was a fine life — there are
wounds to care for and well men to com-
fort. Clunet devotes himself to those
around him.
The 332d withdraws as far as the
Aisne and Berry-au-Bac. There it is
ordered to hold a precarious, untenable
position. It digs in, it hangs on, in spite
of the intensity of the bombardment
and the violence of the rifle fire. Jean
Clunet has set up his aid station at the
most exposed point, because it is there
that he can most quickly get at the
wounded. Finally his regiment is forced
to withdraw precipitately and cross the
Aisne in all haste. Clunet is among the
last to go. He has a third horse killed
under him and crosses the river by
swimming.
On the other side of . the Aisne the
332d establishes itself solidly in trenches.
The furious fighting abates. Life be-
138
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
comes more calm, more monotonous.
Clunet grows restless. The day is long
with no act of devotion to perform. So,
when he hears that an expedition is to
be sent to the Dardanelles, he tells him-
self: "I will go — I am going!" And
he goes.
At the Dardanelles Clunet gives the
maximum of his energy and devotion.
Epidemics multiply, various and deadly.
He fights them all. He cleans up the
first-line trenches under fire, burying
the dead by night. He defends himself,
revolver in hand, against the Turkish
patrols during that depressing labor,
rescuing both the dead and the living.
He succeeds in bringing drinkable water
to the camp and in establishing, despite
a thousand difficulties, a service for
hauling away the dead horses and
throwing them into the sea.
One day, all in a second, he is struck
down by a frightful pain that twists his
limbs and sets his brain on fire — it is
the dreaded fever, which the colonials
know well and which they call the
" dingue." He is at the point of death.
But men of that mettle do not die so
easily. Clunet recovers and leaves the
Dardanelles — the last man to get away.
Last in retreat, first in advance — that
was his chosen place.
Jean Clunet then passed a month at
Paris, chiefly in the Pasteur Institute,
where he had formerly worked a great
deal and where he now profited from all
that science had learned regarding con-
tagious diseases. " I prefer contagious
cases," he said, " and I don't know why."
We, his friends, knew. It was because
those were the cases in which the physi-
cian ran the greatest risks in treating
them. Clunet waited, impatient for the
next task of devotion. It came. A vio-
lent epidemic of exanthematic typhus
was raging in the Serbian Army at
Corfu. Clunet said : " I will go — I am
going! " And he went.
He was asked first to make a little de-
vour, to go through Saloniki and set up a
laboratory there. Clunet sailed on La
Provence. The vessel was torpedoed and
sinking. The officers, foreseeing the pos-
sibility of such a catastrophe, had pro-
vided rafts. These were thrown over-
board, and Clunet reached one of them
by swimming. He was safe, or would
have been, but for the one thought that
possessed him — to save others. At the
risk of capsizing a hundred times he
forces the raft to right and left, haphaz-
ard, any way to pick up the shipwrecked
men in the water. Five, then ten, then
fifteen! Those whom he has snatched
from disaster cry to him: "Enough!
Enough! We are going to sink." But
Clunet estimates that he can still save
two more lives. He is determined to save
them. Those around him mutter, almost
threaten. He still wears his uniform
with the chevrons of an officer. He or-
ders silence, commands obedience. The men
are silent, they obey, and soon two more
unfortunates are hauled aboard the raft.
One of them is grievously wounded in
the head. Clunet dresses the wound. But
the others must be fed. He succeeds in
gathering in several loaves of bread toss-
ing about in the waves, and thirty apples.
At the end of eighteen hours a ship ap-
pears and rescues them, eighteen hours
during which Clunet has sustained the
flagging courage of his companions,
stimulated their energies, extinguished
incipient revolts, dissipated ill-humor,
all by force of his own indomitable spirit.
Then came Corfu. To typhus was add-
ed dysentery, and both diseases were rav-
aging the Serbian Army. Clunet re-
mained night and day at the bedside of the
sufferers. He was himself stricken with
dysentery, but did not cease his work. In
his observation of the typhus epidemic he
noted that the milk-diet treatment was
giving only indifferent results. He sub-
stituted a raw meat diet, which succeeded
better. He did not return to France until
the disease had been stamped out.
Mme. Clunet, his admirable wife, was
at the station to meet him. She was in
black, but not in mourning. Little by lit-
tle, with all the tact of an infinite tender-
ness, she told her husband that their only
son, a child of 5 years, had died three
days before. To all his voluntary sacri-
fices was added this involuntary sacri-
fice, the most cruel, the most dreadful of
all. Clunet did not bury himself long in
his grief. Only in labor to relieve the
sufferings of others could he forget his
THE HEROIC DEATH OF DR. CLUNET
139
own. He learned that an epidemic had
broken out in Rumania, that the spotted
typhus, with which he had already meas-
ured his strength, "was claiming its vic-
tims there. How could he go anywhere
else? He said, " I am going." But this
time Mme. Clunet replied simply, " I am
going, too." And they went.
In a spacious villa near Jassy, which
today bears the name of the Greerul Hos-
pital, Dr. and Mme. Clunet established a
hospital for contagious diseases. Here
they first treated intermittent fever and
spotted typhus, and later, when the epi-
demic grew worse, typhus alone. Jean
Clunet was everything in that asylum of
pain — architect, carpenter, glazier, water
carrier, food provider, physician. Bend-
ing over the dying, burying the dead, re-
moving vermin from the living, he at last
contracted the terrible disease. On the
thirteenth day he died. He had asked
that he might be buried near the hospital
which he had founded. He rests there
forever. Even in death he desired to re-
main at the post which he had assigned
to himself.
Jean Clunet left behind him an admi-
rable helpmate. I have never seen grief
more noble or more worthy. I bow with
respect before this woman, whom the
hope of approaching motherhood alone
attaches to life. She said to me simply,
" If only it is a son ! "
A Cardinal's Bombardment Diary
CARDINAL LUCON, Archbishop of
Rheims, remained in that city dur-
ing the bombardment that practi-
cally finished the destruction of the cathe-
dral. To a cure in Paris he sent these
extracts from his diary:
Holy Tuesday, April 3, [1917.]— Inter-
mittent bombardment during the morning-;
continuous in the afternoon. Between 10
o'clock and midnight a shell wrecks the apse
of the Clairmarais Chapel, shatters the
statue of the Sacred Heart, crushes the altar,
and buries the holy ciborium and ten conse-
crated wafers beneath a block of stone. The
house of the Sisters of St. Vincent de Paul
and the Orphanage in the Rue de Betheny
are annihilated by ten big shells.
Good Friday, April 6. — Infernal bombard-
ment from 4 o'clock onward : 7,750 shells !
Mme. Beaudet, an admirable Christian, sis-
ter of M. le Cure of St. Benoit, killed at 8
P. M. in a motor car, with the wife and
daughter of the sacristan of St. Remi, the
chauffeur, and a soldier. Five persons killed
at Ste. Genevieve as they were leaving their
cellar.
Holy Saturday, April 7.— At 4 P. M. the
great seminary took fire. No water to ex-
tinguish the flames. The firemen dare not
approach, for the Germans are dropping four
shells a minute on the building, keeping it up
throughout the evening and night. Two fire-
men were killed yesterday, Friday, and two
others have had their legs broken.
Easter Day, April 8.— The only divine serv-
ice was a low mass at 8 :30. No vespers.
This was fortunate, for at the hour when it
is customary to chant them a hellish bom-
bardment began. The Cer&s suburb is burned
down or knocked to pieces right and left over
the length of half a mile. The church of St.
Andre is ruined, the vaults shattered, and
the walls knocked in. Our little seminary
receives such a number of shells that it is
uninhabitable. The church of St. Benoit
had its. ceiling destroyed, its walls knocked
in, and its porch and belfry wrecked.
Monday, April 9.— Violent bombardments
Six killed, seventeen wounded : 10,000 shells !
Saturday, April 14. — Violent bombardment
from 9 to 11 o'clock all around us. Asphyxi-
ating shells on the Rue du Barbatu and Rue
du Cloitre, where Mile. Leparqueur is killed ;
fifteen persons died from asphyxiation. The
lay clerk of St. Remi, together with his wife
and daughter, also died, poisoned and as-
phyxiated.
Tuesday, April 24.— From 9 to 10:15 o'clock
systematic bombardment of the cathedral
with big calibre shells, many of them
305mm., fired at regular intervals. They were
all manifestly aimed at the cathedral. A
great number hit it, the rest falling beyond
it, short of it, to right of it, and on the
ruins of the Archbishop's palace to left of
it. The cathedral is •' assassinated ! " The
apse outside is " massacred," three flying
buttresses are broken, numerous pinnacles
truncated or knocked down, the open gal-
leries of the apse of the lofty walls are to a
large extent thrown down. The walls have
received such injuries that their solidity is
imperiled. The towers "have been seriously
damaged. Lastly, the vaults have fallen in
in five places, in the south transept, in the
chancel— which is in ruins— and before the
pulpit. The font is crushed; the high altar,
buried beneath the debris of the vault, is no
longer visible. Needless to say, the stained-
glass windows have lost the few panes which
still remained.
Nesting Mothers of Battle Zone
Bird Life Where Cannons Roar
Nature lovers, weary of the war's horrors, will find a charming interlude in this article,
which was contributed to Land and Water by H. Thoburn-Clarke, an observant British
soldier on the battle front in France.
THE war, with its upheaval of most
of our ideas of the effect of gun-
fire upon the habits of the nature
folk, does not appear to have
troubled the migrating resident birds of
the western battle zone. Already airmen
have encountered vast flocks of migrating
waders, ducks, and other birds flying at
an immense altitude far above the sound
of our massed artillery, and this year
great flocks of green plover have settled
in the marshes, and appear likely to stay
for a while. Until early in March I had
seen only two or three green plover at
a time during all my two years wander-
ing up and down the battle front. Now
they have settled down here in dozens,
but, so far, I have not seen any of their
absurd attempts at a nest, although they
are wheeling, dipping, and fluttering in
their dainty love flights over the
marshes.
Last year wild ducks nested among
the reed beds to our left, and brought
off large families of young ones. One
family numbered ten when it first came
off the nest, and it was most amusing
to watch the tiny balls of fluff waddling
up and down an almost submerged stump
of a tree that had been felled by our
gunfire. The mother duck would swim
up and down watching them anxiously,
making angry dashes every now and
then at the coot that was occupied with
a family of seven black velvet balls of
fluff on the other side of the reeds.
The two mothers would meet with a
rush; the duck would grip hold of a
beakful of feathers, while the coot
would fight with beak and claws. The
fray generally lasted for a few seconds;
then the mothers would race back to
their broods, each evidently considering
that she had triumphed over the other!
The scene was repeated at intervals, day
after day, but, alas! the two broods grew
daily smaller, until each mother had only
one nestling left. Probably the rats had
killed and eaten the rest.
At another time I captured a tiny coot
and took it to my dugout. I hoped to
tame it, but the wee mite developed
most extraordinary climbing powers. It
literally raced up the walls of the dug-
out, hurled itself out of boxes and
through the entrance, and tore off,
making by instinct in the direction of
the river. It was caught and brought
back, but nothing would tame its restless
spirit, so in the evening I crept down to
the river, with the small coot carefully
tucked into my pocket. I could see
nothing of the old bird and her brood.
She had apparently left the scene. How-
ever, I took the little coot out of my
pocket, and allowed him to call. Almost
immediately I heard a reply from the
reeds on the other side of the river,
and the mother coot came swimming
toward me. I let the little beggar go,
and the last I saw o^ him was a small
black object swimming through the
moonlight. He joined his mother, and
they both vanished into the shadows of
the opposite bank and I saw them no
more.
Our gun positions are favorite nesting
places for many birds. Whenever we re-
main in the same place for a few weeks
they take possession of the " structures "
we use for masking the guns. Last
Autumn a blackbird built her nest in
the sandbag parapet, and in spite of
the storms and the repeated firing of
our gun she hatched out three eggs,
and, I believe, reared the young ones
successfully. At another position — in an
orchard this time — another blackbird
made her nest among the sandbags;
this time only about four feet to the
side of the muzzle of the gun, and stuck
tight during the whole time we were
strafing the Germans, and successfully
WESTING MOTHERS OF BATTLE ZONE
141
hatched all four of her eggs, a sur-
prising feat when one considers the con-
cussion. Not very far away a pair of
blackcaps had built their nest in the
gnarled stump of an old apple tree. They
were unfortunate, for a well-aimed shell
during a German evening strafe demol-
ished the apple tree and the nest. Ap-
parently the blackcaps did not trouble,
for they built another nest in the next
tree stump and hatched out and brought
up their young ones safely.
Ammunition wagons have a great at-
traction for the birds. A pair of spar-
rows endeavored to construct a nest in
an empty one during a dinner hour, when
we were resting, and actually followed us
to the next rest, but the move on the
next day discouraged them and they left
us. During one of our stays in a cer-
tain part of the front a pair of wrens
succeeded in building a nest, and when
we were moved half a mile further on
the two birds came with the wagon and
would no doubt have hatched out their
young ones if the fortunes of war had
not prevented it. A hedge sparrow had
her home in a ruined wagon, and when
I found her nest she was patiently
feeding a cuckoo larger than herself.
The hedge sparrows and their foster
child occupied the wagon for a long time,
and I have watched the two patiently
feeding the cuckoo while the shells were
bursting in all directions. At another
time I found the nest of a hedge spar-
row in the hub of a broken wheel lying
in a position that was continually being
shelled by the Germans. Evidently she
must have stuck tight, for at the time the
nest was discovered it had four young
ones in it, and the parent birds were
feeding their nestlings with serene indif-
ference to the dropping of shrapnel and
bursting of shells.
It is extraordinary how fond the birds
are of certain localities, and quite a large
number of different varieties will nest
together. In one wood, somewhat to the
rear of our position, during last Summer,
a vast number of pigeons, magpies, rooks,
and crows were nesting in the taller
trees, while various warblers, tree creep-
ers, and tits built their dwellings in the
undergrowth. Yet in the early days of
the war the wood had been heavily
shelled, and still bore marks of gunfire
in the shape of fallen trees. The con-
flict had been severe enough to have
driven the birds to seek some safer abode,
but evidently they had clung to the old
place and declined to nest anywhere else.
The numbers of pigeons seem to increase
at an extraordinary rate. Probably the
destruction caused by warfare does not
equal that in times of peace, while the
quantities of mice and rats afford suffi-
cient food for the kestrels and other
birds that might prey upon the young
nestlings. Sometimes in the height of
the nesting season the noise of the nest-
lings in the various nests was almost
deafening, all clamoring loudly for food
the instant they heard the beat of their
mother's wings. One would almost im-
agine that each bird's wing had a dif-
ferent sound, in that respect resembling
the tread of the human footsteps.
I have always associated the nightin-
gale with a certain railway cutting in
Berkshire, where it is possible to hear
them singing all night through, but al-
most impossible to find their nests, and
exceedingly difficult to see the bird itself.
Out here, however, the shyness has van-
ished. I have heard of nests in the front-
line trenches; of eggs being hatched dur-
ing a furious bombardment; while close
to our billets six pairs had built in a
ruined garden, and we watched their
nesting with keen pleasure. A blackcap
literally sang us to sleep at nights. It
perched in a sapling that screens a gun
and sang constantly, its vivid notes punc-
tuated with the boom of distant firing.
At another place, a reedy remnant of a
ruined moat, ten different kinds of birds
were nesting in the weeds and rushes
that clothed the bank. Tits, far bluer
than any British bird, reed warblers,
garden warblers, blackcaps, several
greenfinches, and many other warblers.
The martins and swallows are, I think,
more numerous than in England, and
appear as pleased with the ruins as the
sparrows and starlings. I have seen
house martins' nests built under the cor-
nice of the ruins of a highly decorated
drawing room, pink Cupids and blue love
knots contrasting strangely with the mud
142
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
of the nest. In most villages the peasants
are very superstitious about the swallows
and house martins, and consider that ill-
luck will follow the destruction of a nest.
So the swallows and martins are free to
build where they like, and I often wonder
whether when the ruins are reconstructed
they will endeavor to reconcile the birds
to a change ©f dwelling. At present their
nests are everywhere. One built on the
rack where we hung our clothes, another
on a rafter in our harness room, while
several occupied a shed in which the gun-
ners were billeted during a " rest." The
shed was strafed and a shell broke a
large hole in the roof, but failed to ex-
plode. The swallows had previously used
the doorways as an entrance, but they
at once saw the convenience of the shell
hole, and almost before the dust of the
broken roof had subsided they were calm-
ly flying in and out with food for their
young ones. Possibly young swallows
and martins require more food than other
nestlings, for the parent birds were feed-
ing them from the earliest dawning until
it was almost too dark to see the birds.
Yet the baby birds never ceased squeal-
ing for more. Shells might burst and
shatter the adjoining sheds, even a
" dud " pierce the roof that sheltered
them, but still they cried insistently.
Perhaps that is why the nesting mothers
of the battlefields take matters so placid-
ly. They have no time to waste, but
must feed their young ones in spite of
war's wild alarms, and, after all, it is
the quantity of food that matters with
the wild folk, and they have enough of
that in all conscience at the front.
Professor Harnack Scorns American Ideals
Dr. Adolph von Harnack, Professor of Theology and General Director of
the Royal Library, Berlin, delivered a lecture in Berlin on May 19, 1917, on
" Wilson's American Ideal of Liberty." After attacking the President's " pacifist,
democratic, and plutocratic ideal " as contrasted with the " interior and exterior
liberty of Germans," the noted theologian continued:
The hostility of the United States against us is reducible to the inconven-
ience which was caused to America by German economical efficiency. A second
reason is that America feared to lose the enormous capital she had invested in
the Entente from the beginning, in the firm belief that the latter would be
victorious. Now America is witnessing the chances of victory gradually dis-
appearing, and rushes in to save what is possible.
America conducted silent war against us long before the declaration of
war, and never was particular in choosing her means. Wilson and many Amer-
icans with him have undergone an ugly development from an honest democratic
republicanism to a bedizened emperorism. In addition, Wilson distinguishes
himself by amazing ignorance about Germany, He is an intellectual moralist,
but without any depth whatever.
Professor Harnack then quoted extensively from President Wilson's books
to show " what startling political, judicial, and ethical metamorphoses the Presi-
dent had passed through, changing his convictions as often as his trousers.
Germany must decidedly decline this many-colored uniform of liberty which one
can easily picture from Wilson's words and deeds. We don't want liberty, ex-
cept of our own make and in accord with our history."
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Deportations Planned in Advance
Belgian Official Memorandum
AN official memorandum presented
/\ to the United States Government
1 \ by M. de Cartier, the Belgian
Minister at Washington, and
made public June 3, 1917, summarizes the
facts of German rule in Belgium, and
charges that enforced idleness of the Bel-
gian workingmen was part of a deliberate
war policy preparatory to the deporta-
tions.
" The cessation of the larger part of
Belgian industry is an admitted fact,"
says the memorandum. " But Germany
founds an argument upon this fact as
upon an event due to the circumstances
of a state of war, and in the presence of
which the good intentions of the occupant
were powerless.
" However, this is not the case. The
depressed condition of Belgian industry
is not a case of accident caused by the
force of extraneous circumstances un-
connected with the action of the German
authorities; these authorities are, on the
contrary, personally responsible. Their
responsibility is double. The German
Government is the direct author of the
crisis in Belgian industry and labor. The
German Government has deliberately pre-
vented the Belgians from applying the
remedy.
" Since the occupation of Belgium the
German authorities, in spite of their de-
ceitful proclamations, have put into ef-
fect the plan worked out in August, 1914,
at Berlin, by Dr. W. Rathenau, for the
systematic exploitation of all the economic
resources of occupied countries to the
profit of the war organization of the em-
pire.
The Rathenau Plan
" This plan allowed, notably, the seiz-
ure of all stocks of raw materials exist-
ing in the occupied territories, and the
transfer of them into Germany, in order
to avert the consequences of the closure
of the seas. This was to be completed
by the removal of the implements of
labor, and, in general, by the removal
of all means of production which the
empire might need for the continuation
of the struggle. Economic commissions,
attached to all the military authorities
in the occupied territories, were to be
constituted the agents for putting into
execution the Rathenau plan. By this
plan — as the German publicists have
written on so many occasions with the
approval of the censor — the war carried
on by the empire would take on the
haracter of an ' economic war.'
" This program was methodically car-
ried out."
The memorandum then cites the Ger-
man official bulletin of laws and decrees
for the occupied territory published at
Brussels from the end of August, 1914,
containing more than 120 orders relating
to economic conditions, many of them
commandeering raw materials, finished
products, and tools, as well as domestic
animals, crops, and seeds.
" The Belgian Government," it con-
tinues, " knows that the operation of re-
moving machines and installation was, in
several cases, confined to the representa-
tives of German firms who were the di-
rect competitors of the Belgian indus-
tries, and that, in at least one instance,
in an artificial silk factory, the Belgian
firm's secret process of fabrication was
ascertained from the factory inspected.
" Numerous Belgian industries have
been placed under sequestration without
plausible reason.
" Finally, the German authorities, in
1916, placed prohibitive tariffs on the
remaining Belgian industries which had
still maintained a relative degree of ac-
tivity through their commercial relations
with certain neutral countries — the glass
industry and the metallurgic industry.
" These prohibitive measures are of a
nature to close to Belgian industry any
markets which may have remained open,
and even to render impossible all export
trade.
" Attention can be called here only to
144
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
the principal acts which have marked
the German financial policy:
" (a) A war tax of 40,000,000 francs per
month for the benefit of the German war
treasury— a tax fixed, at first, for one year,
the Belgian provinces being- jointly and sev-
erally responsible, (December, 1914,) with the
official promise that there should not be
afterward any other war tax. In November,
1915, however, this tax was made permanent.
In November, 1916, after nearly 1,000,000,000
francs had been extracted from the country,
the tax was increased by the sum of 10,000,000
francs per month, (50,000,000 francs instead
of 40,000,000.)
" (b) Imposition of the mark at the forced
rate of 1 franc 25 centimes.
" (c) Refusal of the German authorities to
accept marks in payment of the war tax, of
which a large proportion was required to be
paid in francs.
" (d) Absolute prohibition of the exportation
of securities, even to pay for commodities
necessary for the feeding of the civil popu-
lation.
" (e) Extortion of marks held as cash re-
serve by Belgian banks, (the Banque Na-
tionale and the SoctetS Generate,) that is to
say, 430,000,000 marks which were transported
into Germany (Sept. 12, 191G) with the stipu-
lation of repayment two years after the end
of the war at the average rate of exchange
of Berlin at that period.
" Any country whatever, if subjected
to such a system of exploitation, would
find itself overwhelmed by the calamity
of unemployment. The number of Bel-
gian workers (men) thus reduced to idle-
ness, in spite of their desire to work, va-
ries between 300,000 and 400,000; if this
number (which the German statements
tend to exaggerate in order to draw some
quibbling argument) — if this number is
not greater, it is due only to the prodi-
gies of ingenuity and initiative of the
Belgians, who have truly shown them-
selves in this, as in other spheres,- * the
nation that will not die.' "
Next it is shown that the aid dispensed
to the victims of the German invasion,
amounting to 10,000,000 or 12,000,000
francs a month, has not cost Germany a
cent and has been only a small charge on
the local budgets of the occupied terri-
tory— thus disposing of the oft-quoted
German argument that it could not per-
mit such considerable burdens to be
placed upon local communities.
Efforts of the Belgian authorities to
keep the population from falling into the
habits of idleness so strongly reprobated
by the late von Bissing and other apostles
of German humanitarianism were thwart-
ed by the German authorities. One of
these plans was to require the unem-
ployed who received allowances from
charity to take up the study of a trade.
The operation of this plan was paralyzed
by German interference.
Unemployment Created
" The fact is," the memorandum con-
tinues, " that, while artifically creating
unemployment in Belgium by the re-
moval of stocks of raw materials and
tools and by the restrictions placed upon
the commercial activity of the country,
the German administration had conceived
the idea of enrolling the workers, thus
thrown into enforced idleness, in the
service of its war industries, either in
the requisitioned Belgian factories or in
Germany.
" At the beginning of the Summer of
1915 a campaign was started to over-
come, in this matter, the passive re-
sistance of Belgian patriotism; the Ger-
man authorities had had recourse, suc-
cessively or simulaneously, to the bait
of high wages, to intimidation, then to
violence, in order to procure the manual
labor necessary for their military ob-
jects, (see the eighteenth and nineteenth
reports of the Belgian Commission of In-
quiry in regard to the violation of the
law of nations;) but these attempts had
failed; very few Belgian workmen had
consented to engage themselves in the
service of the enemy; of the others, a
certain number had been deported to
Germany as prisoners as a punishment
for their refusal. Then the German ad-
ministration resolved to prevent, by all
means in its power, the Belgian unem-
ployed from finding elsewhere a liveli-
hood or assistance; it counted upon hold-
ing them at its mercy by the pressure of
the needs and the destitution of their
families."
Still more incredible, except on the
assumption that Germany had set out to
reduce Belgium to such a state that she
could make to the world the plea that
the Belgians' alternatives were beggary
or deportation, was the German opposi-
DEPORTATIONS PLANNED IN ADVANCE
145
tion to works of public utility for the
benefit of the unemployed. The Province
of Luxembourg had completely solved
its problem of unemployment by or-
ganizing works of improvement of this
character when the order of May 2, 1916,
was issued, in which the local authorities
were directed to abandon these works, on
which nearly $2,000,000 had been spent,
because, as the memorandum says, " it
was a matter of work for the unem-
ployed." When the Luxembourgers thus
thrown out of employment sought work
in other communes the German authori-
ties refused to authorize any work where
employment was given to workmen from
outside communes.
" Thus hunted down," says the mem-
orandum, " in every place where employ-
ment could still be obtained in Belgium,"
the Belgian laboring class, at the end of
September, 1916, found itself compelled
to fold its arms by order of the German
authorities.
" This was the moment chosen by the
German Government to decree the de-
portation of the Belgian unemployed into
Germany under the official pretext ' that
sufficient occupation for the unemployed
could no longer be found in Belgium.' "
The memorandum refutes the German
allegation that the British blockade, by
shutting out raw materials, was re-
sponsible for the economic woes of Bel-
gium, showing that a system of imports
of such materials under neutral guar-
antees failed of adoption because of
Germany's refusal to give the guaran-
tee required of her.
Deliberate Wat Measure
The deportation order of Oct. 3, 1916,
to which the Belgian Government con-
tends all Germany's previous policy had
been leading up, was essentially a war
measure. The memorandum says:
" This character is shown, in the first
place, by the authority from which it
emanates, and which is, not the civil
Government of unoccupied Belgium, but
the German General Headquarters. This
character is shown, moreover, by the
fact that similar orders were given out
simultaneously, and by the military au-
thorities also, covering the occupied dis-
tricts of Poland and Lithuania. In both
cases it was only the putting into exe-
cution of a general plan tending to com-
plete the entire incorporation of the re-
sources (men as well as goods) of the
occupied countries into the war organiza-
tion of the empire.
" Finally, this character is shown, in
an absolutely decisive way, by the cor-
relation, today openly avowed, between
the order of Oct. 3, 1916, and the law
of December, 1916, ordering the mobili-
zation in Germany itself of the entire
able-bodied civil population for the aux-
iliary service of the army. The de-
ported Belgians have been incorporated
into this vast economic military organ-
ism by approximately the same legis-
lative claim and for exactly the same
ends as the able-bodied male population
of Germany; that is to say, to aid the
German Army to support the burden of
the war and to make a supreme effort."
Not Justified b$ Danger
While admitting the Belgian people's
aversion to the invaders, the memoran-
dum remarks upon their absolute self-
control :
" During two years of occupation under
a very severe regime, there has been no
uprising, no disorder anywhere. All the
social authorities, or those who have been
placed in such authority, have constantly
occupied themselves in recommending calm
and patience to the sorely tried people.
Moreover, the population has no arms;
surrounded by a barrier of death-dealing
electric wires, the population is literally
held as in a cage. All constitutional lib-
erties, liberty of opinion, of the press, of
reunion and of association, are suspended.
The danger of disorder is so remote that
the German administration has main-
tained only relatively weak garrisons in
Belgium. * * *
" It can be said without exaggeration
that such an attack upon the essential
rights of humanity had never before been
made in modern times by any State call-
ing itself civilized. The brutality and
the duplicity with which the measure
has been enforced have augmented (if
such a thing be possible) this unprece-
146
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
dented scandal; they have wrung from
Belgium, which seemed to have already
reached the limit of the afflictions of a
nation at war, a cry of anguish which has
caused an echo of horror and indignation
from the neutral States.
" Although in 1863 the Instructions for
the Armies in the Field, published for the
use of the American troops, noted even
then that deportation and reduction to
servitude of the civil population of con-
quered States by the conqueror were no
longer practiced except among barbaric
hordes, the spectacle has been seen in
Belgium of the regular army of a power-
ful empire employed in carrying out me-
thodic slave-raids upon the citizens of
a small, captive nation which had entered
the war solely for the defense of its in-
dependence and for the fulfillment of its
international duties. * * *
" No peace is possible, nor durable,
without the observance of the elemen-
tary rules of right, one of the first of
which is respect for the human person.
" No abuse of force can exhaust the
resistance of the Belgian people to foreign
oppression. All history witnesses that the
aspiration of the Belgian people for in-
dependence is indomitable and that their
endurance will win the mastery over
tyranny."
Belgium's New War Industries
THE Belgian Army in 1917 is making
its own cannon, its own rifles, its
own shells, its own transport wag-
ons, its own saddles and harness. After
the heroic battle of the Yser in 1914 it
had six divisions of infantry and two di-
visions of cavalry left to hold a line of
approximately eighteen miles, or just
about four men to the yard of front; a
front where particular vigilance is re-
quired because of the German tactics of
constant trial attacks. No part of the
Allies' line is more closely watched and
explored by the enemy's patrols. A weak
spot anywhere would provoke an imme-
diate offensive.
Belgium lost all her manufacturing es-
tablishments and all her resources in
raw materials in the defeat of the Allies
at Charleroi and in the retreat from
Antwerp, yet M. de Broqueville, Minister
of War, with Belgian ingenuity, skill,
and perseverance, has built up on the
hospitable soil of France artillery and
munitions establishments that not only
enable the Belgian Army to reply shot
for shot to the Germans on the Yser
front but also contribute to the arma-
ment and supplies of the allied armies.
It was to the United States that M. de
Broqueville looked immediately after the
termination of the heroic defense of Bel-
gian soil on the Yser for the reconstitu-
tion of Belgian industry. Specialists
were sent to purchase American machine
tools for the manufacture of everything
the army needed, and when the ma-
chines arrived mechanics released from
military service were ready to operate
them. Fourteen thousand workmen are
today employed in those establishments.
The invasion found the Belgian Army
in the midst of an entire reorganization
of ite artillery. Siege cannon ordered
from the Krupp works in Germany had
not been furnished. Millions of cart-
ridges ordered from the same source also
had been held up. It was with a disor-
ganized armament and insufficient ma-
terial that the Belgians held the Ger-
mans before Liege. Before Antwerp, in
the retreat to Flanders, and in the de-
fense of the Yser, it may be said that
the remaining debris of the armament
and munitions was exhausted.
The worn-out field guns, brought back
in the retreat to the Yser, were partly
replaced by French three-inchers, but at
that all the Allies were short of their
requirements in armament and mu-
nitions.
The Belgian Government, with no in-
dustries left nor territory remaining out
of range of the German guns on which
to instil new ones, began in exile to work
out its great problem of war supplies.
Today it furnishes saddles and harness
to the British Army and other supplies
BELGIUM'S NEW WAR /NDUSTRIES
147
of different kinds to all its allies, includ-
ing Russia, besides keeping up the equip-
ment of its new army.
The Belgian Army is new in nearly
every feature. Of the 120,000 men in
the field and 60,000 men who garrisoned
the forts, 30,000 fell into the hands of the
Germans at Liege and Namur and in the
retreat; 30,000 more took refuge in Hol-
land, and were interned for the duration
of the war; 14,000 were lost on the Yser,
in addition to more than 20,000 killed and
wounded in the battles of Liege, Haelen,
and St. Trond. There remained neither
bases, depots, nor hospitals.
The reorganization was difficult. Un-
able to call a session of Parliament to
revise recruiting laws to accord with
the new situation, the Government could
only appeal to the patriotism of refugees
in England and France. The response
was such as to reconstitute an army of
six divisions of infantry and two divis-
ions of cavalry, while 14,000 men were
detached for the. manufacture of muni-
tions in France and 600 sent to Russia
for the same purpose. About 30,000 more
men were raised by decree calling up all
Belgians eligible for service between 18
and 40 years of age.
A regiment of automobile artillery re-
cruited among the Belgian refugees and
trained in Paris was sent to the Rus-
sian front, where it played an important
part in Brusiloff's offensive in Galicia
and Volhynia in the Spring of 1916.
Welding Britain's Empire Closer
Important Results of the Recent Imperial War Conference in London
TO make the British Empire a more
solidly united world power was
the object of the Imperial War
Conference that met in London in May,
1917. England is only one of four coun-
tries which constitute the United King-
dom of Great Britain and Ireland, and
this kingdom is only part of an empire
which embraces five self-governing colo-
nial nations or dominions, besides the
great Indian Empire and dependencies
all over the world. The problems which
the Imperial War Conference considered
were twofold — first, to devise some meth-
od whereby the empire will be able to
act as a political unit without interfering
with colonial autonomy; second, to con-
solidate the material resources of the
empire and make it as far as possible
economically self-contained.
The readjusting of constitutional re-
lations within the empire was deferred
till after the war, but two important
decisions were arrived at. The first was
that India should be recognized as a
member of the " Imperial Common-
wealth," and the second that the domin-
ions and India should have the right to
" an adequate voice in foreign policy and
in foreign relations," which they have
not at present. While the dominions
have loyally supported the mother coun-
try in the prosecution of the war, it has
become obvious that if the self-govern-
ing peoples of the empire are to lend
material support in future international
relations, they should have a share in
the shaping of those relations. The
number of whites inhabiting the domin-
ions is now nearly 40 per cent, of the
population of the United Kingdom, while
in regard to material resources and in-
dustrial development the dominions are
steadily gaining ground.
The importance of the recent confer-
ence in London is largely to be found in
the fact that the statesmen of Great
Britain have now definitely conceded the
right of the dominions to an active part
in the solving of the empire's problems.
Commenting on this subject, the Colonial
Secretary, Walter H. Long, in a state-
ment issued on May 3, said:
The resolution with regard to the Constitu-
tion of the empire was made the occasion for
striking expressions by the various speakers
of attachment to the monarchical institutions
of the empire and their value for the preser-
vation of imperial unity. In the words of
one of the speakers, " The monarchy is the
keystone of the imperial arch."
Another set of resolutions dealt with
148
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
defense. The British Admiralty is to
work out immediately after the war a
scheme for the effective naval defense
of the empire as a whole. Behind this
resolution lies the story of controversy in
which the colonial standpoint was most
thoroughly sustained by Australia. This
dominion some years ago insisted that
in addition to the British Navy, whose
function was to act as a safeguard
against the great rival navies, there
should be a distinctly Australian navy,
under Australian control, for the defense
of Australian waters and trade routes,
instead of the then prevalent system of
paying a money tribute to the British
Admiralty. Australians argued — with in-
creased force after Admiral Fisher's pol-
icy of concentrating the British fleet in
home waters was adopted — that there
must be local protection as well as a sys-
tem of naval defense against Britain's
most likely enemy. Australia eventually
had her way, and by the time the war
broke out had already created a respect-
able navy of her own. It was an Aus-
tralian cruiser, H. M. A. S. Sydney,
which finally disposed of the German
raider Emden. The concentration of the
British fleet in home waters also neces-
sitated relying upon the Japanese Navy
for a great deal of convoy and patrol
work in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.
Other defense resolutions adopted in
London call for the development of a co-
ordinated and standardized empire-wide
system of producing munitions and other
war supplies.
Plans for Economic Union
Most advance was made in laying the
foundations of future economic union.
On this subject the resolution adopted
read in part:
The time has arrived when all possible en-
couragement should be given to the develop-
ment of imperial resources, and especially to
making the empire independent of other
countries in respect of food supplies, raw ma-
terials, and essential industries. With these
objects in view, this conference expresses
itself in favor of:
(1) The principle that each part of the em-
pire, having due regard to the interests of
our allies, shall give specially favorable
treatment and facilities to the produce and
manufactures of other parts of the empire.
(2) Arrangements by which intending emi-
grants from the United Kingdom may be
induced to settle in countries under the Brit-
ish flag.
Having regard to the experience obtained
in the present war, this conference records
its opinion that the safety of the empire and
the necessary development of its component
parts require prompt and attentive consid-
eration, as well as concerted action, with re-
gard to the following matters :
(1) The production of an adequate food
supply and arrangements for its transporta-
tion when and where required, under any con-
ditions that may reasonably be anticipated.
(2) The control of natural resources avail-
able within the empire, especially those that
are of an essential character for necessary
national purposes, whether in peace or in
war.
(3) The econonomical utilization of such
natural resources through processes of man-
ufacture carried on within the empire.
That it is desirable to establish In London
an Imperial Mineral Resources Bureau, upon
which should be represented Great Britain,
the dominions, India, and other parts of the
empire.
All the members of the Imperial War
Conference signed an address to the
King, which they presented in person
on May 3. Part of the address read:
We further considered steps that may be
required to insure that victory may not be
lost by unpreparedness In times of peace,
and so to develop the resources of the empire
that it may not be possible hereafter for an
unscrupulous enemy to repeat his outrages
on liberty and civilization. We shall return
to our homes inspired by the magnificent
efforts put forth by all classes of your
Majesty's subjects throughout the world,
confident that the trials and sacrifices borne
in common must draw still closer the bonds
of imperial unity and co-operation, each in
its own sphere, to leave nothing undone
which may tend for the honor and welfare
of your Majesty and your dominions.
Prime Minister Lloyd George made an
important statement in the House of
Commons on May 17 when he announced
that in future the Imperial Conference
would meet annually, instead of every
four years, as heretofore, and that at
the conclusion of the war there would be
a special conference to adjust the con-
stitutional relations of the empire. The
new Imperial Council would be composed
of the British Prime Minister, other
British Cabinet Ministers concerned with
imperial affairs, the Prime Ministers of
the Dominions, and a specially accredited
representative of India, with equal au-
thority.
Britain's Fight on Food Shortage
Public Meals Order, April 15, 1917
IORD DEVONPORT, the British Food
Controller, after trying various
_J methods for voluntary conservation
of food, finally issued an official
order compelling the observation of meat-
less and potatoless days in hotels and
restaurants throughout the United King-
dom, beginning April 15, 1917. The text
of this order is as follows:
> In exercise of the powers conferred upon
him by Regulation 2F of the Defense of the
Realm Regulations, and of all other powers
enabling him in that behalf, the Food Con-
troller hereby orders as follows :
1. Except under the authority of the Food
Controller the following regulations as to
foodstuffs shall be observed in every inn,
hotel, restaurant, refreshment house, club,
boarding house, and place of refreshment
open to the general public, (hereinafter re-
ferred to as a public eating place,) and by
every person having the management or con-
trol thereof.
2. (a) No meat, poultry, or game shall be
served or eaten on any meatless day. The
meatless day in the area comprising the City
of London and the Metropolitan Police Dis-
trict shall be Tuesday, and elsewhere in the
United Kingdom shall be Wednesday in every
week.
(&) No potatoes or any food of which pota-
toes form part shall be served or eaten on
any day except on meatless days and on Fri-
days.
3. The total quantities of meat, flour, bread,
and sugar used in or by any public eating
place in any week shall not exceed the gross
quantities ascertained in accordance with the
following scale of average quantities per
meal :
SCALE I.
Meat. Sugar. Bread. Flour.
Oz. Oz. Oz. Oz.
Breakfast 2 2.7 2 0
Luncheon (including
middle day dinner).. 5 2.7 2 1
Dinner (including sup-
per and meat tea) ... 5 2.7 2 1
Tea 0 2.7 2 0
4. The following provisions shall have effect
as to weight: (a) Two ounces of poultry
and game to be reckoned as one ounce of
meat. (6) The weight of meat to be the un-
cooked weight, including bone as usually de-
livered by the butcher, and the weight of
poultry and game shall be the uncooked
weight, as usually delivered by the poulterer,
without feathers or without skin, as the case
may be, but including offal, (c) Twenty-five
per cent, to be added to the weight of meat
delivered cooked into the public eating place,
and 50 per cent, when delivered cooked and
without bone.
(a) Four ounces of bread to be reckoned
as three ounces of flour.
(&) Cakes, biscuits, pastries, confectionery,
and similar articles, when the ingredients
are not otherwise brought into account, to be
reckoned as containing 30 per cent of flour
and 20 per cent, of sugar by weight.
5. In reckoning the quantities of meat,
sugar, bread, and flour for meals served, no
account shall be taken of any meal which be-
gins before 5 A. M. or after 9:30 P. M., or, in
respect of the meat allowance, of any meal
which is served on a meatless day.
6. None of the foregoing provisions of this
order except Article 2 (6) relating to potatoes
shall apply to food served over the counter
of a buffet at a railway station.
7. This order shall not apply to : (a) Any
boarding house where the number of bed-
rooms let and available for letting does not
exceed ten; or (&) any public eating place
where no meal is served the total charge for
which (exclusive of the usual charges for
beverages) exceeds Is. 3d., and where there
is exhibited on every tariff card, and also in
a conspicuous position in every room where
meals are usually served, a notice to the
effect that no such meal will be served.
8. The person or persons having the man-
agement of any public eating place shall for
the purposes of this order keep a register in
the form prescribed by the Food Controller,
and shall also keep invoices, vouchers, and
such other documents relating to foodstuffs
purchased and used, meals served, and other
matters as the Food Controller may from
time to time prescribe.
9. For the purposes of this order, the ex-
pression " meat " includes butcher's meat,
sausages, ham, pork, bacon, venison, and pre-
served and potted meats, and other meats of
all kinds, but does not include suet, lard, or
dripping. The expression " poultry and
game " includes rabbits and hares, and any
kind of bird killed for food. The expression
" flour " shall mean any flour for the time
being authorized to be used in the manu-
facture of wheaten bread. The expression
" week " shall mean a calendar week ending
on a Saturday midnight. .
10. The Regulation of Meals Order, 1916, is
hereby revoked as on the date when this order
comes into force.
11. If any person acts in contravention of
this order or aids or abets any other person
in doing anything in contravention of this
order, that person is guilty of a summary
offense against the Defense of the Realm
150
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Regulations, and if such person is a company
every Director and officer of the company is
also guilty of a summary offense against
those regulations unless he proves that the
contravention took place without his knowl-
edge or consent.
12. (a) This order may be cited as the
Public Meals Order, 1917. (&) This order
shall come into force on April 15, 1917.
An official summary of other food
regulations issued by Lord Devonport
was sent to the United States Govern-
ment on May 25, as follows:
No trader, in selling an article, may im-
pose a condition involving the purchase of any
other article. No person may acquire supplies
of food beyond the needs of his ordinary con-
sumption. . •
A tradesman shall not sell any article of
food where he has reasonable ground for be-
lieving that the quantity ordered is in excess
of requirements. The Food Controller may
order the inspection of premises in which he
has reason to believe that hoarding is taking
place.
The maximum price of wheat is fixed at 78
shillings per quarter of 480 pounds ; of barley
(other than kiln dried) at 65 shillings per
quarter of 400 pounds, and of oats at 55 shil-
lings per quarter of 312 pounds.
The extraction of flour frOm wheat is raised
to a basis of 81 per cent. ; the percentage of
flour from other cereals to be mixed with
wheaten flour must not be less than 10 per
cent, and not more than 25 per cent. Barley,
maize, oats, and rice may be used in the
manufacture of bread, but when wheaten
flour is used it must not be of the regulation
grade. Bread must not be sold until it has
been made at least twelve hours. The only
loaves allowed are the tin loaf and the one-
piece oven-bottom loaf. No currant, sultana,
or milk bread may be made. No sugar may
be used in bread.
All bread must be sold by weight. All
loaves must be one pound or an even number
of pounds. No wheat, rye, rice, tapioca,
sago, manioc, or arrowroot or products there-
of may be used except for human food. No
bread or other product of cereals shall be
Wasted. No maize, barley, or oats or products
thereof may be used except for human or
animal food.
The Food Controller has taken over all flour
mills of the United Kingdom which use
wheat In the making of flour, except those
with an output of less than five sacks per
hour.
No chocolate may be sold or bought retail
at a price exceeding 3 pence per ounce, or any
other sweetmeats at a price exceeding 2 pence
per ounce. The quantity of sugar used by
manufacturers other than of jam, marmalade,
or condensed milk is reduced to 40 per cent,
of the 1915 supply.
The maximum retail price of milk is 2 pence
a quart over the price on the 15th of the
same month in 1914.
No tea may be packed other than the net
weight. After July 1 all tea sold at retail,
whether contained in a package or not, shall
be sold by net weight. Forty per cent, of the
total imports of tea from India and Ceylon
are allocated for the purpose of the sale re-
tail at 2 shillings 4 pence per pound. An ar-
rangement has also been made with the
Coffee Trade Association to supply a good,
sound, pure coffee at a rate which would en-
able grocers to sell retail at 1 shilling 6 pence
a pound.
The Food Controller has taken over all bar-
ley, foreign and home, grown, other than
home-grown barley' which has not been
kiln dried. The output of beer is limited to
the rate of 10,000,000 barrels per annum, as
compared with 36,000,000 barrels before the
war. The manufacture and sale of malt, or
its use by other than a brewer for sale, is
prohibited.
Any infringement of an order made by the
Food Controller is a summary offense under
the Defense of the Realm Regulations, and
the offender is liable to imprisonment for
six months, with or without hard labor, or a
fine of £100, or both.
The order of April 15, it was esti-
mated, would produce a saving of 65 per
cent, on meat, 53 per cent, on bread, and
63 per cent, on sugar, as compared with
the consumption under preceding regula-
tions.
Lord Devonport's new measures were
subjected to bitter criticism. On May 8,
in the course of an interpellation in Par-
liament, he announced the withdrawal of
the meatless feature of the order on the
ground that it was found to increase the
consumption of breadstuffs, the most im-
portant item in the whole food-shortage
situation.
On June 1, 1917, Baron Devonport re-
signed his difficult and thankless position
as Food Controller.
Food Restrictions in France — Use of
Horse Meat
IN France the task of combating the
universal food shortage is in the
hands of Maurice Viollette, the Minis-
ter of Subsistence. On April 22, 1917,
he issued an order that there should be
one meatless meal each day. The meas-
ure was adopted as an experiment, with
notice that if it was not successful two
meatless days would have to be insti-
tuted. It was not successful. On May
17 a new order appeared in the Journal
Officiel regulating the sale and con-
sumption of meat, as follows:
1. Monday and Tuesday shall be meatless
days.
2. On those two days of the week it is for-
bidden— with the exception named below — to
sell meat of any kind, including tripe, fowl,
and rabbit.
3. It shall be permissible, however, to sell
horse meat every day in the week.
4. These measures apply to all France.
Certain modifications are allowed in
cases of illness, and special arrange-
ments are made for shipping meat to
the troops. Buteher shops selling
horse meat exclusively may do business
on the meatless days, but the consump-
tion of horse meat is not allowed in res-
taurants on those days.
Restrictions regarding the use of flour
were embodied by M. Viollette in the fol-
lowing order, issued May 1, 1917. In a
report accompanying the decree he stat-
ed that a census of food stocks had
shown the necessity for scrupulous econ-
omy and that the measures adopted were
intended to apportion the existing sup-
plies to the real needs of the people
with the least possible inconvenience to
any class:
Article 1. Beginning on May 10, 1917, mil-
lers are forbidden to send from their mills or
to place on sale any wheat flour comprising
less than 85 per cent, of the wheat used to
make it. Besides this flour it shall be lawful
to sell only bran and the waste from wheat
grains found unfit for milling. Mixtures of
substitute flours with wheat flour, author-
ized by Article 14 of the order of April 8,
1917, will be made with the flour prescribed
by the present article.
Article 2. From the date of publication of
this order millers are also forbidden to de-
liver flour to any one except bakers and
farmers who have brought their wheat to the
mill to be ground ; except, however, that this
interdiction shall not apply to makers of
health foods and the like, save to the extent
determined by rules fixed by the Food Con-
troller. S'emoules must be made of Winter
wheat and be delivered to pastry makers un-
der regulations established by the said Min-
ister.
Article 3. Biscuit factories shall henceforth
work only for the needs of the army, navy,
merchant marine, and Department of Public
Aid, in accordance with the conditions pre-
scribed under the order of April 19, 1917.
They are, however, permitted to exhaust
their stocks, though without raising the pres-
ent prices of their products.
Article 4. Bakers alone are authorized to
sell wheat flour at retail in* quantities not
exceeding 125 grams.
Article 5. Save for the exceptions provided
in Articles 2, 3, and 4, wheat flour cannot be
employed henceforth for any other purpose
than the making of bread. Consequently,
within ten days after the publication of the
present order every mercantile holder of
wheat flour must dispose of it to a baker or
place it at the service of the Mayor, who
will attend to reimbursing the holder.
Article 6. Within the same period of ten
days every baker is expected to place on file
at the Mayor's office of the town in which
he does business, the name of the miller or
millers from whom he intends to get his
flour ; he cannot be supplied by any other
miller, save by authorization of the prefect
or sub-prefect.
Article 7. Within the same ten days the
owners, directors, or managers of hotels,
restaurants, buffets, and other similar es-
tablishments must declare at the Mayor's
office the name of the baker or bakers from
whom they will get their supplies ; they can-
not buy of any other baker save with the
authorization of the prefect or sub-prefect.
All bakers are forbidden to sell to any other
establishment than those for which they are
the regular caterers.
Von Batocki's Bread- Card Methods
in Germany
GERMANY continued to suffer from
the increasing scarcity of food dur-
ing the months preceding the har-
vest of 1917. Early in June the Food
Controller, Herr von Batocki, said in a
speech before the Reichstag :
In certain provinces the potato crop is much
poorer than the reports led us to expect. On
the other hand, home consumption by the
producers is insufficiently supervised. In the
occupied territories the crops are a great dis-
appointment to the German authorities, as
seed will hardly germinate in ruined soil. Ru-
mania has given as much as could be ex-
pected, but it is less than was hoped for by
the German population. The country is al-
most completely ruined, and the harvest is
much inferior to that raised in time of peace.
"With respect to Germany's allies, the situa-
tion is not much better. For six years the
Turks have struggled for their existence and
their production has suffered thereby. The
Bulgars are in a similar position. In Austria
the situation is worse than in Germany. Hun-
gary for three years has had poor crops. The
rural population will be subjected to a severe
trial. An effort has been made to spare
small producers, but this can hardly con-
tinue. Three-fourths of the pigs, two-thirds
of the cows, and two-thirds of the potato
crop are in the hands of the small producers.
It is a hard trial, but the rural population
will triumph by bearing in mind that the
urban population last Winter suffered a still
greater trial.
In the discussion which followed, Deputy
Schmidt, a Berlin Socialist, expressed the
grievances of the city against the rural
population. " Do the peasants know," he
asked, " that the urban population of the
Palatinate is obliged to content itself with
a quarter of a pound of potatoes daily for
each person? "
The Morgen Post of Berlin said that
meat was completely lacking in the me-
tropolis. In Baden, Minister of State
Bodman indicated the possibility of meat-
less weeks next Fall. Bavarian news-
papers inserted the following notice :
" In view of the extreme scarcity of
potatoes and in view of the fact that
Bavarian towns and industrial centres
are suffering from this lack, an attempt
will again be made to seize all the pota-
toes available throughout the country."
The Berlin authorities published an.
order forbidding the eating of pork on
any day but Thursday because of the in-
sufficiency of the stocks. The forging
and theft of bread cards became a serious
evil throughout Germany. In Berlin a
tribunal condemned an individual to
three months at hard labor for having
stolen 20,000 bread cards. Five new
establishments in which false bread cards
were being printed were discovered in
Berlin. In Dresden there were frauds
and speculations in flour. The news-
papers asked if it would be possible to
continue after Aug. 15 the meat ration
of 500 grams, (17.5 ounces.)
German Bread-Card System
[This summary of the German bread-card
system was prepared by a London newspaper
writer with a view to its possible adoption
in England.]
All the ordinary requirements of every-
day life are now distributed in Germany
by means of the ticket system. The
earliest of these tickets was for bread,
and was adopted in the Spring of
1915. It should be borne in mind
that tickets do not confer on their hold-
ers any legal right to the goods to which
they refer. There is this difference,
however, between bread and other tick-
ets in Germany — that while it was not
always certain that the purchaser would
be able to obtain butter, potatoes, meat,
eggs, &c, he could generally rely on
getting his bread ration. That was be-
cause quite early in the war the Gov-
ernment took all the wheat in the coun-
try under its control. It stands to reason
that any system of bread-ticket ration-
ing must be preceded by such a course,
for unless there is a central clearing
house for supplies the whole system will
break down.
In Germany the Central Government
decided what the bread rations should
be, and issued the necessary regulations
for their distribution; but the actual
work of providing the population with
tickets is undertaken by the local au-
thorities, who are at liberty to adopt
VON BATOCKVS BREAD-CARD METHODS IN GERMANY
153
any machinery for the purpose they
may choose. In Greater Berlin local
Bread Committees have been appointed
by the various Borough Councils. There
are 107 such committees in the Ger-
man capital, and they have in hand
the bread-ticket system. In the first
place, it is the duty of house owners to
make a return of all the people living
in their houses who are entitled to tick-
ets. The tickets are then issued to the
house owners, whose duty it is to dis-
tribute them among their tenants, ob-
taining in each case a receipt which is
returned to the Bread Committee!
Tickets are usually issued for a month
at a time, and in the early days com-
plaints were loud about petty abuses. On
the one hand, tenants deliberately gave
unpopular landlords much unnecessary
trouble by making them call several times
for the delivery of the tickets and the
return of the receipts. On the other
hand, landlords penalized tenants in ar-
rears with their rent by refusing to issue
their tickets until the rent was paid.
Tickets are non-transferable. Yet,
though it is a criminal offense to utilize
tickets to which the holder is not entitled,
it is well-nigh impossible to prevent
fraud. Tickets are often stolen, and bur-
glaries at the offices of the Bread Com-
mittees are frequent occurrences. But
this evil can at least be overcome by
great caution. Not so, however, another
evil, which greatly weakens the whole
system. Nothing can be done to check
the illegal sale or bartering of tickets.
It seems to be no infrequent occurrence
for people in Germany to sell their bread
tickets or exchange them for other sorts.
Only a high sense of public duty can be
effective here. It need hardly be added
that unused tickets are expected to be
returned to the Bread Committee.
Besides the ordinary bread ticket there
is in Germany a supplementary bread
ticket. Three categories of the popula-
tion receive rations over and above those
generally current — growing children, or-
dinary factory workers who are away
from home all day, (the so-called
" heavy " workers,) and those engaged
on particularly hard work, especially in
mining and munition making, (the so-
called " heaviest " workers.) The re-
duced bread ration which came into force
in Germany on April 15, 1917, was ac-
companied by the abolition of the first
category of supplementary tickets. The
other two are issued to the different
works and factories, where they are dis-
tributed among the men qualified to re-
ceive them.
What happens if a bread ticket is lost?
Local practice varies. Some towns will
not replace lost tickets at all, while oth-
ers will partially make good the loss on
payment of a fee. But so much red tape
is associated with the replacement that
the possibility of constant fraud is re-
duced to a minimum. Besides, too fre-
quent applications for the restoration of
lost tickets are bound to raise suspicions
with the police.
Another difficult problem is that of
providing for the floating population,
as, for instance, soldiers on leave, visitors,
foreigners, and commercial travelers.
Temporary visitors are granted bread
tickets for the period of their stay in the
locality, after satisfying the local Bread
Committee of their bona fides, and pre-
senting a certificate from their own Bread
Committee or other local authorities
issuing bread tickets. Travelers may ob-
tain travelers' tickets, which are valid all
over Germany. It should be noted that
local bread tickets have currency only in
the locality where they are issued, save
only that all the South German States —
Bavaria, Baden, Saxony, and Alsace-Lor-
raine— have agreed to recognize each
other's bread tickets.
The form of the tickets varies in each
locality. The most common is what may
be termed a central trunk surrounded
by coupons, each with an amount of bread
or flour imprinted upon it. The seller
must sever the coupon for the amount
sold, and return all the coupons to the
Bread Committee. On the basis of these
returns the committee determines the
quantity of flour to be allowed to the dif-
ferent bakers, each of whom is given a
buying permit entitling him to receive his
allotted share of flour from the whole-
saler.
The system as a whole suffers from
two weaknesses which seem inherent, and
154
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
it is a little difficult, therefore, to see
how they can be overcome. The one is
the control of the tickets. It is true that
persons leaving the district are bound
to notify the Bread Committee, just as
the committee is also informed of all the
deaths in the neighborhood. But German
experience has been that in a great many
cases removal notice is not given. What
is the result? Unless the landlords are
scrupulously careful the Bread Commit-
tee goes on issuing bread tickets as be-
fore, and improper use is made of them.
Toward the end of 1916 it was felt that
the number of illegal bread tickets in
circulation in Germany was alarmingly
large, and a census taken on Dec. 1, 1916,
showed that there were four million more
bread tickets in use than the total popu-
lation warranted.
Even greater is the second difficulty
— to deal satisfactorily with the pro-
ducer, i. e., the farmer. If he is too
much interfered with he may stop pro-
ducing altogether. That obviously must
be avoided at all costs. Hence a certain
latitude is allowed the rural population
in Germany in respect of bread rations.
They are permitted to consume more
bread than the town population. This
has been the cause of great bitterness in
Germany no less than in Austria and in
Hungary. In the last-named country it
has been necessary to keep a tight hold
on the farmers. In the first place they
did not always thrash the whole of their
corn. In the second, by collusion with
the local miller, they had more corn
ground than their official permits al-
lowed. In the third, by all manner of
subterfuges, they fed their beasts on
wheat fit for bread. It is asserted that
these evils still exist in Hungary.
So far as the consumer is concerned,
he must have the assurance that when
he presents his ticket to his tradesman
the commodity will be forthcoming.
Over and over again during the last two
years buyers in Germany have had to
leave the shops empty-handed. A sys-
tem of ordering in advance has therefore
been developed. The customer places
his order with his tradesman, at the
same time delivering up his bread-
ticket coupon, for which he receives the
tradesman's receipt. The tradesman is
thus enabled to make provision in ad-
vance for each day's business, and when
the customer arrives he finds what he
wants. But obviously the system is more
adapted to better-class neighborhoods.
Whether it will work effectively in
poorer districts is questionable. More-
over, it does not follow that, though the
ration is fixed for the whole country,
the quality of the bread is the same
everywhere.
At best, rationing by ticket is a make-
shift. It undoubtedly minimizes in-
equalities and reduces waste. But per-
fect it cannot be, and, imperfect as it is,
it needs a large staff for its execution
and no little expenditure both on per-
sonnel and on tickets.
"The Year's Bravest Englishman"
The Stanhope Medal of the Royal Humane Society was awarded recently
to John Paxton, a marine fireman, for a remarkable feat of heroism. Some
months ago his vessel was shelled and sunk by a German submarine in the Med-
iterranean. In the hurry of leaving the vessel Paxton and three other men,
none of whom could swim, were left behind. Immediate action was necessary,
and Paxton, at once jumping overboard, called on the first man to follow, which
he did, and Paxton swam with him to the nearest boat. Returning, he called on
the second man, and he also was taken to a boat. Again Paxton came back, and
in like manner rescued the third man, and this in spite of the high wind and
rough sea.
The medal is awarded annually for what is regarded as the bravest feat of
the year. It was presented to Paxton by the Lord Mayor of Liverpool at the
annual meeting of the Mercantile Marine Service Association in May.
Jewish Liberty in Rumania
King Ferdinand's Promise
CHARGES of ill-treatment of Jews
in Rumania, where more than
250,000 of that faith still live, have
been frequent since the removal of the
Rumanian capital to Jassy, and there
have also been countercharges of pro-
German intrigue in connection with Jews
who remained in Bucharest under Ger-
man rule. Agitation of the subject has
now led to a clear and important promise
of Jewish liberty by King Ferdinand.
„ On May 11, 1917, a deputation from
the Rumanian Jews in Jassy waited upon
the King to present to him the assurance
of their loyalty. The deputation re-
counted the grievances of the native Jews
and assured him that they would prove
in all circumstances that they were an
element of order, as sincerely devoted to
their native land and to its ruler as was
the case in countries where Jews enjoyed
full equality. A note handed to the King
begged him to take the native Jews under
his protection. Accompanying the note
was an appeal which the native Jews
had distributed in Jassy on May 6.
In this appeal the Jewish Committee
set forth the wish for national unity and
the victory of the allied armies; they de-
nounced those among them who had
shown that they did not share the pa-
triotic views of the nation, and they stat-
ed that they relied on the wisdom of the
Rumanian people as regarded the solu-
tion of their question. This manifesto
laid stress on the decision arrived at by
the Rumanian Jews at the beginning of
the war not to increase the difficulties of
the situation by raising their question at
the present time. The manifesto con-
cluded as follows : " Having confidence in
our fellow-citizens, we will do our duty
toward our country, sparing no sacrifice
and taking into consideration nothing
but the welfare of Rumania."
King Ferdinand made the following re-
ply:
After having been long in close touch with
the daily life of all classes of people in the
country, I formed the conviction— and I am
pleased to bear testimony to the fact in the
present circumstances that I was not mis-
taken—that all the inhabitants of Rumanian
soil, irrespective of differences of origin, of
race, or of religion, were actuated by the
same exalted ideas of fraternity. This fra-
ternity and community of aspirations consti-
tutes the surest guarantee for the future of
the country and the realization of our na-
tional ideal. One of the glorious character-
istics of our native Princes was that, while
preserving their faith in Its traditions, they
permitted the existence and the celebration
of all the religions of their subjects. King
Carol was so faithful to this tradition that
he, a Roman Catholic, requested that his
body might be laid to rest in one of the old-
est religious monuments belonging to the
worship of our ancestors.
I ascended the throne impressed with the
same sentiments. When I undertook the
task of uniting all Rumanians under the
same flag I realized that that flag must be
at the same time a symbol of the union and
of the religious, political, and economic free-
dom of all the sons of the Fatherland. All
who have striven for the realization of the
aspirations which Rumanians have enter-
tained for so many ages, by shedding their
blood, by enduring the difficulties and sacri-
fices imposed by the war and invasion,
whether they are Christians, Jews, or ad-
herents of any other form of belief, will
equally have a right to the gratitude of the
country and to that of the King, and will
enjoy equal rights in a free, great, and flour-
ishing Rumania, closely united, all of us,
under the folds of the national flag.
A Jewish demonstration took place on
May 13 in Odessa, Russia, where some
thousands gathered in front of the Ru-
manian Consulate to protest against re-
cent ill-treatment of Jews in Rumania.
The crowd elected delegates, one of
whom presented to M. Grecianu, the
Consul General, a written protest against
the reported acts of violence. The Con-
sul General telegraphed the protest to
Jassy and communicated to the delegates
a telegram from Jassy stating that the
whole Jewish question was to be dealt
with in the current session of the Ruma-
nian Parliament.
The War in Western Asia
By James B. Macdonald
BRITISH and Russian operations in
Western Asia are widely dis-
persed and appear to be uncon-
nected, yet they are all concentric
and tend to merge into a single campaign.
Each and all have a common objective,
and co-operation is secured through the
higher commands being kept advised of
the plans of the allied war council. To
the latter they are units in a single cam-
paign comprising the Russo-Siberian
right wing in Armenia and Kurdistan,
the Anglo-Indian centre operating from
Bagdad, and the Anglo-Anzac left wing
advancing through Palestine.
The centre is thrusting as a javelin at
Aleppo and the Cicilian Gate, and, inci-
dentally, seeking to establish contact
with the right wing beyond Mosul. Its
Euphrates column will later co-operate
effectively with the left wing in Syria.
The operations of the centre are of su-
preme interest, as they threaten to cut
the Ottoman Empire in two.
Kut-el-Amara did not fall to the Brit-
ish for the second time as the issue of a
hard-fought battle, but rather as the se-
quence of a successful series of small
tactical engagements. These were strict-
ly in accordance with military maxims
on minor tactics and are interesting in
themselves.
The Tigris, in its course below Bag-
dad and until it passes beyond Kut-el-
Amara, assumes a remarkable series of
corrugations inclosing little peninsulas,
some of which project into the side held
by the British and others into the side
held by the Turks. Kut-el-Amara itself
is situated at the point of one of these
peninsula projections which encroach
upon the British side, and it was flanked
on either side by a reverse salient penin-
sula across which the Turks had in-
trenched themselves to the next bend in
the river. They could only protect the
town in this way, because if they aban-
doned these trenches the British, without
crossing the river, could fire into Kut-el-
Amara from three sides and make its re-
tention impossible. As a further protec-
tion, the Turks held some points of van-
tage on a line running south from the
Shamrun bend, which were so situated as
to enfilade any direct assault upon the
trenches and at the same time to circum-
vent any flanking movement to the north.
Fall of Kut-el-Amara
Before daybreak on Feb. 15 British
infantry rushed some ruins on their left
flank, while the machine guns picked off
the defenders as they retired. A heavy
bombardment followed, and a direct as-
sault was ordered upon the Ottoman
right centre. As the infantry ap-
proached, the Turks surrendered and the
trenches were further extended by bomb-
ing. Similar procedure in the afternoon
secured the remainder of the trenches.
The whole of the Dahra Peninsula, west
of the town, had now been captured, with
the exception that a few Turks still held
out at the extreme tip. After dark these
were rushed and surrendered. Mean-
while cavalry cleared the vantage ground
to the south and west of the Shamrun
bend. These tactical successes were no
sooner achieved than the rain came down
in torrents — too late to save the Turks.
Further operations were stopped for the
time being. In all 1,995 prisoners were
taken, which for a minor engagement
compares with the 1,650 taken by General
Townshend at the first battle of Kut-el-
Amara, the 1,600 taken by him at Ctesi-
phon, and the 2,080 taken at Amara.
By way of diversion the operations
were next resumed at the Sanna-i-yat
Gap, some twenty miles away, and were
so far successful that they drew the
enemy's attention in that direction. Gen-
eral Sir F. S. Maude now deemed it pos-
sible to force a crossing of the Tigris
River, which was then in flood, and
planned accordingly. Early on the morn-
ing of Feb. 23 covering parties were fer-
ried across the river and others later in
the day, while the resistance of the Turks
was held down by artillery and machine-
gun fire. When sufficient clearance had
THE WAR IN WESTERN ASIA
157
been obtained, a pontoon bridge was
thrown across the 400 yards of flooded
river and troops streamed across. By
next morning the neck of the Shamrun
Peninsula had been captured and 544
prisoners taken. Simultaneously the
third and fourth line of trenches at
Sanna-i-yat were taken by assault.
The Turks, recognizing that the game
was up, evacuated Kut-el-Amara and re-
tired rapidly toward Baghela, their for-
ward base, some twenty-four miles up-
stream.
Capture of Bagdad
The Anglo-Indian cavalry and horse
artillery rode hard for the enemy's right
flank, while the infantry engaged his
rear guard and the river gunboats ha-
rassed his left. On the afternoon of Feb.
26 the gunboats Tarantula, Mantis, and
Moth passed the Ottoman Army in re-
treat and inflicted heavy loss on it. They
later captured a number of Turkish
steamers and barges and recovered the
gunboat Firefly, which had been aban-
doned in the retreat from Ctesiphon in
December, 1915. The pursuit on land
was maintained, notwithstanding a sand
storm, and came up with the Turkish rear
guard at Lajj, who moved on when the
Anglo-Indian vanguard attacked from
three sides. The cavalry swept through
Ctesiphon without opposition and drew
rein six miles south of the Diala River,
which joins the Tigris eight miles be-
low Bagdad. Ctesiphon was the Winter
capital of the Parthians, the redoubtable
horsemen who checked the Roman power
in the East. It was near here that the
Roman Emperor Julian was defeated in
363 A. D. and lost his life. On the oppo-
site bank of the river are the ruins of
Seleucia, the capital of the Syrian Kings
who succeeded to the empire of Alexander
the Great.
The left wing of General Maude's
army, under Sir Percy Lake, threw a
bridge across the Tigris below its con-
fluence with the Diala, and, crossing
over, marched upon Bagdad. After a
trying march of eighteen miles in the
heat and dust they were confronted with
the Turkish intrenchments six miles
southwest of Bagdad. These were at-
tacked at once and the defenders driven
back upon their second line, two miles in
the rear.
Meanwhile, the centre and right wing
under General Kearny met with consider-
able resistance from the Turks on the
Diala front, but succeeded in forcing a
passage on the night of March 8, and
improved their position next day. On
March 10 a concerted assault on both
sides of the river drove the Turks back
upon the environs of Bagdad, and during
the night they evacuated their defenses.
At dawn next morning the British en-
tered the city and recovered the guns
surrendered at Kut-el-Amara. The
Turks abandoned 500 of their wounded
and two-thirds of their artillery.
Bagdad is not of strategic importance,
situated as it is in the centre of an open
plain 200 miles wide and built on both
sides of the Tigris. It is connected by
canal with the Euphrates, which at this
point is only twenty miles distant. This
juxtaposition of the two rivers in relation
to the City of Bagdad made it impossible
for the Turks to retain their hold on the
lower Euphrates above Nasiriyeh when
their main force on the Tigris withdrew
from Kut-el-Amara. The whole of the
grain-bearing and irrigable lands of
Babylonia, therefore, fell to the British
with the capture of Bagdad.
Civil Rule of Babylonia
The British Commander in Chief issued
a proclamation to the people of Bagdad
stating inter alia: That the British and
Bagdad merchants had traded for 200
years with profit and mutual friendship;
that the Turks since the time of Midhat
Pasha had been profuse with promises of
reform and barren of performances; and
that the Germans during the twenty
years they had been in Bagdad had made
of it a centre from which to assail the
great British Raj and the mighty Rus-
sian Empire. It concludes by emphasiz-
ing that the British Government cannot
permit this to happen again in Bagdad
and calls upon the inhabitants to co-ope-
rate with the British civil authorities
who will now administer the country.
The Flight from Persia
The Persian boundary hills rise ab-
ruptly from the Mesopotamian plain like
a natural wall 4,000 to 5,000 feet high.
158
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
SCENE OF BRITISH AND RUSSIAN OPERATIONS IN WESTERN ASIA
In this respect they resemble the Hima-
layas in India, although not so high or
so steep. From the western plain two
tolerable roads penetrate this mountain
barrier, but they are tolerable only in a
comparative sense. One is the caravan
route from Mosul to Tabriz, and the
other is the caravan route from Bagdad
to Teheran via Kermanshah and Hama-
dan. These boundary hills are inhabited
by the Kurds, a brave and warlike race
who, in the present war, have thrown in
their lot with the Turks, but as they ac-
knowledge neither Shah nor Sultan as
their suzerain the political boundary be-
tween Turkey and Persia in these parts
has little meaning.
East of the Kurd country the hills
sink down into the Iran Plateau, and
there the roads are better, although dif-
ficult in places.
The most v/esterly of the Persian main
roads is the one running north and south
from Tabriz to Kermanshah, where it
connects at right angles with the Bag-
dad-Teheran caravan route. The Turk-
ish contingents in Persia were spread
out along these roads when the order of
recall reached them after their main
army commenced its retreat from Kut-el-
Amara. One detachment was away to
the east of Hamadan, while another was
north of Sakhiz. Both had to fall back
beyond the crossroads at Kermanshah,
and if their arrival at that place did not
synchronize then the laggard would be
cut off by the Russian vanguard pursu-
ing the leading contingent. This actual-
ly happened. The retreat of the Hama-
dan contingent was so rapid — probably
due to the defection of the Kurds — that
the Russians entered Kermanshah before
the Sakhiz contingent had arrived. The
latter, therefore, were cut off and took
to the Kurd hills.
Meanwhile the Indian Government has
THE WAR IN WESTERN ASIA
159
re-established order and stable condi-
tions within the British sphere of influ-
ence in Southern Persia. Sir Percy
Sykes, with an Indian escort, marched
from Bander Abbas to Ispahan and later
to Teheran — a journey of over a thou-
sand miles overland. His mission was
to establish a Government in Persia
satisfactory to the Entente, and to raise
a force of military gendarmerie under
Anglo-Indian officers. Both objects
have been attained.
Invasion of Palestine
The British Army from Egypt under
General Sir Archibald Murray, formerly
Chief of the General Staff, having laid
down a military railway across the Sinai
Desert to Rafa on the Turkish bor-
der, embarked upon the invasion of Pal-
estine. The topography of the country,
which is familiar to Biblical students, left
no doubt as to the route they would take
even had there not been the historical
precedent of Napoleon's march from
Gaza to Acre in 1799, where he was re-
pulsed after a 61-day siege by the Turk-
ish garrison under old Djezzar Pasha,
assisted by a British naval . contingent
under Sir Sidney Smith. The whole of
the western side of Palestine is an open
plain bordering upon the Mediterranean
and flanked on the east by the hills of
Hebron, Jerusalem, and Gibeon. What-
ever sentimental interest may attach to
the famous City of Jerusalem, it is not
a military objective in the present cam-
paign; the immediate purpose is to seize
Damascus and Beirut, and join hands
with the left wing of General Maude's
army in Mesopotamia.
The invasion of Palestine commenced
with a march of fifteen miles to the
Wadi Ghuzzeh, a river five miles south
of Gaza, with the object of advancing
the railhead. The river was reached
without opposition, but as the Turks
seemed undecided to stand, and it was
desirable to hold them, General Sir
Charles Dobell, in command of the ad-
vance forces, decided to strike for the
town of Gaza. A dense fog delayed the
advance, and then the water supply gave
out, so that the contemplated manoeuvre
had to be abandoned, and a defensive
position was taken up midway between
Gaza and the river. The Turks, with
20,000 men, attacked on March 27, but
were repulsed everywhere with heavy
loss. The British camelry corps com-
pletely outfought the Turkish cavalry
and captured a General and the entire
divisional staff of the Fifty-third Turkish
Division. The Turkish losses are esti-
mated at 8,000 men, including 950 pris-
oners, and two Austrian howitzers were
captured. The British losses are given
as 400 dead, 200 missing — believed to
have fought their way into Gaza and
been cut off — and wounded not stated.
Their advance column retired on the
river, leaving the camelry in contact
with the Turks, who showed no disposi-
tion to renew the attack.
Gaza has been prominent in the world's
history. It was near here that Selim I.
of Turkey decisively defeated the Sul-
tan of Egypt in 1517 and led to the Otto-
man acquisition of that country. After
the Generals of Alexander the Great dis-
agreed as to how they should divide his
empire among themselves, Ptolemy
gained a sweeping victory over Deme-
trius, the son of Antigonus, at Gaza in
312 B. C, and this enabled Selucus Ni-
cator, then a refugee in Egypt, to re-
turn to his satrapy at Babylon and re-
gain most of the dominion of his great
predecessor.
British Aim in Palestine
Syria in bygone days has been con-
quered by Assyrians, Babylonians, Medes,
Persians, Macedonians, Seleucidae, Ro-
mans, Arabs, Egyptians, Mongols, and
Turks, but never in its long history have
such large armies been aligned for bat-
tle as are now contending for its pos-
session. To meet the new invasion the
Turks have 120,000 men deeply dug in
between Gaza and Beersheba, while
another army is protecting them from a
flank attack upon their communications
by the Anglo-Indian force ascending the
Euphrates. The Turks consider Syria
and Palestine of vital importance to
them — not so much that it threatens
Egypt as that it is a necessary point
d'appui for recovering the holy cities of
Mecca and Medina from the Arabs; Je-
rusalem, also, is a sacred city as well
160
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
to the Moslems as to the Christians and
Hebrews.
The British, on the other hand, are
committed to the policy of setting free
the Semitic races in Arabia, Palestine,
Mesopotamia, and Syria from Turkish
domination, and this policy marches with
their own interests in safeguarding
India and Egypt. The collapse of Rus-
sia, whether temporary or otherwise,
will not deter them from their purpose,
for India is set on removing the Teuton
menace and ending the religious and
rapacious prestige of the Turks. India
is specially interested in the Euphrates
and Tigris Valleys, and her troops are
mainly operating in this theatre. Im-
perial and oversea troops only are en-
gaged in the Holy Land.
The Russian revolution, coinciding
with the Ottoman defeats in Palestine
and Mesopotamia, enabled the Turks to
withdraw troops from Armenia and the
eastern front and send them to oppose
the British. This had the immediate
effect of checking the progress of the
latter until they, too, could be reinforced.
Particularly it affected the position in
Palestine and caused a reversion to trench
warfare. Gaza is now a modern fort-
ress flanked by trenches and command-
ing eminences as far as Beersheba. The
country to the south of Gaza is an open
plain traversed by the Waddy Guzzeh,
(River Gaza,) which at present is dry,
although at times a raging torrent. To
the west are sand dunes reaching to the
Mediterranean, and to the east a range
of hills.
At daybreak on April 17 the British
advance began under cover of an en-
filade fire from a warship and the usual
field artillery preparation. The Turkish
advance positions were captured on a
front of over six miles. Next day advan-
tage was taken of a duststorm to rush up
supplies to the front while the movements
of the motor transport were obscure to
the opposing artillery, and the following
morning the bombardment of the main
position commenced. The infantry at-
tack was only partially successful, and,
although continued next day, was not
pushed home, as the frontal position was
apparently too strong for direct assault.
A Turkish counterattack in one section
of the front by 3,000 infantry and 800
cavalry was broken up through a squad-
ron of British airplanes dropping forty-
seven bombs directly on them. When
last seen the Turkish cavalry was still
flying. Reinforcements have since
reached the British commander.
Strategic Considerations
After the fall of Bagdad, the Turks
had the choice of two routes along which
to retreat — either to ascend the Tigris
to Mosul or the Euphrates to Aleppo —
and they decided to take both. The Eu-
phrates Valley had been the old cara-
van road between Syria and Mesopotamia
for 3,000 years, and it offered the best
march, yet it had few natural defenses
to impede a pursuing enemy. Neverthe-
less, it was necessary to send some troops
by this route to delay the British as
long as possible while fresh troops were
being assembled for the defense of Alep-
po, the Amanus Tunnel, and the commu-
nications of the Syrian Army. On the
other hand, the only hope of extricating
the Turkish contingent in Persia was
for the main army to retire up the Tigris
and attempt to hold on the headwaters
of the Diala River until such time as
a reunion had been effected with their
detached wing. The railway had been
completed from Bagdad to Samara, but
there was nothing in the way of rolling
stock except the construction outfit. Be-
yond Tekrit a range of hills runs south-
east toward the Diala River in the direc-
tion of Khanikin, whence the Persian
column might be expected to emerge.
Here the Turks decided to make a stand.
In Upper Mesopotamia
Sir Stanley Maude's operations from
Bagdad are projected upon five lines of
advance. His left wing crossing the
intervening space between the two rivers
— from which Mesopotamia takes its
name — seized Feluja on the Euphrates
as its starting point. Its immediate pur-
pose is to ascend that river and hold the
crossroads at El Deir, which lead to
Damascus, Horns, Aleppo, Urfa, Mosul,
and Bagdad. Possession of El Deir would
afford opportunities for striking at the
main communications of the Turks in
THE WAR IN WESTERN ASIA
161
Syria and Mesopotamia, since these are
both based upon Aleppo, which itself is
threatened by this column. The direc-
tion of this blow will depend upon the
measure of success attained by the other
columns in Southern Palestine and the
Tigris Valley. Holding the interior posi-
tion with good lateral communications
by means of which one column can assist
its neighbor, the strategic advantage lies
with the British. Midway between Bag-
dad and El Deir lies Hit, where there are
important oil wells in which Anglo-Dutch
capital is interested.
The right wing of General Maude's
army was assigned the duty of clearing
the Turks from the caravan route be-
tween Bagdad and Persia, and further to
endeavor to hold up the retreat of their
army corps in Persia before it could
escape through the famous pass known
as " the gate of Zagros." This object it
was the aim of the opposing Turkish
commander to frustrate. In consequence,
the whole of the British centre and right
wing became engaged with the enemy at
widely dispersed points. The route
mapped out for the Anglo-Indian centre
was for one column to advance direct on
Mosul by the road alongside the Tigris,
but to keep in alignment with the other
columns, and for another to take the road
to Kifri and Erbil, which lies midway
between the Tigris and the Kurd hills.
This last road strikes the caravan route
from Mosul to Tabriz in rear of where
the Turks are holding up the main Rus-
sian left wing near Rivanduz and pre-
venting a junction between the main
allied armies.
The scheme then was for an advance
in force by the centre upon Mosul and
Rivanduz along three parallel routes,
while the right wing secured the Bagdad
caravan way into Persia, and the left
wing ascended the Euphrates to El Deir
and awaited further orders.
The Ottoman forces were disposed as
follows: The Thirteenth Army Corps on
both banks of the Tigris, the Eighteenth
Army Corps between the Tigris and Diala
Rivers, the Sixth Army Corps retiring
from Persia by the Bagdad caravan
route, and another force withdrawing
before the British on the Euphrates. The
Jeb-el-Hamrin hills lay diagonally on
the flank of General Maude's line of
march on Mosul, and by holding them the
Turks reckoned not only to delay his ad-
vance but to enable their Sixth Army
Corps to make good its escape by taking
a bypath through the mountains from
Kasr-i-Shirin to Kifri in rear of their
left flank. These expectations were
borne out, but under severe punishment,
and it remains to be seen whether in sav-
ing the small force in Persia they have
not compromised their whole army.
Open warfare prevails in this theatre
and the scenes change rapidly. The ope-
rations consequently are of particular in-
terest to military students. While pro-
gression may appear to be slow on the
Tigris and in Syria, such delaying tactics
may be considered by the British as an
advantage provided their Euphrates col-
umn is making good progress toward the
vital communications of the enemy. This
is an unknown but all-important factor.
Meanwhile, we may record the actual
progress of the Tigris column.
The Advance on Mosul
The short section of the Bagdad Rail-
way, which from this end is completed as
far as Samara, about seventy miles up
stream, is built on the west bank of the
Tigris, but the road to that town follows
the east bank part of the way. The
Tigris and its tributary, the Diala, take
parallel courses, about fifteen miles' dis-
tant, as they approach Bagdad, and the
road to Persia, as well as the one to the
north, both emerge from this narrow area
with the Tahwila Canal separating them.
All these roads were made use of by
General Maude in his advance from Bag-
dad. His left centre, on the west bank
of the Tigris, came up with the enemy's
rearguard holding a ridge covering the
railway station of Mushaidie, and at-
tacked it during the night of March 14.
The engagement was continued next day,
when the position was carried and three
Turkish divisions defending it retired to
the north.
Simultaneously, the right wing crossed
the Diala to the east bank and seized
the town of Bakuba, through which the
main caravan road runs to Khanikin
on the Persian border. They also se-
162
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
cured the village of Bahriz, through
which a subsidiary road runs through
Mendeli into Persia..
Meanwhile, the Russians in Persia
under General Baratoff continued their
REGION OF RUSSIAN OPERATIONS
pursuit of the Sixth Turkish Army Corps,
which had been recalled after the retreat
from Kut-el-Amara began, and occupied
Kirind on March 17. The Turkish left
fell back toward Khanikin to cover the
retirement of the Sixth Army Corps. The
converging Anglo-Russian armies en-
countered considerable natural difficul-
ties, for while the Indian troops on the
plain were delayed by numerous small
canals and rivers, the Russians were
traversing snow-clad mountains and con-
fronted with the formidable obstacle of
the Paitak Pass to the east of Kasr-i-
Shirin. The Turks in the foothills were
assembled in strength, for they were
battling to avoid the surrender of their
Sixth Army Corps, whose retreat was
precarious unless the British advance
could be delayed. After numerous en-
gagements the British right pushed on,
and Shahroban was occupied, fifty-five
miles northeast of Bagdad. The Otto-
man centre now advanced and the op-
posing forces clashed near Deltawa,
when the Turks were repulsed and retired
across the River Adhaim, a tributary of
the Tigris. The British centre continued
its advance and entered Deli Abbas on
March 31.
The Turkish Sixth Army Corps, in the
meantime, was approaching Kasr-i-
Shirin, whence their escape was assured
by a side track to Kifri. When they
took the latter road, a squadron of Rus-
sian Cossacks sped on along the caravan
route and established contact with the
Indian cavalry on April 2. The main
Russian column deflected its course in an
endeavor to intercept the Turkish left
wing, which was falling back before the
British, but they were held up at the
crossing of the Diala. Persia is now free
of the Ottoman invasion, although some
small contingents were cut off in the re-
retirement and sought refuge in the Kurd
hills to the west of Bana.
While these events were in progress
the Anglo-Indian column on the west
bank of the Tigris fought the Turks out
of Balad Station, some fifty miles north
of Bagdad. General Maude, finding his
advance to the north threatened by the
Turkish concentration on his flank in the
Jeb-el-Hamrin hills, manoeuvred to give
them battle. On March 10 he ordered his
advance detachments on the west bank
of the Diala to fall back, whereupon the
Turks, leaving the hills, pressed on after
them. During the night General Maude
dispatched another force from the east
bank of the Tigris to the scene of action,
and at daybreak a general engagement
commenced against the Thirteenth Turk-
ish Army Corps. The British artillery
soon established an ascendency, but a
mirage temporarily interrupted the duel.
When the infantry was brought into
action the enemy abandoned their posi-
tions, ten miles northeast of Deltawa,
and retired rapidly on the Jeb-el-Hamrin
hills, leaving 300 dead on the field.
Their casualties are reported as 700. The
British centre now continued its march,
and on the night of April 17 forced the
passage of the River Adhaim, which was
held by a detachment of the Eighteenth
Turkish Army Corps; next day a battle
ensued on the east bank of the Tigris,
THE WAR IN WESTERN ASIA
163
when the Turks were again routed and
1,250 prisoners taken, but their guns
escaped, owing to tlje exhaustion of the
pursuing cavalry from the intense heat
and their arduous advance.
Capture of Samara
The operations of the next few days
were directed against the enemy's posi-
tions on the west bank of the Tigris be-
tween Istabulat and Samara. Severe
hand-to-hand fighting took place with
numerous counterattacks, but in the end
the Turks had to yield their carefully
prepared intrenchments, together with a
5.9 howitzer, 14 Krupp guns, and 687
prisoners. Their demoralization was due
to the enfilade fire of the British artil-
lery posted on the east bank of the
river and the threatening manoeuvres
of the Indian cavalry on the other
flank.
On April 23 Anglo-Indian troops
entered Samara, and at the railhead cap-
tured 16 locomotives and 240 trucks,
while in the town a large quantity of
military stores and munitions was se-
cured. The Bagdad- Samara railway is
now entirely in the hands of the British
and will soon be available to bring up
munitions and supplies from Bagdad.
The Turks depend on river transport
from Mosul to meet their requirements,
but this service is liable to constant at-
tack from British flying squadrons. The
Thirteenth Turkish Army Corps ven-
tured to leave the Jeb-el-Hamrin hills in
an attempt to relieve the pressure on their
Eighteenth Army Corps, and, march-
ing southwest, came in conflict with the
British centre. A force detached from
the latter made a night march on April
24 and surprised an Ottoman division on
the west bank of the River Adhaim, about
seven miles north of its junction with the
Tigris. The Turks were routed with the
loss of 150 prisoners and many transport
mules, ponies, and camels.
A moving fight ensued for the next
few days, while the Turks were falling
back upon their prepared positions on
either' side of the River Adhaim where
it issues from the Jeb-el-Hamrin hills,
ome twenty-five miles southeast of Kifri.
Early on the morning of April 30 the
major portion of the British column,
which had crossed the river during the
night, stormed and carried the first two
lines of the Turkish defenses, including a
fortified village, but during a sandstorm
they were driven out of the village, only
to return and recapture it. The whole
of the Thirteenth Turkish Army Corps
then retired into the Jeb-el-Hamrin hills,
covered by strong rearguards. Their
known losses include 359 prisoners and
182 dead. The prevailing duststorm
seriously interfered with the artillery
and flying corps, and facilitated the Otto-
man retreat.
The Eighteenth Turkish Army Corps,
after its defeat at Samara, continued its
flight to Tekrit, thirty-two miles further
up stream. The total loss of this corps
during the fighting from April 18 to
April 22 is reported as 4,000.
The British in the Promised Land
W. T. Massey, war correspondent with
the Desert Column in Egypt, ivrote to
The London Times under date of March
20, 1917:
THE Promised Land! After twelve
months' incessant toil in the Sinai
Desert, sometimes fighting hard, al-
ways digging, making military works,
building railways, constructing pipe lines
and roads, and forever marching over the
heavy, inhospitable wastes, our troops
have at last come into the Promised
Land.
What a marvelous change of scene!
They are in Palestine. Behind them is
a hundred miles and more of monotonous
sand. Before them, as far as the eye
can reach, is unfolded a picture of tran-
scending beauty. No wonder, when the
troops come up to Rafa and look over
the billowy downs, they break into rounds
of cheers.
Before and around us everything is
green and fresh. Big patches of barley,
for which the plain south of Gaza is
famous, shine like emeralds, and the im-
164
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
mense tracts of pasture are today as
bright and beautiful as the rolling downs
at home.
I have been out on a reconnoissance
over ground evacuted by the Turks and
toward positions which the enemy at
present holds. The high minaret of Gaza
showed itself to us from above the dark
framework of trees inclosing the town.
That mosque was formerly a Christian
church built by the Knights Templars in
the twelfth century, when the Crusaders
fortified themselves within Gaza's walls,
but Saladin drove them out.
After many centuries, (Napoleon's
hold on Gaza was merely temporary,)
British forces are within sight of the
town. Away on our right over the aban-
doned Turkish stronghold of Wali Sheikh
Narun is Beersheba, tucked in the plaih
beneath the southern end of the hills of
Judea. These two of the most ancient
cities of Palestine — it was in Gaza that
Samson was betrayed by Delilah to the
Philistines, and Abraham dug the " well
of the oath " in Beersheba — have been
seen by some of our troops, and the Des-
ert Column is exceeding glad.
The Battle of Caza
The fighting for Gaza developed into
a pitched battle and then settled into
trench warfare. Following is Mr. Mas-
sey's description of the battle of Gaza,
written on April 21, 1917:
The biggest battle in all Palestine's
long history is being fought at Gaza by
bodies of troops on both sides im-
measurably larger than any armies
which have taken part in the countless
campaigns of the Holy Land. Though
we have only fought the first phase, it
is clear that we are engaged upon the
hardest struggle in this age-worn battle
area. We have gained our first line,
which we are consolidating, but ap-
parently there is a period of trench war-
fare before us ere we reach the im-
portant system of trenches which has
lately been cut to turn Gaza into a
modern fortress of great strength. We
paid a price for our gains, but we in-
flicted very heavy casualties on the
Turks, whose counterattacks were re-
pulsed with sanguinary losses. With the
conditions pre-eminently favorable to the
defense, an early decision before Gaza
must not be expected.
We had to dispose the British forces
on a sixteen-mile front, practically the
whole of which the Turks had intrenched
deeply. The positions we had to attack
on the Gaza front could not be stronger
if the whole country had been built up
for defense. There are sand dunes two
miles deep between the sea and the
town and an extraordinary variety of
redoubts, trenches, and pits covering the
western town, while Samson Ridge, 3,000
yards to the southwest, is strongly held
to secure the enemy observation posts.
Southeast of Gaza there is a green
plain a mile and a half wide and six miles
deep inclosed on the sea side by sand
dunes, on the north by the town, and the
east by a range of hills running to Ali-
muntar, the spot where Samson displayed
his prodigious strength. The plain is
intersected by the Wadi Ghuzze, a ravine
with precipitous sides, through which the
Winter rains on the Judea hills pour in
terrific torrent to the sea. It is now dry,
but crossings have been made for guns,
cavalry, infantry, and supply columns.
The northernmost part of the plain is
covered with trenches protecting the
town, and for two miles to the southeast
of Alimuntar the enemy on the irregular
hills and deep woods, at one spot, pre-
pared an intricate system connected up
with trenches of great defensive power.
Mounted Troops Engaged
Three miles due south of Alimuntar is
Mansura Ridge, facing another important
series of defenses. About a mile further
to the east is Sheikh Abbas Ridge,
backed by ground torn and cracked as if
by an earthquake, and looking over the
country rolling to the Beersheba road.
East by south are the tiny villages of
Sihan, Atawinieh, Aseiferieh, and Munk-
heileh, near which our cavalry fought
strong actions against infantry counter-
attacking from Hareira Sharia.
The whole country is extremely diffi-
cult for cavalry, as it constitutes a con-
tinuous bottle neck, full of deep ravines,
but the part played by the mounted
troops under these disadvantageous cir-
cumstances was superb. Soon after day-
break on April 17 our movement began.
THE BRITISH IN THE PROMISED LAND
165
A war vessel assisted the shore batteries
to cover a short advance of infantry to
take up positions from which we might
hope to# secure our first objective at a
subsequent date. The operations were
brilliantly successful. We got to our
mark on the sand dunes quickly, reached
the positions in front in a few minutes,
and took Sheikh Abbas Ridge by half-
past 7, with remarkably small cas-
ualties. The cavalry were out on the
right during this blazing hot morning,
but it was impossible to hide them owing
to every movement raising dense columns
of dust. A wet night would have been
of immense advantage, but throughout
the operations rain was denied to us.
On April 18, while the country was ob-
scured by dust clouds, we made ready
for the next advance, sending much sup-
plies forward. The whole terrain was
covered with supply columns, and when
the wind decreased an enormous pall of
dust hung over the area. An occasional
motor rushing across country raised a
trail of dust like steam issuing from an
express train. Bombardment of the out-
er trenches of Gaza began as the sun
lifted over the black hills of Judea on
the 19th.
Infantry and a " Tank "
Infantry attacks were launched at 8:30
o'clock. On the left they gained Samson
Ridge and found the trenches full of
Turkish dead. The enemy observation
posts were seized. Toward Alimuntar
and south of Gaza progress was more
difficult and slower, but Scottish troops
went forward with splendid steadiness
under a desperately heavy machine-gun
fire, and ultimately advanced 2,000 yards
to Outpost Hill, south of Alimuntar,
where they have consolidated their gains.
There was also considerable progress
from Sheikh Abbas Ridge. Between 9
and 10 I saw a " tank " go into action
against a green hill near a warren in
front of the Alimuntar. She stood with
her nose posted in the air across a
trench, down which her crew poured
rapid fire right and left. Then she
crossed the trench and turned south.
The Austrian gunners with the Turks
soon found the range, and turned an
immense volume of fire on the tank,
which seemed completely surrounded by
bursting high-explosive shells. For sev-
eral minutes I lost sight of her, but
presently she emerged, pursuing the un-
even tenor of her way toward our lines.
Then a second succession of rapid artil-
lery fire again enveloped the tank. When
the fire ceased she had disappeared. I
thought she had been smashed to pieces.
But I learned she dropped back into the
trench we had captured.
During the day, particularly in the
afternoon, our mounted troops were
heavily engaged. The Turks made five
desperate counterattacks with infantry
against the mounted troops and camel
corps. Though inflicting considerable
losses on us, they must have suffered
very severe casualties.
Heroic Camel Corps
One heroic episode I did not see, but I
repeat it from the evidence of compe-
tent witnesses. It was an effort by sixty
men of the Camel Corps. The enemy
had concentrated considerable forces at
one spot to break through. A junior of-
ficer of the Camel Corps saw the prep-
aration and took his men forward, with
two machine guns, up a grassy slope, to
prevent the advance, with absolutely no
cover. His small party crept on stealth-
ily, undeterred by a murderous machine-
gun fire, in what was a forlorn hope. A
tremendous shellfire fell about them, but
the party, gradually becoming smaller
through inevitable losses, pressed on un-
til within 300 yards. The crest was lined
with scores of machine guns and hun-
dreds of riflemen. There they stopped,
and kept the Turks from issuing to at-
tack by sound and accurate bursts of fire
every time the enemy showed themselves.
For an hour and a half this gradually
reduced band staved off attack until
every one was hit. Most of them were
killed, and the wounded fell into Turkish
hands. It was too late in the day for
the Turks to get through. My informant
declared that every Camel Corps man
in this section deserved the Victoria
Cross, whether he be alive or dead.
The War's Effects on Turkish Railways
THE war has had some unforeseen ef- . Minor toward Turkey in Europe, and
fects on the economic life of Turkey. only 90,316 tons in the opposite direc-
To a certain extent that country tion. The report for 1916 has not yet
has become the port of entry through been issued at this writing, but it will
which Central Europe seeks to escape show a much greater increase, as the
the Entente blockade, and the Austro- construction of the Bagdad Railway has
German engineers are bending all their made extensive progress in the interval.
energies to draw from it every ounce of -p„ • .„A • ., ■ ,. „ ,_ ,
. , , , r™ . . , By virtue of the convention of March
available resources. The men m control c iaao *%. » j j •» »i ^
* 4.U rvn. -c* • ii 4.1- j 5» 1903> tne Bagdad Railway Company
of the Ottoman Empire allow them to do , . , , , - * rkA. * J
.,. ., .,,. , , ,, undertook to seek from the Ottoman
this the more willingly because they re- nM _ . ,, . ' .
, .. / . . „ J Government a separate authorization for
gard the present epoch as essentially one „ , ,. , fA L , _.
- . ... ml/ . , , . each section to be constructed. The
of transition. They seem to be seeking »,..« V. . .h „
. „ , i a - m»- -i.i- xT. Turkish authorities, usually very slow
especially to develop Asia Minor with the , ,. -A. f A,
'a -e n x t, • • V u- il and negligent, in this case, under the
aid of German technicians, holding them- ,. * '» ,J , ' ^.
i xi. j*1*- ix x i * stimulus of the war, granted the neces-
selves ready, once the difficult task of ,, . ,. ?,, ,. .
/ , r, ,. . ,. , , sary authorizations with exceptional ra-
economic rehabilitation is accomplished, .,., e
to get rid of all foreign control and to
adopt a frankly nationalist policy. Al- Konia> the southern terminus of the
ready, under German protection, they are Anatolian Railway, is the western ter-
breaking the contracts which bound them mmus of the Bagdad Railway proper,
to other European powers. Between Konia and Bagdad there re-
Let us glance at what has taken place main only two sections yet to be built;
in the domain of transportation. As soon otherwise the whole enterprise is com-
as the war had demonstrated the strate- Plete' The lowing table from the
gic and commercial importance of the Pans TemPs shows the progress of the
railways, the Germans applied them- work:
selves, first, to utilizing the existing lines- Sections. Kilometers. Opened.
for intensive exploitation of resources; ^°^T f^Tri 2°° °ct 25' 19°4
j x .*• • i_- xi- x- j: Bulgurlu to Ulukishla 38 July 1, 1911
second, to finishing the construction of ulukishla to Bozanti 53 Dec. 21, 1912
railways begun before the war, and, Bozanti to Dorak 42 Not comp't'd
third, to establishing entirely new lines. Dorak to Adana 15 Apr. 27, 1912
With the closing of the Dardanelles Ada™ to °smanie and Na~
,, --. u , . . ,,. , m mune 100 Apr. 27, 1912
the traffic between Asia Minor and Tur- 0smanie to Alexandretta... 59 Nov. l, 1913
key in Europe became extremely active, Namurie to isiahie 54 Feb., 1916
and the new state of things was imme- Isiahie to Radjun 47 Oct. 20, 1915
diately reflected in the movement of R?dju" to Muslimie an* ?
x • A xi_ x. tt • a n v xi. Jerablus 203 Dec. 15, 1912
freight through Haidar Pasha, the gate- Muslimie t0 Aleppo 15 Dec. 15> 1912
way to the Bagdad Railway, lying just jerablus to Tel-el-Abiad. ...101 July 11, 1914
across the Bosporus from Constantinople. Tel-el-Abiad to Tuem 62 June 1, 1915
The report of the Anatolian Railway, Tuem to Raz-el-Ain 41 July 23, 1915
, . , , „ ,. -r, , , „ .. . Raz-el-Am to Samara 541 Not comp't d
which handles the Bagdad Railway traf- Samara t0 Istabulat 30 Qct. 7. 1914
fie at that point, showed for the year istabulat to Sumiken 38 Aug. 27, 1914
1915 a total of 510,236 tons of merchan- Sumiken to Bagdad 02 June 2, 1914
dise transported through Haidar Pasha, Of the whole 2,435 kilometers (1,510
as against 317,217 tons in 1914. miles) that separate Haidar Pasha from
The increase was due especially to the Bagdad there remain 583 kilometers (361
provisioning of Constantinople and of miles) still to construct; but the con-
the Turkish troops fighting at that time nection between the Bosporus and the
in the Peninsula of Gallipoli; in fact, Euphrates is already made, and it
out of a total of 510,236 tons, 419,920 should be noted that the greatest en-
tons were carried over the road in Asia gineering difficulties of the whole en-
THE WAR'S EFFECTS ON TURKISH RAILWAYS
167
terprise have been surmounted since the
beginning of the war. Two important
gaps remained to be filled when the
war broke out. One was the road across
the Taurus Mountains, the other that
across the Amanus Mountains. Now,
the Namurie-Islahie section, opened
in February, 1916, and built at an alti-
tude of 874 meters, connects the plain
of Adana with that of Mesopotamia.
The great tunnel at Bagtche, pierced on
June 16, 1915, is in this section. The
crossing of the Taurus was effected at
an altitude of 1,465 meters. In that sec-
tion several tunnels, totaling eleven kilo-
meters in length, were bored, including
that at Bilemdik, opened in December,
1914. Only a few more tunnels remain
to be finished in that part of the road
in order to complete the Bozanti-Dorak
section. Meanwhile their place is sup-
plied by automobile roads, which also
have been constructed during the war.
On April 30, 1915, the Germans com-
pleted the great 810-meter bridge, weigh-
ing 3,400 tons, across the Euphrates.
The Turks also have carried through
other railway projects of some im-
portance. They have finished the line
from Haifa to Jerusalem and made con-
siderable progress on that to Sinai,
which branches off from the other at
Afoule, and is soon to furnish connec-
tions with the Sinai Peninsula. The
Young Turks expect the port of Haifa to
supplant that of Beirut when the rail-
way is completed.
The task of building the great Black
Sea railway system — from Samsun to
Sivas, from Angora to Erzerum, &c. —
was handed over by Russia to France
after M. Poincare's journey to Petro-
grad; a Turkish law of June 25, 1915,
however, transferred this work to the
Ottoman Government. Meanwhile the
presence of Russian troops in Armenia
has prevented the Turks from doing
anything on it. The Germans attach
great importance to this project, which
they regard as furnishing the missing
link in their great waterway system to
connect the North Sea with the Persian
Gulf by way of the Rhine, Danube,
Black Sea, and Tigris River.
Cruelties to Jews Deported From Jaffa
Djemal Pasha, Turkish Governor Gen-
eral in the Palestine region, signalized
the approach of the British expeditionary
force by driving all Jews from Jaffa,
north of Gaza. The cruelties perpetrated
in the execution of his order early in
April, 1917, were reported to the United
States Government by Consul Garrels at
Alexandria. Ambassador Elkus advised
the State Department on June 12 that
no massacres had taken place, though the
Jews had been compelled to leave Jaffa.
Mr. Garrels' s report follows:
THE orders of evacuation were aimed
chiefly at the Jewish population.
Even German, Austro-Hungarian,
and Bulgarian Jews were ordered to
leave the town. Mohammedans and
Christians were allowed to remain pro-
vided they were holders of individual
permits. The Jews who sought the per-
mits were refused. On April 1 the Jews
were ordered to leave the town within
forty-eight hours. Those. who rode from
Jaffa to Petach Tikvah had to pay from
100 to 200 francs instead of the normal
fare of 15 to 25 francs. The Turkish
drivers practically refused to receive
anything but gold, the Turkish paper
note being taken as the equivalent of
17.50 piastres for a note of 100 pias-
tres.
Already about a week earlier 300
Jews had been deported in a most cruel
manner from Jerusalem. Djemal Pasha
openly declared that the joy of the Jews
on the approach of the British forces
would be short-lived, as he would make
them share the fate of the Armenians.
In Jaffa Djemal Pasha cynically assured
the Jews that it was. for their own good
and interests that he drove them out.
Those who had not succeeded in leaving
on April 1 and following days were
graciously accorded permission to remain
at Jaffa over the Easter holidays until
April 9. Thus 8,000 were evicted from
their houses and not allowed to carry off
168
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
their belongings or provisions. Their
houses were looted and pillaged even be-
fore the owners had left. A swarm of
pillaging Bedouin women, Arabs with
donkeys, camels, &c, came like birds of
prey and proceeded to carry off valuables
and furniture.
The Jewish suburbs have been totally
sacked under the paternal eye of the au-
thorities. By way of example two Jews
from Yemen were hanged at the entrance
of the Jewish suburb of Tel Avid in order
clearly to indicate the fate in store for
any Jews who might be so foolish as to
oppose the looters. The roads to the Jew-
ish colonies north of Jaffa are lined with
thousands of starving Jewish refugees.
The most appalling scenes of cruelty and
robbery are reported by absolutely reli-
able eyewitnesses. Dozens of cases are
reported of wealthy Jews who were found
dead in the sandhills around Tel Avid.
In order to drive off the bands of robbers
preying on the refugees on the roads the
young men of the Jewish villages organ-
ized a body of guards to watch in turn
the roads. These guards have been
arrested and maltreated by the author-
ities.
The Mohammedan population have also
left the town recently, but they are al-
lowed to live in the orchards and country
houses surrounding Jaffa and are permit-
ted to enter the town daily to look after
their property, but not a single Jew has
been allowed to return to Jaffa.
The same fate awaits all Jews in Pales-
tine. Djemal Pasha is too cunning to
order cold-blooded massacres. His meth-
od is to drive the population to starvation
and to death by thirst, epidemics, &c,
which, according to himself, are merely
calamities sent by God. Those who know
his methods will not be surprised if after
a short time severe punishment is dealt
out to those- who have looted and pillaged
under his orders, or at least with his con-
nivance. This would be in accordance
with his settled policy of exciting one
part of the population against the other,
and exterminating all those who are not
Turanians.
Djemal Pasha — A Turkish Ivanoff
[Cartoon from the American Jewish Chronicle]
Wartime Suffering in Turkey
A foreign official, whose duties took
him to Constantinople in April, 1917,
gave the following account of conditions
in the Turkish capital:
THE reports which reach the outer
world from time to time about con-
ditions in Turkey invariably under-
state the facts. The vast mass of the
Turkish population is now subsisting on
the verge of starvation. The misery which
prevails at Constantinople among the
middle and working classes is heart-
breaking; while conditions inland, owing
to the epidemics which prevail, are even
worse. There is no cholera at Constanti-
nople, and the admirable sanitary meas-
ures imposed on the city by the Germans
have succeeded in keeping typhus within
close limits. The Germans tried to make
the tramway company daily disinfect its
vehicles, but, as usual, they acted in the
matter without tact, and, the company
refusing, no European now travels in the
tramcars.
Pitiful incidents, indicating the misery
of the people, can be witnessed daily at
any street corner. The faces you see are
haggard, pinched, and worn, the eyes
haunted, the frames feeble. I do not
know whether people die of starvation in
Constantinople, but I have frequently
seen old men and women collapse — I sup-
pose from hunger — in the streets. Poor
people will pay enormous sums for worm-
eaten figs with which one would not at-
tempt to poison a mad dog. In the old
far-off days of peace the average humble-
class Turk would make a piece of bread
and cheese, some olives, and some Turk-
ish delight form his principal meal. To-
day such a meal would cost him
about $1.25.
Prices have risen steadily since the be-
ginning of the war, and in American
terms are something like the following:
Butter, $2.50 a pound; cheese, $3.50 a
pound; olives, 75 cents a pound; sugar,
$2.50 a pound; rice, $1 a pound; Turkish
delight, $2 a pound. The veritable fam-
ine in sugar which now prevails in Con-
stantinople is a great blow to the sweets-
loving Turk. Lumps of sugar at 5 cents
each are hawked about the streets. Aus-
tria recently promised to send Tur-
key 2,000 carloads of sugar at the rate
of 200 cars a month, but owing to the
great scarcity of rolling stock nobody
takes the promise seriously. In spite of
the hunger and abject misery everywhere
prevailing, the Turk manifests no desire
to revolt. Food riots are unknown at
Constantinople, and the shops are never
looted.
The shortage of bread is a great cause
for complaint among the women. The
Turkish Government, at the instigation
of the Germans, early in the present year
introduced a rationing system, but the
wealthy Turks declined to submit to it,
and the elaborate organization set up
speedily collapsed. The apathy of the
Turks angers the foreign observer. Only
once have they been roused from their
apathy, and that was when the thousands
of wounded poured into Constantionple
from the Dardanelles. The sight of their
dying men-folk caused several hundred
women to march to the War Office to
call on the Government to give them back
their husbands and sons.
In Turkey, as in other belligerent coun-
tries, the war has opened up new avenues
of employment to women. The Greeks
and Armenians formerly employed at the
post and telephone offices have been dis-
missed and their places taken by Turkish
women and girls. The war has hastened
rather than checked the emancipation of
Turkish women. All the young women
wear veils of the flimsiest description,
and in the tramcars they always draw
them up from their faces. An incident
which illustrates the strength of the
" new woman " movement in Turkey oc-
curred quite recently. The following no-
tice was issued by the police department.
The adoption of new forms of apparel has
become a public scandal, in Constantinople.
All Mohammedan women are given two days
in which to lengthen their skirts, discard cor-
sets, and substitute thick for flimsy veils.
Two days passed, and the following
notice appeared:
We regret that through the interference of
certain old women a subordinate of the Po-
lice Department has attempted to regulate
170
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
the costumes which Mohammedan women
wear. The Police Department regrets this
blunder and cancels the previous order.
The " police subordinate " who blun-
dered was an invention of the depart-
ment, anxious to find an excuse to
capitulate to the storm which the orig-
inal order provoked. The wives of
Turkish aristocrats, Ministers, and high
Government officials threatened to hold
up the Red Crescent nursing work in
Turkey, the telephone girls threatened
to strike, the Post Office girls to leave
the Post Office, unless the offending
order was canceled; and before two days
had passed Turkish women, determined
to be Westernized, had won. The inci-
dent provoked an outburst of indigna-
tion on the part of the women against
the German authorities in Turkey, who
were accused, probably wrongly, with
wanting to keep Turkish women in a
backward condition.
It may be mentioned that some il-
lusions are entertained outside Turkey
regarding the powers possessed by the
German authorities in Turkey. The
Germans are certainly the masters of
the Turks in the sense that they con-
trol the Turkish Government, but the
influence of the German officials over
the civilian population is very small.
The German police in Constantinople are
strictly forbidden to interfere with the
population, and even in the army Turk-
ish soldiers are not compelled to be
subservient toward their German of-
ficers. Besides holding them responsible
for the misery and misfortune which
have befallen their country, the Turks
dislike the Germans personally. On the
other hand, the German naval and mili-
tary officers make no secret of their
contempt for what they regard as the
laziness and slackness of their Turkish
charges. Admiral von Souchon, the Ger-
man Admiral at Constantinople, is never
tired of declaring to other Europeans at
the Constantinople Club that the Turks
as fighting men are hopelessly inef-
ficient.
The principal preoccupation of the
Turkish Parliament is the deplorable
financial condition of the country. Gold,
nickel, and copper have long since van-
\ ished from circulation, and the country
is flooded with notes and stamps — the
latter worth about 5 cents each — of all
kinds. At the backs of the notes in one
of these categories is a design of Kut,
and an inscription, rather amusing in
the light of recent events, to the effect
that, thanks to the bravery of the Turk-
ish troops and their German allies, the
town will remain in Turkish hands until
the end of time. Turkish finances are
run on the simplest lines. Every time
that the Turkish Government is hard up
it asks Berlin for a " loan." The " loan "
consists in permission by the German
Government for the Turkish authorities
to issue paper money for the amount
required. The German Government has
promised to redeem, out of the indemni-
ties exacted from its enemies, all the
paper money issued in Turkey during
the war. The mark has dropped ex-
tremely low lately in value in Turkey.
THE EUROPEAN WAR AS
SEEN BY CARTOONISTS
Note— Owing to the existing blockade Current History Magazine has been unable to obtain
any German cartoons for this issue.
[Italian Cartoon]
Uncle Sam's First Projectile
The United States has voted a loan of $3,000,000,000 to the Entente."— Cable news.
From II 420, Florence.
America to Germany: "First I'll hand you this one. Other presents will
follow later."
171
[English Cartoon]
Receiving the Order of the Boot
-From The Sunday Pictorial, London.
The Kaiser (to the republics who have revolted against U-boat savagery)
It's all very well to dissemble your love, but why did you kick me down stairs? :
172
[Dutch Cartoon]
Times Change
—From De Nieuwe Amsterdammer, Amsterdam.
The German Peasant : " I always used to think how that beast would like to
eat me, but now I think how much I should like to eat it."
173
[Spanish Cartoon]
Compensation
—From Espana, Madrid.
First Dutch Seaman : " They have sunk seven of our ships, at one stroke,
after promising not to touch them! "
Second Sailor: "Yes, and they did not touch the Rochester and the Orleans
after threatening to smash them! Probably that is because America is not a
little country."
174
[English Cartoon]
The Hindenbeggar
—From News of the World, London.
Weary War Lord (at the hot air pump) : " Ach, Himmel! What'll happen
when the beggar bursts ! "
[French Cartoon]
The Fatal Ladder
1914.
1915.
1916. 1917.
—From he Pele-Mele, Paris.
175
[English Cartoon]
The Two Giants
JL— out •> \"\ 0& MOfi^^ -
—Raemaekers in Land and Water, London.
Germany: "I flestroy!
America : " I create ! "
176
[Italian Cartoon]
The Return Visit
1492. — The caravels of Columbus visit America.
—From II Numero, Turin.
1917. — The naval squadron returns the call.
177
[French Cartoon]
Every Man to His Trade
-From Ruy Bias, Paris.
Crown Prince : " Louis XVI. was a locksmith, Nicholas a carpenter, and I-
oh! I'm a furniture remover."
178
[English Cartoon]
Beware the German Gift!
—From The Passing Show, London.
[In the Trojan war the Greeks, unable to capture Troy by fighting, resorted
to the treacherous gift of a huge wooden horse, which they pretended was an offer-
ing to the gods, but was in reality full of armed men. The Trojans admitted the
innocent-looking gift, and Troy fell. The German peace offers to Russia correspond
to the Wooden Horse.]
179
[English Cartoon]
Spades Are Trumps
ft ^ v
£S>^* ^ 3
—From The Passing Show, London.
England mobilizing against the U-boats.
[80
[Dutch Cartoon]
David and Goliath
J^sig*ri\*6
—From De Nieuwe Amsterdammer, Amsterdam.
David Lloyd George, the giant Germania, and the results of the Somme offensive.
181
[American Cartoon]
Another Plan Gone Wrong
GERMAN
INTRIQUC
—From The New York Times.
Kaiser: " So! You've failed again! "
182
[Swiss Cartoon]
The Hot Peace Soup
-From Nebelspalter, Zurich.
All eager to taste it.
183
184
[American Cartoons]
Hold Fast, Young Russia
One He Can't Submerge
"It Beats the Dutch"
\
"<* y
Si
-From The Baltimore American.
185
[Swiss Cartoon]
Spring in the War Zone
—From Nebelspalter, Zurich.
The ogre of death and the spirit of awakening life.
18G
[American Cartoons]
wU-Boats Be D— d!" "Oh, Say, Can You See?"
—From The Providence Journal.
—From The Los Angeles Times.
Stuck !
Hock der Kaisex!
—From Tlv§ St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
—From The Pittsburgh Post.
187
[American Cartoons]
" The Goblins '11 Get U "
fcaJM
1 " Gott ! Papa, They're in
Earnest ! "
—From The Baltimore American.
—From The Dayton News.
It's Up to You, Mr. Farmer
Peace Chestnuts
—Knoxville (Tenn.) Journal and Tribune.
—From The Dallas News.
88
[American Cartoons]
Removing Those Painful Crowns The Missing Link
The Melting Pot
The Giant Awakens
E. Murphy in San Francisco Call.
189
[American Cartoons]
The Nation's Shield The Eagle's New Brood
—From The Memphis Commercial Appeal.
—From The Dayton News.
Mothering the Cuh The Question Mark of Europe
^r/wew^w*^
g^ >•/*•"
—From The Providence Journal.
-From The Atlanta Journal.
190
PERSHING'S ARRIVAL IN FRANCE
The First United States Commander to Lead an Army in
Europe Arriving at Boulogne, France, June 13, 1917.
(Photo €> International Film Service.)
IIIIUIIIlll
.»•••••«•«.. •••.■■••••..••.•••••■•••■■■••■■••■•■•■••■•,
MAJOR GENERAL WILLIAM L. SIBERT
Commander of the First Division of the United States Army
Sent Abroad to Serve Under the Commander in Chief,
General Pershing.
(Photo © Clinedinst from Underwood <€ Underwood.)
THE GERMAN CRISIS
Chancellor von Bethmann Hollweg Resigns and
Is Succeeded by Dr. Michaelis and a New Ministry
GERMANY was the last of tke bel-
. ligerent powers to experience a
political crisis due to popular dis-
satisfaction with the conduct of
the war, but the end of the third year
brought as complete a change as that
suffered by any other warring Govern-
ment except Russia. On July 14, 1917,
after a fortnight of excitement and ten-
sion that stirred all other nations and
convulsed Germany, Dr. Theobald von
Bethmann Hollweg, the Imperial Chan-
cellor since July 14, 1909, was forced to
tender his resignation, and was succeed-
ed by Dr. Georg Michaelis, Prussian Un-
der Secretary of Finance and Food Con-
troller. A complete reorganization of the
Ministry ensued.
Owing to the rigid suppression of news
regarding internal affairs in Germany,
the world could obtain only meagre de-
tails of what was happening; such news
as filtered beyond the border had suf-
fered curtailment and revision at the
hands of military censors, and much even
of this information came second hand
from Copenhagen, Stockholm, Amster-
dam, and Berne, and was incomplete and
contradictory. Enough, however, man-
aged to elude the censors by word of
mouth from trustworthy travelers and
correspondents to disclose late in June
that a political tumult was raging in
Germany and that new political align-
ments were forming. The influence of
the Russian revolution had been far more
pervasive than the censored dispatches
had indicated. A new situation, too, was
acutely felt to be at hand when the Ger-
man people realized that the United
States intended to bring at once to the
support of the Allies the full weight of
its resources, wealth, and military power.
The discontent, which made itself
manifest in half-suppressed newspaper
comment and public expressions by men
of prominence in civil and political life,
was lulled temporarily by the hope of a
separate peace with Russia and by the
popular belief that there was no possi-
bility of Russia's again becoming a fight-
ing factor for years. When the Russian
offensive was resumed with brilliancy
and with disastrous consequences to both
Austria and Germany, and when the Rus-
sian armies gave proof that they pos-
sessed a greater power of offensive than
at any time since the outbreak of the
war, the crisis in Germany's political
circles immediately became acute. It soon
culminated in the collapse of the Beth-
mann Hollweg Government and the for-
mation of an entirely new coalition, with
all sorts of sensational possibilities in
prospect as a consequence.
Revolt in the Saxon Diet
The first intimation of a serious state
of affairs came in a dispatch which was
permitted by the censors to pass late in
June, relating that in " the Saxon Diet
" the Prime Minister of Saxony declared
" that the Government would fight any
" attempt to secure franchise reform in
" the individual States through the ac-
" tion of the Reichstag, whereupon the
" Socialist Vice President of the House
" declared that Saxon soldiers were not
" fighting because of loyalty to the King,
" but ' out of love of the Fatherland and
" monarchical principle.' If the Govern-
" ment of Saxony persisted in its reac-
" tionary attitude, he said that ' reform
"would come, if not from the Crown,
" then from the mob.' A Nationalist
" member of the Reichstag said * that a
"vast majority of the Saxons were in-
" spired by an utter lack of confidence in
"the Government.'"
The next important incident which was
permitted to be made public occurred
June 30, when it was announced that
the movement to secure an equal elec-
toral franchise in Prussia found cham-
lOi
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
pions in unexpected quarters. Leading
Conservatives joined in a public declara-
tion calling or the Government to take
action for the prompt enactment of legis-
lation in favor of election reform.
Demands for Franchise Preforms
Their call, which is an unequivocal in-
dorsement of the agitation carried on by
the Social Democrats for many years
past, reads:
The mighty struggle in which the Ger-
man people are now engaged is not yet
ended. The undersigned until now have
been largely of the opinion that the prom-
ise contained in the imperial Eastertide
message for the elimination of acrimo-
nious internal struggles might be fulfilled
in co-operation with the conservative
forces of our public life. However, the
opposition emanating from these sources
is so powerful as to call forth doubts
whether this Easter message, in its true
spirit, can at all become a reality after
the conclusion of peace.
Today such doubt is intolerable. To
keep that faith with the German people to
which it is entitled, it is needful to take
this work in hand without further delay.
We therefore do not hesitate to publicly
emphasize the need of the hour which de-
mands of the Government that it forth-
with lay before the Diet a draft of an
election reform which not only calls for a
general, direct, secret ballot, but for an
equal voting franchise for all; and, fur-
ther, that the Government in addition
give effective, visible expression of the
confidence to which the German people
are entitled.
The call was signed by Professor Hans
Delbriick, historian of the University of
Berlin; Alexander Dominicus, Chief
Magistrate of Schoeneberg; Professor
Emil Fischer, Dr. Adolf von Harnack,
Dean of the German theologians; Pro-
fessor Friedrich Meinecke, Count Monts,
retired Ambassador; Professor Walter
Ernst, Dr. Paul Rohrbach, Dr. Friedrich
Thimme, and Professor Ernst Troeltsch.
The signers, almost without exception,
have been looked upon generally as stal-
wart conservatives.
This call was hailed with enthusiasm
by the Berliner Tageblatt and other im-
portant papers, and the Socialist news-
paper Vorwarts pronounced it " an his-
toric document."
Agitation in the Reichstag
The Executive and Constitutional
Committees of the Reichstag met July 4,
preliminary to the opening of the new
session of that body. The Socialists de-
manded that immediate steps be taken to
bring about electoral reform by having
the Reichstag initiate the measures to
bring about reforms in the individual
States. The Government was reported
as being willing to proceed at once with
Reichstag election reform, involving sub-
divisions of the larger election districts
and introduction of the proportionate bal-
lot system which is quite well known in
certain States of the American Union,
but the Government did not think it ad-
visable that the Reichstag should make
ballot reform in the individual German
States, especially Prussia, its own busi-
ness.
The Socialists, however, wished to make
it the business of the Reichstag, because
the Prussian Diet was ultra-Conservative
and would not favor reform; hence they
announced a preference to have the set-
tlement of Prussian ballot reform placed
in the Reichstag's power; that body, ac-
cording to the Socialists' idea, need only
pass a law making the individual State
electoral systems conform to that of the
Reichstag. This, translated into Ameri-
can politics, would mean that Congress in
Washington has the right to dictate to
Ohio or Idaho what ballot system these
States have to employ in their home elec-
tions.
These episodes were but the mutterings
before the storm. It broke forth in its
furry on July 6 at a joint session of the
Main Committee and Constitutional Com-
mittee, held prior to the meeting of the
Reichstag. Although the sessions of these
committees were strictly executive, the
comments in the newspapers next day
indicated that very serious dissensions
occurred.
Erzhergers Change of Front
It became known that Mathias Erz-
berger, a leader of the Clerical Centre,
one of the most influential Catholics in
Bavaria, which is one of the most power-
ful States in the German Confederation,
created a profound sensation by deserting
the Pan German and War Junker factions,
and declaring for peace without annexa-
tions or indemnities. He severely criti-
cised the Government's submarine policy
THE GERMAN CRISIS
193
and the blundering diplomacy which had
brought America into the conflict as Ger-
many's enemy. This was a complete volte
face, as Herr Erzberger had previously
been regarded as a stanch Government
supporter and his party as a main factor
of the coalition. When it became known
that the majority of his party, represent-
ing the influential Catholic faction of the
Reichstag, was with him, it was clear
that a crisis was impending, and that a
majority in the Reichstag was probably
against the Government.
Crown Council Summoned
Only fragmentary dispatches appeared
for several days after this, and these
were contradictory, but the world knew
that the situation was serious. The
Kaiser summoned a Plenary Crown Coun-
cil. The Crown Prince was called to
Berlin, as were Field Marshal von Hin-
denburg and Chief Quartermaster Gen-
eral Ludendorff. On July 8 the Ham-
burger Fremdenblatt said:
"We are now living- through the greatest
crisis in our political life which has arisen
since the outbreak of the war. This crisis
centres around the fundamental questions
of war and peace as well as the reorgan-
ization of our internal political system.
It is in the nature of things that every
such event crystallizes into a personal
contest. Member of Parliament Erzber-
ger's speech in the Reichstag- General
Committee was an attack on the Gov-
ernment, which means against the Secre-
tary of the Navy as well as against the
Chancellor. To avoid misunderstanding
it should be said that the continuation of
the submarine war does not come into
the question, not even so far as Erzberger
is concerned. The question is of the re-
vising of the war aim formula somewhat
en the lines demanded by our Social
Democrats. Resolutions in the Reichstag
will not accomplish this.
Since May there have been many
changes. One thing, however, .has not
changed, and that is the complete lack of
contact between Government and people.
The reason for all these happenings? One
has only to remember that the speech of
a member of Parliament who chanced to
be called Erzberger has sufficed to over-
throw the entire structure of both our
internal and external politics, nor was the
Government able to stop it. That shows
the bankruptcy of the system. The Kaiser
is today in Berlin and conferring with
Hindenburg, Ludendorff, and the Chan-
cellor. Is it thinkable that at such a time
the party leaders should not be present
and that what they have to say should
not be also considered?
Harden s Magazine Suppressed
On July 11 Die Zukunft, Maxmilian
Harden's publication, was suppressed,
and Herr Harden was drafted under the
auxiliary civil service law to be employed
as a military clerk. The following is an
extract from the article which caused the
suppression :
Herr von Bethmann is like neither
Buddha nor a preacher in the mountains.
He who hopes for his world to be saved
by heavy guns, poisoned gas, mine3,
flame throwers, submarines, and air bombs
must do without a reputation for sublime
humanity. Every child understands that.
Are impartial neutrals, then, to learn to
dream with their eyes open that in the
pure scales of the North Germans gentle
humanity weighs heavier than rattling
armor of power? Neutrals will never
learn.
Are they (Germany's rulers) allowed by
slandering an enemy who is not yet ready
to conclude peace and by insisting all too
loudly upon their deep belief in the near-
ness of peace, to nourish the mad but
damaging belief that Germany is more
weary than the league of her enemies?
Must we not demand that our rulers shall
learn and apply properly the principles of
psychology and acoustics? Must we not
demand that before they choose new weap-
ons, and even before they resume the use
of old weapons, they shall think out to
the end every possible effect — not merely
the effect which is desired by the com-
mander in the field?
Harden reviewed once more the efforts
to make capital out of the Russian revo-
lution. He argued that it might have
been possible for Germany to imitate the
methods by which Frederick the Great
ended the Seven Years' War after the
death of Empress Elizabeth of Russia,
but it would have been necessary to act
promptly and make complete concessions,
and the achievement would have required
powerful statesmanship instead of " the
Swiss pills " which merely reminded for-
eign countries of Herr Zimmermann's
proposals to Mexico.
The first official utterance as the out-
come of the crisis was the following
manifesto, issued July 13, and addressed
to the President of the State Ministry:
Upon the report of my State Ministry,
made to me in obedience to my decree of
April 7 of the current year, I herewith
decide to order a supplement to the same,
104-
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
that the draft of the bill dealing- with the
alteration of the electoral law for the
House of Deputies, which is to be sub-
mitted to the Diet of the monarchy for
decision, is to be drawn up on the basis
of equal franchise. The bill is to be
submitted in any case early enough that
the next elections may take place accord-
ing to the new franchise. I charge you to
make all necessary arrangements for this
purpose.
(Signed) WILLIAM.
- (Countersigned)
BETHMANN HOLLWEG.
The same day a statement was issued
in explanation of the summoning of the
Crown Prince. An official communica-
tion issued in Berlin had stated that
Emperor William expressed the opinion
that the political and constitutional re-
forms demanded by the Reichstag were
such that they concerned not merely him-
self but his successor, inasmuch as they
would be permanent. For this reason the
Emperor summoned the Crown Prince to
attend the Crown Councils at which final
decisions regarding the extent to which
the Crown and the Government would
make concessions to the Reichstag were
to be reached.
A Berlin correspondent, commenting
on the Emperor's manifesto ordering
electoral reform, said that the intro-
duction of the phrase " equal suffrage "
into the Emperor's manifesto restored
a provision which, according to Berlin
gossip, was contained in the original
draft of the Easter manifesto and was
eliminated at the last moment in conse-
quence of a reactionary intrigue against
the realization of the Emperor's wish for
universal, equal, direct, and secret suf-
frage in Prussia. This is attributed to
the reactionary Prussian Diet, which on
an earlier occasion did not hesitate
to disregard the sovereign's expressed
wishes on franchise reform.
A correspondent at Berlin stated that
the Emperor's manifesto forced the
Prussian Ministry to discard its reform
project, the draft of which had been
largely worked out, and which, accord-
ing to reports in Berlin political circles,
although doing away with the three-
class system, introduced 'the principle of
plural voting as a concession to the Con-
servative and> National Liberal Parties.
A proviso was made that the attainment
of a certain age, marriage, or educational
qualification entitled an elector to ad-
ditional votes. The correspondent added:
The extent to which equal suffrage, if
the Government is able to get its bill
through the hostile Diet, .will shake the
domination 0" the Junker Prussian Gov-
ernment may be judged by the compila-
tion of the probable strength of the par-
ties in the Diet under this bill.
The Conservative leaders have figured,
on the basis of their voting tables, that
the strength of the two Conservative
parties, now 262 out of a total member-
ship of 443 in the lower house, would
drop even under the most favorable con-
ditions to 134, and might go to 100. The
National Liberals, now with 73 members,
would be represented in an equal suffrage
House by 34 to 52, while the Socialists,
with 10 members at the present time,
would jump to at least 60, and might
obtain as many as 123 seats. The Rad-
icals would gain slightly and the Centre
would show moderate shrinkage.
The Chancellor's Resignation
The story of the resignation of the
Chancellor as related by The Associated
Press correspondent is as follows:
The resignation of the Chancellor came
in the end quite unexpectedly, for Dr. von
Bethmann Hollweg, in the prolonged
party discussions and heated debates of
the Main Committee of the Reichstag,
which have been proceeding all through
the week, seemed to have triumphed over
his opponents, who had been clamoring
for his head, by making concessions
which were tantamount to the formation
of a kind of imperial Coalition Ministry.
At the same time, the Chancellor, by a
declaration that Germany was fighting
defensively for the freedom of her ter-
ritorial possessions, evolved a formula
that seemed satisfactory to both those
who clamored for peace by agreement
and those who demanded repudiation of
the formula " no annexations and no in-
demnities."
In all this, Dr. von Bethmann Hollweg
was strongly backed by the Emperor.
The advent of the Crown Prince at the
summons of his father to share the de-
liberations affecting the future of the
dynasty seems to have changed entirely
the situation with regard to the Imperial
Chancellor. The Crown Prince at once
took a leading part in the discussions
with the party leaders, and his ancient
THE GERMAN CRISIS
195
hostility toward Dr. von Bethmann Holl-
weg, coupled with his notorious dislike
for political reform, undoubtedly precipi-
tated the Chancellor's resignation.
Majority Peace Resolution
The Reichstag met July 11 and refused
to vote the war credit, pending a solu-
tion of the political crisis. On July 13
the majority bloc of the Centre Radicals
and Socialists, constituting a majority,
decided to support the following peace
resolutions :
As on Aug*. 4, 1914, so on the threshold
of the fourth year of the war the German
people stand upon the assurance of the
speech from the throne — " "We are driven
by no lust of conquest."
Germany took up arms in defense of its
liberty and independence and for the in-
tegrity of its territories. The Reichstag
labors for peace and a mutual under-
standing: and lasting reconciliation among
the nations. Forced acquisitions of terri-
tory and political, economic, and financial
violations are incompatible with such a
peace.
The Reichstag rejects all plans aiming
at an economic blockade and the stirring
up of enmity among the peoples after the
war. The freedom of the seas must be
assured. Only an economic peace can pre-
pare the ground for the friendly associa-
tion of the peoples.
The Reichstag will energetically pro-
mote the creation of international jurid-
ical organizations. So long, however, as
the enemy Governments do not accept
such a peace, so long as they threaten
Germany and her allies with conquest and
violation, the German people will stand
together as one man, hold out unshaken,
and fight until the rights of itself and its
allies to life and development are secured.
The German Nation united is unconquer-
able.
The Reichstag knows that in this an-
nouncement it is at one with the men who
are defending the Fatherland. In their
heroic struggles they are sure of the un-
dying thanks of the whole people.
This resolution was adopted July 19
by a vote of 214 to 116, with 17 not
voting.
Crown Prince's Influence
The Tagliche Rundschau of Berlin in-
dicated that the Chancellor was forced
out by the Crown Prince. It said in its
issue of July 14:
It will be remembered that the Crown
Prince's attitude toward the Chancellor
and his policies is well known, and that,
apart from many other instances, at the
time the Chancellor at the request of the
Kaiser went to inform the Crown Prince
at his headquarters of the coming Easter
message, the Crown Prince had no scruples
in expressing his vigorous opposition to
the Chancellor's policies. To avoid fur-
ther discussion the Chancellor withdrew,
stating that he had fulfilled the Kaiser's
mission, inasmuch as he had informed
the Crown Prince of the coming action.
A Berlin correspondent added:
It is recalled here, also, how during the
angry debate in the Reichstag on the
Agadir affair in November, 1911, when
Herr von Heydebrand, the so-called " un-
crowned King of Prussia," attacked the
Government's policy as being pro-Eng-
lish, the Crown Prince sat in the gallery
shaking his head at Bethmann .Hollweg
and openly applauding Heydebrand, even
clapping his hands.
It was after this that the Crown Prince
was banished by his angry father to Dan-
zig, much to his disgust.
Also at the time of the Zabern inci-
dent the Crown Prince telegraphed to
Captain Forstner, "Fester d'rauf!"
(" Hit him again ! ") According to the
view of many persons, the question
whether the military or the civil power
should dominate in Germany was settled
at that time in favor of the former.
Judged by the comments of the Ger-
man liberal press up to July 20, the po-
litical upheaval has strengthened the
Extreme War Party and jeopardized the
prospects of constitutional or Parlia-
mentary reform.
The Vossische Zeitung, the Tageblatt,
and Vorwarts on July 18 called atten-
tion to the fact that the appointment of
Dr. Michaelis was made without pre-
viously sounding Parliament, and that
the new Chancellor accepted the post
without consultation with the party lead-
ers or an attempt to learn whether his
proposed policy was acceptable to the
Reichstag. This they regarded as con-
firmatory evidence that the Reichstag's
desire for formal acknowledgment of
Parliamentary control of the old Gov-
ernment was ignored.
A correspondent at Amsterdam as late
as July 18 asserted that Bethman Holl-
weg had fallen because he favored re-
form and a liberal peace policy. It was
stated that he made two proposals, the
first that in the direction of democratiza-
tion a new body under the name of the
196
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Reichsrat should be immediately consti-
tuted, which would be a sort of Commit-
tee of National Defense, and would for
the time being act as a go-between twixt
the Reichstag and the Emperor, thus in-
stituting on a modified scale the princi-
ple of Parliamentary responsibility; the
second that the Government should im-
mediately make an authoritative decla-
ration of " no annexations or indemni-
ties." Both these proposals, it is asserted,
had the backing of Bavaria and Aus-
tria, although Austria naturally had no
open voice in the matter, which was pure-
ly a German internal affair.
Both proposals were violently opposed
by the Crown Prince, von Hindenburg,
and Ludendorff. It is declared that von
Hindenburg came out openly for a " Ger-
man peace."
Cain for Militarist Party
The official view at Washington was
that the crisis had resulted in a com-
plete triumph for the Militarist Party,
headed by the Crown Prince, and in a les-
sening of the prestige of the Emperor
and the Moderates.
The letter of the Kaiser accepting the
resignation of Dr. von Bethmann Holl-
weg was made public July 16, as fol-
lows:
I decide with a heavy heart by today's
decree to grant your request to be re-
lieved from your office. For eight years
you have occupied the highest and most
responsible offices in the imperial and
State services with eminent loyalty, and
have successfully placed your brilliant
powers and personality at the services of
the Kaiser and the empire and the King
and the Fatherland.
In the most grievous times that have ever
fallen to the lot of the German countries
and peoples — times in which decisions of
paramount importance for the existence
and future of the Fatherland have had to
be taken — you have stood by my side with
counsel and aid. It is my heart's desire to
express my most cordial thanks for your
faithful' service.
First Address of the New Chancellor
DR. MICHAELIS, the new Chancellor,
made his initial address to the
Reichstag July 19. He paid a warm
tribute to his predecessor. In the course
of his remarks he said:
Unless I had believed firmly in the
justice of our cause I would not have
accepted office. We must keep before
our eyes daily the events of three years
ago, which are fixed in history and which
show we were forced into the war by
Russia's secret mobilization, which was
a great danger to Germany. To have
participated in a conference while the
mobilization proceeded would have been
political suicide. [Exclamations of " quite
right " from the Conservatives.]
The mobilization of the Russian Army
compelled Germany to seize the sword.
There was no choice left to us, and what
is true of the war itself is true also of
our /weapons, particularly the submarine.
"We deny the accusation that the subma-
rine warfare is contrary to international
law and violates the rights of humanity.
England forced this weapon into our
hands through an illegal blockade. Eng-
land prevented neutral trade with Ger-
many and proclaimed a war of starva-
tion. Our faint hope that America, at the
head of the neutrals, would check English
illegality was vain, and the final attempt
we made by an honorably intended peace
offer to avoid the last extremity failed.
Then Germany had to choose this last
weapon as a countermeasure of self-de-
fense. New, also, she must carry it
through for the purpose of shortening the
war.
The submarine war is accomplishing all,
and more than all, it is expected to.
False reports which found their way into
the press as a result of the secret session
of the Reichstag evoked for a time a cer-
tain feeling of disappointment which
ended at a particular time. They did
the Fatherland no service.
I declare, in fact, that the submarine
war accomplishes in the destruction of
enemy tonnage what it should. It im-
pairs England's economic life and the
conduct of the war month to month in a
growing degree, so that it will not be
possible to oppose the necessity for peace
much longer. We can look forward to the
further labors of the brave U-boat men
with complete confidence. * * *
Russian Offensive Unimportant
In the East, in consequence of the con-
fusion in Russia, the attack of Russian
millions did not materialize, and there is
comparative calm. Only after false re-
ports and incitement by Russia's allies
FIRST ADDRESS OF THE NEW CHANCELLOR
197
had stirred the Russian soldiers did the
present offensive develop. Its goal was
Lemberg and Drohobycz. General Brusi-
loff, with all his enormous sacrifices, has
gained only a slight advantage. * * *
Greece was forced by violence to enter
the war against us. Our common front
with the brave Bulgarians stands firm.
Italy, even through the eleventh Izonso
battle against our war-tried Austro-Hun-
garian brothers, will not be able to attain
the goal of its breach of faith— the pos-
session of Trieste.
We look without serious concern upon
the optimistic sentiment in the Entente
countries caused by America's interven-
tion. It is easy to reckon how much ton-
nage is necessary to transport an army
from America to Europe, how much
tonnage is required to feed such an army.
France and England are scarcely able to
feed and supply their own armies with-
out influencing the economic situation
still further. After our previous success
we shall be able to master this situation
also through our fleet, particularly the
submarines. That is our firm conviction
and assurance. We and our allies, there-
fore, can look forward to any further de-
velopment of military events with calm
security.
Hor» Much Longer?
The burning question in our hearts,
however, is how much longer the war is
to last. With this I come ' to a matter
which stands in the centre of all our in-
terest and all our proceedings today. Ger-
many did not desire the war in order to
make violent conquests and, therefore,
will not continue the war a day longer
merely for the sake of such conquests, if
it could obtain an honorable peace.
The Germans wish to conclude peace as
combatants who have successfully accom-
plished their purpose and proved them-
selves invincible. A condition of peace
was the inviolability of Germany's terri-
tory. No parley was possible with the
enemy demanding the cession of German
soil.
We must, by means of understanding
and in a spirit of give and take, guar-
antee conditions of the existence of the
German Empire upon the Continent and
overseas. Peace must offer the founda-
tion of a lasting reconciliation of nations.
It must, as expressed in your resolution,
prevent nations' from being plunged into
further enmity through economic block-
ades and provide a safeguard that the
league in the arms of our opponents does
not develop into an economic offensive
alliance against us.
These aims may be attained within the
limits of your resolution, as I interpret
it. We cannot again offer peace. We
have loyally stretched out our hands once.
We met no response, but with the entire
nation and with Germany, the army and
its leaders in accord with this declara-
tion, the Government feels that if our
enemies abandon their lust for conquest
and their aims at subjugation and wish
to enter into negotiations we shall listen
honestly and readily to what they have
to say to us. Until then we must hold
out calmly and patiently.
Nation s Most Serious Crisis
The present time is, in regard to food
conditions, the most severe we have ex-
perienced, and the month of July has
been the worst. Drought has delayed the
crops, and want exists in many cases, but
I can declare with glad confidence that
relief will shortly set in and the popula-
tion can then be supplied more ade-
quately.
On the occasion of his acceptance of
the Chancellorship Dr. Michaelis sent a
message to Count Czernin, the Austro-
Hungarian Foreign Minister, saying that
he considered it his chief and inviolable
duty to preserve the previous inheritance
of the closest and most loyal confedera-
tion. It was his firm conviction that
Austria-Hungary and Germany would be
victorious and that the war would secure
for the heroic people a happy and bright
future. Count Czernin, in reply, said he
saw the best guarantee of a happy future
in intimate and confident co-operation
with the leaders of the German policy
and firm insistence upon the well-tried
alliance.
How the Hohenzollerns
Junkers Control
By Charles Downer Hazen
Professor of European History, Columbia University
and
THE German Empire is a confedera-
tion, founded in 1871 — founded by
the Princes, not by the people —
and consists of twenty-five States
and one imperial territory, Alsace-
Lorraine. The King of Prussia is ipso
facto German Emperor. The legislative
power rests with two bodies — the
Bundesrat, or Federal Council, and the
Reichstag. The Emperor declares war
with the consent of the Bundesrat, the
assent of the Reichstag not being re-
quired. He is Commander in Chief of
the Army and Navy, he has charge of
foreign affairs, and makes treaties, sub-
ject to the limitation that certain kinds of
treaties must be ratified by Parliament.
He is assisted by a Chancellor, whom he
appoints and whom he removes, and who
is responsible to him, and to him alone.
Under the Chancellor are various Secre-
taries of State, who simply administer
departments, but who do not form a
Cabinet, either in the English or French
or American sense. They are responsi-
ble to the Chancellor.
The laws that govern the German
Empire are made by two bodies — the
Bundesrat and the Reichstag. The
Bundesrat, of which we in America
hear very little, is the most powerful
body in the empire, far more powerful
than the Reichstag, of which we hear a
great deal. It possesses legislative, ex-
ecutive, and judicial functions, and is a
kinX of diplomatic assembly. It repre-
sents the States; that is, the rulers of
the twenty-five States of which the em-
pire consists. It is composed of dele-
gates appointed by the rulers. Unlike
the Senate of the United States, the
States of Germany are not represented
equally in the Bundesrat, but most un-
equally. There are sixty-one members.
Of these Prussia has seventeen, and the
three votes allotted to Alsace-Lorraine
since 1911 are " instructed " by the Em-
peror. Thus Prussia has twenty, Ba-
varia has six, Saxony and Wiirttemberg
four each, others three or two, and sev-
enteen of the States have only one
apiece. The members are really diplo-
mats, representing the numerous raon-
archs of Germany.
Voting Under Orders
They do not vote individually, but each
State delegation votes as a unit and as
the ruler orders it to. Thus the votes
that Prussia controls are cast always
as a unit and as the King of Prussia
directs. The Bundesrat is in reality an
assembly of the sovereigns of Germany.
It is responsible to nothing on earth, and
its powers are very extensive. It is the
most important element of the Legisla-
ture, as most legislation begins in it; its
consent is necessary to all legislation,
and every law passed by the Reichstag
is, after that, submitted to it for ratifica-
tion or rejection. It is therefore the chief
source of legislation. The Princes of Ger-
many have an absolute veto upon the only
popular element in the Government, the
Reichstag. Representing the Princes of
Germany, the Bundesrat is a thorough-
ly monarchical institution, a bulwark of
the monarchical spirit. The proceedings
of this princely assembly are secret,
which is one reason why we know and
hear less about it than we do about the
Reichstag.
Much less important than the Bundes-
rat is the Reichstag, the only popular
element in the government of the empire.
It consists of 397 members, elected for a
term of five years by the voters, that is,
by men 25 years of age or older. The
powers of the Reichstag are vastly in-
ferior to the powers of the House of
Commons or the Chamber of Deputies or
the House of Representatives. While it,
in conjunction with the Bundesrat, votes
HOW THE HOHENZOLLERNS AND JUNKERS CONTROL
the appropriations, certain ones, notably
those for the army, are voted for a period
of years. Its consent is required for new-
taxes, whereas taxes previously levied
continue to be collected without the con-
sent of Parliament being again secured.
The Reichstag has no power to make
or unmake Ministries; in other words, to
control the executive, the Emperor. It
may reject the measures demanded by
the Government, it may vote what
amounts to a lack of confidence in the
Chancellor, but to the Chancellor it
makes notoriously little difference. As
long as he enjoys the confidence of the
Emperor he continues on his way. Bis-
marck was fond of repeating from the
tribune that he was not the servant of
the Reichstag, but exclusively of the
Crown. William II. dismissed in turn
Bismarck, Caprivi, Hohenlohe, and
Biilow. The imperial will determines
the fate, dictates the rise and fall of
the Chancellor.
Bethmann Hollweg has been the Em-
peror's man in body and soul. No val-
leity of independence has surged up in
that submissive bosom. A bureaucrat of
forty years' standing, advancing by regu-
lar gradations from the lowest rung of
the administrative ladder to the highest,
his view has remained the same, his gaze
has been at every stage and is still
riveted solely upon his superior, and his
superior never has been nor is now the
Reichstag. His source of inspiration is
in the Schloss, not in the benches of the
popularly elected Legislature. Bethmann
Holiweg is sometimes frank, frank to
the point of rudeness. " Gentlemen," he
said at the beginning of his Chancellor-
ship, " I do not serve Parliament," and
was loudly applauded for his insolence
by the members of the conservative par-
ties of the Parliament, thus a victim of
the proud man's contumely. And he
ended this scornful speech with the state-
ment that there was one role which he
absolutely refused to play, that of the
servant of the people's representatives.
Bethmann Hollweg, who has curiously
been considered a liberal by some ill-
informed and putative American liber-
als, has the merit of great clarity in his
consistent, undeviating hostility and con-
tempt for parliamentarism and for de-
mocracy. When reproached by the So-
cialists for not resigning after a vote of
censure, as they do in France, he retorted
that even children knew the difference
between France and Germany.
" I know full well that there are those
who are striving to establish similar in-
stitutions here," he said. " I shall oppose
them with all my force."
Only the other day this " liberal "
told the Right and the Left contempt-
ously that he was serving neither of
them. He had a more august master.
Not only does the Reichstag have no
control over the Government, not only
is it blocked and immensely outweighed
by the Emperor, by the Bundesrat, and
by the army, but it is itself, even with-
in the sacred circle of its impotence, a
very inaccurate representation of the
people. The electoral districts as laid
out in 1871 were equal, each represent-
ing approximately 100,000 inhabitants.
But since that day there has been prac-
tically no change, although population
has increased in some, decreased in
others, so that there now exists a glar-
ing inequality between the districts.
There are some members of the Reichs-
tag elected by a few thousand voters,
others by the hundreds of thousands. The
voter in some districts counts for only a
thirtieth of the voter in certain other
districts. The large districts are natu-
rally progressive cities, the small ones
the conservative country regions. A Ber-
lin Deputy represents on the average
125,000 voters; a Deputy of East Prus-
sia, home of the far-famed Junkers, an
average of 24,000.
The Impotent Reichstag
But the fundamental evil is that the
elections to the Reichstag result in the
creation of an Assembly politically im-
potent, which does not control the execu-
tive and whose powers of legislation are
subject to an absolute veto by the Bun-
desrat— that is, by the reigning Princes,
big and little. German government is
government by the Emperor and the
dynasties, with the consent of the Reichs-
tag, a consent which in practice can be
forced, if not given voluntarily, for the
200
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Bundesrat has the power of dissolving
the Reichstag whenever it wishes to, a
power always efficacious thus far. The
German governing classes, the Princes,
the bureaucracy, agree with Moltke, who
said that the real ballot was the cart-
ridge which the German soldier carried
in his cartridge box, that the real repre-
sentative of the nation was the army.
For all practical purposes the Reichs-
tag is merely a debating club, and a
debating club that has no power of seeing
that its will is carried out. As late as
January, 1914, Dr. Friedrich Naumann
of " Middle Europe " fame described the
humiliating position of the body of which
he was a member in the following words:
" We on the Left are altogether in
favor of the parliamentary regime, by
which we mean that the Reichstag can-
not forever remain in a position of
subordination. Why does the Reichstag
sit at all, why does it pass resolutions,
if behind it is a wastepaper basket into
which these resolutions are thrown ? The
problem is to change the impotence of
the Reichstag into some sort of power."
He added: " The man who compared this
House to a hall of echoes was not far
wrong. To those who are accustomed
to do practical work in life it appears a
mere waste of time to devote themselves
to this difficult and monotonous mechan-
ism. * * * When one asks the ques-'
tion, What part has the Reichstag in
German history as a whole? it will be
seen that the part is a very limited one."
" Many millions among us," said Dr.
Frank in the Reichstag on Jan. 23, 1914,
"feel it a burning shame that while
Germans achieve great things in trade
and industry, in politics they are de-
prived of rights."
In the determination of national policy
the German Nation has, therefore, no way
of enforcing its wishes through the only
agency it possesses. In other words, the
nation does not govern itself. The main-
spring of power lies, not in the Reichstag,
but in the Bundesrat, the organ of the
Princes, every one of whom claims to
rule by Divine right, not one of whom
has his policy dictated to him by his
people's representatives — and in the
Kingdom of Prussia.
Absolutism in Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia is larger than
all the other German States combined,
comprising two-thirds of the territory
and about two-thirds of the population
of Germany. The empire differs from
other confederations in that the States
composing it are of unequal voting power
in both the Bundesrat and the Reichs-
tag. It was Prussia that made the Ger-
man Empire, and made it by blood and
iron, and in the empire she has installed
herself at every point of vantage and
guards jealously not only the primacy
but also the actual power.
Prussia has, since 1850, had a Consti-
tution and a Parliament. What are they
like? The Constitution was granted by
the King, and nowhere does it recognize
the sovereignty of the people. What
the monarch has granted he can alter
or withdraw. All the restriction the
Constitution imposes upon the monarch-
ical principal is that henceforth it shall
be exercised and expressed in certain
forms, with a certain procedure. Prus-
sian statesmen and Prussian jurists main-
tain with practical unanimity that this
does not mean any diminution of the
power of the monarch, that the fact that
he creates a Legislature does not for an
instant mean that he devolves upon it
a part of the sovereignty.
The Legislature of Prussia is the Land-
tag, which consists of two chambers, the
House of Lords and the House of Repre-
sentatives. The Legislature does not ini-
tiate much legislation. Most of the bills
passed by it have been proposed by the
Government; that is, by the King. The
Legislature has practically no control
over the administration; that is, over the
powerful and permanent bureaucracy. It
can in this sphere express opinions and
practically nothing more. The Consti-
tution does not determine the composition
of the House of Lords, but leaves that
to the King to determine by royal ordi-
nance. As a matter of fact, this House
is really overwhelmingly dominated by
the land-owning nobility, the famous
Junkers, men frequently more royalist
than the King, conservative and mili-
taristic to the marrow of their bones.
The House is subject to the absolute
HOW THE HOHENZOLLERNS AND JUNKERS CONTROL
201
control of the monarch through his un-
restricted power to create peers. It is
really a sort of royal council, an exten-
• sion or variation of the royal power. It
is a body that in no sense represents
the people of Prussia. It has a veto
upon all legislation, and the King has an
absolute veto also.
Yet there exists another House in this
Legislature which enacts the laws that
govern 40,000,000 Prussians — the so-
called House of Representatives; and
marvelous, indeed, is the construction
and composition of that body. Every
Prussian man who has attained his
twenty-fifth year has the vote. Is
Prussia, therefore, a democracy? Not
exactly, for the exercise of this right is
so arranged that the ballot of the poor
man is practically annihilated. Universal
suffrage has been rendered illusory. And
this is the way it has been done: The
voters are divided in each electoral dis-
trict into three classes according to
wealth. The amount of taxes paid by
the district is divided into three equal
parts. Those taxpayers who pay the
first third are grouped into one class;
those, more numerous, who pay the sec-
ond third, into another class; those who
pay the remainder, into still another
class. The result is that a very few rich
men are set apart by themselves, the
less rich by themselves, and the poor by
themselves. Each of these groups, voting
separately, elects an equal number of
delegates to a convention, which conven-
tion chooses the delegates of that con-
stituency to the lower house of the Prus-
sian Parliament.
No Chance for the Poor
Thus in every Electoral Convention
two-thirds of the members belong to the
wealthy or well-to-do class. There is no
chance in such a system for the poor,
for the masses. This system gives an
enormous preponderance of political
power to the rich. The first class con-
sists of very few men, in some districts
of only one; the second is sometimes
twenty times as numerous, the third
sometimes a hundred, or even a thou-
sand times. Thus, though every man
has the suffrage, the vote of a single
rich man may have as great weight as
the votes of a thousand workingmen.
Universal suffrage is manipulated in such
a way as to defeat democracy decisively
and to consolidate a privileged class in
power in the only branch of the Govern-
ment that has even the appearance of
being of popular origin. Bismarck, no
friend of liberalism, once characterized
this electoral system as the worst ever
created. Its shrieking injustice is shown
by the fact that in 1900 the Social Demo-
crats, who actually cast a majority of the
yotes, got only 7 seats out of nearly 400.
It is one of the most undemocratic sys-
tems in existence.
The voters do not choose their repre-
sentatives directly. The suffrage is in-
direct, and is, moreover, as we have
seen, grossly unequal. As this system
is in vogue for municipal elections as
well as for State elections, it throws
power, whether in the municipality or
in the nation, into the hands of men of
wealth.
In 1908 there were 293,000 voters in
the first class, 1,065,240 in the second,,
6,324,079 in the third. The first class
represented 4 per cent., the second 14
per cent., the third 82 per cent, of the
population. In Cologne the first class
comprised 370 electors, the second 2,584,
while the third had 22,324. The first
class chose the same number of electors
as the third. Thus, 370 rich men had
the same voting capacity as 22,324 pro-
letarians. In Saarbriicken, the Baron
von Sturm formed the first class all by
himself, and announced complacently
that he did not suffer from his isolation.
In one of the Berlin -districts Herr Heffte,
a manufacturer of sausages, formed the
first class.
This system would seem to be mon-
strous enough by reason of the mon-
strous plutocratic cast. But this is not
all. This reactionary edifice is appro-
priately crowned by another device, oral
voting. Neither in the primary nor the
secondary voting is a secret ballot used.
Voting is viva voce. Thus every one
exercises his right publicly in the pres-
ence of his superior or his patron or
employer, or his equals or the official
representative of the King. In such a
country as Prussia, where the police are
202
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
notoriously ubiquitous, what a weapon
for absolutism! The great landowners,
the great manufacturers, the State, can
easily bring all the pressure they desire
to bear upon the voter, exercising his
wretched rudiment of political power.
On Feb. 10, 1910, Herr von Bethmann
Hollweg defended this system in the
Landtag with great frankness: "We are
opposed to secret voting because, in-
stead of developing the sense of respon-
sibility in the voter, it attenuates it, and,
on the other hand, it favors the terror-
ism which Socialists exercise over the
bourgeois voters."
As a matter of fact, a large number of
voters prefer to forego their miserable
privilege entirely and stay at home. In
1903, 23.6 per cent, only of them voted
for the Prussian House of Representa-
tives, while the same year 75 per cent,
voted in the elections for the Reichstag,
where the secret ballot is used. Of
those who failed to vote, much the
larger percentage is from the third
class, whose members evidently feel the
nullity of the privileges they enjoy in
this " people's kingdom of the Hohenzol-
lern," as the Kaiser alluringly de-
scribes it.
An additional evidence as to the per-
fection of the " people's kingdom " is
this: With the exception of a thoroughly
insignificant measure passed in June,
1906, there has been no change in the
electoral districts since 1858. No account
has been taken of the changes in the
population, and there are the same or
worse disparities than there are in the
case of the Reichstag, as previously
stated. It thus happens that 3,000,000
inhabitants of four large Prussian dis-
tricts return nine representatives, while
three other million, divided among forty
smaller districts, return sixty-six. Here
again the natural result of the change of
the population owing to the economic evo-
lution has inordinately increased the in-
fluence of the rural districts, prevail-
ingly Conservative.
In 1903 under this system 324,157
Conservative votes elected 143 represen-
tatives; but 314,149 Social Democratic
votes did not secure the election of a
single member.
Princes Have the Veto
Neither in the empire nor in Prussia
nor any of the other States that com-
pose the empire does the elected Cham-
ber control the Government. In every
case the Prince has the absolute veto.
Where there are second Chambers, as in
many of the States, they are not elected,
but are nominated, and are a bulwark
of a privileged class. And in Prussia
even the so-called popular House is
merely another name for a privileged
class. Neither in the nation nor in the
States are the Ministers controlled by
the popular assemblies. They may vote
a lack of confidence as often as they feel
like it. The Ministers will go right on as
long as the Emperor, King, Grand Duke,
or Prince desires. You cannot amend the
Constitution in any German State with-
out the consent of the Prince. You can-
not amend the Constitution of the empire
without the consent of one man, William
II. Reichstag committees may discuss
and propose amendments to their hearts'
content. After they have obtained the
consent of the Reichstag a rocky road
opens out broadly ahead of them. For
they must have the approval of the Bun-
desrat, which is appointed by the reign-
ing Princes of Germany and is obliged
to vote as they direct. No amendment
can pass the Bundesrat if 14 votes out
of the 61 are cast against it. Of these
61, Prussia has 20. The Prussian votes
are cast as the King of Prussia directs.
If every individual in Germany except
this one, and including the other Kings
and Dukes, wanted a change in the Con-
stitution, they couldn't get it if William
II. said No! This is the people's king-
dom with a vengeance!
The power of the Prussian Crown is
virtually absolute — " absolutism under
constitutional forms," said Rudolph
Gneist, once considered in Germany a
great authority on public law, before the
modern school of publicists — Laband,
George Meyer, Bornhak, Jellinek, Del-
bruck — became the teachers of Germany,
and taught the most reactionary political
philosophy that Europe has heard since
the time of de Bonald and de Maistre.
They have taught that the complete, un-
controlled power of the " Government "
HOW THE HOHENZOLLERNS AND JUNKERS CONTROL
203
(Regierung) is in the power of the
Prince, that the granting of Constitutions
did not mean the recognition of popular
sovereignty in the slightest degree, that
Legislatures are not representations of
the people but are mere organs of the
State, that Legislatures have no right to
bring the State to a standstill, that is,
have no right to refuse a budget until
their wishes are respected; that, if they
do, they are acting not in a constitutional
but in a revolutionary sense; that if such
a step is taken, then it is the right of the
sovereign to recur to the principle that
existed before the granting of the Con-
stitution, absolute monarchy, and to do
what he regards as wise.
German Legislatures are impotent and
ineffective. The effective seat of political
power in Germany is, as it has always
been, in the monarchs. Germans may
have the right to vote, but Napoleon I.
and Napoleon III. showed men (and Bis-
marck among others) that that made no
difference, if the vote led nowhere, if the
body elected by the voters was carefully
and completely nullified by other bodies
over which the voters had no control
whatever.
The Legislatures of Germany are really
only royal councils, consultative assem-
blies. Bismarck's defiance of the Prus-
sian Chamber and the voters who elected
it, in the Conflict Period, from 1862 to
1866, has been decisive for the fate of
popular government in Germany.
The All-Parverful King
Prince von Biilow, the ablest Chancel-
lor of the empire since Bismarck, said in
1914: "Prussia attained her greatness
as a country of soldiers and officials, and
as such she was able to accomplish the
work of German union ; to this day she is
still, in all essentials, a State of soldiers
and officials." The governing classes are,
in Prussia, which in turn governs Ger-
many, the monarch, the aristocracy, and
a bureaucracy of military and civil offi-
cials, responsible to the King alone. The
determining factor in the State is the
personality of the King.
Prussia has been the strongest obstacle
the democratic movement of the nine-
teenth and twentieth centuries has en-
countered. Germany in 1914 was less
liberal than in 1848. The most serious
blow that the principle of representative
government received during that century
was the one she received at the hands of
Bismarck. We have expert testimony of
the highest and most official sort that
the effects of that blow are not outlived.
Prince von Biilow, writing in 1914, said:
" Liberalism, in spite of its change of
attitude in national questions, has to this
day not recovered from the catastrophic
defeat which Prince Bismarck inflicted
nearly half a century ago on the party of
progress which still clings to the ideals
and principles of 1848."
Parliaments will not control in Ger-
many, the civil power will not dominate
the military, until the present regime,
exalted and strengthened by the victories
of 1864-70, is debased and disgraced by
resounding and disastrous defeats. It is
doubtful if there will be any change even
then, for the German people are the most
docile in Europe, with no taste for revo-
lutions, w^ith no revolutions to their
credit, as have England, France, Amer-
ica, Russia, even China. Personal Gov-
ernment has brought the present calam-
ity upon the world, and the possessors of
that power will fight to retain it, and
will, if necessary, treat the German peo-
ple with the same ruthlessness as they
have treated the other peoples of Europe.
Moreover, the solidarity of governed and
governors, in atrocious crimes, during
the past three years gives little hope to
liberals in other countries who desire
liberalism in Germany.
Let us not be hoodwinked by Easter
messages from William II., or by cloudy
and ambiguous utterances of Bethmann
Hollweg, as presaging forthcoming liber-
alization of Germany. Prussian Kings
have shown that not only are treaties
scraps of paper but that Constitutions
are also scraps of paper when their pro-
visions annoy the monarch. And Prus-
sian monarchs have never been squeam-
ish about perjury. The famous Easter
" promises " of this year will not be a
greater hindrance to imperial and royal
volition than previous, celebrated prom-
ises to Belgium and to the United States
have been.
RUSSIA'S NEW OUTLOOK
Achievements and Problems, Both Civil and
Military, in the Fourth Month of the Revolution
THE situation in Russia improved,
on the whole, during the fourth
month after the abdication of
Nicholas II. The marked feature
of this advance was the way in which
the civil power and the army reacted
upon each other, each strengthening and
steadying the other. The great offensive,
which began on July 1 — the anniversary
of the battle of the Somme — and which,
up to the middle of the month, had netted
some 35,000 prisoners, was made pos-
sible by the strong hand of Alexander
Kerensky at the War Ministry and the
iron discipline which he promised to in-
troduce, aided by the power of his fiery
eloquence, which swept through Russia
like a flame. And, once the offensive
was started, the rapid succession of vic-
tories gained by the far-sighted military
genius of General Brusiloff reacted in a
very favorable sense upon the position of
the Provisional Government, giving it
new strength and prestige. Hindenburg
checked the advance on July 17, but suc-
cess had already consolidated the Rus-
sian Army and hardened and condensed
the national spirit of the civil population
behind the lines.
The instant success of Brusiloff's
army, which duplicated the striking
achievements of June, 1916, went far to
show that the demoralization of the Rus-
sian Army had not gone to anything like
the point suggested by pessimist cable-
grams from Petrograd. It was evident
that General Brusiloff to a large degree
succeeded in shutting out from the army
under his personal command — the Army
of the Southwest, which was attacking —
the wave of demoralization which turned
the heads of the troops at Kronstadt and
Schlusselburg; succeeded also to a great
extent in preventing the "fraternization"
which is believed to have been a war ruse
of the German Intelligence Department.
Further, he kept his men vigilant and
prepared along the fighting front; for
during the three months of inactivity and
disorder following the revolution the
combined Teuton armies did not gain a
foot of ground anywhere along the long
Russian line. This was no doubt due
in part to a politic holding back inspired
by the illusive hope of a separate peace;
but at the same time it showed that the
Russian lines all the way from the Baltic
to the Danube were kept watertight dur-
ing all the months of political turmoil.
Finally, the supply of shells must have
been steadily accumulating behind the
lines, in spite of all obstructions in traffic
arrangements.
Two difficult problems confront the
Provisional Government, both due to
groups calling themselves Socialists.
There have been armed riots on the
Nevsky Prospect. The most serious dis-
turbances since the new Government
was organized occurred in Petrograd on
July 17. The radicals, by continued agi-
tation and inflammatory appeals against
the Provisional Government under the
leadership of an extremist named Lenin,
succeeded in precipitating disorders in
the streets, and a number of disaffected
soldiers and sailors co-operated with
them. There was fighting between
mobs and the troops of the Provisional
Government, and fully 500 were killed
and wounded during the two days. It
was openly charged that documentary
evidence was discovered which showed
that Lenin and other radical leaders
were in the pay of pro-Germans.
The avowed purpose of the anarchist
demonstrations was to overturn the
Provisional Government and seize the
reins of power, immediately recalling
the Russian Army from the fighting
line.
The Government succeeded in restor-
ing order on July 19, and received evi-
dences of renewed support from all parts
of the country. A special Congress of
Delegates representing all the Councils
Commander of the Naval Force Which Safely Convoyed the
First Part of the United States Army Across the Atlantic.
iiiiiiiiminii
MAJOR GENERAL GEORGE BARNETT
Commander in Chief of the United States Marine Corps,
Whose Motto Is "First to Fight."
i (Photo © Harris d EiOing.)
■■■■■••••■■•• UIIMIIIIIIIIIIII
■ ■.........«•........»••■■■'■••
RUSSIA'S NEW OUTLOOK
205
of Russia was summoned to meet July
28 to determine the future Governmental
policy. .
The second difficulty is also due to
" Socialist " tendencies. It appears that
two members of the Provisional Govern-
ment, the Georgian Tseretelli and Terest-
chenko, Foreign Minister, whose name
shows him to be of South Russian origin,
were deputed to meet representatives of
the so-called Ukrainian Party, which de-
mands autonomy, if not independence, for
a region partly in Southwestern Russia,
partly in Galicia, called the Ukraine, or
Borderland, (from the Russian " krai," a
border.) It appears that these two Min-
isters committed the Provisional Govern-
ment to certain extreme concessions,
which practically suspend the authority
of the Provisional Government in this
loosely denned territory lying along
and immediately behind the fighting
line. The insistence that autonomy
be granted at once caused the resig-
nation July 15 of five members of the
Cabinet, who were Constitutional Demo-
crats.
The so-called " Ukraine " movement,
which is very like the Sinn Fein move-
ment in Ireland, had a certain develop-
ment among emigrants to the United
States, and there was good reason to
believe that it had strong German sup-
port. Whether its recrudescence in Rus-
sia is directly due to this cause, or simply
represents the efforts of Socialist ex-
tremists bent on carrying out a theory of
decentralization at whatever cost to the
State, it is evident that the Ukrainian
movement will require very careful han-
dling if it is not to become an open
menace.
Finland presents a like problem. The
people of the Ukraine are of Slavonic
blood, speaking a dialect so close to
Russian as to be easily intelligible to
all Russians. The Finns, on the con-
trary, are non- Aryan, remotely allied to
the Magyars and the Turks, and also to
a wide strip of peoples along Northern
Russia and through the whole length
of Siberia. On the ground of difference
of race they now demand separate
treatment, further alleging that the
rights of the former Czar, as Grand
Duke of Finland, did not pass automat-
ically to the Provisional Government at
the revolution, but reverted to the Fin-
nish people.
There is reason to see the hand of
Germany in the Finnish imbroglio also.
While the bulk of the population is
Finnish, the ruling class is Swedish,
speaking the Swedish tongue, and, like
Sweden itself, strongly sympathizes
with Germany in the present war. It
has been announced that some kind of
a working compromise with the Finnish
" nationalists " has been reached, in
part through the efforts of the Georgian,
Nicholas Tscheidze, conspicuous during
the early days of the revolution as
President of the Committee of Work-
men's and ' Soldiers' Delegates, which
made so many difficulties for the Pro-
visional Government during its early
existence, especially by demanding that
all army orders must be submitted to
this committee before coming into
force. This danger was measurably re-
moved by the strengthening of disci-
pline in the army, by the formation of
committees of the army itself and of its
officers, but even more by the strong
and successful offensive. C. J.
July 20, 1917.
Premier Lvoff on Russia's Situation
[Statement made July 7, 1917]
PRINCE LVOFF, Russian Premier
and Minister of the Interior, made
a public statement at Petrograd on
July 7 for the information of America.
He began by declaring his unshaken con-
viction that, despite grave difficulties to
be faced, Russia was marching toward
reconstruction and stability, and that the
war was developing toward victory
Prince Lvoff continued:
Regarding- the war, say that the latest
action of our army inspires in me full
hope. I am convinced that the new
advance, even if temporarily stayed, is
not finished, but Is a prelude to much
20G
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
greater successes. The advance thor-
oughly confutes the pessimists who unan-
imously predicted that an offensive by
our supposed disorganized troops was im-
possible. From actual intercourse with
delegates from the army and with other
observers on the spot, I know that the
offensive spirit is spreading.
This is no gradual reconstruction of
the army, but the first stage of a com-
plete process of recreation, which is al-
most miraculous, proving, in my judg-
ment, that the troops are infected with
a genuine revolutionary and crusading
spirit and the consciousness of a mission
to save Russia and influence world events
in the direction desired by all progressive
men.
The good side is the army's supply of
munitions and other necessaries, in which
we are markedly better off than last
year; in fact, guaranteed for the imme-
diate future. The bad side is the trans-
port difficulties, which still are serious.
These are an evil heritage from the old
regime, and, naturally, it is impossible
to restore order in three months crowded
with revolutionary activities. Even with
stable political conditions the creation of
efficient transport is a problem of years.
Our great hope of speedy improvement
lies with the Stevens Railroad Commis-
sion, (the American Commission,) from
which we expect much.
American Aid Welcome
With regard to American help generally,
I lay down no specific program. It will
be simplest to say that all conceivable
American aid is wanted in every domain.
But the key to the solution of all our
military and economic difficulties la
transport amelioration, in which it is
impossible to do too much.
Send my hearty thanks for the Ameri-
can project, the dispatch of the Red
Cross mission, as here we have serious
defects and deficiencies. I follow the
news on this subject from New York
with intense interest, but, having myself
ceased to direct Red Cross and sanitary
affairs, I can only beg America as far
as possible to meet the requests for
material and personal help made by our
official Red Cross, in the consciousness
that the triumph of our common cause
will be furthered thereby.
I hope also for further American .finan-
cial support. I am unable to say what
form this will take, presumably a loan,
but on this subject our Finance Minister,
M. Shingaroff, in his discussion with the
financial members of the Root Commis-
sion, will no doubt produce a practical
program which America can help realize.
America should note that we ourselves
are ready to bear the heaviest monetary
sacrifices and have already passed more
drastic measures respecting taxation on
property than any of the other belligerent
powers and are ready to go much further.
Among our other economic problems the
most vital is food. Here again the cen-
tral question is transport, and if America
helps in this we can do the rest ourselves,
as the total stock of food is sufficient for
both the army and the civilian popula-
tion.
The Internal Situation
Prince Lvoff proceeded to discuss the
internal situation, declaring that this has
had a marked influence on Russia's abil-
ity to carry on the fight in the war with
vigor. He said:
I am glad to see last week's marked
signs of amelioration. Tell America that
I have daily evidence of the rallying of
all the rational elements of the nation
round the Coalition Cabinet. The irra-
tional elements, such as the anarchists
and Bolsheviki, are in such a minority
that there is no reason to fear their get-
ting the upper hand. Not only the bour-
geoisie, but an overwhelming majority of
the workingmen are against them. Their
present excesses are merely a last des-
perate reaction against their conciousness
of this.
On the whole, the nation is satisfied
with the Provisional Government, because
the Government, though hampered by
grave military and diplomatic preoccu-
pations, has already successfully carried
through internal reforms which embody
the traditional aspirations of Russia's
progressives. Do you know that within
a few weeks of the Czarists' downfall the
Government realized a liberal fivefold
program, giving complete liberty of per-
son, speech, press, meeting, and religion,
and going therein further than most pro-
gressive democracies in Europe or Amer-
ica?
Although these tremendous reforms
were pushed through hastily In the ab-
sence of legislative machinery, not one
of them has been subjected to serious
criticisms even by the avowed anti-
Government factions. Perhaps America
knows of this, but does she know that
we have also executed a comprehensive
scheme of minor economic, financial, and
social reforms, which has been unani-
mously approved?
I refer you, for instance, to the com-
plete democratization of the country, local
self-government in the towns through-
out the country, with the universal and
equal suffrage for both sexes regardless
of qualifications, the special feature of
which is the establishment of a smaller
unit of local government, in which is
abolished the inequality between peasants
and the other classes, thus eradicating
from the Russian law the ancient and de-
grading distinction of " the privileged
PREMIER LVOFF ON RUSSIA'S SITUATION
207
classes " ; the reform of the military-
courts and of local courts of justice, with
the admission of women to the magistracy
and legal profession ; educational reform.
Including a new university in the City of
Perm ; secondary school reconstruction,
the reform of the backward parish ele-
mentary school, the democratic income
property tax, with the proposal for the re-
form of succession taxation ; the organiza-
tion of peasant home work, which is an
important factor In our village economy;
the mobilization of the nation's technical
knowledge for war purposes ; many church
reforms, among them the election of the
highest prelates by popular vote, and the
preparations for an ecumenical church
council, aiming at the abolition of State
despotism in church affairs.
Through these reforms Russia in 100
days has advanced 100 years.
America as Russia's Ideal
Prince Lvoff went on to declare that
diplomatic relations with the Allies were
much improved; that, despite three
months of stagnation on the part of
Russia's Army and the critical attitude
of her democracy to the Allies, the pro-
gram of mutual confidence was un-
shaken. " Equally satisfactory," said
Prince Lvoff, "are our relations with
America. Let me here express to Amer-
ica our hearty satisfaction at the visit
of the Root Mission." In conclusion he
discussed Russo-American and Russian
world relations with fervor, declaring
that the greatest hope lay in Russia's
new approximation to America. He
added:
For decades of darkness and oppression
America had been our ideal of freedom
and intellectual and material development ;
rather, not our ideal, for we had consid-
ered it unattainable, but a remote fairy
tale of happiness. Now we have in one
jump reached America's condition of free-
dom. There remains the slower but not
Impossible task to overtake her in educa-
tion, material progress, culture, and re-
spect for order.
We are on the right track. The spirit
of new Russia is closely akin to the im-*
memorial spirit of free America, and
where the spirit is, work follows. That
means Russia's salvation. But that is not
all. I am convinced that our revolution is
no mere domestic affair, but a stage in
the new world -movement toward liberty,
equality, fraternity — perhaps the greatest
stage in the world's history. Equally, I
consider that the war, like, indeed, pre-
ceding wars, is a stage in world evolu-
tion. This war's mission is to spread
throughout the world all that is vital and
abiding in our revolution. That is why as
a citizen of the world I desire victory.
I regard the growing friendship between
Russia and America as a Providential in- •
strument in this world process. There-
fore I consider that all the help, sym-
pathy, and encouragement we get from
your people beyond the seas constitute
not merely a local, temporary benefit, but
a permanent contribution toward the re-
generation of the world.
Russian Ambassador's Formal Address
BORIS BAKHMETEFF on July 5
formally presented his credentials
to President Wilson as Russian
Ambassador. The formal addresses were
as follows:
Mr. President, I have the honor of
presenting to you the letters by which the
Provisional Government of Russia is ac-
crediting me to the Government of the
United States of America as its Ambas-
sador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.
My Government has directed me to ex-
press to you its profound gratitude for
the noble act of prompt recognition by
your Government of the new order es-
tablished in Russia and to convey to ihe
Government and to the people of the
United States the feelings of sincere sym-
pathy and friendship.
At the present time the historical paths
of the United States and Russia have been
drawn close in the common struggle for
freedom and lasting peace of the world,
and in this strife the new-born Russian
democracy is being guided by the same
unselfish aims, the same human and
democratic principles, as this great Re-
public.
The success of our mutual task makes
essential the firm establishing' of the
democratic regime in Russia, as well as
the consolidation of Russia's fighting
power. To that end are tending the
efforts of the Provisional Government
which is awaiting to find a source of new
Strength in the hearty spirit and brotherly-
support of the United States. For such
attainments the Provisional Government is
endeavoring to establish a full under-
standing and a close co-operation with
the Government of this country, whose
immense resources and unlimited energy
can contribute most effectively to the
achievement of our cause. To bring such
co-operation into effect and to establish'
208
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
means of common activity on the most
practical lines and with no loss of time,
the Provisional Government has consid-
ered It necessary to bestow on me ex-
ceptional powers to treat and decide, on
behalf of my Government, all manifold
questions In which such co-operation
should have to reveall itself.
To secure unity of action the Pro-
visional Government has concentrated un-
der my supreme guidance the activities
of various Russian institutions and rep-
resentatives in this country, and has pro-
vided for amplified efficiency by sending a
number of new competent delegates who
have accompanied me on my mission.
Confident that the natural sympathy of
the two nations will grow now into bonds
of solid friendship, I look forward with
the greatest hopes to the results of united
efforts of the two great democracies, based
on mutual understanding and common
ends.
The President's Reply
Following is the reply of the Presi-
dent:
Mr. Ambassador, to the keen satisfac-
tion which I derived from the fact that
the Government of the United States was
the first to welcome, by its official rec-
ognition, the new democracy of Russia to
the family of free States is added the ex-
ceptional pleasure which I experience in
now receiving from your hand the letters
whereby the Provisional Government of
Russia accredits you as its Ambassador
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the
United States and in according to you
formal recognition as the first Ambassa-
dor of free Russia to this country.
For the people of Russia the people of
the United States have ever entertained
friendly feelings, which have now been
greatly deepened by the knowledge that,
actuated by the same lofty motives, the
two Governments and peoples are co-op-
erating to bring to a successful termina-
tion the conflict now raging for human
liberty and a universal acknowledgment
of those principles of right and justice
which should direct all Governments. I
feel convinced that when this happy day
shall come no small share of the credit
will be due to the devoted people of Rus-
sia, who, overcoming disloyalty from
within and Intrigue from without, remain
steadfast to the cause.
The mission which It was my pleasure
to send to Russia has already assured the
Provisional Government that In this mo-
mentous struggle and In the problems
that confront and will confront the free
Government of Russia that Government
may count on the steadfast friendship of
the Government of the United States and
its constant co-operation in all desired ap-
propriate directions.
It only remains for me to give expres-
sion to my admiration of the way in
which the Provisional Government of Rus-
sia are meeting all requirements, to my en-
tire sympathy with them in their noble
object to insure to the people of Russia
the blessings of freedom and of equal
rights and opportunity, and to my faith
that through their efforts Russia will as-
sume her rightful place among the great
free nations of the world.
Indictment of Czar's Former Officials
LATE in June, 1917, the Provisional
Government began to take severe
measures against the highest of-
ficials of the old regime who are declared
to be guilty of breaches of the laws of
the empire.
An indictment was handed down against
former Prime Minister Sturmer under a
law which provides severe punishment
for the arbitrary transgression by an
official of the limits of his rightful
power.
Former Secretary of the Empire, M.
Kruizhanovsky, the strongest man in
the Government under former Premier
Stolypin, was indicted for issuing a de-
cree in June, 1907, by which the election
law was violated in defiance of the Con-
stitution df 1906.
M. Chtyheglovitoff, former Minister of
Justice, was indicted for unlawfully stop-
ping the prosecution of former Governor
Skallon of Warsaw, who was charged
with having accepted a bribe of 100,000
rubles.
•Former Governor Kourlof f was charged
with complicity in the murder of Colonel
Karpoff, Chief of the Secret Police of
Petrograd, who was assassinated in 1909
and whose death caused a great sensa-
tion.
General Rennenkampf , one of the army
commanders in the early part of the war,
and who was defeated by von Hinden-
burg in East Prussia, was indicted for
alleged offenses, conviction of which
means imprisonment.
Against M. Protopopoff, former Min-
INDICTMENT OF CZAR'S FORMER OFFICIALS
209
ister of the Interior, was preferred a
new charge — that of stealing from the
telegraph archives the original dispatches
between the late mystic monk Rasputin
and Emperor Nicholas and Empress
Alexandra. On conviction Protopopoff
would be subject to a jail sentence.
Officials in Their Cells
A correspondent who visited the Fort-
ress of Peter and Paul thus describes
the prison cells of the former Ministers
of the Czar:
In the bastion are more than eighty
cells, some above and some below. I en-
tered one of these cells. A room twenty-
one feet long- and and about twelve feet
broad, rather high, lit by one semicir-
cular window almost at the ceiling. It is
impossible to peep out of it, as the iron
bed and the table are fixed to the wall.
The window is stoutly barred with iron.
The air in the cell is damp and stuffy.
The bed consists of wooden planks laid
over the iron framework. It has a straw
mattress and a single straw pillow. Above
is a coarse cloth blanket. The table is
painted dark gray. A water tap and
basin are fixed to the wall and there are
the necessary toilet utensils ; nothing
more.
The cells below are furnished similarly,
but they are much damper and colder. In
them one feels the nearness of the waters
of the Neva, the plash of which on the
stone walls is heard by the captives.
Every quarter of an hour the boom of the
big cathedral clock bell reverberates
through the bastion.
The captives have exactly the same ra-
tions as the soldiers, mainly stew, black
bread, and soup. They are allowed to
purchase no dainties. The same condi-
tions apply to all, to Stiirmer and Pro-
topopoff, to the former Minister of War,
Sukhomlinov, and his wife, to Fraulein
Virubova— companion of the former Czar-
ina and close friend of Rasputin.
Sukhomlinov makes a painful impres-
sion on the observer. A thin old man
with an unkempt gray beard and narrow
little eyes. His troubled glance met ours
as we peeped through the hole in the door.
The notorious " hangman " the gen-
darmeries officer, S'obestchanki, lay on his
bed, enveloped in tobacco smoke through
which faintly appeared his cruel features.
Stiirmer, when I peeped in, was sitting,
with bowed shoulders, on the end of his
bed, his back to the door.
Fraulein Virubova sat on her bed, now
and then crossing herself. Near her lay
a crutch. Since her injury in a railroad
smash on the Moscow-Windau-Ribinsk
road two years ago she has had to get
about with crutches.
Protopopoff, like a beast in its den,
strode to and fro, to and fro, incessantly
from corner to corner of his cell. He paid
no attention to the sound of men moving
in the corridor. He did not even glance
at the hole in the door.
New Financial Measures
The Provisional Government issued a
law June 29 increasing the existing pro-
gressive income tax to 30 per cent, on in-
comes over $200,000. Another new law
increases the war tax on increment of
industrial profits to 60 per cent. A
third law establishes a supplementary
progressive income tax, rising on the
largest incomes to more than 30 per
cent., and making, together with the
highest ordinary income tax, 60 per cent,
of the income.
The new Russian loan received sub-
scriptions amounting to $1,500,000,000,
bringing the total debt to $20,500,000,000.
A dispatch dated July 12 from Petro-
grad stated that the deposed Emperor
Nicholas had appealed to the Provisional
Government to allow him and the mem-
bers of his family to acquire stock in the
" Loan of Freedom." He announced
that the amount of their investment in
the loan depended upon whether the Rus-
sian State intended to support his fam-
ily. He added that of his own property
he possessed now only 900,000 rubles, his
wife 1,000,000 rubles, his heir, Alexis,
1,500,000; his daughter Olga 3,000,000,
and his other daughters between 1,000,-
000 and 2,000,000 rubles. The nominal
value of the ruble is 51.46 cents.
The Crimm Episode
The German conspiracy for a separate
peace received a severe setback when the
General Congress of Workmen's and Sol-
diers' Delegates of all Russia, by a vote
of 640 to 121, approved the attitude of
the Government in expelling from Russia
Robert Grimm, a Swiss Socialist paci-
fist, who had received the following com-
munication, when in Petrograd, from M.
Hoffmann, member of the Swiss Federal
Council :
Germany will not undertake an offensive
so long as she considers it possible to ar-
rive at an understanding with Russia.
Numerous conversations with prominent
politicians lead me to believe that Ger-
many is seeking to conclude with Russia
a mutually honorable peace, and a peace
210
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
which would result in the re-establishment
of close economic and commercial rela-
tions with Russia ; the financial support
of Germany to Russia for her restoration;
no intervention in the internal affairs of
Russia; a friendly understanding with re-
gard to Poland, Lithuania, and Courland ;
and the restoration to Russia of her occu-
pied territories, in return for the districts
of Austria invaded by Russia. I am con-
vinced that if the allies of Russia desired
it, Germany and her allies would be ready
immediately to open peace negotiations.
On hearing of this document the Rus-
sian Government requested the Socialist
Ministers MM. Tseretelli and Skobeleff
to demand an explanation from M.
Grimm, who handed to these Ministers a
document in which he sought to prove
that he had had no communication,
either direct or indirect, on the subject of
peace negotiations, and that the telegram
mentioned above was an endeavor on the
part of Germany to profit by his stay in
Russia to re-establish the bonds of inter-
national Socialists and a general peace
in the interests of the German Govern-
ment; and, furthermore, that when in
Berne having his passport vised, he
avoided all political conversations and all
contact with the German Majority Social-
ists ; and that finally, in his capacity of a
Socialist, he could not be the intermedi-
ary for imperialistic peace projects be-
tween Governments.
MM. Tseretelli and Skobeleff found
these explanations unsatisfactory, and
the Provisional Government therefore re-
quested M. Grimm to leave Russia, and
he left. The episode caused the resigna-
tion of M. Hoffmann from the Swiss
Council.
Regiment of Russian Women
One of the most picturesque episodes
of the return of Russia into the war was
the formation of a woman's regiment
known as " The Command of Death,"
which was reviewed at Petrograd June
21 by Minister of War Kerensky.
The Associated Press correspondent
who visited the barracks found posted at
the gate a little blue-eyed sentry in a
soldier's khaki blouse, short breeches,
green forage cap, ordinary woman's black
stockings, and neat shoes. The sentry
was Marya Skrydloff, daughter of Ad-
miral Skrydloff, former commander of
the Baltic Fleet and Minister of Marine.
Inside there were four large dormi-
tories, the beds without bedding and
strewn with soldiers' heavy overcoats. In
the courtyard 300 girls were at drill,
mostly between 18 and 25 years old, of
good physique, and many of them pretty.
They wore their hair short or had their
heads entirely shaved. They were drill-
ing under the instruction of a male Ser-
geant of the Volynsky regiment, and
marched to an exaggerated goosestep.
Commander Lieut. Buitchkareff ex-
plained that most of the recruits were
from the higher educational academies or
secondary schools, with a few peasants,
factory girls, and servants. Some mar-
ried women were accepted, but none who
had children. The girl commander said:
We apply the rigid system of discipline
of the pre-revolutionary army, rejecting
the new principle of soldier self-govern-
ment. Having no time to inure the girls
gradually to hardships, we impose a Spar-
tan regime from the first. They sleep on
boards without bedclothes, thus immedi-
ately eliminating the weak. The smallest
breach of discipline is punished by ex-
pulsion in disgrace.
The ordinary soldier's food is furnished
by the guards' equipage corps. We rise
at 4 and drill daily from 7 to 11, and
again from 1 to 6. The girls carry the
cavalry carbine, which is five pounds
lighter than the regular army rifle. On
our first parade I requested any girl
whose motives were frivolous to step out.
Only one did so, but later many who were
unable to stand the privations left us.
We are fully official, and are already
entered on the list of regiments. Uni-
forms and supplies are received from the
Ministry of War, to which we render ac-
count and present reports. Yesterday the
commander of the Petrograd military
district reviewed us, and expressed his
satisfaction. I am convinced that we will
excel the male fighters.
Asked as to the attitude of the male
army, Commander Buitchkareff said that
only the Volynsky regiment, which led
the Petrograd revolution, was really fa-
vorable. The regimental clerk is Mme.
Barbara Rukovishikoff, editor of the
weekly Woman and Economy and author
of some admirable short stories.
Duma Refuses to Be Abolished
The Pan-Russian Congress of Soldiers'
Deputies on June 23 passed a resolution
to abolish the Duma, but this was ignored
INDICTMENT OF CZAR'S FORMER OFFICIALS
211
by the Duma, which passed a resolution
on June 29 as follows:
The Duma, having- powerfully contrib-
uted to the abdication of Nicholas, and
the formation of the provisional revolu-
tionary government, which the entire
country immediately recognized, thus
showing its confidence in the Duma, and,,
having in this manner acted as a revolu-
tionary institution independently of its
position during the old regime, is of the
opinion that it cannot cease to exist as
an organ of national representation, and
will adhere to its patriotic duty of raising
its voice, if necessary, to preserve the
fatherland from the dangers which threaten
it, and guide it in the right path.
Courts-martial have been abolished by
the Provisional Government. It is pro-
vided, when offenders are caught in cir-
cumstances of particular gravity the
case will be submitted under forms of
urgent procedure to a permanent mili-
tary court.
Root Commission in Russia
THE first formal address to the Rus-
sian Government in behalf of the
American Mission was made by
Elihu Root, the Chairman, at Petrograd,
June 15, (printed in July Current His-
tory Magazine.) The mission imme-
diately plunged into active work, the va-
rious members taking up separately the
various features, and dividing their
functions. On June 22 the entire body
proceeded to Moscow, where, at the pal-
ace of the Governor General, they met
representatives of the Zemstvo and Mu-
nicipal Unions, the Zemstvo Industrial
Committee, and the local Council of the
Workmen's and Soldiers' Delegates.
Roofs Address at Moscow
The meeting was in the nature of a
test case to determine whether the com-
mission was to have the real sympathy
of the Socialist element in the country.
It is said here that no foreigner ever
before succeeded in enlisting the atten-
tion and interest of this association of
committees representing the working
masses of Moscow. But as Mr. Root be-
gan to speak, antagonism and indiffer-
ence yielded to rapt attention, and he
was warmly applauded at the conclusion.
In the course of his address Mr. Root
said:
We have seen nothing since we came to
Russia that gives cause for criticism. We
marvel at the self-control, the kindliness
of spirit, and the sound common sense
that the Russians display. We feel that
the work you are doing in the commit-
tees is on the right path toward an actual
permanent democracy.
The Government of Germany, the Ger-
man social system, even German social-
ism, are all militaristic in their essential
nature. They shall not gain control of
free America, and if we can help you to
prevent their gaining control of free Rus-
sia we shall be happy in feeling that we
have assisted in the perpetuation of the
ideals of our fathers who fought and sac-
rificed to make us free.
The representatives of the various
groups replied, formally welcoming Mr.
Root and the other members of the com-
mission. At the second meeting, before
the City Duma, Mr. Root said:
We have heard reports about dangers
threatening your new liberty, but we hope
you will find a way of expanding your
experience in local self-government inco
power which will govern the whole nation.
We have the marvelous spectacle of a
people remaining peaceful and preserving
the rights of others without the enforce-
ment of law— a people waiting only for the
establishment of a strong Government,
which will lay down the proper basis for
law and order. You have made sacrifices
in the past; we know that you will still
make sacrifices to preserve your freedom,
won at such a high cost. Now comes the
test. You must make sacrifices. You
must struggle until your liberty is secure.
We have faith that Russia will do this.
The Mayor in reply said : " Russia
welcomes America's assistance in her
present period of infirmity and economic
exhaustion." He concluded with a eulogy
of President Wilson, saying: " The aims
of the war, the definition of the prob-
lems standing before humanity have been
given by your great pacifist, President
Wilson, who, in preserving the ideal of
peace, has realized the vital importance
of the struggle. His way of speaking
appeals to us."
On motion of the Mayor the meeting
unanimously decided to send a telegram
to President Wilson, thanking him for
sending the Root Commission to Russia.
The experiences at Moscow gave much
212
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
encouragement to the mission, and Mr.
Root announced that he felt that the
situation was rapidly clearing.
Admiral Glennon s Service
An interesting episode occurred at
Sebastopol when the American Admiral,
James H. Glennon of the mission, suc-
ceeded in tranquilizing sailors of the
Black Sea fleet who had mutinied and
dismissed all their officers. He arrived
soon after the cailors had sent away
Admiral Koltchak. At the request of
the sailors, Admiral Glennon addressed
them, urging a continuance of the war
without cessation.
He was heartily applauded. He also
addressed a general meeting of repre-
sentatives of all the councils of soldiers,
sailors, and workmen of Sebastopol,
where his advocacy of renewed energy
in pushing the war was well received.
After hearing the Admiral, the meeting
voted, 60 to 3, to restore all the Black
Sea fleet officers, with the exception of
Admiral Koltchak and his staff, who
were distrusted by the sailors. The
meeting also voted to support the Pro-
visional Government. Conditions with
the fleet since then have been tranquil.
Work of Mr. Russell
Charles Edward Russell, Socialist and
a member of the American Commission,
outlined the aims of the United States
and the reasons which brought the coun-
try into the war before a full Council of
Workmen's and Soldiers' Delegates on
June 25. Mr. Russell was warned in ad-
vance that he might expect an unfriendly
demonstration on the part of the extrem-
ists among his auditors, but for the most
part his hearers were sympathetic, and
often interrupted him with applause.
The declaration of Mr. Russell that the
United States was fighting only because
the democracies of the world were in
danger, and that after democracy was
safe the people would turn to social
reform, was cheered to the echo.
M. Tcheidze, President of the Council
of Workmen's and Soldiers' Delegates,
in replying to the speech of Mr. Russell,
said the democracy of Russia was built
upon the same foundation as that of the
United States, and that Russia would
carry on the war until mutual aims were
achieved. The American Mission an-
nounced on July 10 that its purpose had
been accomplished in a month's visit.
Chairman Root sent this statement:
The mission has accomplished what It
came here to do, and we are greatly en-
couraged. We found no organic or in-
curable malady in the Russian democracy.
Democracies are always in trouble, and
we have seen days just as dark in the
progress of our own.
We must remember that a people in
whom all constructive effort has been
suppressed for so long cannot immedi-
ately develop a genius for quick action.
The first atage is necessarily one of de-
bate. The solid, admirable traits in the
Russian character will pull the nation
through the present crisis. Natural love
of law and order and capacity for local
self-government have been demonstrated
every day since the revolution. The
country's most serious lack is money and
adequate transportation. We shall do
what we can to help Russia in both.
Stevens Railway Commission
John F. Stevens, as head of the Amer-
ican Railroad Commission in Russia, has
officially reported recommending certain
reforms and asking that Russia be given
a credit of $375,000,000 in this country
for new locomotives, cars, and other
equipment.
The construction of workshops at
Vladivostok for the putting together of
locomotives imported from the United
States is deemed necessary by the com-
mission. In all repair shops work must
continue uninterruptedly twenty-four
hours a day, thus enabling a reduction
in the percentage of locomotives out of
use. It also will be necessary to take
rational measures for the acceleration
and regulation of exchange of cars be-
tween the different roads and for the
speeding up of the system of loading.
The creation of a special State Depart-
ment, the chief of which will be an In-
spector General responsible for seeing
that the whole network of roads is sup-
plied with all necessary material both
for traffic and repairs, and also for the
responsible distribution of such material
between the different roads, is recom-
mended by the commission. This offi-
cial must have the right to demand the
necessary material, and he himself must
take measures to insure its delivery.
Russian Church Reforms
By Charles R. Crane
Member of United States Commission to Russia
[Cable to The Chicago Herald, June 27, 1917, from Petrograd]
IN the revolution that is taking place,
the Russian Church is making more
rapid progress ' toward adjusting
itself to the new conditions than the
State. It has practically been separated
from the State and is now managing its
own affairs. More changes were made in
the Russian Church during the month of
May than had been made in two centuries
before.
The process has been one of democra-
tization. Every priest has had to have
his position confirmed by a vote from the
people of his parish. Twelve Bishops have
been dismissed, including the Bishop of
Petrograd, and new Bishops have been
installed only after election by congrega-
tions. The physical property of the
churches has been transferred from the
State and is to be administered by the
congregations, the clergy and Bishops
occupying themselves solely with theo-
logical affairs.
During the last weeks two very sig-
nificant sobors, or assemblies of the
Church, have been taking place at Mos-
cow. One of them was that of Old
Believers, who include some 15,000,000
people and who never were reconciled to
the reforms of Nicon, representing the
oldest and most uncompromising division
of the Russian people. The other sobor
was that of the Orthodox Church, the
former State Church, and was the first
one to meet in some 250 years.
They were the most representative
gatherings it was possible to have in
Russia, and. the delegates came from every
corner of the empire, two priests and two
laymen being elected to represent every
100 churches, the whole body numbering
1,268 delegates. As the political organ-
ization is entirely shattered, the Church
represents at present the only unifying
^fundamental idea.
The two most effective members of this
latter sobor were the former Archbishop
of the United States, Platon, and Pastor
Alexanderoff of a San Francisco church.
In various questions that arise in the
sobor the appeal was always made to
these two authorities, as to the way these
problems were solved in America, and
their answer was usually enough to de-
termine the action of the sobor.
John R. Mott, the leader in Young
Men's Christian Association work, was
invited to address the sobor, and every
member was present. His speech was
interpreted, sentence by sentence, by Fa-
ther Alexanderoff, who was in entire
sympathy with Mr. Mott and who him-
self was a member of Mr. Mott's organ-
ization in San Francisco. It was a mov-
ing address and was received with great
emotion.
Mr. Mott divided his address into three
parts. The first was expression of grati-
tude for the many acts of friendship Rus-
sia had shown for America in the course
of the last hundred years, with special
emphasis on its enormous sacrifices dur-
ing the present war, which the American
people now recognize, he said, as having
been made quite as much for them as for
Russia. He also expressed his gratitude
for the contributions the Russian Church
had made to a common Christianity.
The second part of his address was
the expression of solicitude lest in the
great upheaval now going on the Church
might lose its central position and that,
although, if carefully arranged, the proc-
ess of democratization ought only to
strengthen the Church, the members
must be very careful to guard historical
Christianity, the creed, mystical Chris-
tianity, and vital Christianity.
The third part of the address was a
message of hope and reassurance, and
went over in detail America's plans for
214
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
aid to Russia and the other Entente
Allies in the war, closing with a stirring
appeal to Russia to do its best on every
front.
The reception of Mr. Mott's address
was very sympathetic, and unanimous,
and at its end the whole body rose, and
for half an hour sang the most moving
of their old church hymns. This was fol-
lowed by fine responses from the Chair-
man of the meeting, Prince Lvoff, the
head of the Synod; Prince Eugene Trou-
betzkoy, one of the first citizens of
Russia, and Bishop Andre, the greatest
spiritual force in the Russian Church
today.
Immediately after the meeting Prince
Lvoff, who is charged with the chief
responsibility for all these things,
asked Mr. Mott to spend the afternoon
with the leaders and go over in detail all
the various reforms. He was also in-
vited to engage in a meeting of the pro-
fessors who were revising the courses of
the theological academies and also to ad-
dress the synod in formal session.
All Anti- Jewish Laws Repealed
THE Russian Provisional Government
issued a decree repealing absolute-
ly all laws restricting the civil, po-
litical, and religious rights of the Jews.
The text of the decree, as published in
The New York Jewish Chronicle, July
13, 1917, is as follows:
All existing legal restrictions upon the
rights of Russian citizens, in connection
with this or that faith, religious teaching
or nationality, are revoked. In accord-
ance with this:
I. Repealed are all laws existing for Rus-
sia as a whole, as well as those of sepa-
rate localities, embodying limitations con-
cerning :
1. Selection of place of residence and
change of residence or movement.
2. Acquiring rights of ownership and
other material rights in all kinds of mov-
able and immovable property, and like-
wise in the possession of, the use and the
managing of all property, or receiving
such for security.
3. Engaging in all kinds of trades, com-
merce and industry, not excepting mining ;
also equal participation in the bidding for
Government contracts, deliveries and in
public auctions.
4. Participation in joint stock and other
commercial or industrial companies and
partnerships, and also employment in
these companies and partnerships in all
kinds of positions, either by elections or
by hiring.
5. Employment of servants, salesmen,
foremen, laborers, and trade apprentices.
6. Entering the Government service,
civil as well as military, and the grade
or condition of such service; participation
in the elections for the institutions of local
self-Government, and all kinds of public
Institutions; serving in all kinds of posi-
tions of Government and public establish-
ments, as well as the prosecution of the
duties connected with such positions.
7. Admission to all kinds of institutions
of learning, whether private, Government
or public, and the pursuing of the courses
of instructions of these institutions, and
receiving scholarships. Also the pursuance
of teaching and the other educational pro-
fessions.
8. Performing the duties of guardians,
trustees, or jurors.
9. The use of languages and dialects,
other than Russian, in the proceedings of
private societies, or in teaching in all kinds
of private educational institutions, and in
commercial bookkeeping.
Paragraphs II., III., IV., V., VI., VII.,
and VIII. proceed to enumerate and cite
section by section, paragraph by para-
graph, each and every law that was in
existence coming within the broad terms
of the repeal enumerated. The enormous
number of the citations and the minute-
ness of their character testify in them-
selves to the thoroughness in which the
Jewish restrictions were carefully searched
out, so as to leave not the slightest ques-
tion as to the exact laws which were
abolished. They also serve to bear out
quite convincingly the statement which
Baron Gunzburg made, that prominent
Jewish lawyers were called into consulta-
tion by the Ministry of Justice in the
searching for these laws and the drafting
of the repealing laws.
Early in July Jewish Chaplains were
sent to the front.
First American Army in France
A Memorable Welcome
THE first contingents of the first
United States Army to fight in
Europe arrived at a port in
France on June 26 and 27, 1917.
The President's order had been issued on
May 18 and the transports had departed
from various Atlantic seaports in less
than four weeks. Never before, it was
stated, had a military expedition of such
size been assembled, transported, and
landed without mishap in so short a time.
The only rival in magnitude was the
movement of British troops to South
Africa in the Boer war, and that was
made without danger from submarines,
mines, or other obstacles.
Although the first contingents reached
their destination in safety, it was
not without some thrilling moments
during which disaster was an imminent
possibility. Rear Admiral Albert Gleaves,
who commanded the convoy squadron,
reported to the Navy Department that
German submarines twice attacked the
transports, but were each time beaten off.
The first attack took place in the night
of June 22, and was over before any one
except the crews of the warships and the
officers on the bridges of the transports
were aware of the peril. The first sign
of the presence of German submarines
was a streak of shining foam noticed
by a look-out man high above on one of
the big ships. Almost at the moment
that the alarm was given a gleaming line
of bubbles, scarce twenty feet from the
bow of one of the transports, announced
the torpedo with its fatal burden of ex-
plosive. Then, in the words of an eye-
witness:
Hell broke loose. Our (the big ship's)
helm was jammed over. Firing every gun
available, we swung in a wide circle out
of line to the left. A smaller ship slipped
into our place, and frbm what the. lookout
told me I think one of her shells must
have landed almost right above the sub-
marine. But they are almost impossible
to hit when submerged, and the periscope
is no target, anyway.
They fired three, if not four, torpedoes.
It was God's mercy that they all went
astray among so many of our ships. One
passed just astern. As you see, our helm
jamming was absolutely Providential.
Naturally the old acted quite differ-
ently from what the Boches expected;
otherwise they might have got us. It
was simply extraordinary. We drove
right at them, (really, I suppose, the safest
thing to do, as the bow gives the smallest
mark to shoot at,) and it seems to have
rattled Brother Boche considerably. After
all, we draw enough water to smash a
submarine at a level of the periscope
awash, and no doubt he did not care to
wait for us. Or perhaps a lucky shot dis-
posed of him. We can't be certain either
way. Anyhow, he disappeared, and we
saw no more of him.
The whole business lasted only about a
minute and a half. But, believe me, it
added more than that to my life. While
the thing was happening I had no time
for anything but to attend to my job.
Afterward I found myself sweating and
my breast heaving as if I had run five
miles. The other boys told me the same
thing, but we got a compliment on the
rapidity with which the guns were served,
so I guess it didn't interfere any with our
action.
The second attack occurred the next
morning. No periscope was visible this
time, but the unmistakable bubble line,
clean across the bows, put the certainty
of danger beyond question. The subma-
rine was in front instead of in the dead-
liest position on the flank toward the
rear. Like a striking rattlesnake, one of
the American destroyers darted between
a couple of the transports. As it flashed
at nearly forty miles an hour across the
spot where the submarine was supposed
to be hidden the commander of the de-
stroyer gave orders. A column of smoke
and foam rose a hundred feet in the air,
and in the waterspout that followed it
the soldiers on the nearest transport,
(she had swung in a headlong curve to
the left,) distinguished clearly pieces of
wood and steel and some dark blue frag-
ments that a moment before had been
living men. Any uncertainty was impos-
sible. Transport after transport passed
through floating oil, patched with wreck-
216
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
age. This submarine, at least, had timed
its hour too well.
Soldiers Welcomed in France
The arrival in France of the first
United States troops, which were under
the command of Major General William
L. Sibert, was the occasion of a mag-
nificent welcome by the French people.
The transports, whose arrival had not
been previously announced, steamed into
the harbor of the seaport [the name was
suppressed by the censor] at an early
hour on the morning of June 26. The
news that the Americans were arriving
spread with amazing rapidity, and by the
time the troopships drew alongside the
quays where the men were to debark
thousands of persons were on hand to
greet them. A wild welcome was shrieked
by whistles of craft in the harbor, and
cries of " Vive la France ! " and " Vivent
les Etats Unis ! " seemed to come from
every throat in the crowd, which was
thickly dotted with the varicolored uni-
forms of French soldiers and sailors.
Meanwhile the bands on the warships
were playing " The Star-Spangled Ban-
ner " and the " Marseillaise " as the
American colors were hoisted to their
staffs. The town soon took on a holiday
appearance, and, before the day was over,
scores of American flags were flying
along with the Tricolor of France over
public buildings and private homes.
The American soldiers were spon-
taneously dubbed " Sammies " by the ex-
cited French crowds, to distinguish them
from the British " Tommies."
Delegations of American Army offi-
cers from Paris and American naval men
from elsewhere were present, with
French military men of high rank, and
a similar representation from the French
Navy to receive the new fighting forces
of the Allies, who were soon after trans-
ferred to a camp not far distant from
the port where they arrived. General
Sibert took up his quarters at the camp
as commander of the first United States
force sent abroad, under General Persh-
ing as Commander in Chief. .
The last units of the expedition, com-
prising vessels loaded with supplies and
horses, reached port on July 2. Their
coming, one week after the first troops
landed, was greeted almost as warmly
as the arrival of the troops themselves,
because it meant complete success of the
undertaking.
Probably the happiest man in port was
Rear Admiral Gleaves. From the bridge
of his flagship he watched the successful
conclusion of his plans and with char-
acteristic modesty insisted upon bestow-
ing the lion's share of credit for the
crossing on the navigation officers of his
command. All units of the contingent
had to keep a daily rendezvous with
accompanying warships. Thanks to his
navigation officers and despite overcast
skies which made astronomical observa-
tions impossible, each rendezvous, the
Admiral said, had been minutely and
accurately kept by each unit. This exact-
ness on the part of the navigation officers
was responsible in no small degree for the
brilliant success of the entire under-
taking.
Two Statements by Pershing
General Pershing, accompanied by
General Pelletier, representing French
General Headquarters, visited the camp
on June 28, and after inspecting the
troops made the following statement:
This is the happiest of the busy days
which I have spent in France preparing
for the arrival of the first contingent.
Today I have seen our troops safe on
French soil, landing from transports that
were guarded in their passage overseas
by the resourceful vigilance of our navy.
Now our task as soldiers lies before us.
We hope, with the aid of the French
leaders and experts who have placed all
the results of their experience at our dis-
posal, to make our force worthy in skill
and in the determination to fight side by
side in arms with the French Army.
On returning to his headquarters in
Paris on June 30, General Pershing made
a further statement:
The landing of the first American troops
has been a complete success. In this re-
markable transfer of a large force across
the ocean (one of the largest operations
we have ever undertaken) not a man or
an animal was lost or injured, and there
was not a single case of serious sickness —
nothing but a few unimportant cases of
mumps. The men landed in splendid
morale, with keen, confident, and eager
spirit.
The physical appearance of our men is
truly inspiring. They are all fine, husky
young fellows, with the glow of energy,
FIRST AMERICAN ARMY IN FRANCE
217
good health, and physical vigor which will
make them a credit alongside any troops.
They are exceptionally well camped and
cared for, with substantial wooden bar-
racks, good beds, good food, and the best
sanitary arrangements. They are located
on high ground. For all of this we are
deeply indebted to French co-operation
with members of my staff.
Hon? Order rvas Maintained
The question of maintaining order in
the town where the camp was situated
was settled by the French authorities
transferring to the United States mili-
tary police the necessary authority for
maintaining discipline in the town, which
now became overwhelmingly American in
appearance and public life. In order to
assist the Americans to keep order, how-
ever, the authorities issued new and
stringent regulations forbidding the sale
of spirituous liquors to any men in uni-
form, regulating the hours the men might
be admitted to or served in cafes and
restaurants, and specifying that disputes
and disorders should be referred to and
decided by the Americans.
The necessity of good behavior was
set forth by General Pershing in the fol-
lowing general order:
For the first time in history an Amer-
ican Army finds itself in European ter-
ritory. The good name of the United
States of America and the maintenance
of cordial relations require the perfect
deportment of each member of this com-
mand.
It is of the gravest importance that the
soldiers of the American Army shall at
all times treat the French people, and
especially the women, with the greatest
courtesy and consideration. The valiant
deeds of the French armies and the
Allies, by which they together have suc-
cessfully maintained the common cause
for three years, and the sacrifices of the
civil population of France in support of
their armies, command our profound re-
spect. This can best be expressed on the
part of our forces by uniform courtesies
to all the French people and by the faith-
ful observance of their laws and customs.
The intense cultivation of the soil in
France, under conditions caused by the
war, makes it necessary that extreme
care be taken to do no damage to private
property. The entire French manhood
capable of bearing arms is in the field
fighting the enemy, and it should, there-
fore, be a point of honor to each member
of the American Army to avoid doing the
least damage to any property in France.
Such conduct is much more reprehensible
here. Honor them as those of our own
country.
Fourth of July in France
General Petain, Commander in Chief
of the French armies operating on the
French front, on July 3 issued the fol-
lowing general order:
Tomorrow, the Independence Day cele-
bration of the United States, the first
American troops which have debarked in
France will defile in Paris. Later they
will join us on the front. Let us salute
these new companions in arms who with-
out thought of gain or of conquest, but
with the simple desire of defending the
cause of right and liberty, have come to
take their places in the ranks beside us.
Others are preparing to follow them.
They will soon be on our soil. The United
States mean to put at our disposition,
without reckoning, their soldiers, their
factories, their vessels, and their entire
country. They want to pay a hundred-
fold the debt of gratitude which they owe
to Lafayette and his companions.
From all the points of the front a single
shout on this July 4 will be heard : " Honor
to the great sister. Long live the United
States! "
The Fourth ' of July was enthusias-
tically celebrated throughout France. In
Paris the chief feature of interest was
the presence of a battalion of United
States troops which was about to leave
for training behind the battle front.
Everywhere the Stars and Stripes were
flying from public buildings, hotels, and
residences, and from automobiles, cabs,
and carts; horses' bridles and the lapels
of pedestrians carried them. The crowds
began to gather early at vantage points.
The Rue de Varenne was choked long
before 8 o'clock in the morning, when
the Republican Guard Band executed a
field reveille under General Pershing's
windows, and all routes toward the Inva-
lides were thronged even before Per-
shing's men turned out.
In the chapel before the Tomb of Na-
poleon General Pershing received Ameri-
can flags and banners from the hands of
President Poincare. The enthusiasm of
the vast crowd reached its highest pitch
when General Pershing, escorted by
President Poincare, Marshal Joffre, and
other high French dignitaries passed
along reviewing the lines of the Ameri-
cans drawn up in square formations.
Cheering broke out anew when the Amer-
218
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
ican band struck up the " Marseillaise,"
and again when the French band played
" The Star-Spangled Banner," and Persh-
ing received the flags from the Presi-
dent. " Vivent les Americains ! Vive
Pershing ! Vivent les Etats Unis ! " shout-
ed over and over by the crowd, greeted
the American standard bearers.
Crowds in Tullerles Gardens
More people were massed in the Tuile-
ries Gardens than on the Esplanade des
Invalides. Few of them could get a
glimpse of the parade, but all joined in
a tremendous outburst of cheering when
music from the Republican Guard Band
announced the approach of the troops,
and the cheering did not diminish in
volume until the last man in the line had
disappeared from view of the gardens
down the Rue de Rivoli.
With this great demonstration the
ceremonies of welcome came to an end
and the serious business of warfare was
taken in hand. On July 6 it was an-
nounced that the training bases for the
American troops in France had been
established and were ready for occu-
pancy. They included aviation, artillery,
infantry, and medical bases. The section
of the battle front eventually to be occu-
pied by the Americans was decided upon
by the military authorities and approved
by Major Gen. Pershing, who had thor-
oughly covered the ground. The location
of this section was a military secret, and
no actual time was fixed for American
participation on the fighting front. The
batttalion of United States soldiers that
took part in the Independence Day cele-
bration in Paris immediately began
training at its permanent camp, over
which General Sibert was placed in com-
mand.
Basiile Day Messages
Messages of mutual good-will were
exchanged by President Wilson and
President Poincare on the French na-
tional holiday, July 14. President Wil-
son cabled:
On this anniversary of the birth of de-
mocracy in France, I offer on behalf of
my countrymen, and on my own behalf,
fraternal greeting- as befits the strong- ties
that unite our peoples who today stand
shoulder to shoulder in defense of liberty,
in testimony of the steadfast purpose of
our two countries to achieve victory for
the sublime cause of the rights of the
people against oppression.
The lesson of the Bastile is not lost
to the world of free peoples. May the day
be near when on the ruins of the dark
stronghold of unbridled power and con-
scienceless autocracy a nobler structure,
upbuilt like our great Republic on the
eternal foundations of peace and right,
shall arise to gladden an enfranchised
world.
President Poincare replied:
The French people who for three years
have made so many heroic sacrifices in
the defense of right and liberty shall re-
ceive in grateful emotion the brotherly
message which you, Mr. President, were
pleased to send me for them.
"We shall be proud to carry on to vic-
tory, elbow to elbow with the great and
generous American Nation, the war which
was let loose on the world by the imperi-
alism of our foes, in spite of the strenu-
ous efforts which the French Republic al-
ways exerted to avert so awful a cata-
clysm. I, like you, have no doubt that the
defeat of autocracy and German militar-
ism will at last open a future of indus-
trious peace and prosperity to liberate
mankind.
Creating the New American Armies
THE month's progress in building up
the new armies of the United States
has been rather in the nature of lay-
ing solid foundations for the future than
in actual results. Recruiting to bring the
regular army up to its full strength of
293,000 continues slow, despite the special
effort of the President to obtain 70,000
recruits in the period between June 23
and June 30, which he designated as Re-
cruiting Week. The call was for unmar-
ried men between the ages of 18 and 40
years. At the end of the week over 50,-
000 men were still needed. On July 16
the deficiency had been reduced to just
under 37,000 men. Three-fourths of the
States had not yet filled their quotas.
Nevertheless, it has to be remembered
that, when the United States entered the
war, the strength of the regular army
CREATING AMERICA'S NEW ARMIES
219
was only 100,000, and in about three
months this has been increased to nearly
250,000 by purely voluntary methods and
in competition with the recruiters of the
National Guard, the navy, and the ma-
rines. Thus, by the middle of July, 1917,
nearly half a million men had volun-
teered for service in one or other of the
different branches of the army and
navy, while men had been obtained for
various special units, and many candi-
dates for officers' commissions were in
training.
Mobilizing the National Guard
An important step to increase the
strength of the army was the calling into
Federal service of the National Guard
regiments not already in service. This
was done in three increments, one third
being mobilized on July 15 and the other
two thirds being warned to be ready on
July 25 and Aug. 5. It was stated that
after preliminary training the National
Guard woul4 soon be sent to France and
that some regiments would leave the
United States as early as November. At
the date of moBilization the National
Guard had reached a strength of about
300,000 men, and, as the war strength
had been fixed at 400,000, recruiting con-
tinued. It was the intention of the War
Department that if the full quota were
not secured before the draft began, the
vacancies in the National Guard, as in
the regular army, would be filled by con-
scripted men. The only members of the
National Guard who were not called up
were officers holding general rank, as
some of these appointments had been
made on political grounds.
In addition to the sixteen cantonments
which were begun for the new National
Army, sixteen other camps were chosen
for the training of the National Guard.
The sites for practically all these camps
were chosen in Southern States because,
as Major Gen. Gorgas, Surgeon General
of the Army, explained, the climate was
milder in the Winter and rain less fre-
quent. The accommodation was planned
for about 35,000 men and 10,000 horses
and mules in each camp.
Army Training Camps
The following are the locations of can-
tonments for the training of the nation's
new armies :
NATIONAL ARMY
Inf'y
Div.
No. Department. Location.
1 Northeastern Ayer, Mass.
2 Eastern Yapahank, Long Island
3 do Wrightstown, N. J.
4 do Annapolis Junction, Md.
5 do Petersburg, Va.
6 Southeastern Columbia, S. C.
7 do Atlanta, Ga.
8 Central Chillicothe, Ohio.
9 do Louisville, Ky.
10 do Battle Creek, Mich.
11 do Rockford, 111.
12 Southeastern Little Rock, Ark.
13 Central Des Moines, Iowa.
14 do Fort Riley, Kan.
15 Southern. . . . Fort Sam Houston, Tex.
16 Western American Lake, Wash.
NATIONAL GUARD
Inf'y
Div.
No. Department. Location.
5 Southeastern Greenville, S. C.
6 do Spartanburg, S. C.
7 do Augusta, Ga.
8 do Macon, Ga.
9 do Montgomery, Ala.
10 do Anniston, Ala.
11 Southern Fort Worth, Tex.
12 do Fort Sill, Okla.
13 do Deming, N. M.
14 do Waco, Tex.
15 do Houston, Tex.
16 Southeastern Charlotte, N. (J.
17 do Hattiesburg, Miss.
18 do Alexandria, La.
19 Western Linda Vista, Cal.
20 do Palo Alto, Cal.
Navy Training Camps
Sites for naval training camps were se-
lected as follows:
Philadelphia, for 5,000 men.
Newport, R. I., for 6,000 men.
Cape May, N. J., for 2,000 men.
Charleston, S. C, for 5,000 men.
Pensacola, Fla., for 1,000 additional men.
Key West, Fla., for 500 men.
Mare Island, Cal., for 5,000 men.
Puget Sound, Wash, for 5,000 men.
Hingham, Mass., for 500 men.
New Orleans, La., for 500 men.
San Diego, Cal., for 2,500 men.
Great Lakes Training Station, Chicago, ac-
commodations for 15,000 additional recruits.
Port Royal, S. C, 5,000 men of the Marine
Corps; also a Marine Corps Camp at Quan^
tico, Va., for 8,000 men.
Hampton Roads naval operating base, 10,000
men.
Mississippi Exposition Grounds, Gulfport,
Miss., 3,500 men.
New York, a camp for 3,000 regulars ad-
joining the navy yard; Pelham, N. Y., 5,000
reserves.
A camp will also be located at Boston.
An indication of the merging of the
National Guard with the other military-
forces of the United States was furnished
by the War Department statement that
regiments were henceforth to be num-
220
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
bered without reference to the fact that
a particular regiment belonged to the
Regular Army, National Guard, or Na-
tional Army. The numbers of the Na-
tional Army regiments begin where those
of the National Guard regiments end, but
locality is indicated in parentheses.
Rapid Training of Officers
The training of officers has been more
rapidly conducted than that of the men,
because without qualified leaders the new
armies cannot be organized. The Presi-
dent has signed the commissions of sev-
eral hundred new officers of the Army
Reserve Corps, and, according to an an-
nouncement from General Pershing's
headquarters in Paris, these officers are
to see service in France much earlier
than was anticipated. In this way the
demand for regular officers to train the
men in France is being met. Every
trainee in the Officers' Training Corps is
assured of a commission if he can qual-
ify. The officers' training camps are at
Fort Myer, Virginia, (two camps,) Fort
McPherson, Georgia, (two camps,) Fort
Oglethorpe, Georgia, (two camps,) Fort
Benjamin, Indiana, (three camps,) Fort
Logan H. Roots, Arkansas, (two camps,)
Leon Springs, Texas, (two camps,) Fort
Riley, Kansas, (two camps,) and Pre-
sidio, San Francisco, (one camp.)
Selecting the Conscript Army
SETTING up exemption boards and cate that there has been any general at-
arranging for the drawing of lots tempt at evasion of registration by any
to decide who shall serve in the first important element of the population,
conscript army have been the principal The following table shows, by States,
developments in the operation of the the total registration, the number of un-
selective draft law during the month. naturalized Germans, including those who
The total registration was 9,659,382, have declared their intention to become
or 95.9 per cent, of the preliminary citizens, and the percentage which the
estimate. The apparent shortage, about total represents of the census estimate:
413,000, is considerably less than the Per Unnat-
number of men 21 to 30 years of age, in- RegiSra- °Esti°f UrGe?-d
elusive, who are estimated by the War tion- mate- mans.
Department to have been in the various A1 ™ted states-"9^9.382 95.9 111,823
m? . m , ,, ...... , , Alabama 1*9,828 S5.7 89
branches of the military and naval serv- Arizona , 36,932 106.4 193
ices of the United States on June 5, and Arkansas 147,522 94.2 98
for that reason exempt from the require- California 297,532 82.2 3,948
^e„nLof ngisIratr ™!n™beris SSW:::::z «K5 mi t™
600,000. On the face of these figures, Delaware 21,804 108.8 . 92
therefore, it appears that the number of District of Columbia 32,327 87.1 79
men between the ages of 21 and 31 in Florida 84,683 88.9 208
the United States is slightly in excess of g£hrf a ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; 2l\'*™ ™9l . J*[
the number estimated by the Census Bu- iiinois'.' !!.'■! !.'."!.'!!.' 072^498 105^2 6,051
reau on May 12 — 10,079,000. Indiana 255,145 100.6 1,149
7,347,794 are white; 953,899 are colored; Kentucky 187,573 92.8
1,239,865 are unnaturalized foreigners Louisiana 157,827 92.3 216
from countries other than Germany; Maine 60,176 95.5 120
111,823 are unnaturalized Germans, in- JJaryla"d ": 2K™ -JJ-J - ££
. .. „ , , , „ . ' Massachusetts 359,323 101.1 1,508
eluding declarants "; that is, persons Michigan 372,872 129.4 3,021
having declared their intention to be- Minnesota 221,715 90.6 1,971
come citizens but not having received Mississippi 139,525 79.7 45
their final naturalization nar>Prs- and Missouri 299,625 94.9 1,008
tneir nnal naturalization papers, and Montan;l 88273 1204 ^
6,001 are Indians. Nebraska 118,123 91.3 1,156
There is nothing in the returns to indi- Nevada 11,821 71.6 87
Commander of the First Division of the United States Army
Sent Abroad to Serve Under the Commander in Chief,
General Pershing.
(Photo © Clinedinst from Underwood d- Underwood.)
i
te
SOME OF AMERICA'S WAR CHIEFS
GEN. WILLIAM CROZIER
Chief of Ordnance of the Army
(Photo Harris & Ewing)
ADMIRAL W. S. BENSON
Chief of Office of Naval
Operations.
CQL. ISAAC W. LITTELL
Chief of Cantonment Con-
struction.
(Photo © Harris & Ewing)
GEN. JOSEPH E. KUHN
President of the Army War
College at Washington.
(Photo © Harris d Ewing)
SELECTING THE CONSCRIPT ARMY
221
Per Unnat-
Total Cent, of uralized
Registra- Esti- Ger-
tion. mate. mans.
New Hampshire.... 37,642 102.3 79
New Jersey. 302,742 100.8 4,952
New Mexico 32,202 77.6 108
New York 1,054,302 99.4 30,870
North Carolina 200,032 102.9 73
North Dakota 65,007 73.0 615
Ohio 565,384 114.4 6,189
Oklahoma 169,211 79.3 219
Oregon 62,618 57.9 577
Pennsylvania 830,507 95.0 12,674
Rhode Island 53,415 88.7 126
South Carolina 128,089 93.4 28
South Dakota 58,014 72.1 484
Tennessee 187,611 96.2 85
Texas .408,702 97.3 1,834
Utah 41,952 90.8 344
Vermont 27,658 94.1 72
Virginia 181,826 97.5 179
Washington 108,330 49.8 791
West Virginia 127,409 90.0 1,003
Wisconsin 240,170 104.6 23,121
Wyoming 22,848 64.5 329
National parks 85 2
Indians 6,001
The rules and regulations for the draft
were issued to the local exemption boards
by the War Department on June 21.
Every board was required to make four
copies of the registration list. One it
kept for its own use, the second was
posted in a conspicuous public place, the
third was made available to the public
press, and the fourth was sent to the
Provost Marshal General at Washington.
Every board numbered the cards in its
jurisdiction with red ink in a series run-
ning from 1 to the number representing
the total number of cards in its jurisdic-
tion, and it was provided that these serial
numbers, not the names, should be drawn.
Alphabetical arrangement of the names
was expressly prohibited. The numbers
were to be drawn at Washington. If 15
and 167 were drawn, for example, the
two men in each registration district
against whose names these numbers were
written would be thereby automatically
drafted. Exemption could be claimed only
afterward — through the local board.
President Wilson on July 2 promul-
gated the regulations governing exemp-
tion from military service. These regula-
tions permitted the local and appeal
exemption boards already appointed to
organize at once and prepare for the con-
cluding stages of raising the draft army.
In an accompanying statement the Presi-
dent called upon the boards to do their
work fearlessly and impartially and to
remember that " our armies, at the front
will be strengthened and sustained if they
be composed of men free from any sense
of injustice in their mode of selection."
A statement issued by the War Depart-
ment on July 13 set forth the number to
be drafted from each State. The total
for the first call was to be 687,000.
On July 20 all the numbered registra-
tion lists from the 4,550 districts had
reached Washington, and the fateful
drawing of numbers took place on that
day. The story of the historic event
will be told in the September issue of
this magazine.
CURRENT HISTORY CHRONICLED
[Period Ended July 20, 1917]
The Chancellors op the German
Empire
COUNT BISMARCK was the first
Chancellor of the German Empire,
being appointed on Jan. 18, 1871, the day
on which King William of Prussia was
proclaimed Emperor of Germany, in the
Mirror Room at Versailles. Bismarck
was then raised to princely rank. He
held office until March 20, 1890, less
than two years after William II. became
Emperor, on the death of his father,
(June 15, 1888.) During his tenure of
office Prince Bismarck accomplished
two things: the Triple Alliance or Drei-
bund, uniting Germany, Austria, and
Italy, and later including Rumania and
Bulgaria; and the formation of Ger-
many's colonial empire, in 1885, in East
and West Africa and New Guinea.
Bismarck was succeeded by Count
Caprivi, who held office until Oct. 29,
1894. Caprivi was succeeded by Prince
Hohenlohe, who gave place, on Oct. 17,
1900, to Count Bernhard von Bulow, then
raised to princely rank. Prince von
222
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Billow was called upon to defend Kaiser
Wilhelm's celebrated " mailed fist "
speech on the departure of German
troops to China, and, some years later,
to extricate the Kaiser from the very dif-
ficult situation caused by an interview
which he gave to The Daily Telegraph,
(Oct. 28, 1908,) he carried the point that
the Kaiser's pronouncements must first
be approved by his responsible advisers.
Prince von Bulow went out of office on
July 14, 1909, being succeeded by Dr. von
Bethmann Hollweg, who held office for
exactly eight, years.
Primarily, the Chancellor of the
Empire is the head of the Bundesrat, the
Federal Council, which represents, not
the peoples of the various States which
make up the empire, but the Kings, (of
Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony, and Wurttem-
berg,) Grand Dukes, Dukes, and Princes
who rule them. In the Bundesrat the
Imperial Chancellor represents the King
of Prussia, who has preponderant power
in that body. The Chancellor is respon-
sible solely to the Emperor. It has been
pointed out that Dr. Georg Michaelis is
the first man not of noble birth to be
appointed Imperial Chancellor.
* * *
Austria, Bavaria, and Catholic South
Germany
rpHE recent vigorous protest of Ma-
-*■ thias Erzberger, the Catholic mem-
ber of the Reichstag from Bavaria,
against the autocratic militarism and
annexationist policy of Lutheran Prus-
sia, apparently with the knowledge, and
perhaps the active consent, of Emperor
Charles of Austria, suggests that one
of the results of the war may be a re-
grouping of the kingdoms and principali-
ties within the frontiers of the Central
Empires in a way resembling their po-
sition before 1860, when Bismarck began
to execute his plan to break the Aus-
trian supremacy in German affairs and
to put Prussia in Austria's place as the
dominant German State, a plan fur-
thered by the aggressive wars of 1864,
1866, and 1870, and consummated when
William I. was proclaimed German Em-
peror at Versailles in January, 1871.
In the German Empire the Lutherans
number 40,000,000; tht? Catholics 24,000,-
000, or some 37 per cent. In Prussia
about two-thirds are Lutherans; in Sax-
ony the vast majority are Lutherans; in
Wurttemberg about two-thirds are
Lutherans; these three kingdoms would
form the nucleus of a Lutheran group of
States. In Bavaria, on the contrary,
there are about 5,000,000 Catholics to
2,000,000 Lutherans, while within the
Kingdom of Prussia Catholics are in a
majority in Posen, Silesia, Westphalia,
and the Rhine Provinces. Austria is al-
most completely Catholic, having 22,-
500,000 Roman Catholics and 3,500,000
Greek Catholics; the Lutherans do not
number 600,000. In Hungary, Roman
Catholics likewise predominate, number-
ing 11,000,000 in a population of 21,000r
000, the minority being divided between
Protestants, members of the Greek
churches, (Catholic and Oriental,) and
others.
This would give two groups of States,
the Catholic, with a population of some
60,000,000; the Lutheran, with a popula-
tion of some 45,000,000. The growth of
the present German Empire has largely
consisted in the extension of the power
of Lutheran Prussia over the Roman
Catholic States, like Silesia, the Rhine
Provinces, and Bavaria; to these Aus-
tria, in which Prussian influence pre-
dominates, may be added.
The Race Question in Austria-
Hungary
IN Austria (excluding Hungary) the
division of races, calculated on the not
wholly accurate basis of language, is
approximately as follows: Germans, 10,-
000,000; Bohemian Czechs, Moravians,
and Slovaks, (all speaking practically
the same language,) 6,500,000; Poles,
5,000,000; Ruthenians in Galicia and
Bukowina, 3,500,000; Slovenes, Serbs,
and Croatians, (all speaking what is
practically Serbian,) 2,000,000; or, in all,
17,000,000 Slavs. " There are also about
1,000,000 speaking Italian or Rumanian.
Thus 18,000,000 non-Germans, nearly all
of whom are Slavs, are dominated politi-
cally by 10,000,000 Germans*
In Hungary there are under 9,000,000
Hungarian Magyars.; just over 2,000,000
CURRENT HISTORY CHRONICLED
223
Germans, 2,000,000 Slovaks, 2,600,000
Croato-Serbians, 400,000 Ruthenians, and
something under 3,000,000 Rumanians.
In Hungary the 9,000,000 Magyars and
2,000,000 Germans completely dominate
the 5,000,000 Slavs and 3,000,000 Ru-
manians.
Taking the Dual Monarchy as a whole,
we find that 12,000,000 Germans and
9,000,000 Magyars exercise political con-
trol over 22,000,000 Slavs and 4,000,000
Latins. That is, 21,000,000 dominating
and 26,000,000 dominated.
An ideal reconstruction along the lines
of race, (or, to speak more strictly, along
the lines of language as calculated by
the German-Magyar enumerators,) would
divide the Dual Monarchy into four
States, as follows : A German State, con-
sisting of the northern part of what is
now Austria and the western corner of
Hungary, with 12,000,000 inhabitants; a
north Slav State, (Czech-Bohemians, Mo-
ravians, Slovaks, Poles, Ruthenians,)
with about 18,000,000 inhabitants ; a Mag-
yar State with about 9,000,000, and a
south Slav State, predominantly Serbian,
with about 5,000,000; but this last would
be practically identical in blood and
speech with Serbia and Montenegro,
which, before the war, had a combined
population of about 3,500,000 ; so that we
have the basis of a Pan-Serbian State
with about 8,500,000 inhabitants.
* * *
The Draft in 1863 and 1917
THE extraordinary smoothness and
freedom from disturbance which have
marked each stage of the enrollment of
our huge national army stand out in
sharp contrast with the violent outbreaks
which accompanied the operation of the
Conscription act signed on March 3,
1863. That act declared that all able-
bodied male citizens of the United States,
and foreigners intending to become
citizens, between the ages of 20 and 45
were liable for military service; a second
section defined exemptions, while a third
favored married men. On July 7 the
actual work of the draft was begun in
Rhode Island; on the following day it
began in Massachusetts.
Saturday, July 11, was the date set for
New York City. That day everything
went quietly, even gayly. But on Sunday,
July 12, there were mutterings in the
Ninth Congressional District, which was
inhabited mainly by laborers, and which
had a Democratic majority of over 3,000.
These laborers, says Rhodes, when they
faced the fact of three years' compulsory
military service, " fell into despondency,
while their wives and mothers abandoned
themselves to excitement and rage."
Prominent Democrats went about de-
claring the law was unconstitutional. A
point of inflammation was the fact that
a man might " buy himself loose " for
$300, favoring the rich at the expense of
the poor.
On July 13, at the headquarters of the
Ninth District, at the corner of Third
Avenue and Forty-sixth Street, where the
names were being drawn from a revolv-
ing wheel by a blindfolded man, pistols
were fired, brickbats were hurled through
the window, the crowd burst in, poured
petroleum on the floor and set the build-
ing on fire. Workmen of the Second and
Sixth Avenue street railroads noisily
paraded the streets. The rioters were
" almost all foreign born, with a large
preponderance of Irish," who vented their
wrath on the negroes, shooting and hang-
ing them by the score and wrecking a
Negro Orphan Asylum on Fifth Avenue
between Forty-third and Forty-fourth
Streets. The rioters seized arms from the
arsenals ; troops were called ; " cannon
and howitzers raked the streets."
The battle raged during four days,
more than 1,000 persons being killed and
wounded, while damage amounting to
$1,500,000 was done. In all, 10,000 in-
fantry and three batteries of artillery as-
sisted in quelling the riots. There was
violence also in Pennsylvania and Wis-
consin.
* * *
THE Secretary of War reported on
June 22, 1917, that there were in the
United States 1,239,179 persons born in
foreign countries with which the United
States was not at war, who had not de-
clared their intention to become citizens,
and 111,933 persons of birth in countries
with which the United States was at war,
who had not declared their intention to-
become citizens.
221
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Success of the Liberty Loan
rjlHE official announcement of the Lib-
-*■ erty Loan, the first United States
war loan, was in substance as follows :
The total of the subscriptions was
$3,035,226,850, an oversubscription of
$1,035,226,850, over 50 per cent. More
than 4,000,000 men and women sub-
scribed. Of this number about 3,960,-
000 took the bonds in amounts ranging
from $50 to $10,000; 21 subscriptions
were $5,000,000 and over, aggregating
$188,789,900. The subscriptions by Fed-
eral Reserve districts were as follows :
Boston $332,447,600
New York 1,1SG,788,400
Philadelphia 232,309,250
Cleveland 28G,14S,;00
Richmond 109,737,100
Atlanta 57,878,550
Chicago 357,195,950
St. Louis 86,134;Y00
Minneapolis 70,255,500
Kansas City 91,758,850
Dallas 48,948,350
San Francisco 175,623,900
Allotments were made as follows : Sub-
scriptions up to and including $10,000,
100 per cent.; up to $100,000, 60 per
cent.; up to $250,000, 45 per cent.; up to
$2,000,000, 30 per cent.; over $2,000,000
and up to $6,000,000, 25 per cent.; up to
$10,000,000, 21 per cent.; $25,000,000,
22.22 per cent.; $25,230,000, 20.17 per
cent.
* * *
British Cabinet Changes
TMPORTANT changes in the British
J- Cabinet were announced July 17. Sir
Edward Carson resigned as First Lord of
the Admiralty and joined the War Cabi-
net without portfolio; he was succeeded
by Sir Eric Campbell Geddes, former
Director General of Munitions Supply.
Winston Spencer Churchill succeeded Dr.
Christopher Addison as Minister of Mu-
nitions, the latter to become Minister
without portfolio in charge of reconstruc-
tion. Edwin Samuel Montagu became
Secretary for India, vice Austen Cham-
berlain, who resigned on account of the
Mesopotamia campaign disaster. Sir
Edward Carson replaced Bonar Law as
the fifth member of the War Cabinet,
which consists of Premier Lloyd George,
Labor Minister* Henderson, Earl Curzon,
Lord Milner, and Sir Edward Carson, the
three latter being Conservatives of the
most extreme type.
* * *
British Royal House Abolishes Its
German Titles
T7-[NG GEORGE of England has
*■*■ changed the name of his family and
house from .Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to
the House of Windsor. He has also
abolished the titles of the Princes of his
family that bear German names and sub-
stituted British surnames, peerages being
conferred as follows:
The Duke of Teck, a Marquis.
Prince Alexander of Teck, an Earl.
Prince Louis of Battenberg, a Marquis.
Prince Alexander of Battenberg, a
Marquis.
Princess Victoria and Princess Marie
Louise of Schleswigr-Holstein shall be
styied Helena Victoria and Marie Louise,
respectively, and the Princesses of the
royal family who bear the title of Duchess
of Saxony have relinquished the title.
Prince Leopold of Battenberg, whose elder
brother, Prince Alexander, "becomes a
Marquis, will take the title of Lord Leo-
pold of Mountbatten.
The action of the King reserves the
title " Royal Highnesses " to the children
and grandchildren of the sovereign, con-
sequently the titles " Highness " and
" Serene Highness " will disappear from
English life, as well as the rank of Prince
and Princess in the families upon which
the King conferred peerages.
* * *
England's Munitions Output
DR. ADDISON, British Minister of
Munitions, declared in an address to
the House of Commons, that in March,
1917, England's capacity for the pro-
duction of high explosives was more than
four times that of 1916 and 28 times as
great as that of March, 1915. He said
the country was now turning out twenty
times as many machine guns as two years
ago. In the matter of small arms and
small ammunition the country was en-
tirely independent of outside supplies. At
Woolwich there were 73,571 workers, of
whom 25,000 were women, as against
10,860 workers in August, 1914, of whom
125 were women.
In May twice as many airplanes were
produced as in December last. They were
CURRENT HISTORY CHRONICLED
225
producing now 10,000,000 tons of steel
per annum as against 7,000,000 tons per
annum in pre-war days, and by the end
of 1918 the figures would have risen to
12,000,000 tons.
He announced that a plant was now
available for supplying the entire quan-
tity needed of potash; they had also a
plant to supply their needs entirely in
scientific instruments, optical glass, ma-
chine tools, sulphuric acid, superphos-
phates, and tungsten, for all of which
they had been dependent on outside
sources. Fully 2,000 miles of railway
track had been supplied to the several
fronts, together with nearly 1,000 loco-
motives, apart from hundreds supplied
by the Railway Executive Committee.
India, Australia, and Canada had sent
their contributions.
Knightly Orders for Women
RECENT distinctions conferred upon
women have suggested the ques-
tion whether, in the past, the services
and qualities of women have ever re-
ceived recognition in the great knightly
orders. The answer is distinctly in the
affirmative. England, which has, in
some ways, the most democratic gov-
ernment in the world, not only possesses
the oldest existing knightly order, but
is also the only country in existence
where the ancient knightly custom of
" dubbing " by the accolade, or laying on
of the sword, is still preserved, as in the
days when knighthood was in flower.
The oldest knightly order is the Order
of the Garter, which dates from about
1350 ; the " garter " is ascribed by tra-
dition to Richard I., who sent it as a
battle sign to the troops before Acre;
to Edward III. at Crecy; to Joan, the
" fair maid of Kent," Countess of Salis-
bury. Ladies were systematically ad-
mitted to the Order of the Garter in
the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, (at
a time when prioresses and abbesses had
the vote;) the Queen Consort, the wives
and daughters of Knights of the Order,
and other women of exalted position
being members, and known as " Dames
de la Fraternite de Saint George," patron
saint of the Garter. Entries of the de-
livery of robes and garters to ladies are
found in the wardrobe accounts from
1376 to 1495, the first being to Isabel,
Countess of Bedford, daughter of Ed-
ward III.; the last, Margaret and Eliza-
beth, daughters of Henry VII. Effigies
of Margaret Byron and Alice Chaucer
at Ewelme have garters on their left
arms. The Order of the Thistle, estab-
lished by James II. in 1687, under the
patronage of St. Andrew,, counts
among its heads Queen Anne and Queen
Victoria, who were also heads of the
Order of the Garter, as were Queen Mary
and Queen Elizabeth. This is the order
recently conferred on Sir Douglas Haig.
The Order of the Golden Fleece, estab-
lished by Philip the Good in 1492, counts
Queens among its members. The Order
of St. Stephen of Hungary, founded by
Maria Theresa in 1764, was presided
over by her. The British Order of Merit
was conferred on Florence Nightingale.
Women as well as men are eligible to
the Imperial Service Order. The Royal
Order of Victoria and Albert and the
Imperial Order of the Crown of India
are conferred only on women. The
decoration of the French Legion of
Honor, founded by Napoleon on May 19,
1802, has been conferred on several dis-
tinguished women, including Rosa Bon-
heur and Mme. Curie, the discoverer of
radium.
British and German Prisoners
THE British have captured 117,776
prisoners since the beginning of the
war, not counting natives taken in the
African campaigns, many of whom have
been released, according to the statement
of Major Gen. F. B. Maurice, Director of
Military Operations at the War Office in
London. The British have lost to the
enemy 51,088 men as prisoners, includ-
ing Indian and native troops
The British have captured 739 guns
during the war and lost 113. Of the guns
lost 37 were recaptured, and of the 96
remaining in enemy hands 84 were lost
by the British on the west front early in
the war. The British have not lost a
single gun on the west front since April,
1915.
There are 58,138 German prisoners of
226
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
war interned in England, as against 42,-
831 British prisoners of war or interned
prisoners in Germany, according to a re-
port made by the Postmaster General to
the House of Commons on June 20. Each
week the interned Germans, receive an
average of 9,260 parcels and money
orders having a total value of $12,000.
The number of parcels received has de-
creased nearly one-half from last year.
This was attributed by the Postmaster
General to greater difficulty in obtaining
materials to send from Germany.
* * ♦
German Casualty Figures
GERMAN casualties reported in Ger-
man official lists during May, 1917,
were as follows :
Total to
May. date.
Killed and died of wounds.. 19,006 998,439
Died of sickness 2,994 69,688
Prisoners 886 303,309
Missing 25,076 2.14,101
Severely wounded 14,348 571,386
Wounded 3,858 310,010
Slightly wounded 36,133 1,599,743
Wounded remaining with
units. 8,055 249,478
Total 110,956 4,356,760
* * *
Small Armies in Decisive Battles
THE attempt of a Chinese General to
restore the fallen Manchu dynasty,
which conquered China in 1644, having at
his disposal only 7,000 troops with which
he tried to change the destinies of 400,-
000,000 population covering 4,000,000
square miles, recalls the fact that many
of the world's decisive battles have been
fought with bodies of troops which, in
comparison with the numbers involved
in the present war, seem absolutely in-
significant. But it should be remembered
that only the very recent development of
railroads has made possible the moving
and victualing of the huge mod9rn
armies.
On the morning of the battle of
Lexington 130 answered Captain John
Parker's rollcall, and not all of these
took part in the fighting; at Concord,
later in the same day, Aprij 19, 1775,
there were 450 minutemen; men, that is,
who " answered at a minute's notice."
The Americans under Lieut. Col. Smith
lost eighteen killed. At the battle of
Long Island, Aug. 22, 1776, Lord Howe
had 20,000 men, while Washington sent
to General Putnam only 7,000 men, who,
however, constituted more than one-third
of his entire effective force. At the battle
of Harlem Heights, Sept. 16, 1776, Lord
Howe had 5,000 against Washington's
1,800 Americans, and the relative num-
bers were about the same at Bennington,
Stony Point, and King's Mountain. At the
battle of Princeton, Jan. 3, 1777, Lord
Cornwallis had 6,000, while Washington
had 3,600 men; yet this battle held Howe
up for six months and laid the founda-
tion of the French alliance. At Yorktown,
Washington had 16,600 American and
French troops, while Cornwallis had
5,316.
A recent historian asserts that there
were not more than 5,000 knights in the
feudal army of William the Conqueror,
though older traditions placed the num-
ber at 60,000. John Fiske speaks of the
forces in Cromwell's wars as " trivial,"
though Cromwell's victories had a world-
wide significance.
rpHE lower house of Congress on July
J- 14 passed without opposition a bill
appropriating $640,000,000 for the crea-
tion of a great air fleet. It is understood
that the personnel authorized will ap-
proximate 100,000 men.
r[E Austrian Parliament decided July
17 that Dr. Friedrich Adler, the as-
sassin of Dr. Karl . Sturgkh, Premier of
Austria, should have been tried by a civil
instead of a military court, consequently
the death sentence imposed on him will
not be carried out. His address at his
trial is given elsewhere in this issue.
TUAN CHI-JUI was reappointed
Premier and War Minister of China
after the collapse of the effort to restore
the monarchy, and Li Yuan-hung an-
nounced that he would retire from the
Presidency in favor of the Vice Presi-
dent, Feng Kuo-chang. Tuan favored
China's entrance into the war. on the
side of the Allies.
Military Events of the Month
Period From June 18 to July 18, 1917
By J. B. W. Gardiner
Formerly Lieutenant Eleventh U. S. Cavalry
THE past month has seen one of the
most remarkable events of the en-
tire war — the renewal of the Rus-
sian offensive begun last year. On
July 1, the anniversary of the beginning
of the battle of the Somme, the Russians
began a determined movement along the
northern course of the Zlota Lipa from
Brzezany to Zloczow.
From such information as had reached
us as to the condition of affairs in the
new republic, the conclusion was almost
unavoidable that there was no hope of
Russia giving any assistance to the Allies
during the current year. The spirit of
the army, it appeared, had been destroyed
through the period of fraternization with
the enemy; their discipline was believed
to have broken down entirely and their
morale to be seriously impaired. The
ammunition industry, besides, was par-
tially paralyzed through strikes and im-
possible demands of the workmen, and the
transport service, by which food and
supplies were sent to the front, was com-
pletely disorganized. There was also an
element in Petrograd, supported by Ger-
man interests, that was outspoken against
a renewal of the fighting and in favor
either of a separate peace or an indefinite
armistice. In the face of this condition,
it did not seem possible that Russia could
be counted upon as a factor in the fight-
ing until next year.
But there was one man in Russia who
saw the condition of affairs in its true
perspective, who knew that the success of
the revolution depended upon a continu-
ation of hostilities until Germany was
beaten, and whose enthusiasm and
personal magnetism were so great as to
nullify all opposing influences. This man
was the new Secretary of War, Kerensky.
The credit for the renewal of the fighting
on the Russian front is his and his alone,
and its successful prosecution a tribute to
his personal inspiration.
When the Russian offensive of last
year was finally halted, the battle line
followed the eastern bank of the Zlota
Lipa from its source near Zloczow as
far as Brzezany. Here it made a curve
around the latter point, crossing the
river, and continued southward to the
Dniester, which it crossed just west of
Maryimpol. Passing west of Stanislau,
it continued south to the Carpathian
Mountains, where it linked up to the
Rumanian line along the border between
Rumania and Transylvania.
First Russian Attack
The first task which the Russians had
to accomplish, then, if they proposed to
reach out for Lemberg from the east,
was to clear the line of the Zlota Lipa
throughout its length. This river flows
through a deep cut with almost perpen-
dicular sides, making it a particularly
nasty line to force. All the advantage
lies with the defense, and only great pre-
ponderance of artillery would give an
attack a reasonable chance of success.
It could, however, be flanked by a cross-
ing to the north, where the river is nar-
row and presents a less difficult prob-
lem, and this the Russians tried to do
through an attack between Brzezany and
Zloczow.
The small village of Koniuchy was
taken in this first effort, and about
10,000 prisoners fell into Russian hands.
The ground gained, however, added little
to their achievement. It was in every
way immaterial. There was, however, a
valuable significance in the character of
the fighting. The Russians used artil-
lery on a very large scale. Apparently
they had a great supply of shell and
were disposed to use it. There was also
evidence that the army which made the
attack, the army of Brusiloff , had not
been seriously affected by the revolu-
tion. No army which was in an unor-
228
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
ganized condition a short time before
could have been driven, thoroughly in
hand at all times, as was the army
which took this small village and so
many Austrian prisoners. The fighting
.was of the heaviest kind and must have
been accompanied by very heavy losses
on the part of the Russians. That they
Blow South of the Dniester
Suddenly, without pausing in their at-
tacks at Brzezany, the Russians opened
up a terrific attack south of the Dniester,
driving due west from the vicinity of
Stanislau toward Dolina and Stryj. It is
somewhere in this vicinity that the Ger-
mans and the Austrians link up, and it
0 y io so
(MILES)
LEMBER
RUSSIAH
MAP SHOWING PROGRESS OF THE NEW RUSSIAN OFFENSIVE IN GALICIA
kept up the fighting is another indica-
tion of the morale which prevailed.
Not meeting with any great success at
this point* the attack was switched fur-
ther south, to Brzezany, where an effort
was made to draw a noose around that
important crossing, which, because of the
high hills behind it, controls the country
to the south and defends the railroad
from Lemberg through Rohatyn. The
Russian effort here was another failure.
was the Russian idea, undoubtedly, to
separate the two forces by driving a
wedge between them. This idea is sound.
The history of the war on the eastern
front will show conclusively that the Au-
strian is no match for the Russian. Where-
ever they have met on the field of battle
the Austrian has invariably been beaten.
In the early days of the war it was
the first invasion of Galicia which placed
the Russian Army at the gates of Cracow
MILITARY EVENTS OF THE MONTH
229
and threatened Silesia. Last year it was
the great blow in Volhynia which nearly-
destroyed the Austrian Army. And now
again Russia was attempting the same
thing. How reasonable the argument is
is shown by the results. The Austrian
line cracked, the crack widened, and
finally the line broke, permitting the
Russians to pour through. We hear very
often of a line being broken, but we
seldom see it done. It is not sufficient
merely to penetrate it. The gap through
which the penetration is made must be
very wide, so that sufficient troops can
pass through to have some effect on the
two wings thus separated. But the Au-
strian line was truly broken, and the Rus-
sian cavalry raced through, widening the
gap as they passed.
The Lukwa River was reached and
crossed almost without opposition. The
Lomnica, the next stream met with, was
the test. The east bank is low, the west
bank very high and heavily wooded. If
the Austrians could hold the Russians to
the east bank of the stream they still had
a. chance to repair the damage. But the
Russians were not to be halted here.
The Cossack cavalry forced the river not
more than fifteen miles south of the
Dniester and drove at the town of Ka-
lusz, the Austrians' former headquar-
ters. They found it unoccupied and took
possession.
Fall of Kalusz and Halicz
The Germans, however, had hurried
reinforcements south to assist the beaten
Austrians, and they came in contact with
the advancing Russians first at this point.
A heavy but local battle occurred, and
the Russians, finding themselves tem-
porarily outnumbered, withdrew. But re-
inforcements were arriving for both
sides, and the real battle for the town
was on. It changed hands several times,
but finally fell securely to the Russians.
Kalusz has an importance which in every
way justified the effort to take it. West
of the Lomnica River there is no barrier
between it and the Stryj. The country*
is wide open, rolling, it is true, but with-
out any definite natural barrier which
would hinder the advance. If a stand is
to be made anywhere east of the Stryj,
the Lomnica is the line which would be*
selected. Kalusz is the "most important
town along the river, and is, moreover,
on the Lemberg-Stanislau railroad. It
was for these reasons that the Austrians
selected it for their headquarters. With
its fall went the line of £he Lomnica, the
Russians, as this article is written, be-
ing apparently firmly established on the
west bank.
While this wedge was being pushed
between the Austrian and the German
armies the town of Halicz, on the Dnies-
ter, was stormed and taken. This place
is important because it covers the first
large bridge east of Chotin across the
Dniester, and therefore may be said to
guard Lemberg from an attack from the
south. A covering force to guard the
bridgehead was at once thrown across
the Dniester, so that the Russians are
now securely on the northern bank.
Effects of Russian Advance
The net results of the Russian advance
up to the present time have been large.
Nearly 50,000 prisoners have been taken
— mostly Austrians — together with great
quantities, not enumerated in dispatches,
of guns and war material of all kinds.
It is certain that the latter results have
been considerable. The wedge which the
Russians have pushed into the Teutonic
lines is over twenty miles deep and at
least half that width. The rate of ad-
vance was extremely rapid, the entire
advance having been made in twelve
days. There was not sufficient time to
remove to safety the mass of materials
normally held behind such a line. The
fact that the taking of a number of guns
of large calibre is sufficient indication of
what must have happened to the Austrian
reserve supply centres.
The Russian offensive is, however, in-
finitely more injurious to the Teutonic
cause than the military damage so far in-
flicted. Ever since the beginning of the
war Germany has played, as a most im-
portant card, the sympathy of a not in-
considerable number of Russians close
to the Petrograo" Court. . Sturmer yraf Al-
most openly a German tool. The result
was hardly what Germany had been led
to expect | nevertheless, it was not for the
moment without<a decided element of ad-
vantage.
When the Russian revolution broke, the
German military councils had before them
230
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
two alternatives. It was inevitable that
such a tremendous civil upheaval should
bring in its wake a military upheaval of
equal intensity. Disorganization in the
military would follow as a matter of
course. Should the German Army take
advantage of the military situation and
attack with chances of a conclusive vic-
tory, or should Germany play the diplo-
matic game, trusting to her complete or-
ganization in Russia to produce either a
separate peace or a perpetual armistice?
Either way the chances of success were
bright. While Germany was hesitating
between the two, the British and the
French on the western front became most
active. A perfect hurricane of attacks
followed, almost without cessation, de-
manding all Germany's reserve strength
to fight back. The situation was des-
perate.
A Diplomatic Battle Lost
Confronted, then, with this resistless,
unrelenting pressure on the western
front, Germany decided to fight Russia
with diplomacy rather than with force of
arms. It was a gamble, but, as far as
was apparent at the time, in no sense a
desperate gamble. There was no indi-
cation that Russia could get her organ-
ization straightened out for some time to
come. German Socialists were contin-
ually active and had formed an anti-war
party in Russia which precluded the idea
of any immediate military activity. To
them Germany intrusted the task of neu-
tralizing Russia. To have attacked Rus-
sia under such circumstances would have
been to run the danger of solidifying, on
the theory of the defense of the new free-
dom, all the discordant elements. And a
new Russia in the field, with all elements
of treachery removed — a Russia in con-
trol of the people rather than of a weak
aristocracy — would possess an element of
potential force that Germany could not
face with equanimity.
There were, moreover, certain military
factors to be considered. The first was
the situation on the western front, a
situation upon which hung the reputation
of von HindenbUrg. His celebrated line
was under attack, and a weakening of
any portion just at that time might cause
a breach aria* send the German Army
scurrying back to the frontier. There
was Italy, who had begun an offensive on
a large scale on the Carso, the initial
success of which promised badly for the
Central Powers unless it could be checked.
Austrian reinforcements had to be sent to
Italy and to France. The available sup-
ply of human materials was small unless
the needed men could be detached from
the eastern theatre. Germany, therefore,
abandoned the Russian front — particu-
larly the northern portion — to the diplo-
mats, and betook a not inconsiderable
part of the army for service in the west
and south.
But Russia has always been the great
surprise of this war. At the end of 1915
he seemed completely out of it, as a result
)f her disastrous defeat along the Dunajec
line, only to return to the fighting six
months later more powerful than ever.
And now Russia is again afield, possess-
ing the power of at least a tremendous
initial drive, whether or not it can be sus-
tained for any considerable period. Ger-
many played her cards and lost.
Delay Means German Defeat
The situation in which the Central
Empires are placed is, therefore, that they
must win the war in 1917, force the Allies
to admit a draw during that year, or go
down to inevitable defeat. In 1918 a new
Russia will be in the field, a Russia of
whose strength the present is but an
indication. In that year the United
States, fast mobilizing its resources for
war purposes, will have material strength
in Europe, and will be growing stronger
as each day passes. It will not be a ques-
tion, as was once contemplated, of
America taking the place of Russia on
the battlefield; America will be supple-
menting the resources of the*iew republic
with her own.
There remains, as far as is apparent,
the submarine campaign, which has fallen
far short of the requirements admitted
by Germany as necessary last February.
The effect of this will have to be greatly
increased if it is to accomplish its pur-
pose. And, if we admit as true the state-
ments of the German Chancellor, it is
Germany's only and last hope.
The British at Lens
The most important series of actions
on the western front during the month
MILITARY EVENTS OF THE MONTH
231
was that of the British along that dirty-
little stream which flows about Lens —
the Souchez River. Ever since taking
Vimy Ridge the British have been peck-
ing at the Lens position. Their aim is to
surround it from the south and so force
its occupants out by the squeezing proc-
ess. The steps taken this month were
begun by the Canadians seizing the high
ground west of the suburb of Coulotte.
From here, with the trenches close to-
gether, they advanced step by step, oc-
cupied Coulotte, and established a line
squarely across the Lens-Arras road, a
scant mile from the village.
The same slow but unhalting process
resulted somewhat later in the occupation
of Avion, and Lens was placed in a deep
SCENE OF BRITISH ADVANCES NEAR LENS
pocket, the mouth of which was being
constantly narrowed. There seems to be
no reason to doubt that the British could
take Lens whenever it is desired to do so ;
but the Germans have so conducted mat-
ters that it would be a very expensive
operation. In order to give a clear field
of fire to the artillery, the houses of the
town have been practically leveled. The
whole town was then turned into one
gigantic nest of machine guns, the cellar
of every house being a machine-gun em-
placement.
The process how going on is slow, but
interesting. British raiding parties, made
up almost entirely of Canadians, are en-
tering the town with very small loss,
and are destroying these positions one
after the other by means of bombs. Some-
times a machine gun or two are taken,
sometimes they are simply destroyed. But
the raids are being carried on without
cessation.
It is distinctly noticeable that several
weeks have elapsed since the British
have attempted any major attack. There
is no way- of gauging the situation as
there was in the battle of the Somme.
The operations of the year have con-
sisted in a series of more or less de-
tached attacks, each an independent bat-
tle. It is an entirely new development
on this front, and has one distinguishing
feature. Every attack has had for its
object some one position of great local
value — usually from the standpoint of
observation. In almost every case, more-
over, this object has been attained.
"What the next phase will bring forth it
is impossible to forecast.
The Chemln des Dames
Except for one minor attack in the
Champagne country east of Rheims,
which produced only negative results,
France has been on the defensive for
the entire month. The Germans have at-
tacked at a number of points between
Soissons and Verdun, many of their at-
tacks having reached the intensity and
magnitude of a major effort. This is
particularly true of the many attacks
made along the Chemin des Dames.
There is no line between Verdun and the
North Sea that is more valuable than
this Road of the Ladies. As long as it is
in French hands it remains a constant
threat against the German position at
Laon, which is the very pillar of the
whole line to the north.
This celebrated road runs along a tree-
fringed ridge and brings under obser-
vation many miles of country northward.
At the foot of the northern slopes runs
the Aillette River, and from its valley-
rises the high ground on which Laon is
situated. It is amost literally true that
the German attacks against the French
positions here have been unceasing. In-
232
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
deed, such has been their persistency
that one is reminded of the attacks at
Verdun. It might well be that what the
Germans failed to do at Verdun — bleed
the French to death — they are now try-
ing to do on the Chemin des Dames.
Whether this be the object or not, it is
certainly true that the British are being
left alone, and all strength concentrated
against the French.
All the attacks, however, have been
utterly fruitless. The French have broken
them one after the other without having
their lines even dented. Because of the
great advantage of the French position
the probabilities are that the German
losses have far exceeded those of the
French.
German Attack on the Yser
On the extreme left of the allied line,
far to the north amid the sand dunes of
Belgium, the Germans made the first of-
fensive effort against the British that
they have undertaken on their own initia-
tive within a year. They had been
whipped and spurred into many heavy
and vicious counterattacks, but not for a
long time had they undertaken an of-
fensive effort voluntarily.
The northern extremity of the British
line in Belgium is in a sense inclosed by
a triangle formed by a bend in the Yser
Kiver. Going up the river from its mouth,
we travel generally southward for a dis-
tance of about two miles, and then turn
abruptly eastward. The British line, as
it was established after the German at-
tempt to drive to Calais, ran about 600
yards to the east of the southward
stretch of the Yser, circled about the
town of Nieuport, and, crossing the Yser
Canal, continued south past Ypres to
Armentieres. It was against that stretch
of line between the coast and the canal
that the German attack fell.
Inasmuch as the establishment of the
British lines in this sector was the re-
sult of a defensive engagement, it is a
matter of surprise that a position on the
far side of the river was selected. To
make a stand before an aggressive enemy
with a river only 600 yards in one's rear
is a rather hazardous undertaking. A
quick, hard blow which shatters the cross-
ings in rear while the infantry presses
forward in front is apt to pin the de-
fenders in between the advancing infan-
try and the river in such a way that
"escape becomes impossible. The only
reason that suggests itself as to the re-
tention by the British of such a dangerous
position is that the posibilities of an of-
fensive from this quarter was con-
templated, and in view of this it was con-
sidered better to have the river behind
rather than a barrier before them. In
other words, it was a gamble as to who
would start the first offensive. If Ger-
many acted first, the British were in
SCENE OF BRITISH REVERSE ON THE YSER
RIVER
serious trouble. If the British began
operations they stood a good chance of
improving their situation and eliminating
the danger of having the river in their
rear.
The ground over which the German
attack was made is perfectly flat, except
for the dunes, the intrenchments being
built up of sandbags instead of being
dug. Apparently there has been but lit-
tle airplane activity on this front, so that
when the Germans were ready for the
attack they had the great advantage of
superiority in the air, which means the
advantage of observation.
Attack Was a Surprise
The attack came as a distinct surprise.
Unnoticed by the British air scouts, the
Germans effected a heavy concentration
MILITARY EVENTS OF THE MONTH
233
of guns on this small front and suddenly-
opened a hurricane of artillery fire on the
sandbag defenses. At the same time the
bridges over the river as well as over the
canal were bombarded and destroyed.
Reinforcements were thus held back of
the river where they could not reach the
front British trenches. After a brief but
intense artillery preparation the Ger-
man infantry was sent forward and
caught the British against the river with
no line of retreat.
The battle was of very brief duration
and was a decMed success. The British
force north of the canal — not more than
a few battalions — was completely de-
stroyed either through capture or casual-
ties. The prisoners taken were about
1,200, with probably very > small loss to
the Germans. It was a brilliant move-
ment, but one of minor importance. Its
result on the general situation is that it
improves the defensive strength of the
German line in this section by forcing
the British into a position where they
have to fight their way across a river
under fire should they ever intend to take
the offensive against the Belgian coast.
The Germans at no point were able to
cross the river themselves, and having
destroyed the bridges with their own ar-
tillery they will have considerable diffi-
culty following the affair any further
should they be so disposed.
Failure in Western Asia
Russia's very effective and truly re-
markable work on the European front
has to some extent been offset by her
complete failure in Western Asia, as
evidenced by the Turkish reoccupation
of the town of Khanikin. This small
village has a peculiarly important
strategic value in any campaign whose
object is the occupation of the Meso-
potamian plains. The mountains of
Western Persia limit, as with a heavy
wall, the eastern boundary of this plain.
This wall is broken in but one place,
and that by the excellent road from
Kermanshah to Bagdad. This passage
is covered by Khanikin. It was here
that the Russian offensive broke down
a year ago, and during the past months
we have seen a similar retreat.
This means that contact with the Brit-
ish, upon which the success of the entire
Asiatic campaign is based, has again
been broken, leaving the British right
flank completely in the air. On account
of the excessive heat in this theatre, this
matter is not as important or as serious
as it would have been had the incident
occurred earlier in the year. As a mat-
ter of fact, there has yet to be any ac-
tivity in Mesopotamia during the Sum-
mer months, and this may explain the
Russian action.
In all other theatres there has been
marked quiet, as if all the powers were
pausing for breath before undertaking
new engagements.
Progress of the War
Recording Campaigns on All Fronts and Collateral Events
From June 19 Up to and Including July 18, 1917
UNITED STATES
A Russian Commission headed by Ambas-
sador Boris A. Bakhmeteff and a Ru-
manian Commission headed by Dr. Ba-
sile Lucaciu conferred with. American of-
ficials in Washington on the conduct of
the war.
On June 19 Vice Admiral Sims was appoint-
ed to take general charge of the allied
naval forces in Irish waters.
All contingents of the American expedition-
ary forces arrived safely in France arid
were sent to training camps. The trans-
ports were attacked twice by German
submarines, but the U-boats were driven
oft by American naval gunners, and at
least one of them was sunk.
American airplane experts reached England
to study modern aircraft designing and
manufacturing.
On June 22 President Wilson signed an or-
der authorizing the creation of an Ex-
ports Council, and on July 8 he issued a
proclamation providing for Government
control of exports.
An appeal to business men calling for fair'
war prices was issued by the President
July 11.
234
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
SUBMARINE BLOCKADE
The American steamships Orleans, Kansan,
Massapequa, and Grace, the schooner
Mary W. Bowen, and the barkentine Hil-
degaard were sunk by submarines.
According- to British official statements,
England's losses for the week ended June
16 included twenty-seven vessels of over
1,600 tons ; for the week ended June 23,
twenty-one vessels ; for the week ended
June 30, fifteen ; for the week ended July
7, fourteen, and for the week ended July
14, fourteen. These included the Leyland
liner Cestrian and the transport Arma-
dale. A torpedo boat destroyer was sunk
In the North Sea.
Announcement was made on June 23 that
twelve Greek vessels, with tonnage of
31,542, had been sunk since April 1.
France reported two steamships of more
than 1,600 tons lost in the week ended
June 24 and four in the week ended
July 1.
Germany ceded to Holland a number of Ger-
man ships interned in the Dutch East In-
dies as payment for vessels destroyed by
U-boats.
Argentina demanded an indemnity for the
torpedoing of the vessels Oriana and
Toro.
Spain barred submarines from her territorial
waters.
Brazil revoked her decree of neutrality in
the war between the Entente Allies and
Germany, and her navy joined the United
S'tates fleet in patrolling the South At-
lantic on watch for German sea raiders
or submarines.
CAMPAIGN IN EASTERN EUROPE
June 26 — Russians repulse strong attacks in
Galicia in the direction of Zlochoff.
July 1-2 — Russians, led by Kerensky in
person, resume their drive toward Lem-
berg and advance on an eighteen-mile
front ; they raid Teuton positions in Vol-
hynia, toward Kovel.
July 3 — Austro-Germans are evacuating
Brzezany ; Russians take Presovce, Zbo-
row, and Korshiduv, and drive the enemy
across the Stripa River.
July 6 — Teutons repulse Russian massed at-
tacks between Zborow and Koniuchy.
July 7 — Fighting begins near Pinsk ; city of
Pinsk reported in flames ; Russians occupy
German trenches in the Zlochoff region
and near Koniuchy.
July 8-9 — Russian offensive spreads north
and south of Halicz ; Russians cross the
Bystritza River on both sides of the rail-
road line running west from Stanislau to
Kalusz and Dolina, and capture several
villages and the town of Jezupol.
July 10 — Russians take Halicz; Austro-Ger-
man forces driven across the Lomnica and
Luvka Rivers.
July 11 — Russians advance on 100-mile front,
pursuing the Teutons across the upper
Lomnica River.
July 12 — Russians capture Kalusz and push
on toward Dolina.
July 13 — Russians press on in Galicia on a
front of nearly fifty miles from Halicz to
the foot of the Carpathians, capturing
several important heights north of the
Dniester and driving the Teutons back to
northeast of Ehilus and capturing Perch-
insko, west of Kalusz.
July 14 — Russians beat off two attacks on
Kalusz and capture Novicka.
July 15 — Russians repulse attacks in the
Lodziany region and take many Austrian
prisoners.
July 16 — Russians take eastern end of
Lodziany.
July 17 — Russians driven out of Kalusz by
German reinforcements and lose Novicka,
but retake it.
July 18 — Teutons open heavy fire along the
front from south of Brzezany and in the
region of Halicz.
CAMPAIGN IN WESTERN EUROPE
June 19 — French repulse German attempts
to regain positions in the Champagne dis-
trict between Mont Carnillet and Mont
Blond.
June 20 — British retake lost positions east
of Monchy-le-Preux ; Canadians repulse
attacks on new positions near Lens ; Ger-
mans on the Aisne capture part of
French first-line trench east of Vaux-
aillon.
June 21 — French retake part of lost ground
at Vauxaillon and push their lines ahead
near Mont Carnillet on a 600-yard front.
June 22 — Germans pierce French salient on
a front of one and a quarter miles along
the Chemin des Dames from west of La
Royere Farm to the Epine de Chevregny.
June 24— French recapture greater part of
salient east of Vauxaillon.
June 25 — British advance on a front of one
and a half miles southwest of Lens.
June 26 — Canadians capture La Coulotte and
push beyond it toward Lens; French on
the Aisne capture positions northwest of
Hurtebise Farm.
June 27 — French drive Germans from the
Dragon's Cave near Hurtebise.
June 28 — Canadians, in drive on Lens, push
on half way through Avion.
June 29 — British carry German line between
Oppy and Gavrelle on a front of 2,000
yards ; Germans at Verdun capture
French positions on both sides of the
Malancourt-Esnes road and storm Avo-
court Wood.
June 30 — British advance a mile toward
Lens over a front of four miles ; Germans
make small gains at Dead Man Hill.
July 1— Heavy fighting around Avocourt
Wood, Hill 304, and Dead Man Hill;
British draw close to Lens.
July 2— French drive Germans out of posi-
tions west of Cerny village ; British forced
to retire west of Lens.
July 3— French repulse German attacks on
PROGRESS OF THE WAR
235
the Aisne on both sides of the Ailles-
Paissy road ; big artillery battle in the
Ypres salient.
July 4— Germans launch powerful offensive
north of the Aisne on a front of nearly
eleven miles, from north of Joney to the
Californie Plateau, but are repulsed with
heavy losses ; Germans attack French po-
sitions on the left bank of the Meuse with
liquid fire, but are driven back.
July 5— British advance their line south of
Ypres on a 600-yard front near Hollebeke.
July 7— British advance east of Wytschaete
in Belgium.
July 8— German attack in four sectors on the
Chemin des Dames repulsed ; French seize
three strongly organized salients on the
west bank of the Meuse.
July 9— French, drive Germans from positions
on the Aisne front near Bovettes and
Chevregny Ridge.
July 11 — Germans launch a strong attack
against the British north of Nieuport and
drive them back on the Yser River.
July 12— Germans storm British trenches
near Monchy and take many prisoners.
July 15 — Germans penetrate French salient
west of Cerny, but lose part of ground
seized ; French in Champagne capturie
German trenches north of Mont Haut
and northwest of Teton height.
July 17 — French capture German first and
second" lines^on a wide front northwest of
Verdun.
ITALIAN CAMPAIGN
June 20 — Italians resume the offensive in the
Trentino and capture Austrian positions
on Monte Ortigara.
June 21— Italians explode a mine in the Val
Gasteana-Ampezzo sector under the spur
of the Lagazroi Piccolo and destroy the
Austrian garrison.
June 26 — Austrians suffer heavy losses in
attempt to retake positions in the Orti-
gara sector.
July 11 — Italians advance on the Carso and
occupy Dalino.
July 12 — Austrians driven back in counter-
attack after reaching advanced Italian
position on Col Bricon.
CAMPAIGN IN ASIA MINOR
June 29 — Turks drive Russians across the
River Abis Hirman on the Persian fron-
tier.
July 6 — Russians attack Turks in the region
of Sakkiz.
July 9 — Turks reoccupy Panjwin, Khanikin,
and Kasr-i-Shirin on the Persian border.
July 12 — Announcement made in British
House of Commons of capture by the
Arabs of Turkish posts between the
Tafila-Main district and Akaba.
July 15 — Russians drive back Turkish' ad-
vance guards on the left bank of the River
Arish-Darasi.
AERIAL RECORD
British aviators bombarded Ghistelles, Nieu-
munster, Ostend, and other towns in Bel-
gium and brought down seven German
machines at Dunkirk. On July 6 eighty-
four French machines raided Germany,
dropping bombs on Treves, Coblenz,
Essen, and other towns of military im-
portance, and causing heavy damage at
the Krupp Works. In the biggest air
battle of the war, July 12, the British
brought down fourteen German airplanes
on the French front and drove sixteen
out of control. Nine British machines
were lost.
Two great raids were made on England.
On July 4 German airplanes dropped
bombs on Harwich, killing eleven people
and injuring thirty-six. Two German ma-
chines were lost. On July 11 London was
raided and thirty-seven persons killed and
141 injured. Three of the twenty German
machines that took part in the raid were
brought down.
British naval aviators attacked the Turkish
fleet off Constantinople and dropped
bombs on the cruiser Sultan Selin,
formerly the German cruiser Goeben. The
War Office at Constantinople was also
hit.
NAVAL RECORD
The American sailing ship Galena was sunk
by a bomb off the French coast.
Great Britain, in a decree that became ef-
fective July 4, extended the danger zones
in the North Sea northward and west-
ward.
Ponta Delgada, in the Azores, was bombarded
by a German submarine. An American
transport joined in the firing at the
U-boat.
The Peninsular and Oriental liner Mongolia
was sunk by a mine off Bombay.
The French armored cruiser Kleber was sunk
by a mine off Point St. Mathieu on
June 27. Thirty-eight men were lost.
A British torpedo boat destroyer and a Ger-
man torpedo boat were sunk by mines in
the North Sea. British destroyers sank
four German merchant ships, captured
four, and routed others off the coast of
Holland.
An armed American schooner returning to an
Atlantic port reported that she had sunk
an attacking U-boat.
A Russian torpedo boat was blown up by a
mine in the Black Sea on June 30.
RUSSIA
The Pan-Russian Congress of Councils of
Workmen's and Soldiers' Delegates
adopted a minority resolution approving
the creation of a Coalition Government,
voted to dissolve the Duma and the Coun-
cil of the Empire, and rejected the pro-
posal for a separate peace with Germany.
Rear Admiral Glennon of the American diplo-
matic mission, by an address to the
soldiers of the Black Sea fleet at Sebas-
236
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
topol, ended the mutiny there and secured
the restoration of the officers.
Elihu Root and other members of the Ameri-
can Commission addressed the people of
PetrogTad and other large cities, pleading
for the establishment of a secure Govern-
ment and continued co-operation with the
Allies.
The Social Democratic Congress of Finland
adopted resolutions demanding the sep-
aration of Finland from Russia and the
formation of an independent republic.
The Finnish Diet passed the second read-
ing of a bill establishing virtual indepen-
dence, and refused to grant a full 350,000,-
000 mark loan to Russia.
Five Ministers resigned from the Cabinet
because of their unwillingness to decree
the autonomy of Ukraine in the absence
of the Constituent Assembly.
Petrograd was placed under martial control
on July 18, following outbreaks by the
Maximalists.
GREECE
The Zaimis Cabinet resigned and a new
Ministry was formed by Venizelos. On
June 29 the Government severed diplo-
matic relations with the Teutonic Allies.
Turkey announced that she would con-
sider this act equivalent to a declaration
of war and would deport the Greeks and
confiscate their property. On July 16 the
United States received official informa-
tion that Greece considered herself a bel-
ligerent.
MISCELLANEOUS
German authorities seized twenty prominent
Belgians and deported them to Germany
in reprisal for what Germany alleged
was inhuman treatment of German civil-
ian prisoners taken by the Belgians at
Tabora, in German East Africa.
The German Emperor divided Belgium into
two districts and named one German ad-
ministrator for the Flemish district and
another for the Walloon section. *
Germany imposed a fine of 250,000,000 francs
on the occupied territory in Rumania.
An investigation into German plots for sink-
ing Norwegian ships by concealing ex-
plosives in artificial lumps of coal in the
coal bunkers resulted in the arrest of
several Germans in Norway and a for-
mal protest to the German Government.
A secret German wireless station was found
on an island outside of Arendal.
The Austrian Ministry, headed by Count
Clam-Martinic, resigned following the
refusal of the Polish Party in Parliament
to vote for the war budget. A temporary
Ministry was formed by Dr. von Seydler.
The extent of Bohemian disaffection was re-
vealed in a statement by F. von Georgi,
retiring Minister of Defense, that three
Czech regiments had deserted to the Rus-
sians and that Czech prisoners of war had
volunteered for service against Austria.
Spain suspended constitutional guarantees on
June 26. Catalonia and the Basque
provinces demanded autonomy.
The young Manchu emperor, Hsuan Tung,
was restored to the throne in China on
July 1 by General Chang Hsun, who or-
dered President Li Yuan-hung to retire.
He was forced to abdicate on July 7 when
the Republican forces under Tuan Chi-jui
routed the Monarchists near Lang Fang.
The Republicans later captured Peking.
President Li Yuan-hung decided not to
resume office and Tuan Chi-jui assumed
the Premiership and took over the war
portfolio.
Germany was convulsed by a political crisis.
Chancellor von Bethmann Hollweg, in a
speech before the Reichstag on July 9,
rejected the Socialist-Centrist program of
peace without annexation and declared for
continued fighting for conquest. The Em-
peror promised electoral reforms in
Prussia. Dr. A. F. M. Zimmermann re-
signed as Secretary of Foreign Affairs and
was succeeded by Count Brockdorff-
Rantzau. Count von Roedern, the Fi-
nance Minister, replaced Dr. Karl Helf-
ferich as Minister of the Interior. Beth-
mann Hollweg resigned on July 14 after
a conference between the Kaiser and the
Crown Prince and other military leaders.
He was succeeded by Dr. Georg Michaelis.
Vice Admiral Delbono succeeded Vice Ad-
miral Arturo as Italian Minister of Ma-
rine.
Albanian leaders asked the Italian Govern-
ment to represent them and their interests
at the coming allied conference in Paris,
and to demand for them Epirus and parts
of Serbia.
Anti-conscription agitation on the part of the
French Canadians resulted in riots in
Montreal and Quebec.
As a result of a report on the mismanage-
ment of the British campaign in Meso-
potamia, J. Austen Chamberlain resigned
as Secretary of State for India. He was
succeeded by Edwin Samuel Montagu.
Lord Hardinge -also presented his resig-
nation as Under Secretary of State for
Foreign Affairs, but it was not accepted.
Bonar Lav/ announced in Commons that
a judicial inquiry would be made to place
the blame for the fiasco. Several other
changes wei*e made in the British Min-
istry. Sir Edward Carson resigned as
First Lord of the Admiralty and joined
the War Cabinet without portfolio. He
was succeeded by Sir Eric Campbell
Geddes. Winston Churchill succeeded Dr.
Christopher Addison as Minister of Mu-
nitions, Dr. Addison becoming Minister
without portfolio in charge of recon-
struction.
BRIGADIER GENERAL GEORGE 0. SQUIER
Chief Signal Officer of the Army, Whose Department Is
Responsible for Aviation.
{Photo Press Illustrating Service)
irnmiiiiiiiui
__
v--vvj--r v\
THE STARS AND STRIPES IN EUROPE
The Standard Bearers of a United States Army Medical Unit
at Blackpool, England.
. • (Photo Central News)
<5gfix^i
FTTH
GENERAL JOFFRE BREAKING GROUND FOR THE LAFAYETTE MONUMENT AT BALTIMORE.
BEHIND HIM IS M. VIVIANI, AND ON THE LEFT, WITH HAND EXTENDED, IS MAYOR
JAMES H. PRESTON
Joffre's Tribute to Lafayette at Baltimore
By J. H. Barget
AFTER the lapse of 136 years the close
XA. ties of friendship uniting French
and American hearts were renewed
in a dramatic episode in which the re-
cent French Mission took part at Balti-
more, Md. It was one of those mo-
ments in which history repeats itself.
On Nov. 5, 1781, when this nation
was just emerging from its struggle for
independence, the citizens of Baltimore
addressed these words to the Marquis de
Lafayette as he passed through that
place on his way from the South: " Your
good offices could not but increase a
cordiality which must render our union
with France a permanent one." The
presence of our troops today on the
battle front in France is a fulfillment of
that pledge. General Lafayette said in
reply:
" In the affections of the citizens of a
" free town I find a reward for the
" services of a whole life. The honor of
" being among America's first soldiers
" is for me a source of great happiness.
" The time when I had command of an
" army in Virginia, which you are pleased
" so politely to mention, has only shown
" that the courage and fortitude of
" American troops are superior to every
" kind of difficulty."
Like an echo from the tomb of that
beloved Frenchman came the expressions
of gratitude uttered by Marshal Joffre
on May 14, 1917, when the hero of the
Marne, with Vice Premier Viviani and
other French dignitaries, stood upon the
site in Mount Vernon Square, Baltimore,
where a monument is shortly to rise in
memory of Lafayette. And two months
later, on July 14, Frenchmen at home
celebrated their own national fete, recall
238
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
ing still more vividly the meaning of
the great epoch of human liberty which,
dawning in America in 1776, reached a
new fullness in France in 1789, and is
about to culminate in the destruction of
the last Bastile of absolutism.
In Baltimore during the Revolution
men and women provided General La-
fayette's troops with flour and clothing
on his march to the South; and today,
through popular subscription, they are
raising funds to erect a monument to the
illustrious Frenchman. Nothing more
was needed to stir the blood and senti-
ment of Americans than the presence of
the Marquis de Chambrun, a member of
the French War Commission. When he
followed General Joffre in breaking the
ground on which the monument to his
great-grandfather will rise in Baltimore
the cheering of the masses rose in vol-
umes for the hero of their ancestors, and
the echo passed the gigantic monument
of his friend, General George Washing-
ton, whose shadow falls on the Lafayette
site.
Many of those present at the dedication
of the Lafayette site were ancestors of
the association of youths known as the
De Kalb Cadets, which took part in the
great ovation given Lafayette when he
visited Baltimore on Oct. 24, 1824, as the
guest of the city, through a resolution
passed by the City Council. General La-
fayette arrived on the steamboat United
States, which conveyed him from French-
town. After being shown about the city
and entertained at the City Hall, Gen-
eral Lafayette was taken to an elevated
pavilion at Baltimore and Light Streets.
At this point the De Kalb Cadets passed
in review and a scene took place which
has been repeated in thousands of homes
to show how the great soldier of freedom
loved the people of Baltimore.
Each Marshal of the De Kalb Association
carried a scroll in his hand bound with
blue ribbon, upon which was inscribed
the word " Gratitude." Each Marshal de-
posited the scroll at the feet of the Gen-
eral. He repeatedly opened and closed
his arms as if in the act of pressing them
to his heart; and, when the procession
had passed, Lafayette suddenly turned
away and burst into tears.
The breaking of the ground for the
Lafayette Monument recalled this scene
as the earth was turned over by the
French Commission. The thousands of
school children seemed thrilled and
fairly throbbed the sentiments of the
noble Lafayette. They each recalled the
story of the banner of crimson silk with
which Lafayette was saluted on his
visit to the city in 1824 — the banner
whose memory lives in Longfellow's
poem, " Hymn of the Moravian Nuns at
the Consecration of Pulaski's Banner."
The banner was presented to Count Pu-
laski by the nuns of Bethlehem. At the
time he was raising a corps of cavalry
in Baltimore, having been made a Brig-
adier in the Continental Army, and had
called on Lafayette, who was wounded.
The visit to our shores of General
Joffre, former Premier Viviani, and the
French War Commission, coupled with
the celebration in Paris this year,
brings back vividly the days of the
Revolution. It appears singular that
after all these years we find ourselves
in a role similar to that played by
Lafayette and his fellow-countrymen in
our hour of peril.
Thomas Hastings, who designed the
Lafayette Monument in Paris, is now
working on the plans for its completion.
It is proposed to have the monument
erected in Baltimore before the next na-
tional holiday of France, July 14, 1918.
War's Inferno on the Aisne Ridge
By Wythe Williams
(Cabled to The New York Times, July 12, 1917)
YESTERDAY at dawn I stood on
the Chemin des Dames. For the
first time in almost three years
some one other than the strug-
gling soldiery has been able to reach
that bloody ridge. It is called the
Road of the Ladies, because it was built
by Louis XV. for his daughters. Al-
though grim irony now, the name must
remain famous forever as the scene of
the mighty conflict still raging for its
final possession.
Only a few yards from me was the
spot where once stood the monument of
Hurtebise, commemorating the battles of
Napoleon. Nothing remains of it. It is
just a spot pointed out by my officer in
that waste of tortured earth. The whole
road is the same. It is -only a place no
different from all that surrounds, and
which my officer told me was the Che-
min des Dames.
I crawled forward and down deep into
the earth through a great granite cavern
known as the Den of the Dragons. I
passed out beyond the Chemin des Dames
and crept slowly and cautiously into the
first line of shellholes of the French
Army — not trenches, but shellholes
vaguely connected by gullies of mud
and water. The first line of German
shellholes was directly down the ridge
beneath me.
The last of the stars were burning out
and the light of a new day was just
beginning to make things clear. There
had been four alarms sounded on that
particular section of the line in the
twenty-four hours previous, and during
the evening a strong but futile German
attack. But now it was intensely quiet.
Soldiers lay all about me — rifles and
hand grenades always ready — but no
sound broke the silence. The artillery
was taking an early morning sleep,
which fact alone was responsible for the
permission granted to me to get so
close to the very hand grapple of war.
What Our Troops Will See
Many miles behind lay an American
army. With its early coffee it might
dimly hear the artillery awake from
slumber — the awakening wafted to it on
the breezes of a July morning. I thought
of the American Army as I sat in the
mud beside a French poilu carefully
sighting his rifle on a ridge of wet
earth before us. I thought of the day,
so soon to come, when that army must
march forward to relieve some similar
portion of this line that is hell's very
own. I thought of the great armies
now being organized back home — armies
containing my friends and relatives, my
own people — which must come soon to
take their places in order that the world's
civilization may be saved.
Last November I tried to describe the
blasted slopes of Douaumont and the
battle front of Verdun. That battlefield
remains and always will remain the very
last word in modern war. Nothing sur-
passes its appearance. Nothing can ever
surpass it. But now the whole battle
line is getting just like that. Some of
it gradually, some quickly, like the
Chemin des Dames, which is almost as
awful a sight as Verdun after nearly
a year of constant grueling artillery
fire.
Along the Chemin des Dames I count-
ed four charred and splintered stumps
at great intervals. That was all that
remained to mark a roadway, once mac-
adamized and lined with great trees
and hedge rows. In a day or even an
hour they are likely to vanish, too, so that
nothing will remain but a long expanse
of tortured, shell-pocked, upturned, and
battered earth. It is like a wild sea sud-
denly made to be still a moment, draw-
ing under the caps of its waves thou-
sands of pieces from the wreckage of
sunken ships — the debris of battle and
the remnants of men. No other com-
parison than a sea fits the battlefield,
240
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
both in its appearance and its desola-
tion.
Importance of the Highroad
The Chemin des Dames runs for miles
along the very top of the crest captured
by the French at the time of the last
great offensive. It is something prob-
ably the most coveted by the Germans on
the whole battle line. Its possession
gives the French all the observatories
overlooking the valley of the Aillette.
Its continued possession by the French
makes the Germans tremble for their
future. So the battle is always going
on. Every day, almost every hour, at
some point or other along the Chemin
des Dames, the enemy strives desperately
to regain some portion of the old line
he held so long.
On this particular evening I was bil-
leted at an Army Headquarters far in
the rear, but was awakened by the sound
of the guns. There was a continuous, un-
ending roar that sounded plainly through
the night. I feared that the trip would
be called off, but on the stroke of 2
o'clock — the hour set for the start — an
orderly came to my cot with a pot of hot
coffee and told me an auto was waiting.
Getting into my boots, I noticed the bom-
bardment had died down, and went out-
side into a heavy drizzle which made me
quite happy. Not that I particularly wel-
comed walking some hours in the rain
and mud, but because the air was so
heavy I felt positively there would be no
German gas attack just while making the
last stages of the journey. The thought
of a gas attack at dawn on the unshel-
tered slopes of the Chemin des Dames
was anything but cheerful.
"We went some miles in the car with
lights bright, then at a certain point
everything was made dark. We plowed
away over tiny twisting new roads lead-
ing in the general direction of the front.
We went very slowly. I could see through
the dark long lines of troops plodding
along the roadside going in the same di-
rection. They were fresh troops, as we
learned later, going to relieve the men in
the front line who had borne the brunt of
the attack that night.
At 4 o'clock — it was still dark on ac-
count of the heavy weather — we left the
car in the rear at a post called the Moulin
Rouge. I could faintly see a cluster of
wooden shacks through the trees. I was
•met by a French Major. It was the gay
welcome habitual to French officers, no
matter what their business in hand. * * *
Sharpshooters at Work
We reached the listening post and
slumped down into the mud. The soldier
there was standing erect. We were all
exactly the same color as the mud about,
and the soldier told us it was quite safe
to stand up and take a look over the bar-
rier at the valley below. He explained
casually, but in whispers, that the Ger-
mans were straight down the slope at our
feet, so if they looked up to see what he
was doing they would be sure to be killed
by any one of scores of riflemen in simi-
lar positions to our own all along the
line.
He was leaning over the parapet, aim-
ing his rifle as he spoke. He was so
unconcerned, so ordinary, so matter of
fact, that I jumped back, startled and
amazed, as the sound of the rifle fired
suddenly broke the thread of conversa-
tion.
" Got an officer that time," he said,
after a moment, and kept holding the
same apparently casual but very careful
aim over the edge.
I stepped forward and looked about.
The entire valley of the Aillette stretched
away to distant hills. On the left I could
see moving Germans through a grove of
trees through glasses. They seemed no
further distant than across an ordinary
street. The artillery was still sleeping,
and they continued to move unchecked.
Over the tiny stream I could see several
white flags on what seemed to be bridges.
The officer explained that they were fake
Red Cross flags hung there by the Ger-
mans in a vain hope to avert fire.
I looked once more across the waste of
mud. Only a few yards out lay a head-
less body. It was recognizable as a body
then, but in a little while when the artil-
lery duel would again be under way it
would quickly be torn and retorn, buried
and reburied under the storm until noth-
ing remained.
WAR'S INFERNO ON THE AISNE RIDGE
241
As I stepped into the shelter a cannon
roared. It was broad daylight on the
Road of the Ladies.
Weary Troops From the Front
In a few minutes we began passing
lines of poilus headed for the rear. We
could not see clearly, but we understood
they were troops just out of the front
line. They paid no attention to us, and
we noticed a sense of weariness in their
walk as they plodded silently along.
We continued on our path beyond the
village, where we met another party
marching to the rear. At their heads
was a small detachment of stretcher
bearers. But the stretchers were rolled.
There were no wounded. The sight of
those rolled stretchers gave us a thrill
as great as if that detachment had been
a band playing martial music. The Ger-
mans had indeed failed if these Red
Cross men were going back with their
stretchers empty. Several of them smiled
a greeting as we passed. But the men
coming behind were like those we had
seen among the stones of the village.
They did not smile. Stumbling along in
the dim light they looked as forlorn as
scarecrows and just as bedraggled and
unkempt. The glory of fighting and
winning had all gone. They were just
a gang of dog-tired men and they did
not care a hang who we were or what.
They did not even see us; they stared
straight ahead with eyes so fixed, yet
so lifeless, that it almost seemed as if
they were blind.
They had come from that hell on the
Chemin des Dames. They had been
there for a prescribed number of days.
They had not slept; they had only fought
and fought and fought. Now they were
going back for several days' rest, the
same prescribed number. Then they
would return to the Chemin des Dames
or elsewhere, where they would go
through the same performance over and
over again, some of them. And they
would do it willingly and bravely to the
end. They were soldiers of France fight-
ing for more than men ever fought for
before.
We got our slow barrage as we came
out from the trees into the open desola-
tion that now exists everywhere in the
immediate neighborhood of the line of
fire. We hugged the lower stretches of
the ridge which is the Chemin des
Dames. The Germans were sending over
shrapnel, but it fell into the valley at our
left, and only occasionally were we forced
to wait when black clouds of smoke hung
in the sky directly before our path.
In the Dragons1 Den
We gradually crept up the sides of the
slope until about a third of the way from
the top. We welcomed with a sigh of re-
lief a yawning hole that is the entrance
of the Dragons' Den. This vast winding
cavern, one of scores along the Chemin
des Dames front, is chiefly remarkable
in that it extends clear across the ridge
under the roadway and gives a view from
the opposite side across the valley of the
Aillette. It was held by the Germans long
after the surrounding positions were capt-
ured, the French having only the end
where we entered and a few yards of the
tunnel. It is part quarry, part natural
grotto, and big enough to conceal whole
regiments. It resisted until a couple of
weeks ago. When the French entered
they merely had to count and bury the
dead where they had fallen, and count
the unresisting prisoners. We wandered
through it lighted by candles. It still held
a faint, sickly odor of gas. It is now used
as a shelter for troops holding the front
lines.
There are several holes where one
can crawl directly to the summit of the
ridge, others on the far side leading just
above the present lines. It was by scram-
bling up through one of these holes on
the Chemin des Dames and through a
second one that we crawled to a listening
post only fifteen yards from the Ger-
mans. The second exit was very diffi-
cult, and it made me wonder how it had
been possible for all the German soldiers
to pass through it whenever an alarm
sounded calling them to their places in
the shellholes.
A British Reverse on the Yser
By Philip Gibbs
[Cabled to The Ne^r York Times] ■
The Germans struck a heavy, unexpected blow on July 10, 1917, against the British
lines north of Nieuport, on the Belgian Coast. After twenty-four hours of terrible artillery
fire they broke through on a front of nearly a mile, driving the defenders back upon the Yser
River (or Canal) and capturing a strip of sand dunes to a depth of 600 yards. The defend-
ers, the King's Royal Rifles and Northamptons, were cut off from relief by the shell fire,
which smashed all defenses and destroyed the bridges, so that only a few wounded men)
escaped by swimming. The Germans took 1,250 prisoners; the rest of the force died fighting.
[See Map on Page 232]
IT began early on the morning of July
10, when the enemy concentrated a
great power of artillery on the Brit-
ish trenches and breastworks in the
sands of the east side of the Yser Canal,
north of Nieuport, with their left on the
seashore. The enemy's position was in a
network of trenches, tunnels, concrete
emplacements, and breastworks of thick
sandbag walls, built down from the coast
to south of Lombaertzyde. Facing him
were other trenches and breastworks
which the British had recently taken over
from the French. Behind them was the
Yser Canal, with pontoon bridges cross-
ing to Nieuport and Nieuport-les-Bains.
Without these bridges there was no way
back or around for the men holding the
lines in the dunes.
The enemy began early in the morning
by putting a barrage down on the British
front-line system of defenses from a large
number of batteries of heavy howitzers.
His shells swept up and down the Brit-
ish front, smashing breastworks and em-
placements and flinging up a storm of
sand. After that hour the enemy altered
his line of fire. There was five minutes
pause, five minutes of breathing space for
the men still left alive among the many
dead, and then the wall of shells crossed
the canal and stayed there for another
hour, churning up the sand with a tor-
nado of steel.
The guns then drifted to the front line
again, and for another hour continued
their work of destruction, pausing for one
of those short silences which had given
the men hope that the bombardment had
ceased. It had not ceased. It traveled
again to the support Hne and stayed,
smashing there for sixty minutes, then
across the canal. There was one interval
of a whole quarter of an hour, and offi-
cers had time to tell their men it must
be a fight to the death, because the posi-
tion must be held until death. At best
when the shelling began it was thought
by some of the. officers it was retaliation
for a raid on Lombaertzyde the night be-
fore, and would not be followed by an at-
tack from the German marines, who
were known to be holding the enemy's
line.
But the commanding officer of the
Sixtieth became convinced by 3 o'clock
in the afternoon that all this destructive
fire was preparatory to a big attack.
He saw his bridges had gone behind him,
so there was no way of escape, and he
saw that the enemy was trying to cut off
all means of relief and communication.
He tried to get massages through, but
without success.
Two shells came into his battalion
headquarters, killing and wounding some
of the officers and men crowded in the
sandbag shelter and dugout in the dune.
He took the survivors into a tunnel bored
by miners along the seashore, and here
for a time they were able to carry on.
But it was almost impossible to get out to
reconnoitre the situation or to give some
word of comfort or courage to the men
standing to arms among the wreckage.
Flights of hostile airplanes were over-
head, and they flew low and poured ma-
chine-gun fire at any living man who
showed. Away behind they were search-
ing for British batteries.
At 6:15 all the German batteries broke
into a drum fire and poured shells all
over the British position for three-quar-
ters of an hour without pause. After all
these previous barrages it reached great-
er heights of hellishness, destroying what
A BRITISH REVERSE AT THE YSER
243
already had not been destroyed, sweeping
all this wide tract of sand dunes right
away from coast to south of Lombaert-
zyde with flame and smoke and steel and
reaping another harvest of death.
There are many details of this action
which may never be known. No man
saw it from other ground, and those who
were across that bank of the Yser could
see very little beyond their own neigh-
borhood of bursting shell. But a Ser-
geant of the Northamptons, who had an
astounding escape, saw the first three
waves of German marines advance with
bombing parties. That was shortly after
7 o'clock in the evening. They were in
heavy numbers against the few scattered
groups of English soldiers still left alive
after a day of agony and blood. They
came forward bombing in a crescent
formation, one horn of the crescent try-
ing to work around behind the flank of
rifles on the seashore as the other tried to
outflank the Northamptons on the right.
A party of machine gunners crept along
the edge of the sands, taking advantage
of the low tide, and enfiladed the support
line, now a mere mass of sand in which
some wounded and unwounded men held
out, and swept them with bullets. An-
other party of marines made straight for
the tunnel, which now was the battalion
headquarters of the Sixtieth, and poured
liquid fire down it. Then they passed on,
but, as if uncertain of having completed
their work, came back after a time and
bombed it. Even then there was at least
one man not killed in that tunnel. He
stayed there among the dead till night,
then crept out and swam across the canal.
Two platoons of riflemen fought to the
last man, refusing to surrender. One lit-
tle group of five lay behind a band of
sand and fired with rifles and bombs until
they were destroyed. Meanwhile the
Northamptons on the right were fighting
desperately against the German marines,
trying to get behind them on the right
flank. Seeing that they had not the
strength to resist this, they got a mes-
sage through to some troops further
down in front of Lombaertzyde to form a
barrier, so that the enemy could not come
through, and these fought their way
grimly up, thrusting back the enemy's
storm troops, and then made a defensive
block through which the marines could
not force.
The German marines brought up a ma-
chine gun and fixed it behind the place
where the Northampton officers had es-
tablished their headquarters and fired
upon it. The British machine guns were
out of action, filled with sand or buried
in the sand. One gunner managed to get
his weapon into position, but it jammed
at once, and with a curse on it he flung
it into the waters of the Yser, and then
jumped in and swam back. Another
gunner lay by the side of his machine
gun, hit twice by shells, so that he could
not work it. One of his comrades wanted
to drag him off to the canal bank, in the
hope of swimming back with him. To
linger there a minute meant certain
death.
" Don't mind about me," said the ma-
chine gunner of the Northamptons.
" Smash my gun and get back."
There was no time for both, so the gun
was smashed and the wounded man
stayed on the wrong side of the bank.
The fighting lasted an hour and a half
after the beginning of the infantry at-
tack. It was over at 8:30 P. M. A
wounded Sergeant of the Northamptons
who swam back saw the last of the
struggle. He saw a little group of his
own officers, not more than six of them,
surrounded by marine bombers, fighting
to the end with their revolvers. The
picture of these six boys out there in the
sand with their dead lying around them,
refusing to yield and fighting on to cer-
tain death, is one of the memories of this
war that should not be allowed to die.
Over the Yser Canal men were trying
to swim, men dripping with blood and
too weak to swim, and men who could
not swim. Some gallant fellow on the
Nieuport side swam across with a rope
under a heavy fire, and fixed it so that
the men could drag themselves across.
So a few survivors came over, and so
we know, at least in its broad outline,
how all this happened. It is a tragic tale,
and there will be tears when it is read,
but above the tragedy there is the splen-
dor of these poor boys, young soldiers all,
who fought with a courage as great as
any in history.
Report on the British Disaster at
Kut-el-Amara
THE report of the British commission
which investigated the first Meso-
potamia expedition was submitted to
Parliament June 26, 1917, and created a
profound sensation. The report finds
that the expedition was a justifiable mili-
tary enterprise, but was undertaken
" with insufficient forces and inadequate
preparation," and that its initial failure,
with the loss of Kut, was due to lack of
foresight, mistakes, and miscalculations.
The report frankly declares that the
shortcomings revealed reflect discredit
upon the organizing aptitude of all con-
cerned.
The report finds that the main re-
sponsibility for recommending an ad-
vance in 1915 with insufficient transport
and equipment rests with General Sir
John Eccles Nixon, the former com-
mander of the British forces in Mesopo-
tamia, while the others sharing respon-
sibility are placed in the following se-
quence: In India, Baron Hardinge, the
former Viceroy, and General Sir Beau-
champ Duff, the former Commander in
Chief of the British forces in India; and
in England, Major Gen. Sir Edmund
Barrow, the Military Secretary of the
India Office; J. Austen Chamberlain,
Secretary for India, and the War Com-
mittee of the Cabinet. The report shows
the mistakes and miscalculations .incident
to the attempt to advance on Bagdad,
which involved the surrender of more
than a division of the finest fighting
troops, while the casualties incurred in
the ineffectual attempt to relieve Kut
amounted to about 23,000 men.
The report says that the general arma-
ment and equipment were not up to the
standard of modern European warfare
and were quite insufficient for the pur-
pose. Up to the end of 1915 the efforts
made to rectify the deficiency in river
transport were wholly inadequate. The
report concludes:
Looking at the facts, the want of fore-
sight and provision for the most funda-
mental needs of the expedition reflects
discredit upon the organizing aptitude of
all the authorities concerned* To Lord
Hardinge, as Viceroy, belongs the general
responsibility attaching to his position as
head of the Indian Government. More
severe censure must be passed upon the
Commander in Chief, for not only did he
fail closely to superintend the adequacy
of the medical provision, but he declined
for a considerable time, until ultimately
forced by the superior authority of the
Viceroy, to give credence to rumors which
proved to be true, and failed to take
measures which subsequent experience
shows would have saved the wounded from
avoidable suffering.
The report largely attributes the short-
comings to the policy of indiscriminate
retrenchment pursued for some years be-
fore the war by the India Government
under instructions from the home Gov-
ernment. Transport and medical serv-
ices are indicated as the weakest spots
in the expedition, the lack of transport
preventing reinforcements from reaching
Kut in time. For " the lamentable
breakdown " of the technical services the
responsibility is attributed to Surgeon
General H. G. Hathaway, who " showed
singular unfitness for the high adminis-
trative office he held."
The signatories to the report are Lord
George Hamilton, Earl Donoughmore,
Lord Hugh Cecil, Sir Archibald William-
son, Admiral Sir Cyprian Bridge, Gen-
eral Sir Neville Lyttelton, and John
Hodge, Minister of Labor.
In consequence of this report J. Aus-
ten Chamberlain resigned as Secretary
for India. It is understood that judicial
proceedings are contemplated against
the responsible military officers.
Arthur Balfour, Secretary for Foreign
Affairs, in the House of Commons July
18 supported Lord Hardinge, formerly
Viceroy of India and now Under Secre-
tary for Foreign Affairs. Mr. Balfour
declared criticism of Baron Hardinge to
be grossly unjust, and said that, while
he held his present office, he would not
permit such a gross act of injustice to
any of his subordinates. The House of
Commons then supported Mr. Balfour's
refusal to accept Baron Hardinge's resig-
nation as Under Secretary for Foreign
Affairs by a vote of 176 to 81.
The Submarine Situation
By Thomas G. Frothingham
The material in this article was supplied to
the writer by an American scientist, one of
the leading practical experts on the submarine.
IT is evident that in times of war
there are many things that cannot
be discussed, but it is allowable to
give a better idea of the situation,
and especially to correct widely accepted
errors concerning the U-boat, the most
persistently misunderstood factor in the
present war.
If one realizes that the proposition is
being soberly considered, from a purely
commercial point of view, of shortening
the voyage from Northern Europe to the
Pacific some 10,000 miles by sending
goods in submarines under the arctic ice,
it brings home the possibilities of what
were considered a few years ago unrelia-
ble mechanical toys.
Even after the results accomplished by
the U-boats in this war there is a gen-
eral easy-going tendency in the public
mind to regard the submarine as an out-
side factor that somehow or other will
be done away with. This is all wrong,
and it should be recognized that the
U-boat is today the most active force in
the war, the most dangerous weapon of
the Teutonic allies. Submarines are
steadily doing more damage than any
other military arm of the enemy. To
curb the U-boat is the greatest problem
of the war. This does not mean that
Americans should fall into pessimism and
believe that the U-boats are now accom-
plishing military results that are decisive
of the war. For this is not true. But
Americans should not allow themselves
to remain blind to the fact that our
greatest danger is this American inven-
tion, and every resource of American in-
genuity must be called upon to over-
come it.
The truth should be baldly stated, that
the submarine evil is at its worst. It
would be a good thing for our people to
understand this, for an intelligent public
demand is an incentive to military activ-
ity. The lack of such a spur in Great
Britain has been harmful. It is only
recently that the British public has be-
gun to realize the submarine situation.
At jirst there was no cenception that the
U-boats were a menace, then came over-
confidence from a few successes against
them in the early stages — and then the
censored concealment of the damage they
were doing.
Growth of the U~Boat Peril
The above is largely the reason for the
unrestricted growth of the evil. After
the first shock of the blow at British con-
trol of the seas, if the British Navy,
stimulated by an aroused public, had de-
voted its best energies to devising means
to suppress the U-boat there might have
been a different story today. Instead of
this the first lull in U-boat activity was
regarded as a complete victory. There
had been some successes, using nets,
chasers, ramming, &c, and these means
were assumed to be sufficient. It is
known that many devices lay for months
without being looked at. The " author-
ized " tales of Kipling, Noyes, &c, lulled
the public into security, and the British
Navy thought the problem was solved.
Then the U-boats outgrew the methods
that had been relied upon. The engine
noises that helped the chasers have been
muffled. The nets are not effective in
broad areas of ocean. The U-boat, which
at first required three to five minutes to
submerge, now rises, observes, and sub-
merges in fifteen seconds. What chance
is there of ramming one now, except by
the most unheard-of luck?
The U-boats spread their activities
over wide areas on the seas, and there
were no new schemes of defense ready
to cope with the new conditions. As the
sinkings increased, the losses were con-
cealed or minimized by the British cen-
sors, and the British public did not real-
ize the extent of the damage until it
was so self-evident that the censorship
could not conceal it.
Full Truth Not Told
Even today there is no frankness in
telling the . story. The carefully pre-
246
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
pared weekly tables are most mislead-
ing. The five thousand and odd sailings
and arrivals include all the local craft
that make short trips in and out of
British ports. Upon these numbers the
small percentages* are computed. The
actual losses are a large percentage of
the cargo-carrying tonnage, and far ex-
ceed any replacements that are in sight.
We must not allow ourselves to be mis-
led, or to think that the submarine dan-
ger is abating. On the contrary, its
and at other times greater numbers in
active service.
Of course it is now evident that the
tales of great captures of U-boats, kept
secret to impress the enemy with the hor-
ror of " disappearance," are wholly
imaginary. Throughout all the warfare
against the submarines the actual capt-
ures have been very few. There is good
authority to say that the number of U-
boats taken has not yet come anywhere
near to two figures.
THE NEW TYPE OF GERMAN U-BOAT, WITH 3-INCH ARMORED CONNING TOWER
(© American Press Association)
perils are as great as ever, and sinkings
can be prevented only by ceaseless vigi-
lance and the use of every possible means
of defense.
On the best authority it can be stated
that the Teutonic allies have some 800
U-boats engaged in the present campaign.
These may be roughly described as divided
into three " watches," one-third coming
from the base, one-third on active service,
and one-third on its way back to the base.
The average time of this turn of service,
from the base and return, is about three
weeks. It is known that there is a cer-
tain amount of supplying at sea, but it
may be safely assumed that the great
majority of the U-boats return to their
bases to refit. As is natural in such an
arrangement, there are at times lulls,
Some submarines have been destroyed,
but it is believed that a larger propor-
tion of the losses have been from acci-
dents at sea, probably in most cases from
the diving mechanism getting out of or-
der and letting the submarine sink to a
great depth. This is the main danger to
the U-boats, and this will happen at
times even in the most effectively oper-
ating types of submarines. We have
been saved from frequent accidents of
this nature in the United States Navy by
trying out and developing our U-boats in
shallow waters. We have great stretches
of comparatively shallow water off our
coast, and most of the operating of the
submarines has been so safeguarded. The
tragic accident at Honolulu in a great
depth of water will be remembered as an
example of this kind of accident.
THE SUBMARINE SITUATION
247
Enemy Submarines Increasing
In the period of warfare against the
U-boats the German losses of these craft
from all causes are believed by the best
experts to have averaged from three to
five per month. It is known that the
Germans are able to turn out U-boata
rapidly, and that they have much more
than replaced these losses. This is very
far from the popular idea, but it is better
to try to get at the truth.
One great mistake is to exaggerate
the weaknesses of the submarine, yet
this is the usual habit. It is an untrue
picture to paint the U-boat as a fugitive
cheerily chased by a swarm of mosquito
boats, each armed with a feeble sting,
and each certain that the submarine must
soon rise to the surface to meet destruc-
tion from the one-pounder's shot in the
periscope — to disappear in a spot of oil.
In the first place, the idea that the
U-boat must come to the surface at fre-
quent intervals, though still exploited, is
no longer true. The present types of
submarines can remain two days sub-
merged with perfect comfort, and can
easily travel 250 miles while thus sub-
merged. The smitten periscope and the
swirl of oil, announcing the doom of a
U-boat, are also too frequently in print.
All the submarines now carry two peri-
scopes, some also have emergency peri-
scopes, and most of them several spares.
So evidently the wound in the periscope
alone does not put out the submarine.
It must also be remembered that the
essential hull of the submarine is inside
the oil tanks, and a liberal pouring of
oil on the waters may only mean a punc-
tured oil tank. The real hull must be
injured to destroy the U-boat.
Gun Power of U-Boals
While the fleet of small patrol boats
is of real use in scouting, and most valu-
able in developing and educating an in-
telligent personnel that will be a valu-
able auxiliary to the navy, it should be
realized that these patrol boats alone
cannot hope to engage submarines. If
they are to attempt more than keeping
a lookout, they must work in company
with craft that are heavily enough
armed to dominate the gunfire of the
U-boats. Otherwise, all a submarine
would have to do, when attacked by these
lightly gunned patrol boats, would be to
thrust its protected superstructure above
the surface and then destroy the patrols
at its leisure by gunfire. The present
submarines carry very able guns, 4-inch,
5-inch, and in some cases 6-inch. These
are short-calibre guns, as they must be
designed to be housed down into the hull,
and consequently they are not equal to
the naval guns of corresponding calibre,
but they are very effective at the ranges
of the U-boat's operations.
Although in the war game the life of
the U-boat is given as one hit, it must be
a real hit with a real gun. Besides this,
any craft that is to engage a U-boat must
have more than one gun, to be sure of
destroying its enemy, as the U-boat has
the advantage of offering a smaller tar-
get— and the U-boat itself has more than
one gun.
The usual two naval guns in the bow
and stern of the armed merchantman
have not proved an insurance against the
U-boat, as there already have been cases
of ships so armed being worsted by the
gunnery of the U-boats. It is now evi-
dent that arming merchantmen, while it
is a help, is not a panacea against the
submarine peril, as was hoped at first.
Value of Destroyers
It should be kept in mind that the de-
stroyer is the lowest denominator in war-
ships that can be considered strong
enough really to dominate a U-boat with
gunfire. That is, a flotilla of destroyers
consists of units each one of which is
able to destroy a U-boat in action.
The destroyer type, which was less es-
teemed before the present war, has won
for itself recognition because its value
has been proved in war conditions. At
Jutland the destroyer showed its worth
as an auxiliary of the battleship. In the
warfare against the submarine the de-
stroyer has proved the most effective
warship.
The destroyers of the United States
Navy which were sent abroad made an
impression at once in Great Britain.
Our destroyers are far superior to those
of the British Navy. From our idea of a
wider use of these craft as scouts we
248
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
have evolved a type that is a better
sea boat, and consequently they can buck
the weather and stay at sea much longer
without being docked. There were not
very many of our destroyers sent abroad,
but their presence in British waters at
once set a new standard, and this has
been a great stimulus to the British
Navy. Without undue self-praise we may
believe that there is now much more
alertness and vigilance in the operations
against the U-boats.
Sending Admiral Sims, in command of
our naval contingent, to co-operate with
the British Navy meant even more than
giving the assistance of one of our ablest
officers. Admiral Sims had been for
some months the President of the Naval
War College, and he carried with him the
results of the study of the submarine
problem in the United States Navy.
Early in the game the United States
Navy had recognized the submarine as
the greatest danger on the sea, and much
work has been done in seeking means to
neutralize this menace. Admiral Sims
and his officers have had all the benefit
of this. There are many promising de-
vices that may be worked out, but it is
not wise to hope for sensational develop-
ments at once. It is more sensible to be-
lieve that evasion of the U-boats and
protection of their intended victims will
prove the present task of the united
navies.
Undoubtedly an increasing amount of
zealous skill is being devoted to the use
of all means of defense available, and
vigilance is taking the place of self-con-
fidence. It is probable that the whole
game is being plotted out as never before,
and to this should be attributed any
check on the sinkings, not to radical in-
ventions.
The reports of sinkings have recently
been more favorable, and this gives
ground for hope that the more syste-
matic use of every safeguard, and the
new spirit in the campaign against the
U-boats, may be already showing good
results. In any case, there must be no
delusions as to lessened danger from the
U-boats, and no return of self-confidence,
either in the navies or on the merchant-
men, i
Best Methods for Safety
As has been said, arming the merchant-
man has not insured safety against the
U-boat. In many cases it has saved the
ship — but it is to be feared that in others
it has done harm in making the merchant
Captains overconfident. From the first
this quality has caused a great many
sinkings. There have been too many
Captains cocksure that, though the enemy
craft might get other boats, they would
never " get him " — and at all times too
many ships have been coming and going
in their same old lanes. The tragedy of
the Lusitania was an instance of this.
Unexpected courses, the use of speed
at the right time, concealment, and pro-
tection are all necessary means of evad-
ing the U-boats, and it is probable that
the use of these precautions is now being
imposed upon the merchant Captains.
Convoying has from the first been rec-
ognized as a great protection. But it is
evident that the convoying destroyer or
other armed ship, if simply moving along
abreast of its charge, shares the same
danger from waiting submarines. What
is called " stationary convoying " is now
considered much more effective. This
implies large areas policed by patrols,
into and through which the ship moves
on her voyage. The increase in safety is
obvious, and it is probable that this
means of defense will be increasingly
used. In these days of steam navigation
a voyage can be plotted out with definite
rendezvous at all stages, and it is possible
to arrange a schedule so as to insure a
comparatively protected voyage.
Use of SmoJ^e Screens
The smoke screen, which was devel-
oped by the United States Navy, has
probably been found the best protection
for a ship in actual danger of attack by
a U-boat. Concealment is given quickly
and effectively. In most cases this screen
is thrown out by convoying craft, but our
navy has devised a practical and econom-
ical way of equipping merchantmen with
this protection.
The United States Navy is known to
have developed an improved high explo-
sive bomb for use against the U-boat. In
warfare against submarines the British
THE SUBMARINE SITUATION
249
Navy had used bombs, especially when
the presence of the U-boat was shown by
the " Pram " nets, which were buoyed out
on the surface of the water. But these
bombs did no damage unless they were
practically in contact with the U-boat.
Cases are known of escapes when the
bomb exploded within four feet of the
craft attacked. In the improved Ameri-
can bombs the delayed explosion below
the surface is so powerful that it will
seriously injure the hull of a U-boat
twenty-five or thirty feet away.
It is too generally believed that an air-
plane can detect a submerged U-boat.
With the present tendency to overesti-
mate the tactical value of aircraft, this
is one of the functions glibly assigned to
these machines. The truth is that the
airplane can detect a submarine only in
a perfect calm. Even the slightest ripple
reduces greatly the depths at which it
can be seen. In any sea at all the sub-
merged U-boat cannot be detected by an
airplane flying over it.
In May of this year there were two
weeks of abnormally calm weather in the
North Sea, and some U-boats were ob-
served by airplanes, especially in shal-
low water, assisted by the shadow of the
U-boat. Curiously enough, the sub-
merged U-boats so seen are said to ap-
pear like whitish objects, no matter what
color they are painted. This exceptional
weather condition is so rare that it
proves the rule cannot be counted upon
— and there is not a great future for the
airplane in detecting U-boats under the
surface.
Hydroplanes Effective
A more practical utility for aircraft
against submarines is to use hydroplanes
to observe large areas of water, to watch
out for U-boats rising to the surface,
and to signal their presence to ships.
With their wide range of vision hydro-
planes can cover long distances on the
seas. Perhaps at present, with the dif-
ficulties of navigating planes at sea,
dirigibles of a reliable type might do
this work better, but probably these dif-
ficulties of navigating the hydroplanes
will be overcome in the future.
Any system of safeguarding against
the submarine must reckon on the possi-
bility of attack without the U-boat show-
ing a periscope at all. It is known that
some of the submarines are equipped
with apparatus that will locate the posi-
tion of an enemy ship in an astonishingly
accurate way. A ship 400 feet long at
8,000 feet range might become a target
for a U-boat thus equipped, so that the
U-boat, without observing through its
periscope, would be able to discharge its
torpedo at the target without a large
angle of error. This last, however, in-
creases the chances of a miss sufficiently
to make the U-boat prefer the periscope,
as the submarine's torpedoes are expen-
sive and few in number; but such ability
on the part of the U-boat must always be
considered in the problem.
This is only one more reason to em-
phasize the need of some means of de-
tecting the position of the U-boat when
submerged. The importance of finding
a practical detector will be self-evident
to the reader. There are great hopes of
such an invention in the near future —
but of course there can be no discussion
of this at present. Neither can there be
any mention of other means that are
being worked out; but the above is a fair
statement of " the case so far."
To sum up the elements of defense, we
should have:
Stationary convoying, with policed
areas.
Destroyers to dominate the U-boats. i
Smoke screens as the best concealment.
Aircraft to observe U-boats coming to
the surface.
Some means of detecting submarines.
The utmost zeal and vigilance in the
navies and on the merchantmen.
U-Boat Destruction of Shipping
Record From June 13 to July 15, 1917
THE destruction of merchant ships
belonging to the Allies and neu-
trals has reached a stage where
the outlook is regarded in some
quarters as serious. A startling dispatch
from a press correspondent in London
on July 18 asserted that " the loss of
ships by submarines totals 1,600,000 tons
a month, or from two to three times the
total of new construction." The avail-
able figures by no means support this es-
timate; they are, however, incomplete. The
figures issued by the British Admiralty,
while referring only to British ships, and
concealing the tonnage totals, do not sug-
gest that more than about 500,000 tons
of British shipping are being destroyed
monthly. The available figures of all
other losses of Allies' and neutrals' ships
by no means bridge the indicated differ-
ence.
The British merchant ships destroyed
by submarines and mines since the last
figures published in this magazine are,
according to the Admiralty reports :
Over Under
1,600 1,000 Fishing
Tons. Tons. Vessels.
Week ended June 17... 27 5 0
Week ended June 24... 21 7 0
Week ended July 1 15 5 11
Week ended July 8 14 3 7
Week ended July 15 14 4 8
Total for five weeks. 91 24 26
The totals for the last three months
(thirteen weeks) are:
Over 1,600 tons 284
Under 1,600 tons 102
Fishing vessels 78
It is stated that the average tonnage of
vessels of over 1,600 tons is 4,500. On
that basis 1,278,000 tons of British ship-
ping has been destroyed in three months,
or an average of 426,000 tons per month.
Add the ships under 1,600 tons and the
fishing vessels, and it is certain the aver-
age tonnage lost is considerably under
500,000— probably about 470,000— tons a
month. »
French official figures show the follow-
ing losses:
Over
1,600
Tons.
Week ended June 17... 0
Week ended June 24... 2
Under
1,600 Fishing
Tons. Vessels.
5 0
3 0
Total for two weeks.. 2 8 0
Complete figures for June showed the
loss of fourteen ships. Later dispatches
from Paris report two steamers of the
Messageries Marj times sunk, the Hima-
laya, 5,620 tons, on July 1, and the Cale-
donien, 4,140 tons, on July 10.
Italian ships lost included two steam-
ers and five sailing ships during the week
ended June 17, one steamer, eight small
sailing vessels, and four fishing barks
during the week ended July 1, and one
steamer and four small sailing vessels
during the week ended July 15.
Norwegian ships reported lost included
three steamers of 2,829 tons, 2,798 tons,
and 1,458 tons, respectively. The Argen-
tine steamer Toro, 1,141 tons, was tor-
pedoed and sunk off Gibraltar.
Greek shipping has suffered heavily,
according to a report received by the
State Department at Washington and
published on June 23. Twelve Greek
ships, with a total tonnage of 31,542,
valued at $4,592,000, had been sunk by
German and Austrian submarines since
April 1.
To the foregoing should be added Amer-
ican losses. No complete official figures
have yet been published, but news dis-
patches and reports received by marine
insurance companies mention the sink-
ing of eight vessels with a total tonnage
of 38,345, between June 12 and July 16.
The eight vessels were the Kansan,
Haverford, Bay State, Moreni, Petrolite,
Massapequa, Orleans, and Grace. Some
smaller vessels were also destroyed dur-
ing the period mentioned.
The conflict of opinion is evidenced by
a statement on July 13 by Admiral La-
U-BOAT DESTRUCTION OF SHIPPING
251
caze, the French Minister of. Marine. He
said in part:
It is true we are suffering considerable
losses, but every month increases our cer-
tainty of being able to repair them. Fur-
thermore, we are in a position to stand
these losses, as a large part in new con-
struction will be taken by the United
States. The shipbuilding already under
way, the effect of which will naturally
only be felt after a certain time, is great
enough to replace the highest average of
destruction the submarines are likely to
reach.
Never in peace times have the entries
into French ports been so numerous as
now. The German authorities exaggerate
the results of the submarine activity by
from 30 to 50 per cent., while the French
'statistics are absolutely correct. The curve
representing the tonnage sunk does not
mount steadily, but rises and falls. We
know, too, that the Germans find great
difficulty in obtaining trained crews for
submarines.
On the other hand, Senator Marconi,
the inventor and a member of the Italian
War Mission, stated in an interview
while in New York City that the sub-
marine situation was becoming increas-
ingly serious. Speaking of the Mediter-
ranean he described how the larger
U-boats go through the Strait of
Gibraltar and how the smaller ones are
constructed in Germany and sent by rail
to Pola, the Austrian naval base on the
Adriatic, where they are put together
and sent to sea. The Italian Navy had
between 300 and 400 patrol boats on duty
trying to cope with the submarine
menace.
A German Admiralty statement pub-
lished on June 30 asserted that the total
tonnage available for Great Britain's
supply of food, munitions, and materials,
based upon two independent sets of
figures, was 10,000,000, including new
construction, confiscated German ships,
and purchases from neutrals. More
than 5,500,000 tons of this total had
been destroyed up to June 1, leaving 4,-
500,000, or, at the utmost, 5,000,000 tons
then available. With a further loss of
800,000 to 1,000,000 tons a month, the
German Admiralty believed that it could
be confidently expected that Great Britain
would be brought to a point where she
would be willing to make peace.
Great Britain's Royal Family Now the
House of Windsor
KING GEORGE of Great Britain, at a
meeting of the Privy Council held
in St. James's Palace July 17,
1917, announced that the name of his
royal house and family had been changed
from Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to "the
House of Windsor."
Those present on this historic occa-
sion included Premier Lloyd George,
Foreign Secretary Balfour, and other
members of the Cabinet; the Archbishop
of Canterbury, ex-Premier Asquith, and
all members of the Colonial Government
who were then in London. The Privy
Council unanimously indorsed King
George's announcement, and the procla-
mation putting it into effect was pub-
lished that afternoon. It says:
We out of our royal will and authority
do hereby declare and announce that as
from the date of our royal proclamation
our house and family shall be styled and
known as the House and Family of
Windsor, and that all descendants in the
male line of our grandmother, Queen
Victoria, who are subjects of these
realms, other than the female descendants
who may marry or may have married,
shall bear the said name of Windsor.
And we do hereby declare and announce
that we for ourselves, and for and on
behalf of our descendants and all other
descendants of our grandmother, Queen
Victoria, who are subjects of these
realms, relinquish and enjoin the discon-
tinuance of the use of degrees, styles,
dignities, titles, and honors of the Dukes
and Duchesses of Saxony .and the Princes
and Princesses of Saxe-Coburg and
Gotha, and all other German degrees,
styles, dignities, titles, and honors, and
the appellation to us or to them here-
tofore belonging or appertaining.
What the American Navy Has Done
Summary by Secretary Daniels
Josephus Daniels, Secretary of the
Navy, made the following statement to a
representative of The New York Times,
summarizing the naval progress of the
United States in war measures up to
June 24, 1917:
THE policy of the United States
Navy is simply to do at at' any
given moment the thing most ef-
fective to win the war for our
allies and ourselves. As to the specific
things we have done so far and are still
doing in accordance with that policy, I
can mention four. We have armed
and manned with navy gun crews
about 200 merchant ships, and are in-
creasing the number daily. We have sent
our destroyers to the other side to help
the British fleet in the war on the sub-
marines, and will send more. We are
taking over the cruiser patrol of the
Atlantic Coast on this side of the ocean
from Brazil to Newfoundland. We have
trained our naval gunners in the most
difficult marksmanship in the world, until
they have become as efficient in training a
small gun on a distant, hardly visible,
and constantly moving periscope as they
are in shooting the big turret guns at a
target as big as a battleship. And a big
work for the navy that is in the future
will be the convoying of our troops.
The arming of the merchantmen came
before this country had entered the war,
and was ordered by the President. This
was a new problem for the navy, some-
thing which never had been contemplated
before by the United States Government,
and it was not the easiest thing in the
world to find all the guns that were
needed. Some of them we had to take
from ships of the navy. Then the owners
of the merchant vessels called upon us to
furnish the gun crews. From the mere
technical navy viewpoint that was not
the thing to do. We needed the men on
our naval vessels, but it proved to be the
next thing that had to be done; so we
manned every armed merchant ship with
efficient gunners. I gave orders that none
but the best marksmen in the navy should
be sent into this new service because of
the extreme difficulties of the shooting
they were to be called upon to do. So it
meant a temporary drain on the battle-
ship crews.
To some of the larger merchant vessels
I sent as many as sixteen men each. But
this has turned out to be one of the best
things the navy has ever done because
of the training it has afforded in the new
kind of shooting that has become neces-
sary in this war. Every battleship has
become a school for marksmanship with
a periscope as the target, and with re-
markable results. Previously all the em-
phasis had been placed on the necessity
of accuracy in working the big guns in
the turrets, with the result that the
American Navy had the best records of
the world at big-gun practice. Needless
to say, we are not neglecting that turret
work or acquiring our skill in shooting
submarines at the expense of our prep-
aration for fighting bigger ships if the
opportunity comes. Up to the present
time the dreadnoughts have no work in
this war except to wait in complete readi-
ness for the big thing that they may be
called upon to do. In that respect our
fleet would be a fair match for the Ger-
mans, even assuming the apparently im-
possible situation in which we, alone,
would be called upon to engage in a great
sea fight off our own coast.
Another big educational work now in
progress on the battleships is the training
of the engine and fire room crews so that
they will be ready for efficient service
aboard the big merchant ships that will
be used later on for the transportation of
our troops. America, as a nation, has
become so lacking in what you may call
a seagoing personnel that we have to
look to the navy as the source of supply
in any big emergency.
The next service undertaken by the
navy was the sending of our destroyers
over to the other side for actual partici-
pation in the hostilities at sea. This was
WHAT THE AMERICAN NAVY HAS DONE
253
done in spite of the theory that the place
of the destroyers was with the battle-
ship, that every dreadnought should have
at least four destroyers to act as her eyes
and scouts, and screen her with their
smoke. But a great many former theories
have had to be revised in this war; so we
sent the type of craft that, under normal
conditions, would have been the last to
go, and our allies were greatly elated by
our decision.
Both the English and French Commis-
sions told us that the smaller vessels of
our navy would be the most useful to
them, and they expressed the hope that
we might be able to send destroyers,
although they did not expect it. But
after consultation with Admiral Benson,
Chief of Naval Operations, and later with
Admiral Mayo, Commander in Chief of
the Atlantic Fleet, I ordered the de-
stroyers to go, even though it seemed a
somewhat risky thing to do.
In addition to the destroyers, we have
sent over enough fuel and supply ships
to serve our own naval vessels without
calling on the Allies, and we also have
placed several of our small craft at the
disposal of France. These latter ships
are already there, and the number will
be increased. We have two bases estab-
lished on the French coast. Still more,
we have sent over 100 navy aviators to
France, and are now preparing to estab-
lish two hospital units in England and
one in France.
Of course, I cannot say how many de-
stroyers were sent, but there were enough
to be effective, and more will go later.
Sixty new destroyers for the American
Navy are now under construction. The
time allowed for their completion has
been cut from the customary eighteen
months to one year. We hope to have
them on time within the shorter period.
But I can say of our ships now on the
other side that they are all manned by
picked officers and men. Nobody was
allowed to go on this expedition who had
not had experience on destroyers, which
is in these days the hardest and most ex-
acting service in the navy. But it devel-
ops a wonderful breed of men. They are
young, alert, ambitious. The Captain of a
destroyer is generally a Lieutenant Com-
mander, and it is a great thing for a
youngster of that rank to be in command
of his own ship. The best of them strive
for it, and the other officers of the de-
stroyer are of the same stamp, and the
personnel of the crew is a good match for
them. It was because of the quality of
these officers and men and because of
the splendid construction and equipment
of the ships themselves that they were
able to surprise the English with the
statement that they were ready to go to
work immediately upon their arrival on
the other side. The spirit of the men in
this part of the navy had been greatly
improved by the organizing of the de-
stroyers into a flotilla of their own, and
they had had the great inspiration of
serving under Admiral Sims when he was
in command of that flotilla, and later un-
der Admiral Gleaves.
It was Sims who declared at a dinner
in London about fifteen years ago that
blood was thicker than water and that if
war ever came England could count upon
America as an ally. Germany resented
that officially through diplomatic chan-
nels, and Sims was reprimanded. Of
course, he should have been reprimanded.
I told him so myself not so very long
ago, and then selected him to go to Eng-
land and France before America entered
the war. Even then I thought I could see
the clouds and felt the need of getting in
touch with the British and French Ad-
miralties. Sims was the youngest Rear
Admiral in the service. It was for that
reason a violation of another tradition to
select him, but he has been the right man
in the right place, both from our point of
view and that of our allies, which, after
all, is the same point of view in every-
thing we undertake.
As to the fourth thing I mentioned, the
coast patrol, that is as thorough as we
can make it and is under the command of
one of our ablest officers, Captain Henry
B. Wilson, who is soon to be made an
Admiral. In addition to the big naval
vessels assigned to this patrol, there are
small craft on guard, which will be
steadily increased in number. These, to-
gether with the Coast Guard and Light-
house Services, the Navy Department
has taken over for the purpose of more
254
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
efficient coast protection. There is not a
harbor, not even a cove, between Brazil
and Newfoundland that we do not know
about. We have investigated many re-
ports and rumors that the Germans had
submarine bases on this coast, but none
has been discovered.
To do all this work has put a tremen-
dous pressure on the officers and men of
the navy. We need more of both, in spite
of the recent big increases. By graduat-
ing two classes at Annapolis far ahead of
their time we have gained 380 new offi-
cers, and the enlisted strength of the
navy has increased from 53,000 to 120,928
since the beginning of the year. By the
end of the year we must have 150,000
men, the limit fixed by the law as it
stands today. I have no doubt about get-
ting these men, thanks to the new plan
of dividing the country into fourteen
naval districts and the perfecting of the
recruiting organization in each of those
districts. One big factor in our favor is
the greatly improved chance which the
enlisted man now has to become an offi-
cer. I am now authorized by law to ap-
point 100 enlisted men to Annapolis every
year, so the chance of the man who
enters the navy as a sailor to become an
Admiral is now much more than a pleas-
ant fiction. Last year an appointee from
the ranks was the President of his class
at the Academy.
Embargo on Exports of Food and Other
Commodities
ACTING under the authority con-
ferred on him by the Espionage
act, President Wilson has adopted
drastic and far-reaching war measures
for the control of exports from the
United States. By an executive order,
dated June 22, 1917, he established an
Exports Council " to formulate policies
for the consideration and approval of the
President, and make the recommenda-
tions necessary to carry out the pur-
poses " of the Espionage act. The mem-
bers appointed to form the Exports
Council were:
Mr. Lansing, Secretary of State.
Mr. Redfield, Secretary of Commerce.
Mr. Houston, Secretary of Agriculture.
Mr. Hoover, Food Administrator.
The administrative end of the work
was assigned to Secretary Redfield and
the Commerce Department.
In a statement issued on June 25,
President Wilson made it quite clear
that the work of the Exports Council
would be merely advisory, and that there
would be no prohibition of exports. The
statement continued:
The whole object will be to direct ex-
ports in such a way that they will go
first and by preference where they are
most needed and most immediately need-
ed, and temporarily to withhold them, if
necessary, where they can best be spared.
Our primary duty in the matter of
foodstuffs and like necessaries is to see
to it that the peoples associated with us
in the war get as generous a proportion
as possible ox our surplus, but it will also
be our wish and purpose to supply the
neutral nations whose peoples depend upon
us for such supplies as nearly in propor-
tion to their need as the amount to be
divided permits.
There will thus be little check put upon
the volume of exports, and the prices
obtained for them will not be affected
by this regulation.
This policy will be carried out, not by
prohibitive regulations, therefore, but by
a system of licensing exports.
The Government is taking, or has taken,
steps to ascertain, for example, just what
the available present supply of wheat and
corn is remaining from the crops of last
year; to learn from each of the countries
exporting these foodstuffs from the United
States what their purchases in this coun-
try now are and where they are stored,
and what their needs are, in order that
we may adjust things, so far as possible,
to our own needs and free stocks ; and
this information is in course of being
rapidly supplied.
The step by which the President as-
sumed absolute control of exports of
essential wartime commodities was taken
in a proclamation dated July 9 and
brought into operation on July 15. It
provided that none of the commodities
named might be exported except under
license. Fifty-six nations and their pos-
sessions, including allied, neutral, and
EMBARGO ON EXPORTS OF COMMODITIES
255
enemy countries, were specified as those
to which the licensing system applied.
The commodities named were coal, coke,
fuel oils, kerosene, and gasoline, includ-
ing bunkers, food grains, flour and meal,
fodder and feeds, meats and fats, pig
iron, steel billets, ship plates and struc-
tural shapes, scrap iron and scrap steel,
ferro-manganese, fertilizers, arms, am-
munition and explosives.
Immediately after issuing the procla-
mation the President made a statement
in the course of which he said :
In controlling- by license the export of
certain indispensable commodities from
the United States, the Government has
first and chiefly in view the amelioration
of the food conditions which have arisen
or are likely to arise in our own country
before new crops are harvested. Not only
is the conservation of our prime food
and fodder supplies a matter which vital-
ly concerns our own people, but the reten-
tion of an adequate supply of raw ma-
terials is essential to our program of
military and naval construction and the
continuance of our necessary domestic
activities. We shall therefore similarly
safeguard all our fundamental supplies.
The statement added that the Gov-
ernment did not want to hamper neutral
nations, but rather to co-operate with
them so long as supplies from the United
States would not become available, either
directly or indirectly, to feed the enemy.
A Bureau of Export Licenses, as part
of the Department of Commerce, was
immediately created, and its organiza-
tion completed by creating a division of
war trade intelligence with Paul Fuller,
Jr., of New York as its head. Mr. Ful-
ler is widely known as an international
lawyer, and has served as a special agent
abroad for President Wilson. As a
member of the Haitian Commission he
helped reorganize Haiti's fiscal system.
The Intelligence Division is charged with
keeping the Government informed of the
movement of American exports after
they reach foreign shores.
The action of the United States Gov-
ernment was warmly approved by the
Allies. Lord Rhondda, the British Food
Controller, said that the President's ac-
tion was typical of the way in which the
United States had thrown itself into the
war. Public opinion in England gener-
ally welcomed the embargo as a means
of tightening the blockade of Germany.
The neutral nations of Europe, par-
ticularly Holland and the Scandinavian
countries, however, viewed these meas-
ures with feelings of something more
than misgiving, believing that the effect
would be to reduce their necessary sup-
plies of food and raw materials. At-
tempts were made to refute the accusa-
tion that the neutral countries were
helping Germany with their own sup-
plies and also importing commodities for
re-export to Germany. The whole of
this controversy, which has been in prog-
ress since the early months of the war,
was revived in an acute form.
A request was made to the United
States by the British Government on
June 28, 1917, for the adoption of meas-
ures to prevent neutral countries con-
tiguous to the Central Powers from
importing anything beyond their needs,
so that little or nothing could be sent
into the enemy countries. Viscount Mil-
ner, member of the British War Cabinet,
said in the House of Lords on July 4
that there was undoubtedly still a con-
siderable amount of exporting from the
neutral countries into Germany, but it
was entirely the neutrals' own home
products.
The news of the impending embargo
on exports from the United States caused
considerable alarm in Sweden. E. B.
Trolle, former Foreign Minister and now
President of the Swedish Government
War Trade Commission, made a state-
ment on July 6 in reply to the assertions
that Sweden's imports were not intended
solely for Swedish consumption. He said
in part:
Official statistics of Sweden's importa-
tions for 1916, which are now nearly
complete, demonstrate conclusively the
absolute erroneousness of assertions that
we have been bringing in American prod-
ucts for the purpose of passing them on
to the Central Powers. In several in-
stances our total importations from
America show a decided decrease com-
pared with 1913, the ' last normal year,
and in many instances in which our im-
ports from the United States have in-
creased, this increase has fallen consider-
ably short of making good the deficit
caused by the decrease or total discon-
tinuance of our pre-war importations
from belligerent countries.
A Paris paper recently said that exports
256
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORl
to Scandinavia and Switzerland rose from
$40,000,000 in 1913 to $183,000,000 in 1916.
Leading American papers have published
similar statistics and have maintained
that the increase was largely due to the
fact that Sweden had been re-exporting
to Germany. This assertion will not
stand the test of examination.
I may remind you that a considerable
part of the merchandise mentioned in the
American export statistics never reached
us, having been detained by the British,
and hence this cannot be considered.
Let us consider first the group show-
ing the greatest increase. This embraces
agricultural products, and, in particular,
cereals. It is a fact that our importa-
tions of cereals from the United States
in 1916 showed an increase of 72,840,000
crowns over 1913, but it must not be
forgotten that in 1913 we imported 55,-
000,000 crowns' worth of cereals from
Germany, whereas we did not bring in
a crown's worth last year. Nor must it
be forgotten that an increase in the value
of products imported by no means indi-
cates an increase in the quantity, in
view of the tremendous rise in prices.
As a matter of fact, our total imports
of cereals in 1916 amounted to only 355,000
tons, against 515,000 in 1913.
I could continue similar citations, but
these show the hollowness of assertions
regarding our imports from the United
States.
As against these explanations an offi-
cial report made to the United States
Government and published on July 8
showed the extent to which Sweden was
furnishing supplies to Germany. Large
quantities of materials used in the man-
ufacture of war supplies figured promi-
nently in the report. Iron ore shipments
from Sweden to Germany have reached
a total of 9,000,000 tons, all of the high
grade required in the production of fine
steel, and representing an amount equal
to Sweden's entire pre-war export. In
addition to this, the report stated that
Sweden had shipped to Germany 15,000
tons of ferro-silicon and ferro-manga-
nese for hardening shells, together with
large quantities of copper, zinc, manga-
nese, sulphur, and other ores. Germany
had also imported from Sweden in two
years fully 200,000 tons of wood pulp
for use as a basis for cellulose, used in-
stead of cotton for the manufacture of
high explosives, and large quantities of
ball-bearings for use in the manufacture
of war vehicles and submarines.
Another charge against Sweden made
in the report was that she had discrimi-
nated against the Allies in the use of
her railroads. Agricultural machinery
destined for Russia had been held up for
months, Sweden exacting from Russia
extraordinary bargains before delivery
was permitted.
A similar report was made in regard
to large quantities of American cotton,
said to have been passed on by neutrals
to Germany for use in making high ex-
plosives. Neutrals are believed to have
taken 90,000,000 pounds of cotton over
and above their own requirements since
the war began. The United States Gov-
ernment therefore is considering the lay-
ing of an export ban on that commodity.
On July 13 the State Department re-
quested the neutrals contiguous to Ger-
many to furnish this Government with
complete information concerning their
production and supplies of foodstuffs,
the amount exported, to what countries
exported, and their estimates as to
their minimum import requirements. This
information, supplemented by statistics
already in the possession of the Exports
Council, will determine the amount of
exports to go from the United States
to those countries.
Text of President Wilson's Appeal
Against Profiteering
PRESIDENT WILSON has insisted
from the beginning that the large
business interests of the country
should be content with normal profits,
instead of excessive wartime profits,
upon all supplies and materials entering
into the Government's prosecution of the
war. The recommendation of the Fed-
eral Trade Commission (June 20) that
the railroads, coal mines, and coke-pro-
ducing companies be operated by the
Government was one of the more radical
PRESIDENT WILSON'S APPEAL AGAINST PROFITEERING 257
steps by which the authorities have
sought to bring about a definite under-
standing on the whole range of wartime
prices. On July 11, 1917, the President
issued the following extraordinary ap-
peal to the business interests of the
country:
My Fellow-Countrymen :
. The Government is about to attempt to
determine the prices at which it will ask
you henceforth to furnish various supplies
which are necessary for the prosecution of
the war and various materials which will
be needed in the industries by which the
war must be sustained. We shall, of
course, try to determine them justly and
to the best advantage of the nation as a
whole, but justice is easier to speak of
than to arrive at, and there are some con-
siderations which I hope we shall keep
steadily in mind while this particular
problem of justice is being worked out.
I, therefore, take the liberty of stating
very candidly my own view of the situa-
tion and of the principles which should
guide both the Government and the mine
owners and manufacturers of the country
in this difficult matter.
A just price must, of course, be paid
for everything the Government buys. By
a just price I mean a price which will
sustain the industries concerned in a high
state of efficiency, provide a living for
those who conduct them, enable them to
pay good wages, and make possible the
expansions of their enterprises which will
from time to time become necessary as the
stupendous undertakings of this great war
develop. We could not wisely or reason-
ably do less than pay such prices. They
are necessary for the maintenance and de-
velopment of industry, and the mainte-
nance and development of industry are
necessary for the great task we have in
hand.
But I trust that we shall not surround
the matter with a mist of sentiment.
Facts are our masters now. We ought
not to put the acceptance of such prices
on the ground of patriotism. Patriotism
has nothing to do with profits in a case
like this. Patriotism and profits ought
never in the present circumstances be
mentioned together. It is perfectly proper
to discuss profits as a matter of business,
with a view to maintaining the integrity
of capital and the efficiency of labor in
these tragical months when the liberty of
free men everywhere, and of industry itself
trembles in the balance, but it would be
absurd to discuss them as a motive for
helping to serve and save our country.
Patriotism leaves profits out of the ques-
tion. In these days of our supreme trial,
when we are sending hundreds of thou-
sands of our young men across the seas
to serve a great cause, no true man who
stays behind to work for them and sus-
tain them by his labor will ask himself
what he is personally going to make out
of that labor. No true patriot will per-
mit himself to take toll of their heroism
in money or seek to grow rich by the
shedding of their blood. He will give
as freely and with as unstinted self-
sacrifice as they. When they are giving
their lives will he not at least give his
money?
I hear it insisted that more than a just
price, more than a price that will sustain
our industries, must be paid ; that it is
necessary to pay very liberal and unusual
profits in order to " stimulate produc-
tion " ; that nothing but pecuniary re-
wards will do — rewards paid in money,
not in the mere liberation of the world.
I take it for granted that those who
argue thus do not stop to think what that
means. Do they mean that you must be
paid, must be bribed, to make your con-
tribution, a contribution that costs you
neither a drop of blood nor a tear, when
the whole world is in travail and men
everywhere depend upon and call to you
to bring them out of bondage and make
the world a fit place to live in again
amidst peace and justice? Do they mean
that you will exact a price, drive a bar-
gain with the men who are enduring the
agony of this war on the battlefield, in
the trenches, amidst the lurking dangers
of the sea, of with the bereaved women
and pitiful children, before you will come
forward to do your duty and give some
part of your life, in easy peaceful fashion,
for the things we are fighting for, the
things we have pledged our fortunes, our
lives, our sacred honor, to vindicate and
defend — liberty and justice and fair deal-
ing and the peace of nations?
Of course you will' not. It is incon-
ceivable. Your patriotism is of the same
self-denying stuff as the patriotism of the
men dead or maimed on the fields of
France, or else it is no patriotism at all.
Let us never speak, then, of profits and
of patriotism in the same sentence, but face
facts and meet them. Let us do sound
business, but not in the midst of a mist.
Many a grievous burden of taxation will
be laid on this nation, in this generation
and in the next, to pay for this war. Let
us see to it that for every dollar that is
taken from the people's pockets it shall
be possible to obtain a dollar's worth of
the sound stuffs they need.
Let me turn for a moment to the ship
owners of the United States and the other
ocean carriers whose example they have
followed and ask them if they realize what
obstacles, what almost insuperable ob-
stacles, they have been putting in the
way of the successful prosecution of this
war by the ocean freight rates they have
been exacting. They are doing every-
thing that high freight charges can do to
make the war a failure, to make it im-
possible. I do not say that they realize
258
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
this or intend it. The thing has happened
naturally enough, because the commercial
processes which we are content to see
operate in ordinary times have, without
sufficient thought, been continued into a
period where they have no proper place.
I am not questioning motives. I am
merely stating a fact, and stating it in
order that attention may be fixed upon it.
The fact is that those who have fixed
war freight rates have taken the most
effective means in their power to defeat
the armies engaged against Germany.
"When they realize this, we may — I take it
for granted — count upon them to recon-
sider the whole matter. It is high time.
Their extra hazards are covered by war
risk insurance.
I know, and you know, what response to
this great challange of duty and of op-
portunity the nation will expect of you ;
and I know what response you will make.
Those who do not respond, who do not
respond in the spirit of those who have
gone to give their lives for us on bloody
fields far away, may safely be left to be
dealt with by opinion and the law — for
the law must, of course, command these
things. I am dealing with the matter thus
publicly and frankly, not because I have
any doubt or fear as to the result, but
only in order that in all our thinking and
in all our dealings with one another we
may move in a perfectly clear air of
mutual understanding.
And there is something more that we
'must add to our thinking. The public is
now as much part of the Government as
are the army and navy themselves; the
whole people in all their activities are now
mobilized and in service for the accom-
plishment of the nation's task in this war;
it is in such circumstances impossible
justly to distinguish between industrial
pin cliases made by the Government and
industrial purchases made by the man-
agers of individual industries ; and it is
just as much our duty to sustain the in-
dustries of the country, all the industries
that contribute to its life, as to sustain
our forces in the field and on the sea. "We
must make the prices to the public the
same as the prices to the Government.
Prices mean the same thing everywhere
now. They mean tke efficiency or the
inefficiency of the nation, whether it is the
Government that pays them or not. They
mean victory or defeat. They mean that
America will win her place once for all
among the foremost free nations of the
world, or that she will sink to defeat and
become a second-rate power alike in
thought and in action. This is a day of
her reckoning and every man amongst us
must personally face that reckoning along
with her.
The case needs no arguing. I assume
that I am only expressing your own
thoughts — what must be in the mind of
every true man when he faces the tragedy
and the solemn glory of the present war
for the emancipation of mankind. I sum-
mon you to a great duty, a great privilege,
a shining dignity and distinction. I shall
expect every man who is not a slacker to
be at my. side throughout this great en-
terprise. In it no man can win honor
■Who thinks of himself.
One Source of Germany's Poison Gases
A pamphlet on the field work conducted by and for the Smithsonian Institu-
tion states that while carrying on botanical explorations in Venezuela in the Fall
of 1916 Dr. J. N. Rose, Associate Curator of Plants in the National Museum,
secured some interesting specimens of sabadilla, a Venezuelan plant of the lily
family, from the seeds of which are produced some of the asphyxiating and
tear-producing gases used by the Germans in the present war.
The specimens were secured by Dr. Rose through the co-operation of Consul
Homer Brett, La Guaira, Venezuela, who stated in a report of the Department of
Commerce that this plant is known locally as cevadilla, a diminutive of the
Spanish word cebada, meaning barley, and occurs in Venezuela and Mexico. Its
highly poisonous seeds have long been used in medicine. The substances produced
from sabadilla seed are cavadine, or crystallized veratric, ai> alkaloid; veratric
acid, and sabadalline, a heart stimulant.
The dust from the seed in the field irritated the eyes, throat, and especially
the nose, so much that the native laborers were obliged to wear masks. It has
been reported that the Germans had bought all the available supply of these
seeds before the declaration of war. Both the sabadilla seeds and all prepara-
tions compounded from them are now, however, declared contraband by England.
China Foils a Royalist Coup
Attempt to Restore the Manchu Emperor
THE first chapter of the rebellion in
China closed on June 24, 1917,
when a compromise was arranged
between the rebels and the Con-
stitutionalist leaders, which appeared to
have bridged over the principal difficul-
ties without recourse to bloodshed. Presi-
dent Li Yuan-hung's dissolution of Par-
liament on June 14, although against the
counsel of Dr. George Morrison, his Brit-
ish constitutional adviser, and deeply re-
sented throughout South China, was on
that day accepted by the southern lead-
ers on the understanding that a new elec-
tion of both houses of Parliament would
be held soon without military interfer-
ence.
Li Ching-hsi, the President's original
appointee to the Premiership in place of
Tuan Chi-jui, was accepted by the rebels
as Premier, and the beginnings toward a
reorganized Cabinet were made with Gen-
eral Wang Shih-cheng, former Chief of
Staff, as Minister of War, and Admiral
Sah Chen-ping, China's well-known naval
leader — who once served on a British bat-
tleship— as Minister of the Navy. Nego-
tiations then opened for the rest of the
Cabinet posts, and messages from the le-
gations in Peking generally agreed that
the civil war between the militarists ar?d
the southerners had for the time being
been avoided by reassuring and patriotic
concessions on both sides.
The world was suddenly amazed to
hear on July 1, however, that Hsuan
Tung, the little Manchu Emperor, had
been put back on the Imperial Throne by
the notorious Tartar General, Chang
Hsun. On July 2, the young Emperor
took possession of the palace occupied by
President Li Yuan-hung, and Chang, as
his protector, issued an edict explaining
that Li Yuan-hung " bemoans his defects
and asks us to punish him. We recog-
nize his mistakes and also his merits,"
the edict continued ; " we hereby appoint
him Duke of the first class."
Chang Hsun accomplished his coup by
concentrating strong divisions of troops
in Peking of what was practically his per-
sonal army, and he carried out the final
arrangements, including the conveying
of the little Emperor to the Forbidden
City, at 3 o'clock on Sunday morning,
July 1. Though the rest of the country,
even the hitherto reactionary rebel Gen-
erals, began at once to stir to the defense
of the republic, Chang Hsun continued to
issue edicts from Peking, promising,
among other things, an administration
according to the constitutional laws pro-
mulgated by the Manchus, the forbidding
GENERAL CHANG HSUN
Chinese Dictator
of all blood Princes to interfere in poli-
tics, enforcement of all foreign treaties
and contracts, abolition of distinction and
permission of marriage between Man-
chus and Chinese, the pardoning of all
political offenders, and the optional wear-
ing of the queue. The expenses of the
Imperial household were to remain the
same as under the republic, (which has
treated the Manchu family with the
status of "visiting royalty.") Chang
Hsun was appointed Viceroy of Chihli,
the position held by Li Hung-chang un-
260
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
der the Dowager Empress when Chang
Hsun was a Tartar General in her serv-
ice. The nominee to the office of For-
eign Affairs was Liang Tun-yen, Minis-
ter to America in 1911, a famous emis-
sary on foreign diplomacy under the
Manchus, and Yuan Shih-kai's late Min-
ister of Communications.
So rapid was the concentration of the
republican armies on Peking, however,
that by July 5 this romantic Manchu
restoration was already on the verge of
collapse. No important leader in China
came to Chang Hsun's relief; and no
armies from either North or South China
repaired to his imperial standard. His
30,000 troops were faced on the 5th of
July by more than 50,000, with many
thousands of others hurrying up from
the south and west. By the 8th, exactly
a week after his sensational re-entry into
the public life of the world, the Manchu
Emperor accepted Chang Hsun's resigna-
tion and abdicated from his throne. The
armies continued to close in, however, and
on July 9 Chang Hsun handed over the
administration of the City of Peking to
General Wang Shih-cheng, the Minister
of War, fighting having meanwhile taken
place at the village of Lang Fang, south
of the city.
The republican troops entered the city
in force on the 11th, and hemmed in
Chang Hsun and his fast dwindling
troops in the imperial city. Large num-
bers of these were captured, and the final
flight of Chang Hsun from the capital
was reported on the 14th, at which time
the city had again been taken over by
the police gendarmerie, who had success-
fully prevented looting.
Meanwhile, Vice President Feng Kuo-
chang had succeeded temporally to the
Presidency on July 7, and had adminis-
tered the republican Government since
that time from Nanking. The failure of
Chang Hsun's imperial coup caused the
situation to revert to the compromise of
June 24, on the basis of which it is ex-
pected, now that republicanism is as-
sured, the reorganization of the Govern-
ment may continue in China.
"We Grazed the Very Edge of Cowardice"
Senator John Sharp Williams of Mississippi, retorting on July 1U to Senator
Stone's assertion that " we are in the war unwisely" delivered a speech in the Sen-
ate in which he said:
The President and the Administration did do everything that human
intellect could conceive for the purpose, if possible, of bringing an end to the
war. We did everything we had a right to do. The President came to this
Chamber and made that speech which was criticised, not only abroad but
here in this Chamber, as being a " peace-at-any-price " speech — the cele-
brated speech in which he said we must have peace without victory.
The President traveled the whole gamut, up and down. He allowed this
nation to suffer humiliation after humiliation, shame piled upon shame —
grazed the very edge of cowardice because his heart beat in unison with the
cause of a just and lasting peace.
Now we are in it, we have got to see it through — not only to a successful
issue of this war, but, while we are about it, to a just and permanent treaty
which shall as far as possible make war cease to be a game of national
athletes.
We have got to see it through to a point where the world can hope that
there will be peace for some generations — at any rate to a point where the
civilized world shall say to any nation which goes to war without having
previously submitted the cause in controversy, or proposed to submit it, to
fair and impartial arbitration : " You are an outlaw nation. You are no
longer within the pale of international law. You are everybody's enemy,
and we shall treat you as such until you come back to your senses."
We do not propose in time of peace to prepare for war, always. We pro-
pose now in time of war to prepare for peace, and for a just and lasting
peace, and we are going through with it with men and money and ships, on
land and on sea, and in the air, and above the land and sea and under the
sea, until we have seen it through not only to peace, but to a just and lasting
peace, a righteous peace.
War Aims and Peace Terms
Restated
Official Utterances of Premier Lloyd George, Baron Sonnino,
and Other Ministers
David Lloyd George, British Prime
Minister, made a noteworthy speech be-
fore the Burgesses in St. Andrew's Hall,
Glasgow, on June 29, 1917. The most
significant passages were aimed at the
German Social Democratic peace program
as stated at Stockholm, and were as fol-
lows :
NEVER have good men stood more
in need of sympathy, support, and
co-operation than the men who are
guiding the fate of the nation in
this hour in all lands. They were called
to the helm in a raging tornado, the most
destructive that ever swept over the
world on land or sea. Great Britain so
far has weathered the storm. She has
successfully ridden the waves, but the
hurricane is not yet over and it will need
all the efforts, all the skill, all the patience
and all the courage and endurance of all
on board to steer the country through
without foundering in the angry deep.
But with the co-operation of everybody
we should get through once again. It is
a satisfaction that Great Britain had no
share in the responsibility for these grim
events. Our part was as honoraole and
as chivalrous a part as was ever taken
by any country in any war. The people
must be sustained by the unswerving
conviction that no part of the guilt for
this terrible bloodshed rests on the con-
science of their native land.
The story of the early days of the
war is not that of the wolf and the
lamb, for Germany, expecting to find a
lamb, found a lion. * * *
In my judgment the war will come
to an end when the allied armies have
reached the aims which they set out to
attain when they accepted the challenge
thrown down by Germany. As soon as
these objectives have been reached and
guaranteed, this war will come to an
end, but if the war comes to an end a
single minute before, it will be the great-
est disaster that has ever befallen man-
kind.
No doubt we can have peace now at
a price. Germany wants peace — even
Prussia ardently desires it. They said
give us some indemnity for the wrongs
we have done, just a little territory here
and a little there and just a few privi-
leges in other directions, and we will
clear out. We are told that if we are
prepared to make peace now Germany
will restore the independence of Belgium.
But who has said so?
No German statesman has ever said
he would restore the independence of
Belgium. The German Chancellor came
very near to it, but all the Junkers fell
on him and he received a sound box on
the ears from the mailed fist.
The only terms on which Germany has
suggested* restoring Belgium are not
those of independence, but of vassalage.
Then came the doctrine of the status
quo and no annexation and no indem-
nities. No German statesman has ac-
cepted even that.
But what did indemnity mean? In-
demnity is an essential part of the
mechanism of civilization in every land
and clime. Otherwise what guarantee
have we against a repetition? Then it
is said, " That is not what you are after.
You are after our colonies, and prob-
ably Palestine and Mesopotamia." If
we had entered into this war purely for
the German colonies we would not have
raised an army of 3,000,000 or 4,000,000.
We could have got them without adding
a single battalion to the army.
Our greatest army is in France. We
are there to recover for the people who
have been driven out of their patrimony
the land which belonged to them.
As to Mesopotamia, it is not and
never has been Turkish. You have only
262
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
to read the terrible reports to see what
a wilderness the Turks have made of the
Garden of Eden. What is to happen to
Mesopotamia must be left to the peace
conference, and there is one thing that
will never happen to it. It will never
be restored to the blasting tyranny of
the Turks. The same observation applies
to Armenia.
As to the German colonies, that again
is a matter which must be settled by the
great international peace conference.
When we come to settle who must be
the future trustees of those uncivilized
lands we must take into account the
sentiments of the peoples themselves and
whether they are anxious to secure the
return of their former masters or
whether they would rather trust their
destinies to other and juster and gentler
hands. The wishes, desires, and interests
of the peoples themselves of those coun-
tries must be the dominant factors in
settling their future government.
Peace must be framed on so equitable
a basis that the nations would not wish
to disturb it. It must be guaranteed by
destruction of Prussian military power,
so that the confidence of the German
people shall be put in the equity of their
cause and not in the might of their
armies. A better guarantee than either
would be democratization of the German
Government.
No one wishes to dictate to the Ger-
man people the form of government un-
der which they should choose to live.
But it is right that we should say that we
will enter into negotiations with a free
Government of Germany with a differ-
ent attitude of mind and a different
temper and different spirit and with less
suspicion and more confidence than we
should with a Government whom we feel
today to be dominated by the aggressive
and arrogant spirit of Prussian militar-
ism.
All the allied Governments will, in my
judgment, be acting wisely if they draw
that distinction in their general attitude
toward the discussion of peace terms.
As to the military situation, there is
no doubt that the startling developments
in Russia have modified the military
situation this year temporarily to our
disadvantage, but permanently for the
tetter. What happened on the western
front showed what could have been ac-
complished this year if all the allied
forces had been ready to bring all-round
pressure to bear.
In training, equipment, and experience
our army is infinitely better than it ever
has been. The finest collection of trench-
pounding machines which any army has
ever seen is now in the possession of the
British forces.
The Russian revolution, beneficent as
it undoubtedly is, great as will be its re-
sults both this year and even more here-
after, undoubtedly has had the effect of
postponing complete victory. But Russia
will regain her strength with a bound,
and become mightier and more formid-
able than ever. * * *
The strength of Great Britain, once
more flung into the breach, has once
more saved Europe and human liberty.
But now Russia is gaining strength every
day. It has a capable Government. It
never had a better one, and her power
in the future will be inspired by free-
dom.
America, always the mainstay of free-
dom, is beginning to send her valiant
sons to the battlefields of Europe to
rally around the standard of liberty.
That is why victory now is more assured
and more complete than we could have
hoped for.
Victory is assured under two condi-
tions. The first is that the German
submarine attacks must be defeated or
kept within reasonable bounds.
The losses are heavy. They may, and
probably will, drive us to further restric-
tions in some trades and perhaps to
hardships. That all depends on the na-
tion, for, after carefully reckoning the
chances and the possibilities, the Gov-
ernment has come to the conclusion,
based on best advice, that submarines
can neither starve us at home nor drive
our armies out of the field abroad. Our
losses during May and June were heavy,
but they were hundreds of thousands of
tons beneath the Admiralty forecast.
We are beginning to get them. Ar-
rangements also have been made for
WAR AIMS AND PEACE TERMS RESTATED
263
frustrating them and for destroying
them. I have no hesitation in saying
that if we all do our part the German
submarine will be almost as great a
failure as the German Zeppelin.
If we do not waste we shall not starve.
We have succeeded in increasing the
food supply, and we are engaged in a
great shipbuilding program for fighting
and for carrying purposes. If every
employer and every workman would pull
together, between them they would pull
us through. * * *
Europe is again drenched with the
blood of its bravest and its best, but do
not forget the great succession of hal-
lowed causes. They are the stations of
the cross on the road to the emancipa-
tion of mankind. I again appeal to the
people of this country and beyond that
they should continue to fight for the
great goal of international rights and
international justice, so that never again
shall brute force . sit on the throne of
justice nor barbaric strength wield the
sceptre over liberty.
Sonnino On Italy's War Aims
Baron Sonnino, the Italian Minister of
War, addressing the Chamber of Depu-
ties at Rome on June 21, 1917, declared
that Italy did not aspire to frontiers con-
stituting a menace to any neighboring
State, but was seeking a bulwark ade-
quate to protect the independence of a
pacific country. He said, in part:
The hour is solemn for our country. We
cannot deny that. 'By the prolongation of
the war general conditions have become
worse day by day, and they have become
even more disagreeable for the nations as-
piring now, or who may be expected to
aspire, to an equitable and durable peace. It
must be equitable to prove durable— a peace
which will mark an advance in the march of
civilization. It is to obtain such a peace
that we appeal to the entire nation without
distinction of rank, sex or age, asking that
each continue his efforts in the sacred name
of all our brothers who have given their
health or life for the common cause.
Every momentary weakness, every hesita-
tion, might render useless the steps which
have been taken up to the present amid so
many arduous difficulties and innumerable
sacrifices, and might even imperil the vic-
torious outcome.
Italy counts today absolutely upon the de-
votion of her sons, upon their actions, their
words, and their sublime spirit of self-ab-
negation.
Baron Sonnino pointed out that it was
impossible for the country of Mazzini
and Garibaldi to accept a peace which
should leave a country under foreign op-
pression, which should exclude all repara-
tion for all the iniquities and violent
cruelties endured by Belgium, which, by
implication, should tolerate the organized
extermination of the Armenians by the
Turks, and stand in the way of a unified
and independent Poland. Baron Sonnino
continued :
Would that ever be a peace such as ha3
been proposed by President Wilson, which
his memorable message guaranteed for the
future and for which the United States has
chivalrously drawn the sword? It would be
an insult to suppose so. The objective for
which all our politics are striving and by
which all our warfare is being guided is
peace, not conquests or imperialism — a desire
to assure the country of the future of dura-
ble peace and free competition in the de-
velopment of civilization and material re-
sources. And for a durable peace it is
necessary for Italy to have assurance of
frontiers according to nationality, a condi-
tion which is indispensable to its effective
independence.
Far from us is the thought not only of
the oppression but also of the debasement of
any race or State, far or near, big or little.
We seek, on the contrary, to co-operate in
the constitution of an equilibrium of power
which is a condition and guarantee of re-
ciprocal respect and mutual concessions — es-
sential elements in the liberty and equality
of the communal and social life of indi-
viduals as of peoples.
French Note to Russia Defining War Aims
Great Britain and France both replied
on June 11, 1917, to the Russian procla-
mation of April 9, restating their war
aims in the light of the Russian dictum
concerning "no annexations and no in-
demnities." The British reply was print-
ed in the preceding issue of this mag-
azine. The text of the French note is
as follows:
It is with entire satisfaction that the Gov-
26 i
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
ernment of the French Republic has taken
cognizance of the proclamation of the Rus-
sian Provisional Government of April 9,
(March 27, Old Style,) which the Russian
Ambassador was instructed to communicate
to it. The Government of the republic
shares the full confidence which the Provi-
sional Government entertains in the restora-
tion of the political, economical, and military
forces of the country.
It does not doubt that the measures an-
nounced for the improvement of the condi-
tions in which the people mean to carry
through to victory the war against an ad-
versary who threatens their national patri-
mony more than ever, will permit them to
drive him from their soil, definitely establish
their reconquered liberty, and thus effectively
take their part in the common struggle of
the Allies. In this way the efforts, which
our enemies do not cease to renew, to sow
misunderstanding among the Allies, and to
obtain credit for the most lying reports re-
garding their reciprocal decisions, will be
rendered vain.
The Government of the French Republic,
always confident in the sentiment of its old
and faithful ally, is glad to feel itself in full
community of ideas with the Russian Gov-
ernment and people regarding the principles
by which its policy has not ceased to be in-
spired during the present conflict. France
thinks of oppressing no people and no na-
tionality, not even those of her enemies of
today, but she intends that the oppression
which has so long weighed upon the world
shall be finally destroyed and that the au-
thors of the crimes which will remain for
our enemies the shame of this war shall be
chastised.
Leaving to her enemies the spirit of con-
quest and greed by which they are inspired
In peace as in war, France will never aspire
to snatch any territory from its legitimate
owners. Rebuffed in all the efforts which
she made to maintain peace, forced to reply
by arms to the most unjust of aggressions,
she entered the war only to defend her lib-
erty and her national patrimony, and to as-
sure henceforward in the world a respect for
the independence of peoples. Just as Russia
proclaimed the restoration of Poland to her
former independence, so France hails with
joy the effort which is being carried on in
different parts of the world by peoples still
. tied by the bonds of a dependence which has
been condemned by history.
ALSACE-LORRAINE
Be it to conquer or recover their national
independence, to assert their rights to the
respect of an ancient civilization, or to shake
this Germanic tyranny ready to weigh so
heavily on peoples less advanced on the path
of progress, the only end of the war which
France looks to is the triumph of right and
justice. For herself she intends that her
faithful and loyal provinces of Alsace and
Lorraine which were snatched from her in
the past by violence shall be liberated and
shall return to her.
With her allies France will fight until vic-
tory in order that they may be assured the
complete restoration of their territorial rights
and their political and economic indepen-
dence, as well as reparatory indemnities for
the long toll of inhuman and unjustified acts
of devastation and the indispensable guaran-
tees against a recurrence of the evils caused
by the incessant acts of provocation of our
enemies.
The Government of the repubjic remains,
like the Russian people, convinced that it is
by drawing inspiration from these principles
that the foreign policy of Russia will attain
the aims of a people enamored of justice and
liberty, and that after a victorious struggle
the Allies will be able to create a solid and
lasting peace founded on right. The Russian
Government may be assured that the French
Government is desirous of coming to an un-
derstanding with it not only regarding the
means for continuing the struggle, but also
regarding those for ending it, by examining
and settling a common agreement as to the
conditions in which they may hope to reach
a final settlement in accordance with the
ideas by which their conduct in this war is
directed.
To this reply was attached the text of
the Order of the Day voted on June 5
by the French Chamber of Deputies.
Alsace-Lorraine: The Declaration of Bordeaux
The Order of the Day adopted on June
5, 1917, by the French Chamber of Depu-
ties, at the close of the debate on the
Stockholm peace movement, contained
this passage:
" Unanimously indorsing the protest
made before the National Assembly
in 1871 by the representatives of Al-
sace-Lorraine against the wresting of
that territory from France, the Cham-
ber declares that it awaits from the pres-
ent war, which has been imposed upon
Europe by the aggression of imperialist
Germany, along with the liberation of
the invaded provinces, the return of Al-
sace-Lorraine to the mother country, and
the just reparation of damages."
The Declaration of Bordeaux referred
to in this Order of the Day was printed
in full in the Bulletin des Armees a few
days later, and is here translated for
Current History Magazine:
ALSACE-LORRAINE: THE DECLARATION OF BORDEAUX 265
DECLARATION OP BORDEAUX
National Assembly, Session of 1871. Annex
to the Official Report of Feb. 16, 1S71.
Proposition relative to the declaration of the
Deputies of the Departments of the Upper
Rhine, Lower Rhine, Moselle, Meurthe,
and of the Vosges, in regard to Alsace
and Lorraine.
Presented by Messrs Leon Gambetta, Gros-
jean, Humbert, Kuss, Saglio, H. Varroy,
Titot, Andre, Kable, Tachard, Rehm,
Edouard, Teutsch, Domes, Hartmann,
Ostermann, La Flize, Deschange, Billy,
Bardon, Viox, Albrecht, Alfred Koechlin,
Charles Boersch, Grandpierre, Chauffour,
Rencker, Melsheim, Keller, Brice, Berlet,
Schneegans, Ed. Bamberger, Noblott A.
Boell, Scheurer-Kestner, Ancevon.
"We, the undersigned, French citizens chosen
and deputed by the Departments of the Lower
Rhine, Upper Rhine, Moselle, Meurthe, and
the Vosges, to bring to the National As-
sembly of France the expression of the
unanimous will of the populations of Alsace
and Lorraine, after having met and delib-
erated, have resolved to proclaim in a solemn
declaration their sacred and unalterable
rights, in order that the National Assem-
bly, France, and Europe, having under their
eyes the prayers and the resolutions of our
constituents, can neither commit nor allow
to be committed any act that shall attaint the
rights whose guardianship and defense have
been intrusted to us by formal mandate.
DECLARATION
I. — Alsace and Lorraine do not wish to be
alienated.
Associated . for more than two centuries
with France in both good and ill? fortune,
these two provinces, ceaselessly exposed to
the blows of the enemy, have constantly
sacrificed themselves for the national wel-
fare; they have sealed with their blood the
indissoluble pact that binds them to a
united France. Made the subject of dispute'
today by the pretensions of a foreign ag-
gressor, they affirm in the face of all ob-
stacles and all dangers, under the very yoke
of the invader, their unshakable fidelity.
In full unanimity the citizens who remained
in their homes, like the soldiers who rallied
to the flag, the former by voting, the latter
by fighting, have made known to Germany
and to the world the immovable will of
Alsace and Lorraine to remain French ter-
ritory.
II. — France can neither consent to nor sign
the cession of Alsace and Lorraine.
She cannot, without imperiling her national
existence, deal a mortal blow at her own
unity by abandoning those who have ac-
quired by two hundred years of patriotic
devotion the right to be defended by the
whole country against the aggressions of
victorious force.
An assembly, even though a product of
universal suffrage, could not invoke its sov-
ereignty to cover or ratify exactions de-
structive of the national integrity: it would
be arrogating to itself a right which does
not belong even to a people united in its
legislative functions. Such an excess of
power, whose effect would be to mutilate the
mother community, would expose those
guilty of it to the just denunciations of
history. France can endure the blows of
brute force; she cannot sanction its decrees.
III. — Europe can neither permit nor ratify
the abandonment of Alsace and Lorraine.
Guardians of the rules of justice and in-
ternational law, the civilized nations could
not long remain insensible to the fate of their
neighbor, under pain of being, in their turn,
victims of the aggression which they had
tolerated. Modern Europe cannot allow a
people to be seized like a wretched herd; it
cannot remain deaf to the repeated protests
of the threatened communities ; it owes it to
its own safety to forbid such abuses of force.
It knows, besides, that the unity of France
is today, as in the past, a guaranty of the
general order of the world, a barrier against
the spirit of conquest and invasion. Peace
made at the price of a cession of territory
would only be a ruinous truce and not a
definitive peace. It would be for all a cause
of internal agitation, of legitimate and per-
manent provocation throughout the earth.
In brief, Alsace and Lorraine protest highly
against all cession ; France cannot consent
to it, Europe cannot sanction it.
In support of this we call upon our fellow-
citizens of France, and upon the Govern-
ments and nations of the whole world, to
witness that in advance we hold null and vqid
all acts and treaties, votes or plebiscites,
which shall consent to abandoning to the
stranger all or part of our provinces of Alsace
and Lorraine.
We proclaim by these presents forever in-
violable the right of citizens of Alsace and
Lorraine to remain members of the French
Nation, and we swear, both for ourselves and
for those we represent, likewise for our
children and their descendants, to claim it
eternally by all ways and means and against
all usurpers.
The undersigned members of the National
Assembly place on file the following propo-
sition with the Chamber of Deputies : " The
National Assembly has taken under consid-
eration the unanimous declaration of the
Deputies of the Lower Rhine, Upper Rhine,
Moselle, Meurthe, and Vosges." [Followed
by the signatures.]
Russian Mission to United States
Ambassador Bakhmeteff, in a Series of Addresses,
Tells of Free Russia's Purposes
THE Russian Mission to the United
States, which was appointed be-
fore the reconstruction of the
Provisional Government, arrived
at Seattle on June 13, 1917. The mission
was headed by Special Ambassador Boris
A. Bakhmeteff, and included about forty
officials and experts, representing nearly
every department of the Russian Govern-
ment. The following constituted the spe-
cial embassy, in order of their rank:
Ambassador Boris A. Bakhmeteff, (and
wife.)
Lieut. Gen. Roop, representative of the
Russian Army.
Professor Lomonosoff, member of the Coun-
cil of Engineers and representative of the
Ministry.
Professor Borodine, 'representative of the
Ministry of Agriculture.
M. Novitzky, representative of the Min-
istry of Finance.
Attaches— M. Soukine, First Secretary of
Legation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs ; Cap-
tain Dubassoff of the Guard, aide de camp,
(and wife,) and Captain Chutt.
Reaching Washington on June 19, the
visitors were greeted by Secretary of
State Lansing, and received an enthusi-
astic welcome as they passed through the
streets from the station. Next day Am-
bassador Bakhmeteff was formally pre-
sented to President Wilson, while General
Roop paid his respects to Secretary
Baker.
Program of Nen> Russia
Outlining the political and military
program of " New Russia " to the news-
paper correspondents at Washington, M.
Bakhmeteff said:
In behalf of the Russian Provisional Gov-
ernment and in behalf of all the people of
new Russia, I have been first of all sent
here to express their gratitude to the Gov-
ernment of the United States for the prompt
recognition of the new political order in
Russia. This noble action of the world's
greatest democracy has afforded us • strong
moral support and has created among our
people a general feeling of profound appre-
ciation. Close and active relationship be-
tween the two nations based upon complete
and sincere . understanding encountered in-
evitable obstacles during the old regime be-
cause of its very nature. The situation is
now radically changed with free Russia start-
ing a new era in her national life.
The Provisional Government is actively
mobilizing all its resources and is making
great efforts to organize the country and
the army for the purpose of conducting the
war. We hope to establish a very close and
active co-operation with the United States,
in order to secure the most successful and
intensive accomplishment of all work neces-
sary for our common end. For the purpose
of discussing all matters relating to military
affairs, munitions and supplies, railways and
transportation, finance, and agriculture, our
mission includes eminent and distinguished
specialists.
On the other hand, I hope that the result
of our stay and work in America will bring
about a clear understanding on the part of
your public of what has happened in Russia
and also of the present situation and the end
for which our people are most earnestly
striving. The achievements of the revolu-
tion are to be formally set forth in funda-
mental laws enacted by a Constitutional As-
sembly, which is to be convoked as soon
as possible. In the meanwhile the Provis-
ional Government is confronted with the
task of bringing into life the democratic
principles which were promulgated during the
revolution.
New Russia received from the old Govern-
ment a burdensome heritage of economic and
technical disorganization which affected all
branches of the life of the State, a disor-
ganization which weighs yet heavily on the
whole country. The Provisional Government
is doing everything in its- power to relieve
the difficult situation. It has adopted many
measures for supplying plants with raw ma-
terial and fuel, for. regulating the transpor-
tation of the food supply for the army and
for the country, and for relieving the finan-
cial difficulties.
The participation in the new Government
by new members who are active and prom-
inent leaders in the Council of Workmen's
and Soldiers' Delegates has secured full sup-
port from the democratic masses. The es-
teem in which such leaders as M. Kerensky
and M. Tseretelli and others are held among
the working classes and soldiers is contrib-
uting to the strength and stability of the new
Government. The Constitutional-Democratic
Party, the Labor Party, the Socialist-Popu-
lists, and, excepting a small group of ex-
tremists, the Social Democrats— all these par-
ties, embracing the vast majority of the peo-
RUSSIAN MISSION TO THE UNITED STATES
267
pie, are represented by strong leaders in the
new Government, thereby securing for it au-
thority.
Plans of the Government
Firmly convinced that unity of power is es-
sential, and casting aside class and special
interests, all social and political elements
have joined in the national program which
the new Government proclaimed and which
it is striving to fulfill. This program reads :
" The Provisional Government, rejecting,
" in accord with the whole people of Russia,
"all thought of separate peace, puts it
" openly as its deliberate purpose the
" promptest achievement of universal peace ;
" such peace to presume no dominion over
*' other nations, no seizure of their national
" property nor any forced usurpation of for-
" eign territory ; peace with no annexations
" or contributions, based upon the free de-
" termination by each nation of its des-
" tinies.
" Being fully convinced that the establish-
" ment of democratic principles in its in-
" ternal and external policy has created a new
" factor in the striving of allied democracies
" for durable peace and fraternity of all na-
" tions, the Provisional Government will take
" preparatory steps for an agreement with
•* the Allies founded on its declaration of
" March 27. The Provisional Government is
" conscious that the defeat of Russia and her
" allies would be the source of the greatest
" misery, and would not only postpone but
" even make impossible the establishment of
" universal peace on a firm basis.
" The Provisional Government is convinced
" that the revolutionary army of Russia will
" not allow the German troops to destroy
" our allies on the western front and then
" fall upon us with the whole might of their
" weapons. The chief aim of the Provisional
" Government will be to fortify the demo-
" cratic foundations of the army and organ-
" ize and consolidate the army's fighting
" power for its' defensive as well as offensive
*' purpose."
The last decision of the Russian Council of
"Workmen's and Soldiers' Delegates, the de-
cision of the All-Russian Peasant Congress,
the decision of the Duma, the voice of the
country as expressed from day to day by al-
most the entire Russian press, in resolutions
adopted at different conferences and con-
gresses—all these confirm their full support
to this national program and leave not the
slightest doubt that Russia is decided as to
the necessity to fight the German autocracy
until the conditions for a general and stable
peace in Europe are established. Such decis-
ion is becoming more and more evident each
day by practical work and results and shows
itself in the pressing and rapid reorganiza-
tion of the army which is now being fulfilled
under the firm and efficient measures
adopted by Minister Kerensky.
New Russia, in full accord with the motives
which impelled the United States to enter
the war, is striving to destroy tyranny, to
establish peace on a secure and permanent
foundation and to make the world safe for
democracy.
Address Before the House
Stirring scenes were witnessed when
the House of Representatives gave a for-
mal reception to the mission on June 23.
Speaker Champ Clark caused the first
outburst of enthusiasm when he re-
minded the House that Russia was the
twenty- seventh republic and " that there
was one other republic on earth (Switz-
erland) when our fathers proclaimed our
independence in 1776." M. Bakhmeteff,
speaking in excellent English and with
much fervor, was frequently interrupted
by bursts of applause. He said, in part:
Does not one feel occasionally that the
very greatness and significance of events are
not fully appreciated, due to the facility -and
spontaneity with which the change has been
completed? Does one realize what it really
means to humanity that a nation of 180,000,-
000, a country boundless in expanse, has been
suddenly set free from the worst of oppres-
sions, has been given the joy of a free, self-
conscious existence?
Instead of the old forms there are now
being firmly established and deeply imbedded
in the minds of the nation principles that
power is reposed and springs from and only
from the people. To effectuate these princi-
ples and to enact appropriate fundamental
laws is going to be the main function of the
Constitutional Assembly which is to be con-
voked as promptly as possible.
Guided by democratic precepts, the Pro-
visional Government is meanwhile reorganiz-
ing the country on the basis of freedom,
equality, and self-government, rebuilding its
economic and financial structure.
The people are realizing more and more
that for the very sake of further freedom
law must be maintained and manifestation
of anarchy suppressed. In this respect local
life has exemplified a wonderful exertion of
spontaneous public spirit. On many occa-
sions, following the removal of the old au-
thorities, a new elected administration has
naturally arisen, conscious of national in-
terest and often developing in its spontaneity
amazing examples of practical statesman-
ship.
The latest resolutions, framed by the Coun-
cil of Workingmen, the Congress of Peasants,
and other democratic organizations, render
the best proof of the general understanding
of the necessity of creating strong power.
The coalitionary character of the new Cab-
inet, which includes eminent Socialist lead-
ers, and represents all the vital elements of
the nation, therefore enjoying its full sup-
port, is most effectively securing the unity
and power of the Central Government,
268
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
the lack of which was so keenly felt during
the first two months after the revolution.
Realizing the grandeur and complexity of
present events and conscious of the danger
which is threatening the very achievement of
,the revolution, the Russian people are gather-
ing around the new Government, united on
a " national program." It is this program of
" national salvation " which has united the
middle classes, as well as the Populists, the
labor elements, and Socialists. Deep political
wisdom has been exhibited by subordinating
class interests and differences to national
welfare. In this way this Government is
supported by an immense majority of the
nation, and outside of reactionaries only is
being opposed by comparatively small groups
of Extremists and Internationalists.
As to foreign policy, Russia's national pro-
gram has been clearly set forth in the state-
ment of the Provisional Government of March
27, and more explicitly in the declaration of
the new Government of May 18. With all em-
phasis may I state that Russia rejects any
idea of separate peace. I am aware that ru-
mors were circulated in this country that a
separate peace seemed probable. I am happy
to affirm that such rumors are wholly with-
out foundation in fact.
Gentlemen of the House, I will close my ad-
dress by saying — Russia will not fail to be
a worthy partner in the " league of honor."
After this address members of the
mission stood in a receiving line while
members of the House passed by. Every
one warmly congratulated Ambassador
Bakhmeteff on his address.
At Washington s Tomb
The Russian Mission joined with the
Belgian Mission on June 24 to pay hom-
age at the tomb of George "Washington
at Mount Vernon. M. Bakhmeteff con-
cluded his address with these words:
With a feeling of solemn veneration and
overwhelming emotion I bestow on this im-
mortal tomb this wreath as a tribute to the
hero, to the knight of liberty and democracy,
from the messengers of Russia's freedom.
Professor Lomonosoff, in a statement
on June 25 regarding the condition of
the Russian railroads, said that locomo-
tives were the fundamental need of Rus-
sia today. " Quite frankly I can say to
you, our American friends," he said,
" give us locomotives, and we shall give
you military success." Russia needs at
once 1,000 ten-wheel American locomo-
tives to put her idle cars in operation;
another 1,000, with appropriate number
of cars, to free the congested freight
terminals, and another 850 annually to
meet the discrepancy between Russia's
manufacture and her needs for renewal
and new construction. " I must frankly
tell you," Professor Lomonosoff added,
" that the Russian railways are now in
• a most critical state. Heroism can do
nothing when there is a lack of muni-
tions and food." The Siberian railroad
was in splendid condition for the im-
mense task put upon it. Coal was avail-
able and adequate sidings had been com-
pleted.
Speech in the Senate
The Senate reception to M. Bakhmeteff
and his colleagues on June 26 was in
every way as enthusiastic as that given
previously by the House. The Ambas-
sador's address followed the same lines
as that delivered before the House. In
part he said:
Two considerations make me feel that
Russia has passed the stage of the world
when the future appeared vague and un-
certain. In the first place is the firm con-
viction of the necessity of legality, which is
widely developing and firmly establishing
itself throughout the country. My latest
advices give joyful confirmation of the estab-
lishment of a firm power, strong in its demo-
cratic precepts and activity,* strong in the
trust reposed in it by the people in its ability
to enforce law and order.
In the second place, and no less important,
is the growing conviction that the issues of the
revolution and the future of Russia's freedom
are closely connected with the fighting might
of the country. It is such power, it is the
force of arms, which alone can defend and
make certain the achievements of the revo-
lution against autocratic aggression. Like
the nation, the army, an offspring of the
people, had to be built on democratic lines.
Such work takes time, and friction and partial
disorganization must be overcome.
Conscious of the enormous task, the Pro-
visional Government is taking measures to
restore promptly throughout the country con-
ditions of life so deeply disorganized by the
inefficiency of the previous rulers and to pro-
vide for whatever is necessary for military
success.
In this respect exceptional and grave con-
ditions provide for exceptional means. In
close touch with the Pan Peasant Congress,
the Government has taken control of stores
of food supplies and is providing for effective
transportation and just distribution. Follow-
ing examples of other countries at war, the
Government has undertaken the regulation of
the production of main products vital for the
country and the army. The Government at
the same time is making all endeavor to
settle labor difficulties, taking measures for
the welfare of workmen consistent with the
The Russian Mission — Boris Bakhmeteff , the New Ambas-
sador, in Civilian Clothes, in the Front Row, with
General Roop on His Left and Professor
Lomonossof on His Right.
(Photo © Harris & Ewing.)
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The Belgian Mission — Baron Moncheur, Head of the Mis-
sion, Is Seated to the Right of General Leclerq,
Who Is at the Extreme Left of the Row.
(Photo © Harris & Swing.)
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RUSSIAN MISSION TO THE UNITED STATES
269
active production necessitated by national
welfare.
Senators shook hands with all mem-
bers of the commission, and later, by-
unanimous consent, adopted a resolution
by Senator Gore of Oklahoma expressing
" profound satisfaction over the assur-
ances of the determination of the Russian
people in their new-found liberty and re-
publican institutions to defend and main-
tain them."
New York's reception to the Russian
Mission on July 6 was a fitting expres-
sion of the enthusiasm which " the most
democratic city in the world," as Am-
bassador Bakhmeteff described it, felt
at the presence of the representatives of
the new democracy. The procession
through the streets was greeted by large
and enthusiastic crowds; and everywhere
the red flag of the revolution was in evi-
dence. Replying to Mayor MitchePs
greetings, the Ambassador, speaking in
English, said that the enthusiasm that
had been manifested represented " the
joy of America that a new democracy
had been born. So momentous is the
present hour," he continued, " that sol-
emn gravity and earnest sincerity are in
our greeting, and our two nations have
extended to each other their brotherly
hands. Liberty and democracy, such are
the aims of the Russian revolution. De-
mocracy and liberty, such are the aims
which this great Republic is seeking to
obtain for all nations. Is there not a
deep historic meaning in the fact that
while the first American troops stepped
upon the soil of Europe as true cham-
pions of mankind, Russia, inspired by the
vision of freedom and democracy, has
thrust her warriors with unyielding im-
pulse upon the yet unbroken ranks of the
foe of liberty ? "
On July 7 a crowd of 20,000 people
gathered at a concert on the Mall of
Central Park. In his speech Ambassador
Bakhmeteff said:
I have come to this country in behalf of
the new Russia, a Russia freed from the
shackles of hundreds of years of oppres-
sion and hatreds. With a deadly blow
has the Russian people shattered the
chains of serfdom.
Russia is free ! One hundred and eighty
millions of men, women, and children now
have the blessings of self-government and
self-rule. And with us others are free.
The Pole is free. The Jew enjoys full
equality. The Jew is a full fellow-citizen
of free Russia.
This war in which we are comrades is
not a common war between nations seek-
ing personal ends. It is a war for a prin-
ciple. On the issues of this war will de-
pend the future of the world, whether'
the world will be " safe for democracy "
or whether it will be fettered with au-
tocracy.
Liberty and democracy ! That was what
the great hero Kerensky pleaded for when
he led the soldier-citizen to fight. Let
us be united. Let us all be one. Let us
fight for liberty and democracy — that is
the message to you, the oldest democracy
of the New World, from the newest de-
mocracy of the Old World.
One episode marred the otherwise un-
broken flow of harmony which charac-
terized the visit of the mission to New
York. At the great meeting in Madison
Square Garden on the evening of July 7
a crowd of 12,000 persons was thrown
into disorder by a hostile demonstration
against a declaration that the Russians
must fight until the Kaiser was removed
from power. The speaker interrupted was
a representative of Russian workers in
the United States. The disturbance was
stopped, and a little later Ambassador
Bakhmeteff made an address. Without
challenging the pacifist sentiment in the
audience by making any direct reference
to the determination on the part of the
new Russia to continue the war until
victory is secure, the Ambassador paid
glowing compliments to the revolutionary
army. He spoke in Russian, and was
interrupted frequently by tumultuous
cheers. He described the critical mo-
ments of the revolution, the economic,
political, and social disorganization which
necessarily followed "the overturn of thei
old regime. For a time, he said, it
seemed as though the revolution might
prove a failure, that the obstacles were
too great. " But the moment of salvation
came," he added, " when Tseretelli, Sko-
beleff , and Tchernoff united and formed
the coalition which strengthened the Pro-
visional Government and put the young
nation on a firm and reliable foundation."
The mission on July 5 resolved itself
into the permanent Russian Embassy in
270
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
the United States. Special Ambassador
Boris A. Bakhmeteff presented to Presi-
dent Wilson his credentials as permanent
Ambassador, but continued to exercise
extraordinary powers of negotiation. The
former Russian Embassy at Washington
has been transformed into a network of
offices. From there Ambassador Bakh-
meteff now directs all the special, tech-
nical, and purchasing missions. The
other members of the special mission are
working under his direction, some of
them for the length of the war and others
for at least four or five months.
•The text of the new Ambassador's
formal address to the President, delivered
when he presented his credentials, will
be found on a preceding page, in connec-
tion with articles on the Russian situa-
tion.
Tour of the Italian Mission
THE story of the arrival of the Italian
Mission in the United States was
given in the preceding issue of
Current History Magazine, with the
first public utterances of Prince Udine
and his distinguished associates. To con-
tinue the narrative: In the course of a
tour of the Middle West the commission
visited Chicago on June 18, 1917. At a
formal dinner in the evening the princi-
pal speaker was Guglielmo Marconi, who
told of Italy's difficult position in the
war, saying in part:
Among all the nations at war Italy is
silently taking the greatest strain and the
greatest privation. Only when the kind of
war Italy is fighting becomes fully known
will the world realize what sacrifices the
army and the people of Italy have accom-
plished. For more than two years Italy has
had an army of more than 3,000,000 men. It
is now approaching 4,000,000. You must bear
in mind that her population is a little over
37,000,000— about one-third that of the United
States. If America wese to make an equal
sacrifice she would have to maintain under
arms for more than two years about 12,000,000
men, and even then her effort would not be
equal to ours, for the wealth of the United
States is incomparably greater than that of
Italy. To feel an equal strain America would
have to fling at least $30,000,000,000 into the
furnace of war.
The Italian Mission arrived in New
York on June 21, and received a hearty
welcome. The crowds that gathered
about the Battery, where Prince Udine
and his colleagues came ashore from a
ferryboat, the crowds in City Hall Park,
in Washington Square, and along the rest
of the way to Sixty-first Street were
almost as large as those which had greet-
ed the French Commission a few weeks
previouslyo The city's Italian population
turned out in great numbers. An inter-
esting episode was the stoppage of the
procession at the Garibaldi Statue, on
the pedestal of which Prince Udine, the
head of the mission, laid a wreath of
evergreens. Then he saluted, and stood
a moment contemplating the figure of the
man who had helped to create modern
Italy.
At the luncheon given on June 22 by
the Merchants' Association, Dr. Nicholas
Murray Butler, President of Columbia
University, reminded the audience that
Italy had almost invented banking and
that Genoa and Venice were the founders
of the great overseas commerce of mod-
ern times. Charles Evans Hughes, Re-
publican candidate for President in 1916,
said that to state the indebtedness of
America to Italy was to recite the his-
tory of navigation and discovery, of arts
and letters, of commerce and invention —
a long line of obligations, extending from
Columbus to Marconi. " We also record
the fact," Mr. Hughes added, " that Ital-
ian skill and industry are part of the very
substance of American prosperity."
Marconi, in his speech, came down to
the practical and critical question of
Italy's shortage of coal, the importation
of which had fallen to half the normal
quantity. He proceeded:
We want coal, we must have coal, to keep
our munition factories going, to run our
railroads carrying ammunition to the front
and food to all the scattered populations of
the country, and to run our factories, the
stoppage of which would mean the throwing
of a million men out of work to starve and
Increase our difficulties. And if we do not
get this coal, and get it quick, our ammuni-
tion factories will have to work half time or
TQUR OF THE ITALIAN MISSION
271
stop, our trains will cease to run, diminish-
ing the efficiency of the army, and even per-
haps bringing about local famines. Above
all, we must hasten the construction of ships,
hundreds of ships, thousands of ships, ships
of wood and ships of steel, so long as they
will float and carry coal, iron, and wheat to
Europe.
We expect the United States to put forth a
great effort ; given the spirit of organization
and the industrial power of this great coun-
try, it should not be impossible to build one
and a half million tons of shipping by the
end of this year, and at least double that
amount in 1918.
In addition to all these difficulties we must
realize that the production' of war material
diminishes agricultural production, whereas
the latter should be increased at all costs.
Here again the United States can hedp us
better than any one else if they will realize
fully that the essential conditions of victory
are an increase in agricultural production
and the construction of many ships.
Enrico Arlotta, Minister of Transpor-
tation, pointed out the initial service to
the Allies constituted by Italy's declara-
tion of neutrality. He declared that,
despite the increase of her budget from
2,500,000,000f . a year to eighteen billions,
Italy had so well organized her finances
that every new loan was met with new
income adequate to cover the interest.
He duplicated Marconi's plea for war
materials and ships:
The commodities needed are wheat and
other cereals, steel for the munitions, and,
above all, coal ; but these three things have
now one name only, and this name is " ships,
ships, and more ships." Italy used to take
before the war about twenty millions of tons
of goods, out of which one million was repre-
sented by coal imported from England and
the United States. Now this figure is almost
cut down to half, and this diminution repre-
sents the greatest sacrifice we could impose
on our population.
Gentlemen, I said I would speak to you as
a merchant does with a merchant. We have
all signed a bill of exchange, and this bill of
exchange is indorsed by England, by France,
by Italy, by Russia, and so on. Now the
United States has put its signature on this
bill of exchange, and as nations live on credit,
just as merchants do, when the bill of ex-
change is due we must pay it by winning the
war. Otherwise we shall all be bankrupt.
Prince Udine on the afternoon of June
22 journeyed to Staten Island to pay a
tribute to the memory of Garibaldi, who
had lived for a while in a little frame
house on the crest of a hill at Rosebank.
It was estimated that at least 100,000
Italians took part in the demonstration,
one of the most picturesque ever seen in
New York. Members of Italian com-
munities as far away as a hundred miles
were represented in the crowd. The little
house in which Garibaldi lived is now
an Italian shrine, and is inclosed in an-
other building, above it the words in
gold, " The Garibaldi Memorial." In this
old house Garibaldi supported himself by
making candles, and in the rooms is still
some of the humble furniture which the
Italian patriot used. The Prince re-
mained at the memorial about twenty
minutes and the cheering never ceased
for an instant while he was there. A
committee representing the Order of the
Sons of Italy greeted the Prince and
handed him a check for $10,000, to be
applied to the relief of war sufferers in
Italy. Prince Udine accepted the check,
and expressed his deep gratitude for the
gift. He said:
Before this memorial to Italy's great hero
and in the country which Garibaldi loved
so dearly, and at this historic moment when
Italy is fighting for the principles which
Garibaldi held most sacred, it is indeed a
source of great gratification to me to greet
so many Italian and so many American citi-
zens at such. a place as is this.
The Prince referred to the present war
as one for the complete realization of
the dreams of Garibaldi, and he believed
that the ideals of liberty and justice
championed by the Italian patriot would
triumph. He closed with a tribute to
George Washington, whose ideals, he
added, were the ideals of Garibaldi.
The official entertainment of the Ital-
ian Mission ended on June 23 with a cele-
bration at the City College stadium. In
the afternoon a visit was paid to Colonel
Roosevelt at his Long Island home, and
in the evening Prince Udine and his col-
leagues left for Boston.
Italy's Part in the Marne
Victory
Senator Guglielmo Marconi of wireless
fame, speaking as a member of the Ital-
ian Diplomatic Mission at the dinner
given to the visitors by Mayor Mitchel
of New York, June 22, 1917, revealed for
the first time the circumstances in which
272
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Italy announced to France her decision
to remain neutral at the outset of the
war, thereby releasing a million French
soldiers on the Italian frontier and en-
abling France to win the battle of the
Marne. This portion of Mr. Marconi's
speech was as follows:
And now, gentlemen, 1 come to what is per-
haps one of the least well-known matters in
connection with this war, the absolutely de-
cisive influence of Italy's conduct at the very
outbreak of hostilities in 1914. Let me tell
you a few facts concerning the inner political
history of those fateful few days of July,
1914, when the fate of Europe was trembling
in the balance.
Germany did not expect us to join her in
her savage attack on the liberties of Europe ;
she did not even care much whether we
eventually agreed to remain neutral. Her
game was a much deeper and more treach-
erous one. She wanted us to leave France,
our great Latin sister, in doubt as to our
intentions.
On the morning of July 30, 1914, that is to
say, one day before Germany declared war
on Russia, and two days before she de-
clared war on France, the Marquis de San
Giuliano, who was then our Foreign Minister,
unofficially informed the French Ambassa-
dor in Rome that Italy would never side with
the Central Powers in a war of aggression.
This information was immediately wired to
Paris, but it was not sufficient to make
France feel absolutely certain that Italy's
attitude was favorable to her, because there
was as yet no official declaration of neutral-
ity on our part.
On the 2d of August, 1914, three days
before England declared war against Ger-
many, at a Council of Ministers held in
Rome, Italy decided formally to declare her
neutrality. The news was immediately com-
municated to our Charge d'Affaires in Paris,
the Ambassador being absent. For some
reason the telegram did not reach him until
1 o'clock in the morning. Without a mo-
ment's hesitation he went to see M. Viviani,
the French Prime Minister, in the middle of
the night.
"When he was introduced into M. Viviani's
presence the latter turned pale and drew
back, for he was almost convinced that noth-
ing but Italy's decision to join Germany
would have brought the Italian Charge
d'Affaires there at that hour. The revulsion
of feeling when M. Viviani read the tele-
gram was such that he could not hide his
emotion. Within half an hour orders had
gone forth for the mobilization for service
in the north of nearly 1,000,000 men which
France would have had to keep on her
southern and eastern frontier to guard
against a possible attack from Italy.
That million men helped to stem the ad-
vancing tide of Germans, to win the battle
of the Marne, and to save France from being
crushed by the heel of German militarism.
Had there been the slightest wavering, the
smallest hesitation on the part of Italy, had
any Italian politician been found to do one-
tenth the part of what Bismarck did when
he altered the wording of the famous Ems
telegram, and thus brought about the Franco-
Prussian war, France Would not have dared
to withdraw a single man from the Italian
frontier, and the history of the world might
have been written differently.
Gentlemen, is there any man who can
think, in view of what I have just told you,
that Italy's conduct was not a decisive factor
in the war?
The Belgian Mission in America
A MOST sympathetic reception was
accorded to the Belgian Commis-
sion, which arrived in the United
States on June 16, 1917. Its personnel
included :
Baron Ludovic Moncheur, Chief of the
Political Bureau of the Belgian Foreign Of-
fice at Havre and former Belgian Minister
to the United States, President of the com-
mission.
General Leclercq, a cavalry commander.
Hector Carlier, member of a Belgian bank-
ing family, counselor of the commission.
Major Osterrieth, long attached to the Bel-
gian Legation in Petrograd.
Count Louis d'Ursel, former Secretary of
the Belgian Legation in Teheran, Persia.
The members of the mission were for-
mally received on June 18 by President
Wilson, to whom Baron Moncheur pre-
sented the following letter from the King
of the Belgians:
His Excellency, Woodrow Wilson,
President of the United States of
America.
Great and good friend: I commend to
your Excellency's kindly reception the
mission which bears this letter. This
mission will express to the President the
feelings of understanding and enthusiastic
admiration with which my Government
and people have received the decision
reached by him in his wisdom. The mis-
sion will also tell you how greatly the
important and glorious r61e enacted by the
United States has confirmed the confi-
dence which the Belgian Nation has al-
ways had in free America's spirit of
justice.
The great American Nation was par-
ticularly moved by the unwarranted and
violent attacks made upon Belgium. It
THE BELGIAN MISSION IN AMERICA
273
has sorrowed over the distress of my
subjects subjected to the yoke of the
enemy. It has succored them with in-
comparable generosity. I am happy to
have an opportunity again to express to
your Excellency the gratitude which my
country owes you and the firm hope enter-
tained by Belgium that on the day of
reparation toward which America will
contribute so bountifully, full and entire
justice will be rendered to my country.
My Government has chosen to express
its sentiments to your Excellency through
two distinguished men whose services will
command credence for what they have
to say, Baron Moncheur, who for eight
years was my representative at Wash-
ington, and Lieut. Gen. Leclercq, who has
earned high appreciation during a long
military career.
I venture to hope, Mr. President, that
you will accord full faith and credence
to everything that they say, especially
when they assure you of the hopes I en-
tertain for the happiness and prosperity
of the United States of America and of
my faithful and very sincere friendship.
ALBERT.
In the course of a statement to the
newspaper correspondents at Washington
on June 20 Baron Moncheur said:
Your entry into the war not only brings to
us the satisfaction of finding in an old friend
a new ally, but fires us with complete confi-
dence in an early and victorious issue of the
great struggle which has brought to my
country so much of misery and suffering.
Our admiration for your decision in enter-
ing the war is all the greater because we
know that you did so in full knowledge of all
its horrors, and realized fully the sacrifices
you will be called upon to make, the tears
that will flow, the inevitable heartache and
sorrow that will darken your homes.
In voicing my country's gratitude I am
happy to be able to pay a tribute of admira-
tion and affection to Mr. Hoover, under
whose able and untiring direction the great
work of feeding Belgium was carried on. We
rejoice for you that a man so eminently
fitted by ability and experience should be at
your service in handling the great food prob-
lems that confront you.
From being one of the foremost industrial
nations of the world, ranking fourth among
exporting countries, Belgium for the time be-
ing has been ruthlessly wiped out. Her fac-
tories are closed. With cold calculation for
the ruin of the country, the invader has even
removed the machinery from our factories
and shipped it to Germany as part of a far-
sighted and cynical program of economic an-
nihilation. And, worst of all, a part of Bel-
gium's unoffending laboring class has been
torn from their families and sent to toil in
Germany under a system that would have of-
fended the moral sense of the Middle Ages.
The Senate received the mission on
June 22 with every mark of appreciation
and sympathy. Baron Moncheur's ad-
dress expressing Belgium's gratitude for
America's aid was punctuated with fre-
quent applause. " The sympathy of
America," he declared, " gives us new
courage."
Baron Moncheur's Eloquence
Baron Moncheur was one of the speak-
ers at the impressive ceremony on June
24, when the Belgian and Russian Mis-
sions visited Washington's tomb at
Mount Vernon. Speaking very earnestly
and slowly, he said:
In this solemn hour when freedom is locked
in a death struggle with the powers of dark-
ness we come to pay homage to the great
founder of American liberty. Although his
body lies here, his work survives and his
spirit still lives in the American people. I
know of nothing which typifies that spirit
better than the words of Washington when,
in bequeathing his sword to his nephew, he
added the injunction that it should never be
dra\yn except in defense of liberty and justice,
and that when once drawn it should never be
sheathed before the complete victory of right
over wrong.
It is that spirit which animates your nation
in the present as in the past. You looked
across the sea and saw liberty struggling in
the grasp of autocracy, that hideous monster,
the enemy of mankind. You came to her aid,
and by throwing your mighty sword into the
scales you have insured that right will prevail
and that the world will be made safe for all
honest nations— the small as well as the great.
You have done what Washington would
have done. And, therefore, in paying homage
to the father of your country I offer a tribute
of devotion and gratitude to the whole
American people.
Another notable address by Baron
Moncheur was that delivered to the House
of Representatives on June 27. He said,
in part:
As in the Middle Ages the knights were
accustomed to hold a vigil, watching their
armor in the chapel, so you today are making
the same holy and prayerful preparation for
the battle to come. Everywhere you are
carrying on work which day by day brings
nearer the moment of supreme victory. While
the flower of American youth is preparing
itself in your splendid training camps, your
shipyards, your factories, and munition plants
resound with the hum of feverish work pro-
viding your soldiers with the implements of
war.
American aviation, that marvelous product
of the New World, is making ready to lend
274
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
its powerful aid, also, to support our armies.
Is it not natural, indeed, that the American
eagle from the skies should strike the death-
blow to the enemy?
After your great stroke for liberty in 1776
you formed a society, which you called the
Order of the Cincinnati, to indicate that when
war was finished you knew how to beat your
swords into plowshares ; and now, when war
has been forced upon you, you have given
proof that you know equally well how to turn
your plowshares into swords.
Some twenty years ago Prince Albert of
Belgium, heir to a throne which seemed to
be safely sheltered from the blast of war,
came to America, where he studied with the
deepest interest your marvelous country and
the wonderful works of industry and com-
merce which you had developed in the
quietude of peace. And now, how can I
express the sentiments which fill his heroic
soul when, fighting at the head of his troops
in the last trench on Belgian soil, he sees
the sons of that same industrious America
lajid upon the coast of Europe, brave cham-
pions of the most noble principles and ready
to lay down their lives in defense of right
and justice?
On a certain occasion a mighty sovereign
declared, " The Pyrenees exist no more," and
today we can say with even more truth,
" There is no longer any ocean," for endless
friendship, cemented by gratitude and joint
effort and suffering in the cause of justice
and liberty, will forever obliterate the barrier
of the seas and unite the children of old
Belgium to the sons of the young and power-
ful Republic of the New World.
Lord Northcliffe and Other Envoys
LORD NORTHCLIFFE, after his ar-
rival in the United States as special
representative of the British Gov-
ernment, delivered his first speech at a
luncheon in New York City on June 28.
He said, in part:
It is only by an absolute mobilization of
man power and machine power that this war
can be won. Industries that at this moment
seem remote from mobilization for the war
will sooner or later be called upon to do their
part. In Europe, for example, one of the
largest corset factories is now turning out
very delicate pieces of machinery needed in
the construction of airplanes. The war,
which has proved the efficacy of motor
transport to an- almost incredible degree,
will make a tremendous drain upon the au-
tomobile industry of your country. For one
thing, the great bulk of automobile output
will have to be concentrated on trucks. In
the second place, the automobile factories
will inevitably be commandeered for the
manufacture of airplane parts and airplane
construction generally.
In the airplane lies one great hope of allied
victory. The war has taught that the air-
plane engine of Spring may be almost use-
for actual fighting by the next Autumn,
so rapid are the developments produced by
the fierce competition of war.
When America has got her full stride in
the war, as surely she will get it, it will be
found that there will be a tremendous de-
mand for chauffeurs. England today has
nearly a hundred thousand motor trucks in
France, and is constantly sending more.
Every one of these trucks must be manned
by a trained driver. If skilled chauffeurs
can be sent to operate your trucks it will be
possible to release an equal number of men
for the fighting lines.
Lord Northcliffe prophesied a post-
bellum federation of allied nations:
I have a strong conviction that with peace
will come a close federation of the nations
who are now fighting the great fight for
freedom. You have only to look at the spec-
tacle of what I might call the United Nations
of Great Britain today to see the effect that
the war has upon the co-ordination of peoples
and nations of widely conflicting tempera-
ments and national structures. You see dem-
ocratic Australia, a near socialistic New
Zealand, a vast country like India, with its
feudal princes and other rulers, a free Can-
ada, and what is nothing less than the Re-
public of South Africa, all pouring their
blood and treasure out upon the battlefields
of France, linked by a common feeling of
empire and sustained by a common hope of
liberation from the militarism that sought to
dominate the world.
A close federation of the nations now fight-
ing the good fight will be the only insurance
against the autocracy that made this war
possible and the horrors that the armies of
the autocrat perpetrated on innocent non-
combatants. The world must be made free
for democracy.
Irish Nationalist Leaders
The Irish Nationalist Party in the
House of Commons appointed T. P.
O'Connor, M. P., and Richard Hazleton,
M. P., and Secretary of the party, to
visit the United States as its representa-
tives. On their arrival in New York on
June 24 Mr. O'Connor explained the
purpose of his visit as follows:
I am here as the official representative,
with my colleague, Mr. Hazleton, of the
Irish Nationalist Parliamentary Party, to
LORD NORTHCLIFFE AND OTHER ENVOYS
275
lay before the men of my race and before the
friends of Ireland of all races the realities
and the issues, for the opinion of the Greater
Ireland and of this democratic Republic be-
yond the seas remains the most potent factor
in working out the liberation of Ireland and
of all other nationalities in the world.
The situation in Ireland is still somewhat
confused. A series of unfortunate mistakes
and tragic events have produced resentment
and thrown many of the younger men of the
country off their balance for the moment.
But this, in my opinion, represents a mood
and not a settled preference for the hopeless
program of armed insurrection over a con-
stitutional movement.
As to the war, opinion in England grows
more united and harder. I need say nothing
more at the moment of America's welcome
intervention except that Lincoln's speech at
Gettysburg and President Wilson's address
to Congress represent to me the clearest defi-
nitions of the issues and purposes for which
all free men today are fighting.
The war has made a new world and has
transformed the soul of Europe. No man's
political, social, or mental standpoint has re-
mained the same. The whole groundwork of
society has adapted itself to a new state of
things in which men fighting in the air and
under the sea are recognized as prominent
factors.
Men who have lost two or three sons in the
war do not speak of their grief in going about
their daily duties. It is only by the whitened
hair and the drawn features that we can
judge of what they are inwardly suffering.
The war and the demand for wheat, oats,
and other grains have caused the British Gov-
ernment to till all available land, tending
toward the solution in Ireland of the ranch
problem. While the land under cultivation
in England has increased 200,000 acres, in
Ireland it has increased by 700,000 acres.
Fully 10 per cent, of this Irish land, broken
up for tillage, was drawn by the Government
from grazing lands reserved for breeding
sheep, horses, and cattle.
The series of conferences with promi-
nent Irishmen, by which Mr. O'Connor
and Mr. Hazleton hope to be able to
carry back to the Irish convention the
correct sentiment of America in regard
to home rule, was started in New York
City upon the arrival from Boston of
T. B. Fitzgerald and Michael J. Jordan,
respectively Treasurer and Secretary of
the United Irish League of America.
Mr. O'Connor divided the sentiment in
Ireland into three classes: pro-Irish, pro-
English, and the so-called pro-German,
the last being, in his opinion, a sentiment
formed not on love of Germany, but
rather on an inveterate pacifism.
Andre Tardieus Advice
Andre Tardieu, French High Commis-
sioner to the United States, is laboring
at Washington and elsewhere for the
business efficiency of the Allies and the
co-ordination of all their economic forces.
He was the guest of honor in New York
on July 11 at a luncheon of the Franco-
American Society, which was attended
ANDRE TARDIEU
French High Commissioner
by many of the leading financiers of the
United States and other notables and
diplomats. After a brief beginning in
English, M. Tardieu spoke in French,
and the more important passages, duly
translated, are these:
To set at nought the insolent hope of our
enemies the United States must organize
its own resources without ceasing to supply
its allies. This problem is difficult, but it
is not insoluble for a nation of decision and
realization such as yours. That solution
calls for the concentration of the whole of
your financial, economic, and human re-
sources in the hands of the Government.
The Congress has voted the conscription of
men. It remains to organize the conscription
of material means. To that end two condi-
tions must be fulfilled— a thorough knowledge
of those means and an equitable fixation of
prices, insuring to the allied armies the same
treatment in America as to the American
Army itself, because we are now one com-
mon army fighting in a common cause.
276
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
The great duty of the United States at the
present moment is to put on the same footing
all those who are fighting for the same cause.
Since you have been in this war you have
been beset with isolated financial, industrial,
and military requests by each of the powers
of the Entente. You gave them a generous
answer, but you are beginning to realize that
if your assistance should be indefinitely
solicited- in the same manner your immense
resources would not be sufficient to comply
with requests when ill-regulated.
You are compelled to say yes to some, no
to others. You must consider the order of
urgency of the solicitations which reach you.
We must put an end to confusion. We are
entitled to ask you to discipline your means
with a view to victory, but also, with a view
to victory, you are entitled to ask us to dis-
cipline our needs.
For that purpose, there is clearly one method
—that is to create in Europe as near the front
as possible an inter-allied committee to cen-
tralize all the demands, study and control
them, and to submit them to you on behalf
of all the Allies, grouped according to their
urgency in relation to military operations.
The one vital thing is to win the war.
Discipline of the American resources upon
the basis of the common interest, discipline
of the European needs upon the basis of the
same interest — such is the aim and such is
the duty. The aim must be attained, the
duty must be fulfilled.
Such is, freed from innumerable details, the
task which I have undertaken — such is the
task for which I shall need all your as-
sistance.
Rumania s Patriotic Mission
The Rumanian Patriotic Mission ar-
rived in America on June 22, 1917, and
was received by the Secretary of State
on July 2. The mission consists of the
Rev. Basil Lucacju, President of the
Rumanian League, which was formed
for the purpose of inducing Rumania to
enter the war on the side of the Allies;
Jean Mota, the Rumanian Speaker, and
Lieutenant Vasili Stoica of the Rumanian
Army. Father Lucaciu told the Secre-
tary of State that the mission had come
to the United States for the purpose of
inducing Rumanians to enlist in the
American Army and fight for the allied
cause. The Secretary of State gave the
visitors a cordial greeting and welcome,
and said that the Government of the
United States looked with sympathy upon
the object of the mission. The members
are now at work among their fellow-
countrymen in the United States, urging
them to enlist and fight for the Allies.
The Norwegian Government nominated
a special commission of six members,
with Dr. Fridtjof Nansen, formerly Nor-
wegian Minister at London, as President,
to visit the United States to organize and
procure the importation of food supplies
from that country.
Objects of the Japanese Mission
THE Department of State announced
that the Japanese Government was
sending a diplomatic mission to
the United States, headed by Baron
Kikujiro Ishii, to arrive in the latter
part of July. Baron Ishii was for-
merly Minister for Foreign Affairs.
He was an attache of the legation in
France in 1891 and went through the
siege of Peking during the Boxer trouble.
In addition to Viscount Ishii, who is
made an Ambassador Extraordinary
and Plenipotentiary, the mission in-
cludes :
Isamu Takeshita, Vice Admiral, Imperial
Japanese Navy, formerly Naval Attach^ in
Washington.
Hisaichi Sugano, Major General, Imperial
Japanese Army.
Matsuzo Nagai, Secretary of the Foreign
Office, formerly a Secretary of the Japanese
Legation at Washington.
Masataka Ando, Lieutenant Commander,
Imperial Japanese Navy.
Seiji Tanikawa, Major, Imperial Japanese
Army.
Tadanao Imai, Vice Consul.
Viscount Kikujiro Ishii, head of the
Japanese Mission to the United States,
made the following address at a farewell
dinner given to the mission at Tokio, July
4, 1917, regarding the objects in view:
My mission, I consider, is a military one
in one respect and one of peace in an-
other—military as against the Central
European system of militarism and dom-
ination, but one of peace to be consoli-
dated and reaffirmed as between the Pa-
cific powers— Japan and the United States.
He declared that the Japanese Nation
unanimously and enthusiastically wel-
comed the decision to send a mission to
America as wise, proper, and eminently
useful. He was therefore proud that
OBJECTS OF THE JAPANESE MISSION
277
part of his duty would be to convey to
the 100,000,000 Americans the sympathy
and good-will of the 70,000,000 Japanese.
The intercourse between Japan and
America had gradually come to assume
a more popular character, which he con-
sidered a happy augury of the consolida-
tion of a genuine friendship, since that
friendship no longer hung perilously on
the caprice of individual statesmen, but
rested on the well -understood mutual in-
terests and reciprocal respect of the two
nations. Viscount Ishii concluded as fol-
lows:
It is gratifying- to think of one great
benefit with which the war has already-
endowed Japan and the United States. I
mean the disappearance of Germany in
this quarter of the world. Now that Ger-
many, the universal disturber of the
peace, has been completely and once for
all driven out of her Asiatic bases, there
remains no longer any one who will ven-
ture to cherish the design of estranging
Japan from America. Consequently, the
Pacific henceforth will have the noble
destiny to join the two great nations and
never to separate them.
Viscount Kentaro Kaneko, member of
the House of Peers and a Privy Councilar,
who presided at the dinner, emphasized
the nobility and uprightness of the atti-
tude of America, which, he said, was
fighting for the individual liberty, na-
tional freedom, peace, and civilization of
mankind. The appearance of an Amer-
ican army at the front was certain to
breathe new life into the gallantry and
patriotism of the Allies. When Germany
was crushed and the belligerents sat in
a council of peace, he believed the voice
of the United States would have great
weight in determining the terms of peace,
not for the belligerents only, but for the
peace of the whole world.
" A clear and good understanding with
the United States is most important for
the present and the future," he added.
. " This may be the reason and aim of
Viscount Ishii's mission."
Former Minister Hioki expressed the
opinion that, in addition to the questions
of the day, no question of any impor-
tance existing between the United States
and Japan would escape either settlement
or discussion while Viscount Ishii was in
America. The mission was a difficult
one because of the vastness of the field
and the complexity of the problems to be
handled, he said, but the two groups
would not be throwing dust into each
other's eyes. There would be plain deal-
ing, just and fair, actuated by mutual
respect and sympathy.
Viviani's Tribute to America
[Speech in the French Chamber, June 14, 1917.]
Three things united to make the session of the French Chamber of Deputies on June 14
a memorable occasion : General Pershing was present, Premier Ribot spoke on the reasons
for dethroning King Constantine, and Rene Viviani, Keeper of the Seals, told the Chamber, in
one of his most eloquent speeches, what he had seen and felt during his mission to the United
States. The chief passages of M. Viviani's oration are here translated for Current History
Magaztne.
After an introductory tribute to Amer~
ican hospitality and to the qualities of
President Wilson, M. Viviani continued:
SOLELY because I represented the
French Nation, gentlemen, and in
contravention of century-old rules,
I was admitted to the unforgettable hon-
or of addressing the United States Con-
gress; and I desire that at this hour you
should send across space to the great
American Republic the fraternal salute
of the' French Republic. [All the Depu-
ties arose, amid applause.]
Gentlemen, how does the American
soul group before its vision those vigor-
ous principles and sentiments which have
carried that country into the war? This
is a complex and delicate question. Was
it solely a matter of esteem for France,
in remembrance of the glorious services
of Lafayette and the French soldiers who
took part in the winning of indepen-
dence? No one here can realize the
privileged place that France occupies in
the vibrant heart of vast America.
And the gratitude to Lafyette is in-
finite. * * *
[M, Viviani went on to say that this,
278
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
however, was not what had moved the
American people; it was, rather, the
silence, the dignity, the calm courage of
France amid her present trials. He con-
tinued : ]
To see a nation receiving fierce blows
from an aggressor without crying out,
and returning them without boasting; to
see that nation united, the people of the
factories and those of the trenches, the
people of thought and the people of toil,
to see these grouping themselves around
their fighters; to see at the Marne the
triumph of dash, at Verdun the triumph
of patience; to see this palpitating capi-
tal, which German calumny had called
the capital of pleasure and frivolity, so
peaceful in tragic hours, so calm when
glory later came to shine upon our ban-
ners, reserving its enthusiasm for the
day when universal right, by force of
our arms, shall be implanted throughout
the whole world — that is the spectacle
which, I assure you, stirred to its depths
the American soul. * * *
It would have been easy for America,
if she had desired to stand aloof, to think
only of her individual grievances at the
hands of imperial Germany. She might
have said that she could not tolerate on
her own soil the tortuous intrigues of a
faithless Ambassador. She might have
said that she would never subject the
honor of the land of Washington to the
arrogance of the Germanic boot; that she
could not bear to hear the cries of those
unfortunate victims who, in Summer
evenings and Winter nights, were hurled
without warning, by criminal hands, into
the depths of the sea.
America did say these things, but she
said more. Her merit, after stating her
own grievances, the thing that will con-
stitute her historic honor before the
world, is that she heard the cry of all hu-
manity, that she invoked human right,
universal right!
Never have I felt that profound truth
so deeply as in the great City of Chicago,
the greatest German city after Berlin,
where, pressed by 20,000 breasts, wearied
by effort and emotion, I proclaimed in
your name the whole truth about Alsace-
Lorraine, repudiating the historic and
juridical fraud that has proceeded out of
a lying plebiscite. And I still hear the
storm of applause that followed, and the
words of the Governor elected by several
millions of men : " To the last cent, to the
last man, to the last heart-beat! "
America has entered the war with the
belief that there can be no peace without
victory, unless we are to be recreant in
our duty to the tomb and to the cradle,
and, by the barbarous rhythm that re-
turns every thirty years, are to allow our
sons to go upon the battlefield and stand
where their fathers have fallen. She has
entered knowing what she has to do: not
only to continue what she did while still
chained to neutrality — render us finan-
cial and economic service — but to go to
the end with her full might, giving to the
Allies immediate aid of every kind until
victory is won by constant co-operation.
Ah, well ! It is universal justice that has
thus been proclaimed by America as she
takes her place by the side of France and
the Allies to champion it. But what! Is
France going to permit a portion of her
heritage to be snatched from her? Hu-
man rights, universal justice, the inde-
pendence of nations — whence have these
sprung? It was by the spirit of our
philosophers that the fire of indepen-
dence was lighted in the world ; it was by
our men of action in the eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries that the foundations
of justice and liberty were laid. Ah, I
know, I understand!
Yes, yes, three years of war, of eco-
nomic and political difficulties, of griefs,
of graves added to graves, of cradles over
which mothers ask whether this is the
punishment for life itself! All the sor-
rows, all the anguish, all the anxieties
that tear our hearts; yes, all these — and
after them?
[Here the whole Chamber, thrilled,
rose as one man, carried away by the
speaker's eloquence. M. Viviani spoke of
the sacrifices that his people would still
have to bear before victory could come,
and concluded with this peroration:]
Such is the result that we must attain.
For this, oh! life is hard, difficult, deli-
cate! The mourning robes, the tears, the
sufferings of the widows whom we meet
at every step of the way, and who try to
hide under their veils their saddening
VIVIANFS TRIBUTE TO AMERICA
279
grief, yet who demand expiation ; all that
we meet, ail that we know, all that is
written to us, all that we think, yes, all
this creates around us an inextricable
difficulty. But do not forget: you are
not accountable to the France of today,
you are accountable to the France of
yesterday, you are accountable to the
France of tomorrow.
To conquer and prevent the repetition
of such crimes, after victory, when the
American Army stands by our side;
when immediate aid and constant co-op-
eration are promised us, when we are
certain not to be alone on the field of
combat, when the same glory shall be
harvested under different flags, when all
the free peoples shall stand upon a land
that trembles, while their own hearts
tremble not; when before the world we
shall have made an example of an autoc-
racy which, if not beaten down, has re-
ceived fearful blows and deserves to fall ;
when it is certain that there can be no
more peace in the world for the sons of
our sons so long as this bleeding autoc-
racy survives, I ask myself, truly, when
duty is at once so tragic and so simple,
how can it be difficult to follow whither
it leads?
But you will follow it. At present
your duty is simple: first to be men, to
look our destiny in the face, whatever it
be; to tell us that there is no historic
fatality that cannot be redressed by cour-
age and will; then to go on thus all the
way to victory. After that, let others,
more happy, who shall not have known
our griefs, survive! But we shall have
bequeathed to humanity the most mag-
nificent heritage for which it has ever
hoped.
[At the close the assembly leaped to
its feet, acclaiming the orator, then
turned its applause upon General Per-
shing, who, standing in the diplomatic
tribune, was waving his military cap.
The crowd in the galleries joined in the
thrilling demonstration, and the public
posting of the speech was ordered by a
unanimous vote.]
Brazil's Revocation of Neutrality
THE friendly act of Brazil in revoking
its earlier attitude of neutrality
and definitely taking sides with
the United States as against Germany
was formally communicated to the Wash-
ington Government on June 4, 1917, by
the Brazilian Ambassador, Dr. Domicio
da Gama, in the following note:
Mr. Secretary of State : The President of
the republic has just- instructed me to in-
form your Excellency's Government that he
has approved the law which revokes Brazil's
neutrality in the war between the United
States of America and the German Empire.
The republic thus recognized the fact that
one of the belligerents is a constituent por-
tion of the American Continent and that we
are bound to that belligerent by traditional
friendship and the same sentiment in the
defense of the vital interests of America and
the accepted principles of law.
Brazil ever was and is now free from war-
like ambitions, and, while it always refrained
from showing any partiality in the European
conflict, it could no longer stand unconcerned
when the struggle involved the United States,
actuated by no interest whatever but solely
for the sake of international judicial order,
and when Germany included us and the other
neutral powers in the most violent acts of
war.
While the comparative lack of reciprocity
on the part of the American republics divest-
ed until now the Monroe Doctrine of its true
character, by permitting of an interpretation
based on the prerogatives of their sovereign-
ty, the present events which brought Brazil
even now to the side of the United States at
a critical moment in the history of the world
are still imparting to our foreign policy a
practical shape of continental solidarity, a
policy, however, that was also that of the
former regime whenever any of the other
sister friendly nations of the American
Continent was concerned. The republic
strictly observed our political and diplomatic
traditions and remained true to the liberal
principles in which the nation was nurtured.
Thus understanding our duty and Brazil
taking the position to which its antecedents
and the conscience of a free people pointed,
whatever fate the morrow may have in store
for us, we shall conserve the Constitution
which governs us and which has not yet been
surpassed in the guarantees due to the rights,
lives, and property of foreigners.
In bringing the above-stated resolution to
your Excellency's knowledge, I beg you to
be pleased to convey to your Government the
280
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
sentiments of unalterable friendship of the
Brazilian people and Government.
I avail myself of the opportunity to reit-
erate to your Excellency the assurances of
my highest consideration.
DOMICIO DA GAMA.
The reply to Ambassador da Gama
was sent by Frank L. Polk, Counselor of
the State Department, as Acting Secre-
tary of State. The text is as follows:
Excellency : I have the honor to acknowl-
edge the receipt of your note of June 4 by
which, in pursuance of instructions from the
President of Brazil, you inform me of the
enactment of a law revoking Brazil's declara-
tion of neutrality in the war between the
United States and Germany and request me
to convey to this Government the sentiments
of unalterable friendship of the Brazilian
people and Government.
I have received with profound gratification
this notification of the friendly co-operation
of Brazil in the efforts of the United States
to assist in the perpetuation of the principles
of free government and the preservation of
the agencies for the amelioration of the suf-
ferings and losses of war so slowly and toil-
fully built up during the emergencies of man-
kind from barbarism.
Your Government's invaluable contribu-
tion to the cause of American solidarity,
now rendered more important than ever as a
protection to civilization and a means of en-
forcing the laws of humanity, is highly ap-
preciated by the United States.
I shall be glad if you will be good enough
to convey to the President, the Government,
and the people of Brazil the thanks of this
Government and people for their course, so
consistent with the antecedents of your great
and free nation and so important in its bear-
ing on issues which are vital to the welfare
of all the American republics.
Requesting that you will also assure your
Government and people of most cordial
reciprocation by the Government and people
of the United States of their assurances of
friendship, always so greatly valued, and
now happily rendered still warmer and closer
by the action of Brazil, I avail myself of the
occasion to renew to your Excellency the
assurances of my highest consideration.
FRANK L. POLK,
Acting Secretary of State.
Brazil's seizure of the war-bound Ger-
man ships added to her merchant marine
more than 150,000 tons. On June 30 it
was announced that Brazil's navy had
begun co-operating with the American
fleet in South American waters in hunt-
ing for German sea raiders and subma-
rines.
Ruy Barbosa's Stirring Call to Brazil
When Brazil broke off diplomatic relations with Germany on April 11, 1917,
Senhor Ruy Barbosa, the most popular statesman in that country, delivered a
memorable speech at a meeting of 50,000 persons in Rio Janeiro, praising the United
States for going to war, and urging Brazil to do likewise. These were his closing
words :
God did not kindle this conflagration to consume the human race, but to
save it. From the great calamity will come a great renewal. On the curve of
the blood-reddened horizon already glow the first dawnings of a better world.
Down will go the arbitrary Governments, and up will rise the Governments of
law. Yesterday, Russia; tomorrow, Germany — and then others!
God grant that we, too, my fellow-citizens, may drink in this regenerating
spirit, this spirit of genuine heroism, of human devoton, of liberal self-sacrifice,
and that our nationality, our Constitution, our social life, revivified in these foun-
tains, may mitigate the present and insure us better days in the future, so that our
moral stature may grow, so that we may be worthy of our place upon the earth.
Then I shall be able to see in my declining years the realization of the patriotic
dream of my youth; a Brazil in whose every act our hearts shall be able to
discern, as in Milton's vision, " a noble and puissant nation rousing herself like
a strong man after sleep and shaking her invincible locks ! "
Greece Joins the Allies
How Constantine Departed
SINCE the abdication of King Con-
stantine in favor of his second
son, Alexander, who is now King
of the Hellenes, a complete change
has come over the attitude of the Greek
Government, and the division of the na-
tion into two factions has been brought
to an end. Further light has been thrown
on the course of events (see Current
History Magazine, July, 1917, Pages 83-
85) by documents which have now come to
hand, as well as by later dispatches.
The full text of the ultimatum which
High Commissioner Jonnart presented to
Premier Zaimis in Athens on June 11
was made public by the Greek Legation
at Washington. It read:
The protecting- powers of Greece have de-
cided to reconstitute the unity of the king-
dom without impairing the monarchical con-
stitutional institutions that they have guar-
anteed to Greece. His Majesty King Con-
stantine, having manifestly on his own initi-
ative violated the Constitution of which
France, England, and Russia are the trus-
tees, I have the honor to declare to your Ex-
cellency that his Majesty the King has lost
the confidence of the protecting powers, and
that the latter consider themselves free
toward him from the obligations resulting
from their right of protection.
I have in consequence the mission, with a
view of re-establishing the real Constitution,
to ask for the abdication of his Majesty King
Constantine, who will himself designate, to-
gether with the protecting powers, a suc-
cessor among his heirs. I am under the ob-
ligation to ask from you an answer within
twenty-four hours.
Constantine, as already recorded, abdi-
cated and left Athens for Switzerland,
and with him were expelled several lead-
ing men among his supporters, including
former Minister Gounaris, General Dous-
manis, and Colonel Metaxas. The final
scenes are described in dispatches from
the Athens correspondent of The London
Times.
On the morning of June 11, after
Zaimis had seen Jonnart and learned
that the Allies' decision that Constantine
should abdicate was irrevocable, the Pre-
mier went straight back to the King's
palace and told him of his fate. The
narrative then proceeds:
The King listened with great calm, and said
to M. Zaimis: "I desire the Crown Council
to be summoned." M. Zaimis, much dis-
tressed, left the room, and the King retired
to his study, where some minutes after one
of his Aides de Camp found him deep in a
chair, his head bent on his hand, and " very
pensive."
At 11 :30 o'clock the Crown Council began,
there being present, besides M. Zaimis, M.
Skouloudis, M. Lambros, M. Dimitrakopoulos,
M. Gounaris, M. Stratos, M. Kalogheropoulos,
M. Rallis, and M. Dragoumis— all ex-Prime
Ministers.
When they were seated, the King read to
them the demands of the Allies. It is difficult
to be quite sure of what happened, but it
seems certain that when the King pronounced
the fateful words demanding his abdication
he turned toward them as for their opinion,
and M. Gounaris (the arch pro-German poli-
tician) half rose and said : " Impossible ! It
is impossible that— " when the King stopped
him, raised his hand, and said : " I have
decided to accept."
The Council lasted till 2:30 o'clock, the
Ministers insisting on seeing if a way of
satisfying the Allies' demands could not be
found without the abdication of the King,
but it all ended in their recognizing the hope-
lessness of the situation, and the Council was
dismissed by the King.
The demeanor of the Ministers as they
came out showed the throng of waiting jour-
nalists that they had heard grave news, but
they would not speak. M. Gounaris seemed
incapable of speaking. M. Skouloudis, under
whose Premiership Fort Rupel was handed
over to the Bulgarians and the disasters of
today largely prepared, was pale and shaking,
and had to be assisted into his motor car.
When he reached home he remained prostrate
for a considerable time.
The deposed monarch's departure from
the shores of Greece is described by the
Athens Correspondent of The London
Times, under date of June 14:
The departure of ex-King Constantine, with
Queen Sophie, the Crown Prince, the Prin-
cesses, and Prince Paul, which I witnessed
this morning at Oropos, a small port in the
Gulf of Euboea, took place very quietly.
Oropos Is a tiny fishing village with a
small jetty. All the night and all the morn-
ing motor cars had been bringing the King's
luggage. A number of the King's personal
friends came to see him off. The late King
282
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
George's yacht Sphakteria was refitted rap-
idly to receive the royal family, and lay
off Oropos this morning escorted by two
French destroyers whose Tricolors flapped
broadly against the Euboean hills.
The ex-King and Queen and the Crown
Prince arrived in motor cars shortly after 11
o'clock. The King wore a General's uniform
and got slowly out of the car, which drew
up close to the jetty, where two French offi-
cers stood rigidly. A small group of country
people and schoolgirls mingled with M.
Zalmis, the Prime Minister, courtiers, and
official personages.
The King was pale, but erect and com-
posed. He took a bouquet of flowers which
a small child on the top of a wall thrust out
to him. People gave subdued cheers, and
peasants on the jetty knelt as the King and
Queen passed them. The King made way
for the Queen, bidding the people let them
pass. The royal family then quickly en-
tered a waiting motor launch and were borne
to their vessel.
The King was dignified and bowed and sa-
luted, but he scarcely uttered a word from
the moment of his arrival till the launch cast
off. Several of his friends were weeping.
One man threw himself in the water in an
endeavor, apparently, to follow the royal
boat, but he was rescued.
The new King, Alexander, on ascend-
ing the throne, issued a proclamation in
the following terms:
At the moment when my venerated father,
making to the Fatherland the supreme sacri-
fice, intrusts me with the heavy duties of the
Hellenic throne, I pray that God, granting his
wishes, may protect Greece and permit us to
see it once more united and strong.
In the grief of being separated in such
painful circumstances from my well-beloved
father I have the single consolation of obey-
ing his sacred command. With all my energy
I shall try to carry it out by following along
the lines which so magnificently marked his
reign, with the help of the people on whose
love the Greek dynasty rests.
I have the conviction that, in obeying the
will of my father, the people by their sub-
mission will contribute to our being able
together to draw our well-beloved country out
of the situation in which it now is.
The publication of this proclamation
came as a shock to Great Britain, France,
and Italy. The question was raised
whether the Allies had not been hood-
winked and if another German diplomatic
trick had not succeeded in the Balkans.
Everywhere the demand was made that
the Allies take direct control of Greece,
establish Venizelos in power, and keep
him there by force if necessary.
Jonnart indirectly but very effectively
replied to the young King's proclamation
in the following manifesto addressed to
the Greek people:
France, Great Britain, and Russia desire
to see Greece independent, great, and pros-
perous, and they mean to defend the noble
country, which they have liberated, against
the united efforts of the Turks, Bulgarians,
and Germans. They (the Entente Allies) are
here to circumvent the manoeuvres of the
kingdom's hereditary enemies ; they want to
end the repeated violations of the Constitu-
tion and of the treaties and the deplorable
intrigues which have resulted in the mas-
sacre of soldiers of the united countries.
Berlin until now has commanded Athens
and has been gradually bringing the people
under the yoke of the Bulgarians and Ger-
mans* We have resolved to re-establish the
constitutional rights and unity of Greece.
The protecting powers have in consequence
demanded the abdication of King Constan-
tine. But they do not intend to touch the
constitutional monarchy. They have no other
ambitions than to assure the regular opera-
tion of the Constitution to which King
George of glorious memory had always been
scrupulously faithful and which King Con-
stantine has ceased to respect.
Greeks ! the hour of reconciliation ha&'
come. Your destinies are closely associated
with those of the protecting powers. Your
ideal is the same. Your hopes are the same.
We appeal to your wisdom and patriotism.
The blockade is now raised. Every reprisal
against the Greeks, no matter by whom, will
be pitilessly suppressed. No attempt against
the public order will be tolerated. The prop-
erty and liberty of all will be safeguarded.
A new era of peace and work is opening be-
fore you.
Know that the protecting powers, respect-
ful of the national sovereignty, have no in-
tention of imposing upon the Greek people a
general mobilization.
Long live Greece, united, great, and free !
On the invitation of M. Jonnart, Veni-
zelos arrived at Piraeus on June 21. He
received a great welcome from a crowd
of several thousand persons and with
Jonnart's approval entered into negotia-
tions with Premier Zaimis for a fusion
of the two parties. Meanwhile, King
Alexander in a letter to Zaimis described
himself as the faithful guardian of the
Constitution, and thereby repaired the
mistake he had made in his first procla-
mation. The new King made it clear
that he was willing to comply with all
the demands of the Entente Allies. But
now it was Zaimis who refused to be
their obedient servant. Jonnart demand-
ed the convocation of the Parliament of
GREECE JOINS THE ALLIES
283
May 31, 1915, in which Venizelos had had
a* majority and which Constantine had
dissolved. Zaimis, refusing to take re-
sponsibility for this step, resigned, and
once more Venizelos returned to power.
On June 27 the new Ministry, of which
he became head, took the oath. Its per-
sonnel was as follows:
Premier and Minister of War— M. VENI-
ZELOS.
Minister of the Interior— M. REPOULIES.
Minister of Justice— M. TSIRIMOKOS.
Minister of Foreign Affairs— M. POLITIS.
Minister of Marine— Admiral P. COUNDOU-
RIOTIS.
Minister of Finance— M. MICHSALACO-
POUDOS.
Minister of Agriculture— M. NEGROPON-
TES.
Minister of Communications— M. PAPANA-
STASION.
Minister of Education— M. DINGAS.
Minister of Food Supplies— M. EMBIRKOS.
Minister of Relief for Refugees— M. SIMOS.
Dispatches from Athens dated June 29
announced that the Greek Government
had broken off diplomatic relations with
Germany and her allies. The Greek Min-
isters at Berlin, Vienna, Sofia, and Con-
stantinople were instructed to leave their
posts and place their archives with the
Netherlands - Legations. This did not
mean that Greece was going to war at
once. Venizelos, when taking the oath of
office, made the following statement:
We realize that unless we drive the Bul-
garians from Eastern Macedonia that part of
Greek territory will be always exposed to
great danger. Before, however, thinking of
mobilizing that part of Greece which has not
shared in our movement, we must vitalize
its military organization, which has fallen
into such decay, and bring a.bout a fusion of
the two armies in brotherly co-operation.
Therefore, we shall now call out the un-
trained classes of 1916 and 1917.
With the abdication of Constantine and
with Venizelos once more guiding the des-
tinies of Greece, administrative control
of various Governmental services by the
Entente Allies was gradually withdrawn,
but it was decided that the telegraphs
and the censorship should still be super-
vised by representatives of the Allies, in
co-operation with the Greek Government.
The raising of the blockade had already
been announced on June 19.
An important result of the political
change in Greece was seen in the report
of General Sarrail, whose French troops
were in occupation of Thessaly, that the
movements of troops were being carried
out without difficulty. All the com-
munes in the region of Larissa and Volo
spontaneously transferred their alle-
giance to the Venizelos Government and
installed new civil authorities.
Constantine and his family arrived at
Lugano, Switzerland, on June 20. Offi-
cers and delegates of the Swiss Govern-
ment met him at the frontier and wel-
comed him in the name of Switzerland.
A large number of German personages
waited for the ex-King at the station,
including Prince and Princess von Bulow
and Dr. von Muhlberg, German Minister
to the Vatican. The Greek Minister to
Berne was also present. A number of
German diplomats arrived at Lugano for
the coming of the former King, who was
delayed by the illness of his wife. A
long telegram from the German Emperor
was handed to Constantine as soon as
he left the train. He was very coolly
received by the crowds. After dinner
he attended an open-air concert, where
he was recognized and hissed by a group
of strangers who were leaving. On en-
tering the concert the former King was
jostled, and he left later by a rear door
to avoid the curious crowds.
Georgios Streit, former Adviser of the
Greek Foreign Office, who is one of Con-
stantine's entourage, announced on June
22 that in consequence of his wound the
ex-King needed careful nursing and com-
plete rest, and his physicians had advised
him to proceed immediately to a sana-
torium in the mountains, where he was
to live merely for his health and family.
The Queen, too, was not in good health
after troubles and tribulations of the last
year. According to other reports he and
the ex- Queen were greatly shocked at
their reception in Switzerland.
The Creek War Record
The leading episodes in King Con-
stahtine's policy from the time the ques-
tion of Greek intervention in the war
was first raised by the proposal that
Greek troops should be sent to Gallipoli
are set out in the following chronological
table by The London Times:
March, 1915. — King Constantine refuses M.
Venizelos's proposal for intervention in Gal-
284
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
lipoli ; M. Venizelos resigns the Premier-
ship.
May, 1915. — M. Gounaris, (Pro-German,)
Prime Minister.
June, 1915.— General election in Greece re-
sults in a Venizelist majority.
August, 1915. — M. Venizelos again becomes
Prime Minister.
Sept. 18, 1915. — King Constantine and M.
"Venizelos " in complete agreement " about
Balkan policy.
Sept. 21, 1915. — M. Venizelos invites France
and Great Britain to send troops to Saloniki
to aid Serbia.
Sept. 23, 1915. — King Constantine signs de-
cree mobilizing Greek Army ; to support, as
is supposed, Serbia against Central Powers
and Bulgaria. •
Oct. 3, 1915. — First Anglo-French troops
reach Saloniki.
Oct. 4, 1915. — M. Venizelos announces that
the Greek Government " will not oppose the
Anglo-French armies hastening to the aid
of the Serbians, the allies of Greece."
Oct. 5, 1915. — King Constantine dismisses
M. Venizelos from office. Serbia's appeal to
Greece to fulfill her treaty obligations and
come to her aid when attacked refused. King
Constantine alleges that the treaty refers
only to an attack on Serbia by a Balkan foe,
not to a war against Germany and Austria.
" If Greece intervenes she will share the fate
of Belgium."
November, 1915. — Protest by Allies against
interference by Greece with the movement of
Franco-British troops ; partial blockade of
Greece.
March, 1916. — Greek officers in Macedonia
instructed not to oppose the Bulgarian ad-
vance into Greece.
May, 1910. — Greek Government refuses
facilities for Serbian Army to cross Greece
by rail.
May 2G, 1916. — On orders approved by King
Constantine, Greek commander surrenders
Fort Rupel to Bulgarians; Entente Powers
thereupon blockade Greek ports.
August, 1916. — Greek division in Eastern
Macedonia " surrenders " to Bulgarians and
is conveyed to Germany.
Aug. 27, 1916. — M. Venizelos appealj to
King Constantine to " put himself at the
head of the nation and defend Greece's honor
and territory." King Constantine declines.
Sept. 25, 1916. — M. Venizelos breaks with
King Constantine and proclaims a Provisional
Government. Most of the islands and part
of mainland of Greece adhere to M. Venizelos.
Nov. 24, 1916.— In consequence of anti-ally
acts of King Constantine's Government, En-
tente Powers present ultimatum to Greece;
Greece refuses to surrender certain guns.
Dec. 1, 1916. — Allied troops landed at
Athens fired on by King Constantine's troops ;
several killed. Reign of terror at Athens.
Venizelists tortured.
Dec. 14, 1916. — Another ultimatum to
Greece. M. Venizelos charged with treason
by King Constantine.
Jan. 8, 1917.— New note to Greece; evasive
reply.
February-May, 1917. — Continuance of King
Constantine's intrigues with Germany ; peril
to the rear of the allied army in Macedonia.
Blockade of Greece continues.
June 7, 1917. — M. Jonnart arrives in Greece
as High Commissioner of the Protecting
Powers.
June 12, 1917.— King Constantine abdicates,
and is succeeded by his son Alexander.
Re-establishing Albania
Rival Plans of Autonomy, and How They Conflict with
Albania's Desire for Independence
This article, written by a native Albanian now in the United States, summarizes the
latest attempts to solve the knotty problem of what shall be done with Albania. It supple-
ments the brief sketches of " Albanian Autonomy " and " The New Republic of Koritza "
which appeared in the July issue of Current History Magazine.
WHILE the diplomatic pour-
parlers for the abdication of
King Constantine and for the
clearing up of the situation in
Greece were going on, the Allies were
taking the necessary steps toward the
settlement of another important and vex-
atious question concerning the Balkans.
On June 3, 1917, the Italian Government
proclaimed the independence of Albania,
in apparent accord with England and
France, and placed the new State under
Italian protection, marking a new turn-
ing point in the Balkan situation.
Albania had proclaimed her indepen-
dence early in 1912, and the London con-
ference of the same year recognized and
guaranteed her autonomy by placing the
new principality under the collective pro-
tection of the six great European powers
who undertook to organize it. They
placed on the throne of Albania Prince
Leader of the Majority Socialist Group in the German
Reichstag and a Prominent Figure in Recent
Efforts to Bring About Peace.
(Photo Paul Thompson)
Pffofiiffr?^:
^■gv--
r^T^l
t
u4
1
I
STATESMEN OF NEUTRAL NATIONS
GUNNAR KNUDSEN,
Premier of Norway.
(Photo Bain News Service)
C. T. ZAHLE,
Premier of Denmark.
(Photo Bain News Service)
GUSTAVE ADOR
The New Foreign Minister of
Switzerland.
(Photo Press Illustrating Service)
EDUARDO DATO
Premier of Spain.
(Photo Press Illustrating Service)
RE-ESTABLISHING ALBANIA
285
%nT . k 2
MAP SHOWING ALBANIA'S POSITION IN RELATION TO THE POWERS SEEKING TO CONTROL
ITS DESTINY. AUSTRIA-HUNGARY HOLDS THE NORTHERN PORTION
William of Wied, a German Prince. With
the outbreak of the European war, the
Prince was forced to abandon his realm,
after a troubled reign of about seven
months, and Albania fell a prey of her
neighbors, Serbians, Montenegrins, and
Greeks. After several changes of occu-
pants, her territory came into the posses-
sion of Austria and Italy, the former
holding Northern and Central Albania,
about two-thirds of the whole territory,
and the latter the rest of it.
The Italian action in proclaiming the
independence of Albania took place as a
result of two tentative steps made sepa-
rately by France and Austria.
In October, 1916, an Anglo-French de-
tachment took possession of the City of
Koritza and of the adjoining territory in
Eastern Albania, by expelling therefrom
the Greek royalist troops. On Dec. 10
the French commander, Colonel Descoins,
proclaimed the autonomy of the region
of Koritza, a district of about 100,000
inhabitants, under French protection. The
French commander was forced by the
Albanian militia of that region to issue
a formal proclamation, and according to
a duly signed protocol the tiny State
was made a provisional republic.
Following the action of France, which
had deeply impressed the Albanians liv-
ing under Austrian occupation, the com-
mander of the Austro-Hungarian troops
in Albania issued on March 9, 1917, a
ringing proclamation to the Albanians by
which he guaranteed, in the name of his
Government, the independence of the
whole of Albania, under Austrian pro-
tection, and invited the Albanians to join
the Austrian troops in the war against
the allied forces in the Balkans.
Next it was Italy's turn. She had de-
clared, on entering the war against the
Central Powers, that one of her chief war
aims was the re-establisment of the in-
dependence of Albania and the elimina-
tion of Austrian influence in that part of
the Balkans. She had irritated Greece by
wresting Southern Albania from her, and
had crossed even the frontiers decided
upon in the London Conference, by occu-
pying a large part of what is called Al-
bania Irredenta. On June 3 General Fer-
rero, commander of the Italian troops in
Southern Albania, read a formal procla-
mation at. Argyrocastro, before a crowd-
ed assembly of Albanian notables. The
text is as follows:
To the whole people of Albania:
Today, June 3, 1917, the memorable an-
niversary of the establishment of Italian
constitutional liberties, . I, General Giacinto
Ferrero, commander of the Italian expedi-
tionary forces in Albania, do solemnly pro-
claim, in accordance with the orders of his
Majesty, King- Victor Emmanuel, the unity
and independence of the whole of Albania,
under the shield and protection of the Italian
Kingdom.
286
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
By this proclamation you, Albanians, have
a free Government, an army, tribunals,
schools, all made up of Albanians, and are
free to use as you wish your property and
the fruits of your labor, for your own benefit
and/ for the enrichment of your country.
Albanians !
"Wherever you are, whether free in the land
of your birth, an old and honorable race, or
in exile in other countries and under foreign
domination, we are bringing you back to the
civilization of the Romans and of the Vene-
tians.
You know the bonds that unite the Italian
and Albanian interests. The sea divides
them, and at the same time the sea binds
them together. Let all good citizens, then,
stand unitedly, having faith in the future of
your beloved nation. Come, all of you, un-
der the flags of Albania and Italy, and
pledge yourselves to Albania, which is today
proclaimed independent, in the name f the
Italian Government and under its friendly
protection.
This proclamation of the Italian Gov-
ernment was the subject of copious com-
ments throughout the allied countries.
For many days the Italian newspapers
devoted columns and pages to the great
importance of the proclamation, empha-
sizing the paramount necessity of such a
measure to bar Austria from the Adri-
atic Sea. La Tribuna of Rome on June
5 stated that many misgivings in regard
to the aims of Italy have been in the air,
but that the proclamation of the indepen-
dence of Albania was proof that Italy
was acting in accordance with the princi-
ple of nationalities. II Giornale d'ltalia,
the organ of Baron Sonnino, saluted the
independence of Albania in these words:
" Italy, well aware that there is no
sacrifice too great for the inestimable
boon of liberty, salutes with joy and
with confidence in the triumph of justice
the ancient people of Albania."
The impression made in Petrograd,
however, by the proclamation of the Ital-
ian protectorate on Albania was the
reverse of what it was expected to be,
and M. Terestchenko, the Russian Minis-
ter of Foreign Affairs, asked for more
ample explanations as to the meaning of
the "protectorate." On the other hand,
when questions were raised in the House
of Commons and the French Chamber of
Deputies on the same subject, Lord Cecil
replied, on June 13, that the Italian pro-
tectorate over Albania did not convey
any material privileges to Italy, and
Jules Cambon declared that the Italian
protection must be considered in the light
of the exclusion of Austrian influence
only.
The attitude of the Albanian press
was anything but complaisant. Com-
menting editorially on the Italian ac-
tion, the newspaper Dielli, (the Sun,)
organ of the nationalist Albanians in
America, wrote on June 8:
"The proclamations by Austria and
Italy, which came one after the other,
are neither welcome nor well sounding.
These powers are disputing between
them the right of protection over Al-
bania. The way in which each desires
to reorganize and dominate Albania can-
not meet our approval. We acknowledge
with boundless pleasure any friendly pro-
tection, but we cannot even for a mo-
ment agree that Albania be reduced to
the state of a vassal country. The Al-
banians are fighting for the real inde-
pendence of Albania, and for this we
can rely on the assistance of her friends
only. The Albanians desire that Al-
bania should be for the Albanians.
They do not wish her to be the tool of
either Austria or Italy. Such a servile
Albania would be the worst element in
the Balkans, a fire-maker in the already
troublesome peninsula. * * * "
Acrimonious criticisms in the press
and in diplomatic circles of the allied
powers, as to the Italian protection,
led Baron Sonnino, the Italian Min-
ister of Foreign Affairs, to make further
official declarations. On June 22 he
stated that the independence of Al-
bania was a thing to be desired, being
in accordance with the principles ex-
pounded by President Wilson and es-
poused by the Allies.
The situation in Albania is likely to
be further complicated by the advent of
M. Venizelos as Premier of Greece.
The Greek statesman is understood to
make the participation of Greece in the
war by the side of the Allies conditional
upon the elimination of Italy's ambi-
tions in Albania.
Canada's Three Years of War
By Frank Yeigh
WHEN Father Time ticks off the
4th of August, 1917, Canada
will have ended three years of
experience as a war country.
Looking back on this stirring period and
on her record as a participating ally, the
Dominion can at least have the satisfac-
tion of knowing that her response to the
call of the motherland and civilization
was as prompt as it was definite. The
story of the enlistment of the first troops,
their initial training in a hastily impro-
vised camp, and their passage overseas,
guarded by a part of the British fleet,
will long be a creditable chapter in the
history of Canada. The first Canadian
contingent, comprising nearly 33,000 men,
7,500 horses, and 70 pieces of artillery,
was the largest military force that up to
that time had ever crossed any ocean to
go to any war.
When war was declared, and Canada
without delay promised England her aid,
the plan of voluntary enlistment was
adopted as the one best suited to a coun-
try so democratic and in which strong
emphasis is placed on individual liberty.
The cry of the recruiter was at once
heard throughout the land; appeals were
made from platform and press, organiza-
tions of all kinds became recruiting agen-
cies, and the Church added its voice in
solicitation. This method resulted in the
raising of the first 400,000, but it now
seems unable to go further. The chief
criticism of the plan is that it is unfair
and unequal in its operation. This is
illustrated by the fact that only one man
out of fifty joined the forces from Quebec,
as against one out of sixteen in Ontario
and one out of twelve in the Canadian
West. It also left many a slacker un-
touched, while married men with home
ties and responsibilities, or valuable toil-
ers, 'felt the call and enlisted.
Total Enlistment Figures
Canada's total enlisted force, up to
June 15, 1917, was 421,767. According
to a recent statement made in the House
of Commons by the Minister of Militia,
there were, of the above total, in May
last 136,400 troops of all ranks in
France, with 747 in the Near East and
120 at St. Lucia. There were at the
same time 180,326 in England, not count-
ing those in hospitals and convalescent
homes. On June 1, 1917, there were
17,353 troops of the Canadian expedi-
tionary forces of all ranks in Canada,
gathered in a series of military training
camps.
Of the men sent overseas 14,100 were
French Canadians. The number of na-
tive-born Canadians speaking the Eng-
lish language who have gone overseas is
given as 125,245, and the number of
British subjects born outside of Canada
who have gone overseas, 155,095. The
British-born members of the Canadian
Army outnumbered the Canadian-born by
about 15,000.
It is estimated that Canada has 1,-
583,549 men of military age, (based on
the census of 1911,) of whom 760,453
are single and therefore the first subject
to any conscription call, and 680,307 mar-
ried, between the ages of 20 and 45, or
nearly a half-and-half proportion.
A system of national service registra-
tion was next adopted. This was obliga-
tory on men beyond the military age, and
called upon them to describe their pres-
ent occupations and responsibilities and
to place themselves at the disposal of the
Government for whatever service .it
might determine. A million and a quar-
ter responded, but it is asserted that few
practical results have ensued, and that
as a source of military strength it has
proved ineffectual. The same might be
said of the putting into force of a long-
standing Militia act, under which men
of military age are liable to be called out
for home defense. Enlistments were
asked under this act, but with few re-
sults. Volunteers said in effect that
they were willing to be stay-at-home
2K8
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
fighters, but drew the line at overseas
service.
The increasingly imperative need for
further reinforcements, not only to bring
up the Canadian Army to the standard
of half a million promised early in the
war by the Premier, but to replace the
wastage in the ranks, led the Govern-
ment in June, 1917, to bring in the Mil-
itary Service bill, which is, in essence,
like that of the United States, a selective
conscription plan. At the present writ-
ing this bill is under discussion in Par-
liament and throughout the country.
More Than 100,000 Casualties '
The casualties in the Canadian ranks
have passed the 100,000 mark. On June
22, 1917, there were nearly 30,000 hos-
pital cases; of this number 22,067 were
in the United Kingdom and 7,271 in
Canada. There were 2,295 Canadian
prisoners of war in Germany. Canadians
had won, up to the first of January,
1917, 2,715 decorations, including six
Victoria Crosses, 329 Military Crosses,
and 1,138 military medals.
It is estimated that the war thus far
has cost Canada $600,000,000, and that
it is now costing over a million a day.
The estimate for the year 1917 alone is
$433,274,000. To meet this expenditure
and establish a line of credit with Great
Britain, three Government bond issues
have been floated, totaling $350,000,000
Each was largely and quickly oversub-
scribed, and a fourth is foreshadowed for
the Fall. They bear 5 per cent, interest.
As financial aid to England the Domin-
ion Government has contributed $200,-
000,000 as a loan to the Imperial Treas-
ury, in connection with the financing of
munition orders; it also has arranged with
the Canadian banks for advances aggre-
gating another $100,000,000. England,
on the other hand, advanced to Canada,
up to March 30, 1917, $692,000,000. The
imperial and international financing is
one of the most remarkable features of
the war.
The war expenditure is responsible for
a steady increase in the public debt of
the Dominion. Whereas the debt stood
at $327,000,000 before the war, it had
risen to $722,111,000 by Dec. 31, 1916,
and it is estimated that it will reach a
total of $1,200,000,000 by the end of 1918
if the struggle continues until then.
Canada's special war taxes are yielding
approximately $65,000,000 a year, made
up, for the last fiscal year, as follows:
Excess profits tax, $15,600,000; war
tariff, $37,000,000; bank tax, $1,000,000;
loan companies, $400,000; spirits and
tobacco, $7,000,000; extra postage,
$6,000,000. The excess profits tax, which
raised $12,500,000 the first year, is ex-
pected to produce $20,000,000 during the
current year under an increased schedule.
An income tax is also foreshadowed.
Millions for Relief Work
Canada's war gifts, Governmental and
private, have been on a most generous
scale. Private benefactions, through such
agencies as the Red Cross, the Patriotic
Fund and other relief funds, total $60,-
000,000, and the ratio of giving is con-
tinually rising. Every province gave,
during the first year of the war, large
stores of flour, grain, and other food prod-
ucts, coal and horses. These included a
million bags of flour from the Dominion,
250,000 bags from Ontario, and 50,000
from Manitoba; 4,000,000 pounds of
cheese from Quebec; 500,000 tons of coal
from Nova Scotia; oats, cheese, and hay
from Prince Edward Island; 100,000 bush-
els of potatoes from New Brunswick;
1,200,000 cans of salmon from British
Columbia, and 1,500 horses from Sas-
katchewan. The Patriotic Acre in Sas-
katchewan has produced tangible results.
The school children, too, have raised large
sums in the aggregate, through food
production and otherwise, and have pre-
sented some ambulances to the Red Cross.
In a word, every section of the Dominion
and almost every class of the population
have contributed and are still doing so
on a substantial scale.
Some of the most generous gifts of men
and means have been made m connection
with the hospital service at home and
overseas. Several of the larger Cana-
dian universities have equipped war hos-
pitals and manned them with doctors and
nurses, and supplies therefor are pro-
vided as a gift from those at home. The
universities have sent thousands of under-
CANADA'S THREE YEARS OF WAR
289
graduates to the front, so that their halls
are practically empty and educational
work is almost at a standstill. Officers'
training corps of students have been pop-
ular from the outset, and these are also
being maintained as a source for supply-
ing officers.
Provincial Governments are aiding in
providing practical work for the returned
soldiers. Ontario has made a start in this
direction by training a number of men
on the Monteith Government Farm in
Northern Ontario. Following the train-
ing the men will be given homesteads free
of cost, after proving their fitness for the
work. They receive soldiers' pay while
in training. Alberta also is active in the
care and re-employment of those who
need help of this kind. A Soldiers' Aid
Committee is operating in 500 different
places, seeking not only to act as the
friend of the soldier in a variety of ways,
but to assist- some in settling on Govern-
ment lands. No less than 3,693 returned
soldiers have been given positions in the
Government service, and vocational train-
ing is being conducted in a number of
centres. The great war veterans' asso-
ciation, with a membership of over 10,-
000, is also looking after the interests of
the homecoming men.
Caring for the Wounded
The care of the returned soldier who
is invalided is under a Military Hospitals
Commission appointed by the Govern-
ment. On the arrival of the men at a
Canadian port, such as Halifax, St. John,
or Quebec, distribution is made according
to their condition and ultimate destina-
tion. At Quebec the commodious immi-
gration buildings of the Government are
being utilized for this work. For trans-
portation of the more serious cases,
sleeping cars, specially fitted up as hos-
pital cars, are used. A large number of
military hospitals have been provided in
different sections of the "country, many
Government institutions being used to
house hundreds of men.
The Canadian Patriotic Fund, a re-
markable voluntary achievement, has
raised over $30,000,000. A million a
month is being paid out through this
channel as an auxiliary help, to the sol-
dier and his dependents, in addition to
the Government pay of $1.10 a day to the
private and a separation allowance for
his family. This fund has done much to
stimulate recruiting by assuring the sol-
dier of a degree of support for those
dependent upon him. The Red Cross
has been no less generously supported; in
fact, almost every city exceeds the sum
asked from it.
In addition to the Government pay and
the patriotic funds, several municipal-
ities, like Toronto, have insured their en-
listed men, mostly for $1,000 each. Many
corporations and large employers of labor
are performing a similar service for their
employes.
W. J. Hanna, a Cabinet member, was
appointed National Food Controller in
June, 1917, and is working in harmony
with Mr. Hoover, who occupies a similar
position for the United States. The Ca-
nadian Food Controller, like the Ameri-
can, has been given wide powers and has
already issued a manifesto to the people
urging maximum production, prevention
of waste, and the largest possible con-
sumption of perishable foodstuffs in
order to liberate the storable foods for
transportation. A National Fuel Con-
troller has also been appointed, to whom
has been given wide powers, especially in
reference to the coal situation both for
manufacturing and domestic use.
Munitions and Aviation
Canada has become an important mu-
nition supplying country, operating under
the Imperial Munitions Board. The
board had placed, up to April last, $850,-
000,000 worth of orders in the Dominion,
employing over 250,000 persons in 630
factories.
Britain is now spending $80,000,000 in
aviation training in Canada. Formerly
these aviation camps were' left partly to
private enterprise, but the Government
has now installed large ones in several of
the provinces. Several aero squadrons
are in process of enlistment, and large
numbers of machines are to be made in
Canada.
The effects of the war on Canada, com-
mercially and industrially, have been
most marked. The circulation of extra
millions of dollars is felt in a new buoy-
ancy of trade, though the trade channels
290
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
are necessarily changed from their pre-
war directions. The 22,000 industrial
plants of the Dominion are working for
the most part to their capacity, often on
day and night shifts. The flour and saw
mills tell the same story, while the 500
branch United States industries estab-
lished in Canada find themselves fully
occupied.
Exceptionally high wages prevail,
though the cost of living shows a steady
increase that offsets the wage scale and
creates an alarming condition for those
on small fixed salaries. Some of the rail-
ways are suffering from a lack of ade-
quate rolling stock to meet the excep-
tional demands. Gauged by the bank
figures, both as to deposited savings and
loans made, the country is enjoying a
degree of economic prosperity that is
enabling it to handle the war cost. The
Dominion, for example, had a surplus of
$60,000,000 during its last fiscal year as
between the current revenue and expendi-
ture.
The Governments, both Federal and
Provincial, have appointed commissions
to deal with resources and to conduct
thrift and food production campaigns. A
scientific research council is at work.
The Governments are using their legis-
lative powers to the utmost, especially in
the Federal realm, through the appoint-
ment of food, fuel, and other controllers.
The mobilization of the resources of the
country,' both in men and resources, is
being carried on to an ever-increasing
extent. Along with the movement for
conscription of men there is a strong de-
mand for the conscription of wealth and
of profits to an extent not yet reached.
Such, in brief, is the three-year story
of Canada at war. The period presents
an interesting study of development un-
der absolutely new conditions. Errors
naturally crept in at first, but the ma-
chinery of war is working more smoothly
now, and the national will is becoming
more and more fixed on seeing the strug-
gle through to a satisfactory end.
Canadian Indians at the Front
By Verne De Witt Rowell
r
JL t
striking contrast to the bitter racial
discussions provoked in Canada by
_ the charges of the Toronto journal-
istic school that French Canada has
not done her duty in the matter of recruit-
ing men for overseas service is the fer-
vent patriotism of the old-time Indian
allies of the French and English in
America. In all, approximately 5,000
Canadian Indians have been trained in
Indian companies of overseas units and
been sent to France to fight for the
allied cause. The only tribe that
has not sent its full quota of recruits to
the firing line in Europe is that of the
Eskimo Indians; and while they might
prove excellent warriors during the- "Win-
ter months, they obviously would not
survive a Summer campaign.
The once ferocious and formidable
Blackfeet Indians, who lived on buffalo
meat and were the terror of explorers
and outlying settlements, have sent sev-
eral companies. The Crees of the Slave
Lake and Hudson Bay regions have sent
their representatives in khaki, and the
Indians of Eastern Canada have in many
instances sent practically the full number
of eligible males in their tribes.
In the early days of American colo-
nization, when the French and English
contended in warfare, each was aided by
an Indian nation, the French by the Al-
gonquin federation, and the English by
the Iroquois, or Six Nation Indians. The
Algonquins, largely domesticated, tilled
the soil and lived in more or less perma-
nent settlements in the territory now
forming the Provinces of Ontario and
Quebec. Time and again did the French
establish colonies along the St. Lawrence
and the northern shores of the Great
Lakes to engage in the fur trade with
their Algonquin friends, but nearly al-
ways did these colonies disappear before
the fierce raids of the Iroquois warriors,
CANADIAN INDIANS AT THE FRONT
291
who made their home in Western New
York, and, as the unfailing allies of the
New England British colonists, swooped
over the Niagara and St. Lawrence fron-
tiers, burning and ravaging the French
settlements and scalping all the French
palefaces they could lay their hands on.
Today, under the Canadian flag, Iroquois
and Algonquins are fighting side by side
in the same Indian companies for the new,
united cause of the French, the Eng-
lish, and the great nation that has sprung
from the little New England and Penn-
sylvania settlements of those early days.
Since New Year's, 1917, companies of
American Indians have been holding
front-line trenches on the western front,
and they would have been there nearly
three years ago had not an order of the
Canadian Militia Department, for some
reason never quite explained, forbidden
recruiting among the Indians when the
war first commenced. But no sooner had
the war clouds broken in Europe, in
August, 1914, than the Indian tribes one
and all met in their tribal councils,
pledged firm allegiance, and offered their
service to the British Crown, subscribed
from their tribal funds money to the Red
Cross and to buy machine guns, and peti-
tioned to be allowed to go overseas as
fighting men.
The Canadian Indian, not being a citi-
zen, knows no politics as yet. He knows
nothing of nationalism, neither that of
the French-Canadian variety, which has
something of a racial basis, nor the now
unheard-of nationalism of the English-
speaking Canadian, which was just bud-
ding before the war, and which, as one of
its manifestations, opposed strenuously
any contribution by Canada to an imperial
navy. The Indian is loyal to the Crown;
he is a monarchist. Whether his views
will change when he becomes a citizen, as
it is expected he will as a reward for his
services in the war, remains to be seen.
The agitation for citizenship is now led
by the better educated of the old chiefs
of the tribes, too old to go on the war
trail themselves, but who have given
their sons freely, and when these young
warriors return, their education broad-
ened by contact with the death grapple
between European civilization and bar-
barism, it goes without saying that they,
too, will expect some voice in the direc-
tion of their country's affairs.
Chief Scobie Logan of the " Munseys
of the Thames," one of the smallest but
most progressive and highly educated
Indian tribes in America, is an ardent
advocate of his people in their claim to
citizenship. His only son was the first
Indian killed in the war, having enlisted
in a Western Ontario unit and gone over-
seas before any Indian companies were
authorized. In several other instances
recruiting officers winked at the regula-
tions and enlisted individual Indians in
white units. Tales of wonderful Indian
snipers who were a law unto themselves
and amply earned their exemption from
disciplinary rule prescribed for their pale-
skin comrades by bringing scores of Ger-
mans to the earth found their way into
print early in the war. But at the most
there were only two or three full-blooded
Indians in the first contingent.
The first Indian company to arrive in
France was the 135th Middlesex, which
crossed the English Channel in Decem-
ber, 1916, after training several months
in England. Other Indian units from
Western Ontario which soon followed the
Middlesex Indians to the trenches were
the 149th Lambton Battalion Indians,
Chippewas of Walpole Island and Sarnia
Reserve; the 160th Bruce Battalion,
Saugeen Indians from the remote
Georgian Bay district, near the former
scene of a bloody massacre of early
Christianized Hurons by the Iroquois;
the 114th Haldimand County Battalion
Indians, and the Mohawks of the Brant
County battalions.
The Mohawks have the distinction of
giving to Canada one of her finest
woman writers, E. Pauline Johnson, or
" Tekahionwake," who died several years
ago at Vancouver. United JCmpire Loyal-
ists, the Mohawks came to Canada after
the American Revolution and settled near
where the City of Brantford is, known
widely as the " Telephone City," where
Alexander Graham Bell first perfected
his epoch-making invention.
The Middlesex County Indians included
representatives of three tribes, the Al-
gonquin Chippewas, the Iroquois Oneidas,
202
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
and the Munseys, who a century ago came
from the Susquehanna River district in
the southland, and, welcomed in their
homeless wanderings by the Chippewa
chief, were allotted one square mile of
territory on the Chippewa Reserve, near
the picturesque little paleface village of
Middlemiss, Ont. Throwing his blanket
on the ground and drawing with chalk a
map of his territory, the Chippewa chief
marked off the little corner which hence-
forth should be the home of the Munseys.
Before the war many of the Oneidas
clung to their pagan faith, and in so do-
ing were the last of their race to resist
Christianity. Letters from the trenches,
however, tell of many of them accepting
the Christian faith at Gospel meetings
held in Y. M. C. A. huts on the firing line.
Still one of the most interesting reli-
gious temples in North America is the
" Long House," near Southwold, Ont., a
short distance from the Michigan Cen-
tral Railway connecting Buffalo and De-
troit, where annually the sacrifice and
feast of the " White Dog," a ceremony
of purification for the sins of the year
past, is held by the Oneida pagans. The
plain-looking wooden building is also
the Mecca and temple of the pagan
Oneidas of Western New York State,
but the only other remnant of the
Oneida race, found at Green Bay, Wis.,
does not count among its members any
braves who still adhere to the faith of
their fathers. After all, this pagan faith
is largely colored by Christian influ-
ences very similar to the Judaism of the
Old Testament, and, incorporating the
story of the Christ among its legends,
might be aptly styled an American Is-
Jam.
Among the Chippewas of the Middle-
sex Indian unit are Moraviantown In-
dians, whose reserve on the River
Thames near Chatham is believed to
contain the burial place of Tecumseh,
whose name is a romantic and bright
one in Canadian history, on account of
his brilliant assistance given to the
Canadians in repelling the American in-
vasion of 1812.
The loyalty of the Indian race in
Canada may be- illustrated by reference
to an Indian mother now living in Lon-
don, Ont. She has four sons in the war,
and her baby son of 14 years also at-
tempted to enlist. His brother, one year
older, was held in England on account
of his age, when it was discovered, and
is now an instructor at Wittley Camp.
This Indian mother, whose husband is a
descendant of Moses Schuyler, who led
the Oneidas from New York to Ontario
and founded the settlement on the
Thames nearly a century ago, said re-
cently: "Yes, I have given four of my
boys, and I am sorry that my other
children died when they were babies, for
I would gladly have given them, too, to
fight for England."
In every way the Canadian Indians
have proved themselves the equals of
their white comrades on the battle line.
Canada to Have Conscription
A BILL for compulsory military serv-
ice by Canadians between the
ages of 20 and 45 years was pre-
sented in the House of Commons on
June 11, 1917, by Sir Robert Borden.
The measure at once precipitated a bit-
ter controversy. Emboldened by the
apparent inactivity of the authorities
against the campaign of sedition which
was fostered throughout the Province of
Quebec, and in which the clergy took an
unostentatious but influential part in
the country districts, La Croix, a Roman
Catholic Church organ published in Mon-
treal, on June 10 frankly and pointedly
advocated a policy of " down with con-
scription."
This was followed up immediately by
an editorial in L'Ideal Catholique, gen-
erally considered to be the semi-official
organ of the Roman Catholic Church in
Montreal, in which the writer, Joseph
Begin, also an assistant editor of La
Croix, urged Quebec to secede from the
Confederation, form a French republic
on the banks of the St. Lawrence, and
impose taxes on all exports from Ontario
passing down the St. Lawrence.
CANADA TO HAVE CONSCRIPTION
293
As both these organs are considered to
be semi-official organs of the Archdiocese
of Montreal, and as Archbishop Bruchesi
did not remonstrate with their editors,
Catholics and Protestants at Montreal as-
sert that the Archbishop, if he had not
approved of the sentiments expressed,
would assuredly have taken some action.
The Government took no public action.
In Parliament on July 6 the contro-
versy eventuated in a victory for the
Government, when Premier Borden's bill
passed the House on second reading by
a majority of sixty- three. Twenty-six
Liberals voted with the Government and
against their leader, Sir Wilfrid Laurier,
and only twelve English-speaking Lib-
erals voted against the idea of conscrip-
tion of the manhood of Canada. West
of Montreal there were only four Lib-
erals who voted against the bill. At
3:30 A. M. a fresh amendment was
sprung upon the House regarding better
treatment for wives and children of sol-
diers, which was also voted down.
One of the immediate results of the
split in the Liberal Party over the con-
scription bill, which is likely to have very
far-reaching effects on the political fut-
ure of Canada, is the formation of a
new Liberal Party, composed of the Lib-
erals of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Al-
berta and British Columbia. The party
as at present led by Sir Wilfrid Laurier,
it is said, is to disappear and the new
party will elect its own leader.
The parliamentary contingent of west-
ern Liberals held a meeting and decided
to call a convention of the Liberals of
Western Canada, to be held in Winnipeg
on Aug. 7 and 8. The object of the con-
vention will be to consider the whole
political situation, particularly as it
affects Western Canada. The member-
ship will include all Dominion members
and Senators, Dominion Liberal candi-
dates, and all Liberal candidates in the
last provincial elections in the western
provinces.
There will be a number of women, it is
expected, among the delegates, each con-
stituency in the western provinces being
empowered to send four representatives.
Up to July 1 the aggregate of volun-
teer enlistments in Canada was 423,858.
In the last two weeks- of June the total
enrolled was 2,358, as against 3,392 in the
preceding fortnight.
The Mothers
Maurice Maeterlinck's Beautiful Tribute to Women
Who Mourn Soldier Sons
r! is they who bear the main burden
of suffering in this war. In our
streets and open spaces and all
along the roads, in our churches, in
our towns and villages, in every house
we come into contact with mothers who
have lost their sons or are living in an
anguish more cruel than the certainty
of death.
Let us try to understand their loss.
They know what it means, but they do
not tell the men.
Their sons are taken from them at the
fairest moment of life, when their own
is in its decline. When a child dies in
infancy it is as though his soul had hard-
ly gone, as though it were lingering near
the mother who brought it into the world
awaiting the time when it may return
in a new form. The death which visits
the cradle is not the same as that which
now spreads terror over the earth, but a
son who dies at the age of 20 does not
come back again and leaves not a gleam
of hope behind him.
He carries away with him all the fut-
ure that his mother had remaining to
her, all that she gave to him and all his
promise; the pangs, anguish, and smiles
of birth and childhood, the joys of youth,
the reward and the harvest of maturi-
ty, the comfort and the peace of her old
age. He carries away with him some-
thing much more than himself; it is not
his life only that comes to an end; it
is numberless days that finish suddenly,
294
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
a whole generation that becomes extinct,
a long series of faces, of little fondling
hands, of play and laughter, all of which
fall at one blow on the battlefield, bid-
ding farewell to the sunshine and re-
entering the earth which they have never
known.
All this the eyes of our mothers per-
ceive without understanding; and this is
why, at times, the weight and sadness of
their glance are more than any of us
can bear.
And yet they do not weep as mothers
wept in former wars. All their sons disap-
pear one by one, and we do not hear them
complain or moan as in days gone by,
when great sufferings, great massacres,
and great catastrophes were enwrapped
by the clamors and lamentations of the
mothers. They do not assemble in the
public places, they do not utter recrimina-
tions, they rail at no one, they do not
rebel. They swallow their sobs and stifle
their tears as though obeying a command
which they have passed from one to the
other, unknown to the men.
We do not know what it is that sus-
tains them and gives them the strength
to bear the remnant of their lives. Some
of them have other children, and we can
understand that they transfer to them
the love and the future which death has
shattered.
Many of them have never lost or are
striving to recover their faith in the eter-
nal promises ; and here, again, we can un-
derstand that they do not despair, for the
mothers of the martyrs did not despair
either. But thousands of others, whose
home is forever deserted and whose sky
is peopled by none but pale phantoms, re-
tain the same hope as those who keep on
hoping.
What gives them this courage which
astonishes our eyes? When the best, the
most compassionate, the wisest among
us meet one of these mothers who has
just stealthily wiped her eyes, so that the
sight of her unhappiness may not offend
others who are happier, when they seek
for words which, uttered amid the glar-
ing directness of the most awful sorrow
that can strike a human heart, shall not
sound like odious or ridiculous lies, they
can find hardly anything to say to her.
They speak to her of the justice and
beauty of the cause for which her hero
fell, of the immense and necessary sacri-
fice, of the remembrance and gratitude
of mankind, of the irreality of life, which
is measured not by the length of days
but by the lofty height of duty and glory.
They add that the dead do not die, that
there are no dead, that those who are no
more live nearer to our souls than when
they were in the flesh, and that all that
we loved in them lingers on in our hearts
so long as it is visited by our memory
and revived by our love.
But even while they speak they feel
the emptiness of their speech. They are
conscious that all this is true only for
those whom death has not hurled into
the abyss where words are nothing more
than childish babble; that the most ar-
dent memory cannot take the place of a
dear reality which we touch with our
hands or lips; and that the most exalted
thought is as nothing compared with the
daily going out and coming in, the fa-
miliar presence at meals, the morning
and evening kiss, the fond embrace at the
departure, and the intoxicating delight
at the return.
The mothers know and feel this better
than we do ; and that is why they do not
answer our attempts at consolation and
why they listen to them in silence, finding
within themselves other reasons for liv-
ing and hoping than those which we,
vainly searching the whole horizon of
human certainty and thought, try to
bring them from the outside. They re-
sume the burden of their days without
telling us whence they derive their
strength or teaching us the secret of
their self-sacrifice, their resignation, and
their heroism.
Military Operations of the War
By Major Edwin W. Dayton
Inspector General, National Guard, State of Netv York; Secretary, New
York Army and Navy Club
Major Dayton has long had the official recognition of the United States War Depart-
ment as an authority on strategy and tactics. The article here presented is the sixth in a
series which he is writing for Current History Magazine, covering in a rapid and authorita-
tive narrative all the military events of importance since the beginning of the great conflict.
VI. — Italy in the War
IN the Spring of 1915 public opinion
in Italy finally swept aside the in-
fluence of a large conservative ele-
ment in high places, and on May 19
the Chamber by a vote of 407 to 74 put the
full responsibility of the decision for or
against war into the hands of the Salan-
dra Cabinet. This action was equivalent
to a decision for war, because no Cabinet
could have continued to hold office after
denying the popular clamor. Italy de-
clared war against Austria on May 23,
1915, and General Cadorna, Chief of the
Italian General Staff, took command of
the Italian armies. On Aug. 21, 1915,
Italy also declared war on Turkey.
No other country entered the conflict
with so much popular enthusiasm as did
Italy, which had been until recently an
active ally of Germany and Austria.
Much that modern Italy had gained was
due to Germany, for that northern mas-
ter had compelled Austria to make large
concessions to Italy following the crush-
ing defeat suffered by the Italian armies
at Custozza in 1866. Austria won that
war with Italy on the field, but lost it
at the council table, when Prussia com-
pelled the victor to hand over the fron-
tier provinces to the defeated.
Italy, receiving these territories as a
gift, had for two generations longed to
extend the conquest on the north through
the Trentino to Trent and on the east
side of the Adriatic to Trieste. In both
regions many Italians unquestionably
live on the Austrian side of the frontier,
but, while it is a fact that, so far as the
coast regions are concerned, Italian in-
fluence has long been felt close to the
shores, a journey of a very few miles
inland would carry the traveler into Slav
neighborhoods, where the Italian was
heartily hated. As in the case of most
politically arranged frontiers, national
ambitions and complications surged back
and forth in the Alps and along the
Isonzo in a way that frequently fanned
historic rivalries close to the flaming
point. In 1881, at a critical time, Italy
joined Germany and Austria in forming
the Triple Alliance, but Austrian aggres-
sions in the Balkans were viewed by
Italy with strong disapproval. In 1896
Italian ambition to expand suffered a
severe check in the disaster at Adowa,
but in 1911 the successful war with
Turkey won Tripoli and reawakened the
national aptitude for real politik.
The year 1915 seemed to Italy the
proper juncture to gratify the nation's
aspirations. In last efforts to keep Italy
from bringing war on her western fron-
tier, Austria offered a number of con-
cessions — territorial, commercial, and
political. Italy, however, believed that,
when the map of Europe should be re-
made after the war, the great spoils
would go only to those who had fought,
and so the die was cast for war.
Cadorna s Plan of Campaign
In the Winter of 1914-15 Italy had
been busily preparing for war, so that
Cadorna was ready to strike promptly.
Two aggressive campaigns were imme-
diately developed. One, aimed straight
to the north, toward the City of Trent,
sought to gain control of the many mount-
ain passes, while the real attacks fol-
lowed the line of natural approach along
Lake Garda, whose northern end lay
across the frontier. The most direct mili-
296
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
tary road toward Trent lies through the
Valle Lagarina, which is drained by the
Adige. Having passed the frontier town
of Borghetto, the City of Rovereto be-
comes the main strategic objective, guard-
ing, as it does, the wider valley between
the mountain fastnesses to Trent, which
lies only fifteen miles north of Rovereto.
There is another approach to Trent from
the east by way of the Val Sugana, but
the approaches to that valley were
GENERAL LUIGI CADORNA
guarded by the almost impregnable forti-
fied passes of the higher mountain region.
In the first months of the war the
news dispatches from Italy were so de-
ceptive that unprofessional readers all
over the world were led to believe that
the conquest of the Trentino was to be an
operation of a few triumphant weeks
only. Two years and more have passed,
and the Austrians are still secure in
Trent. Unless Italy had been strong
enough to engage in two great offensives
and Austria too much occupied elsewhere
to threaten any counterattack, it is evi-
dent that General Cadorna would never
have seriously contemplated a great in-
vasion of the Trentino while Austria
continued to hold the dangerous fortified
base at Gorizia on the Isonzo. As a mat-
ter of fact, the Italian commander wisely
concentrated his strength on his north-
eastern front after making secure the
approaches toward the plains of Lom-
bardy from the north. For the sake of
brevity and clearness I shall here discuss
the Trentino operations before passing
to the much more important campaigns
on the Isonzo.
Operations in the Trentino
Italy remembered the ugly lesson at
Custozza in the old war of 1866 and de-
termined to block Austria's road into
Italy past the southern end of Lake
Garda by immediately shifting opera-
tions beyond the northern end of that
long, narrow lake. Early in June Ital-
ian detachments had won their way well
into the crests of the Dolomites, the
mountain group northeast of Trent, and
similar successes were readily won
among the Carnic Alps, still further to
the east, where it appeared as though
Cadorna's men might succeed in reach-
ing the Pusterthal railway between
Lienz and Innichen.
While these thrusts were prospering
to the east of Trent, several small, ag-
gressive columns appeared among the
mountains to the west, between Lake
Garda and the Swiss frontier. The Val
Camonica was the highway for these
forces, one of which struck east through
the Tonale Pass, while at least three
other columns took the same general di-
rection via passes further south. A
strong force marched east through the
Val de Ledro and menaced Riva, the im-
portant Austrian town at the north end
of Lake Garda.
Austria remained strictly on the de-
fensive, and for the first few weeks at
least seems to have had only Landwehr
and Landsturm troops with which to
check the invasion. The veteran regular
troops were kept in Galicia until the de-
feat of Ivanoff 's armies was certain and
Russia's attack upon the Carpathians
definitely turned back. The Allies were
greatly disappointed when it was seen
that Italy's entrance into the war had
no effect in relieving the pressure upon
the Russians, for it had been confidently
expected that the fresh enemy in the
MILITARY OPERATIONS OF THE WAR
297
rear would compel Austria to shift large
armies to the new theatre of conflict.
When Ivanoff had been defeated and
driven back, some of the first-line troops
were transferred to the Italian front, but
Cadorna's time to have taken Trent was
in the early Summer, when the Austrian
Generals had little but second and third
line troops with which to oppose Italy's
best.
About midsummer in 1915 strong ef-
forts were made to capture Rovereto, but
without success, although the fall of the
mountain town was frequently announced.
In the Autumn strong columns began to
make some progress north of the fron-
tier on the west side of Lake Garda,
while another force took Brentonico on
the opposite side of the lake. In the
Carnic Alps the Austrians repulsed fre-
quent attacks upon their fortified lines
on the Col di Lana, but could not prevent
the gradual development of an Italian
offensive along the upper Cordevole.
With the coming of snow among the high
mountains both sides began to provide
white coats for the soldiers, whose ordi-
nary uniforms would have stood out in
bold relief against snowy backgrounds.
In November an Italian column fought
hard in an effort to advance toward Ro-
vereto through the Adige Valley.
In December bayonet attacks, follow-
ing heavy bombardments, won a num-
ber of fortified positions in the Giudi-
caria Valley west of Lake Garda, and in
the early weeks of 1916 the Italian cam-
paign in this region continued to make
better progress. In February and March
there were a series of minor battles in
the direction of the Val Sugana, with
the Italians almost invariably making
the attacks. At the end of March the
Austrians made several unsuccessful ef-
forts to drive back from their advanced
positions the columns converging toward
Rovereto, and by the middle of April
there were battles in the Ledro Valley
only three miles west of Riva, and fur-
ther to the east Italian batteries of the
heaviest calibres were hurling shells
toward Innchen and the Pusterthal rail-
way.
Italy had been a year at war, and it
seemed as though at last her soldiers
might be about ready to debouch from
the mountain passes and begin a real
invasion of the Trentino. In April, how-
ever, it began to be rumored that large
Austrian reinforcements had been as-
sembled about Trent, and on May 15 the
Austrians, for the first time, assumed
the offensive. With the aid of an over-
whelming artillery fire they launched
powerful and successful attacks on a
wide front. On Armentara Ridge in the
southern Sugana Valley and on Folgaria
Plateau south of Rovereto 3,000 Italian
prisoners were taken with a number of
cannon. On the following day the at-
tack progressed especially in the sector
east of Rovereto, where the Austrian in-
fantry stormed Zugna Gorta, and at vari-
ous points over 6,000 more prisoners
were taken. In counterattacks several
hundred Austrians were captured in Val
Sugana, but by May 24 the Italians had
been driven back across the frontier
with a loss of over 27,000 prisoners, 300
cannon, and many machine guns.
By the end of May the Austrian in-
vasion of Northern Italy had established
an attack which threatened the Italian
fortified line of interior defense based
on Arsiero and Asiago. They were ten
to eleven miles into the mountains on
the Italian side of the frontier and ap-
proaching the easier slopes toward the
Venetian plains. Similar progress for
another fortnight would have seriously
threatened the communications of the
main Italian armies engaged on the
Isonzo.
As May ended, the Austrians were win-
ning battles close to Arsiero and were
vigorously attacking Italian fortifica-
tions on the Asiago Plateau. Early in
June, after long and bitter fighting, the
Italians' were compelled to yield some
ground on the plateau di Sette Com-
muni, and within less than four miles
of Asiago some thousands of Italian
prisoners were taken. The result of the
failure to stop the Austrian invasion
at the frontier threatened serious politi-
cal results in emotional Italy. The Cabi-
net fell, several Generals were recalled,
and the prestige of even General Cadorna
was threatened.
Just then Russia did for Italy what
298
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Italy had failed to do for Russia in the
previous year. In April General Ivanoff
had been replaced in command of the
Southern Russian Armies by General A.
A. Brusiloff, the brilliant cavalry leader.
The new commander hurled an attack
upon the Austrian lines in Volhynia and
Galicia which compelled the immediate
transfer of every available soldier and
gun from the west to the east. That
ended the Austrian threat against the
Province of Venice, but the Austrians
nevertheless have continued to hold ap-
proximately the same positions up to the
present time, (July, 1917,) although they
have been driven back somewhat from
Arsiero and Asiago and have lost some
ground in the Val Sugana.
Campaign on the Isonzo
While Italian popular ambition longed
for the Trentino, General Cadorna, the
trained soldier, knew that the necessity
for the real attack lay further to the
east. While very considerable forces
were detached to fight the campaigns
described above, the bulk of Italy's mili-
tary strength was concentrated in the
attack upon Gorizia and the Carso. The
actual frontier was not defended by the
Austrians, so that the Italians advanced
practically unopposed until they ap-
proached the line of the Isonzo River
and the heights covering the approaches
along the western side of the stream.
While the higher mountain ridges lie on
the east, there are numerous rugged hills
on the near (west) side admirably adapt-
ed to defense. The communications be-
tween Gorizia and Trieste were covered
by the extraordinarily difficult region
called the Carso Plateau, where a seamed
and broken plain is thickly strewn with
huge masses of limestone boulders.
By the early part of June, 1915, Gen-
eral Cadorna's men were deployed on a
front of about fifty miles from Caporetto
to the sea. Monfalcone, just east of the
river mouth, was easily taken, (June 9,)
and Gradisca, too, was won, but the next
three principal objectives were hard to
get. At the north a large force, prin-
cipally of Alpine troops, attacked Tol-
mino and Monte Nero. Their mission
was to cut the railway between Gorizia
and Villach. The centre had the hardest
task and attacked Gorizia with its forti-
fied bridgehead west of the Isonzo and
the strong covering positions on Podgora
Heights. The right attacked Monfal-
cone, Gradisca, and the Carso.
The Italians found the Austrian de-
fenses far stronger than had been be-
GENERAL VON HOETZENDORP
lieved, although the forces employed to
hold them were quite inadequate and
might have been overwhelmed by a quick,
hard attack in the first days of the cam-
paign. The Austrian artillery positions
had been well chosen, the intrenched
positions were skillfully constructed and
the approaches heavily wired. The
Italians, by means of pontoons, crossed
the swift running river at dawn on
June 17, and in a brilliant bayonet at-
tack carried Plava, where the defending
artillery included 12-inch guns. On June
28 General Cadorna's men won another
bridgehead at Castelnuovo on the east
side of the Isonzo, and a footing was
gained on the edge of the Carso Plateau
between Monfalcone and Sagrado.
First Battle of Gorizia
In the first week of July the first bat-
tle of Gorizia opened, and this costly ef-
fort on the part of the Italians to storm
MILITARY OPERATIONS OF THE WAR
299
the Austrian stronghold persisted through
the next six weeks. Some ground was
gained on the Carso — including Sei Busi,
San Martino, and San Michele — and on
Podgora, while under .the eye of King
Victor Emmanuel several divisions had
finally won a very costly victory at
Plava.
The Austrian second line proved even
stronger than the first, and no great
progress had been made in the direction
of Trieste as the result of six weeks of
terrific fighting.
The fall of Warsaw had by now en-
abled the Austrians to bring over to this
front reinforcements, which included
some of their best units. The difficult
terrain was thoroughly understood by the
Austrian first-line troops, whose manoeu-
vres had been held there. The Austrian
commander, Field Marshal Baron von
Hoetzendorf, had made a special study of
the region and wrote a book on its mili-
tary features. He knew the Isonzo almost
as von Hindenburg knew the Masurian
Lakes.
After the first great attack on Gorizia
ended in the middle of August there was
a period of some weeks when the ex-
hausted and much-depleted units were
rested and replenished. By early Octo-
ber the Italians were renewing the at-
tacks against the bridgehead at Tol-
mino and on the Carso. While these ef-
forts made little progress, the Italians
seemed always able to repulse such
counterattacks as were attempted by the
enemy. On Oct. 21 the Italians at-
tacked along the whole Isonzo front and
made substantial gains below the sum-
mit of Mrzli, a peak dominating Tol-
mino from the northwest. Other gains
were won on the slopes of Monte Sabo-
tino near Gorizia and toward San Mar-
tino on the Carso. More than 5,000 Aus-
trian prisoners were taken, and General
Cadorna at this time estimated that the
Austrians had not less than 800,000 men
defending the Isonzo front. The actual
figures were probably less than this es-
timate, but there is reason to believe
that General Cadorna had close to a mill-
ion fighting men trying to break through
the almost impregnable Austrian posi-
tions, which were unquestionably de-
fended at this time by very large num-
bers of excellent troops.
In November the Italians made new
progress at Oslavia on the west face of
the Gorizia position, and in spite of ter-
rific losses wave after wave of fresh
infantry continued for weeks the suc-
cessive assaults upon the fortifications
on Podgora and Oslavia covering Gorizia.
As the year closed the assaults once more
subsided into the normal daily artillery
bombardments, but it was evident that
the Italians were firmly committed to the
task of taking Gorizia and continuing
the attacks toward Trieste across the
Carso. .
Fighting on the Carso
On this plateau the fighting somewhat
resembled that in France about the fa-
mous Labyrinth, for the intricate and
difficult terrain had made it possible for
the Austrians to create on the surface a
system of defenses almost as intricate as
those which the German engineers bur-
rowed under the soil of Artois. Progress
was won only by desperate hand-to-hand
battles, in which comparatively small de-
tachments fought to the death for every
foot of vantage. Occasionally the Aus-
trians launched powerful counterattacks,
and in the middle of January, 1916, they
took nearly two thousand prisoners at
Oslavia in trenches which they stormed
but had to yield again a few days later.
About this time heavy Italian batteries
resumed the long-distance shelling of
Malborghetto, on the road toward Garves,
but these activities were part of the ef-
fort to cripple Austrian lines of com-
munication rather than the prelude to
any northern extension of the actual at-
tacks.
Late in 1915 Italy began to move large
forces across the Adriatic into Albania,
and by February, 1916, an announcement
from Rome credited General Giovanni
Ameglio with a command numbering
170,000 troops. General Ameglio was
the conqueror of Libya and had with him
in Albania a division of 22,000 veterans
from North Africa. This powerful army
eventually checked the southern march
of the Austrians and Bulgarians, who
hreatened to overrun all of Albania after
300
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
their successes in the north against the
Montenegrins, Serbs, and Albanians at
Mount Lovcen, Alessio, San Giovanni di
Medua, and Elbassan.
In the early Spring of 1916 there was
much hard fighting in front of Gorizia,
which subsided during the great Aus-
trian invasion from the Trentino. After
Brusiloff's splendid victories in the east
had put a stop to that Austrian cam-
paign, the Italians resumed their assaults
along the Isonzo.
The Capture of Gorizia
Early in August, after a series of
terrific battles, General Cadorna scored
the first great Italian victory of the war.
Tunnels had been driven close up to the
Austrian fortifications, which enabled
several columns of infantry to rush posi-
tions that had resisted all other assaults
for a year. On Aug. 9, after storming
the bridgehead; the Italian troops entered
the City of Gorizia on the east side of
the Isonzo. Between 15,000 and 20,000
Austrian prisoners were taken in the
ffnal fighting at Gorizia. The Italian
casualties must have been very heavy,
but no statement indicating the extent
of the losses was issued.
Iii the year that has elapsed since
Gorizia was taken General Cadorna has
made only a little progress among the
high and difficult mountain positions still
stubbornly defended by the Austrians
east and southeast of the city. Further
south on the Carso the Italians have
gradually won more ground, and their
lines are now nearly midway of that most
forbidding plateau. The road to Trieste
is still blocked by a competent and stub-
born foe, who knows how to take every
advantage of a region singularly adapt-
ed to a defensive campaign. Had the
Russians been able to maintain a seri-
ous compaign on the other side of Aus-
tria in the Spring of 1917 it is possible
that General Cadorna might have been
enabled to push his striking force fur-
ther toward Trieste, while his detaining
forces could be trusted to prevent any re-
sumption of the previous year's Austrian
attack aimed at the Venetian plains and
the rear of the armies on the Isonzo.
In the Balkans General Ameglio's
army has firmly established Italian con-
trol of Southern Albania, with a naval
and military base at Avlona. This force
links up with General SarraiPs interna-
tional group of armies near Monastir,
and the Italians have undoubtedly made
great improvements in the old roadway
.cross Albania from Avlona via Elbassan,
which is Ameglio's line of communica-
tions.
The British in Mesopotamia
It will be recalled that in the latter
part of 1914 a British expedition from
India landed at the north end of the
Persian Gulf and occupied Basra, the
important city close to the junction of
the Euphrates and the Tigris. Per-
haps the purpose of this force was to
block any possible effort which the Ger-
mans might have launched via the
Tigris Valley against India. Possibly
it was a campaign of conquest designed
to wrest from German influence the
partly completed railway route to Bag-
dad. If it were only a defensive meas-
ure, as it was announced to be in India,
every purpose would have been served
by maintaining a strong force at Basra,
backed up by British naval power.
A fortnight after the fall of Basra the
British took Kurna, where an intrenched
position was established astride the
Tigris. In April the Turks made sev-
eral abortive efforts against British out-
posts, and gradually the British forces
became involved in operations which ex-
tended considerably to the north. Fol-
lowing a routed force of Turks, Esra's
tomb was passed, and on June 3, 1915,
the British captured Amara, seventy-five
miles above Kurna. What was left of
the Turkish force under Nur-ed-Din
Pasha retreated 150 miles up the Tigris
to Kut-el-Amara.
From Kut-el-Amara a river channel
cuts away to the south and joins the
Euphrates at Nasiriyeh, and as river
routes are the only ones practicable for
troops in this sunbaked region, the Brit-
ish determined to gain control of this
waterway, which links the two great
rivers in the interior. Major Gen. G. F.
Gorringe led the expedition from Kurna
against Nasiriyeh, which, with the help
MILITARY OPERATIONS OF THE WAR
301
of a flotilla of gunboats, was captured
after a stiff fight on July 25; 2,500 Turks
were killed and 700 captured, while the
British loss was only 600.
Following this success on the Euphra-
tes, Sir John Nixon dispatched General
Townshend's division up the Tigris, and
this column found 10,000 Turkish
regulars intrenched a few miles below
Kut-el-Amara, where, on Sept. 28, in
a brilliantly planned action a large part
of the Turkish position was captured.
By the next day the Turks were in full
retreat toward Bagdad, and the British
were in Kut-el-Amara. General Town-
shend embarked a brigade of infantry on
river steamers and pushed on up toward
Bagdad.
Townshend's Bagdad Expedition
Every mile of this progress toward the
north lengthened the line of communi-
cations with Basra, but the British Staff
doubtless had excellent confidential ad-
vices as to the attitude of the Arabs
who were passed en route. When the
Caliph proclaimed from Constantinople
the holy war against the Allies he called
upon no other community so solidly
Mohammedan as the Arabian Peninsula,
yet the event proved that the Arabs of
those far regions felt little or no political
obligation to the ruler on the Golden
Horn.
Below Basra, on the west side of the
Persian Gulf, were three vilayets which
had either resisted Turkish control or,
as in the case of Oman, had always re-
mained independent. West of Basra lies
the extensive interior Arab Kingdom
of Nejd, which, like far-off Oman, had
never been conquered. Between Nejd
and the Red Sea lies Hejaz, with both
Mecca and Medina within its borders,
and consequently the very centre of
ultra Mohammedan influence. While in
the event of a great disaster to the
British expedition most of these tribes-
men might be counted upon to attack and
plunder broken and retreating columns,
it was evident that no strong bonds of
sympathy for the far-off Turk moved
them to take any very active part in
harassing the British advance.
Bagdad, the great city of the Tigris,
was the ancient metropolis of the Eastern
world, and still harbored a certain pro-
vincial independence of thought, which
treasured the history of a past, when the
fair city of the Tigris was easily the peer
of that later capital which settled on the
distant edge of Europe, whence little new
glory had come to Islam. Whatever dif-
ficulties developed further up the country
the British control of the bases at Kurna,
Basra, and Nasiriyeh proved amply suf-
ficient to prevent the development of any
very serious attacks on the flanks.
From Kut-el-Amara General Town-
shend pushed on up the Tigris to attack
Bagdad, 573 miles from the waters of the
Persian Gulf. The British force num-
bered 15,000, of whom about one-third
were white soldiers and the other two-
thirds Indian troops. The army was ac-
companied by a large flotilla of river
boats of various types, and the advanc-
ing troops went forward both by road
and by -river.
This campaign beyond Kut-el-Amara
was a colossal blunder, and it is idle now
to speculate on the reasons for the under-
taking. To General Townshend's profes-
sional credit it is related that he protested
against so large an undertaking with so
small a force. The British Indian mili-
tary administration overruled him, and
apparently held the Turkish soldier far
too lightly. British political and diplo-
matic interests in the Autumn of 1915
were certainly in a bad way in Gallipoli,
in France, in the Balkans, and in Russia.
Undoubtedly there was a disposition to
take a gambler's chance and hope by cap-
turing Bagdad to offset the imminent
failure at Constantinople.
Reverse at Ctesiphon
There was only light skirmishing most
of the way, as the troops, heartened by
the change from the murderous heat of
the Summer campaign to the clear days
and cool nights of October, pushed
bravely on up the river. In the last week
of October a flank attack dislodged the
Turkish rear guard from a prepared posi-
tion at Azizie, and by Nov. 12 General
Townshend's force camped at Lajj, seven
miles below Ctesiphon, and on the eve-
ning of the 21st he marched three columns
302
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
out to attack the elaborately prepared
Turkish positions below and above the
ruins of Ctesiphon.
The plan was practically a duplicate
of that which had succeeded so brilliant-
ly at Kut-el-Amara. While one column
made a direct frontal attack, another
was to strike the Turkish left flank and
hold it fully occupied; meanwhile, the
third column, by a wide turning move-
ment, was to gain the rear of the Turkish
position and join in rolling the whole
Turk force up against the river. After
a seven-mile march by bright moonlight,
the British arrived opposite the Turkish*
positions before dawn and began the
grand attack before 9 o'clock. By the
early afternoon the British had the first-
line position won and the Turks fell back
to their second and much stronger pre-
pared position. In the afternoon a fresh
division joined Nur-ed-Din's forces, and
the fortunes of the fight strongly favored
the Turks. On the 23d there was an
exchange of shellfire until the middle of
the afternoon, when the Turks made a
number of counterattacks upon the well-
intrenched British lines.
By the 24th the British casualties
amounted to 4,500, with especially severe
losses among the officers. The Turks
were receiving further reinforcements,
and at midnight on the 25th General
Townshend retreated to Lajj, and on
Dec. 30 was back in Kut-el-Amara, after
a heartbreaking retreat in which rear-
guard actions were frequent, and the
wearied troops sometimes marched as
much as twenty-seven miles in a day.
The beaten army barely managed to
stagger into Kut, and the Turks in-
stantly closed the approaches and set-
tled down to a long siege.
The Russians in Persia
In November and December, 1915, a
Russian force pushed down from the
Caucasus and defeated several forces of
Persian rebels fighting on behalf of
German influence. Teheran was occupied
by the Russians and most of the Persian
forces were driven back on Kermanshah.
This prompt action on the part of Russia
defeated an elaborate German plan to
commit Persia to the Teuton cause.
In the following year military opera-
tions in Persia assumed for a time a
realy threatening appearance, and a
somewhat important campaign was re-
quired to drive well-organized forces
from several of the larger mountain
towns in Western Persia. Wide interest
GENERAL TOWNSHEND
was at one time aroused by an announce-
ment that a small force of Russian cav-
alry had unexpectedly joined the British
on the Tigris, and there was a possibility
that this might have been the independ-
ent cavalry of an army advancing from
Persia to join the British campaign for
the relief of Kut-el-Amara. In the end
no such army appeared, and the real
story of that strange adventure of the
Russian horsemen has never yet been
told.
Townshend* s Force Besieged
The remnant of General Townshend's
army just managed by almost superhu-
man efforts to struggle through the last
terrible days of the retreat into Kut.
That they were able still to preserve a
morale that enabled them to hold that
place against a victorious enemy greatly
MILITARY OPERATIONS OF THE WAR
303
superior in numbers reflected the great-
est glory on the British service. The
failure of the campaign had resulted in
a damaging blow to British prestige, but
the heroic qualities of the troops en-
gaged proved that there was nothing the
matter with the courage of the British
soldier. Muddled plans might waste
British blood and treasure on the Tigris
as well as on the Dardanelles, but noth-
ing could break down the indomitable
fighting quality of the army. Thoroughly
censored press dispatches covered up for
many weeks the extent of the disaster
at Ctesiphon by assertions that after a
great victory General Townshend's force
had been compelled temporarily to fall
back for lack of water. It was Decem-
ber before England realized . that there
was a besieged remnant of a heroic army
at Kut-el-Amara which would need
prompt succor.
On Christmas Day, 1915, after a heavy
bombardment for many hours, the Turks
fought their way into one of the forts on
the right flank. They were expelled,
but returned and again occupied the
position, from which they were finally
driven back to their own trenches after
a severe battle.
By the middle of January, 1916, a
strong relief force was advancing well
up the Tigris under the command of Gen-
eral Aylmer, but this expedition found a
detached Turkish army on its front
blocking the road toward Kut. From
Sheik Saad onward General Aylmer's
army was engaged in a number of severe
actions, and these prevented the prompt
relief which it was expected to afford to
the besieged force up the river. The
British lost heavily in battles at Sheik
Saad and at Essin, and were compelled
to intrench at a point twenty-three miles
below Kut against a foe too strong to
be brushed aside or pierced. At Men-
larie the Turks had the advantage in
another hot fight, and at Felahie a
British reconnoitring party were all
killed; 150 miles down stream, at
Kurna, irregular Turkish forces defeated
a British transport column, and in Feb-
ruary there was another severe defeat
near Batilia, with many casualties and
the loss of a great number of transport
animals.
At this time Turkish airmen were fre-
quently bombing the British batteries at
Kut. Large reinforcements of British
and Indian regiments began to reach Gen-
eral Aylmer's army in February and
March, and along the Euphrates the
British were strong enough to take the
offensive against the Turks above
Nasiriyeh. In a fight on the upper Ti-
gris, near Felahie, General Aylmer's
men entered the Turkish trenches, but
were driven out in a counterattack with
a loss of 2,000 dead. The British re-
treated, and in a rear guard action at
Zenzir Heights had 5 officers and 175
men captured.
In April General Lake scored the first
British victory in a long time by winning
a battle at Umm-el-Henna, about twenty
miles below Kut. At Bestissa and Fela-
hie the Turks defeated desperate British
efforts to cut a way through with the
bayonet, and news from General Town-
shend's besieged force in Kut told of a
serious shortage of food.
On April 29, 1916, General Town-
shend's troops could hold out no longer,
and, although the army advancing to
their relief was less than twenty-five
miles away, it was apparent that the
Turks would be able to delay any further
advance for a long time. The entire
force surrendered unconditionally after
a brave defense of 143 days. The Turks
claimed to have captured 13,000 men,
while the British figures named 2,970
British and 6,000 Indian troops. General
Townshend surrendered to Halil Pasha
and the loot was said to include £1,000,-
000 in cash.
The planning of the successful Turkish
campaign in Mesopotamia was credited
to the great German Field Marshal von
der Goltz, who died April 19, 1916, at
Turkish Headquarters. Rumor at tho
time said he was assassinated by a Turk-
ish Anatolian officer.
How the War Came to America
Official Survey of the Causes That Led the
United States to Enter the Great Conflict
The Committee on Public Information,
composed of the Secretaries of State,
War, and Navy, with George Creel as
civilian Chairman ,issued on June 24,1917,
a pamphlet entitled " How the War Came
to America," setting forth at length the
events that had forced the United States
to enter the war in defense of the Mon-
roe Doctrine, freedom of the seas, and
arbitration. Following is the full text
of that important and interesting docu-
ment :
IN the years when this Republic was
still struggling for existence, in the
face of threatened encroachments
by hostile monarchies over the
Sea, in order to make the New
World safe for democracy our fore-
fathers established here the policy that
soon came to be known as the Mon-
roe Doctrine. Warning the Old World
not to interfere in the political life of
the New, our Government pledged itself
in return to abstain from interference in
the political conflicts of Europe; and
history has vindicated the wisdom of this
course. We were then too weak to influ-
ence the destinies of Europe, and it was
vital to mankind that this first great ex-
periment in government of and by the
people should not be disturbed by foreign
attack.
Reinforced by the experience of our
expanding national life, this doctrine has
been ever since the dominating element
in the growth of our foreign policy.
Whether or not we could have main-
tained it in case of concerted attack from
abroad, it has seemed of such importance
to us that we were at all times ready to
go to war in its defense. And though
since it was first enunciated our strength
has grown by leaps and bounds, although
in that time the vast increase in our for-
eign trade and of travel abroad, modern
transport, modern mails, the cables, and
the wireless have brought us close to Eu-
rope and have made our isolation more
and more imaginary, there has been un-
til the outbreak of the present conflict
small desire on our part to abrogate, or
even amend, the old familiar tradition
which has for so long given us peace.
Policy at The Hague
In both conferences at The Hague, in
1899 and 1907, we reaffirmed this policy.
As our delegates signed the First Con-
vention in regard to arbitration, they
read into the minutes this statement:
Nothing contained in this convention shall
be so construed as to require the United
States of America to depart from its tradi-
tional policy of not intruding upon, interfer-
ing with, or entangling itself in the political
questions or policy or internal administra-
tion of any foreign State; nor shall any-
thing contained in the said convention be
construed to imply a relinquishment by the
United States of America of its traditional
attitude toward purely American questions.
At The Hague we pledged ourselves, in
case we ever went to war, to observe
certain broad general rules of decency
and fair fighting. But at the same time
we cleared ourselves from any responsi-
bility for forcing other nations to ob-
serve similar pledges. And in 1906, when
our delegates took part in the Algeciras
Conference, which was to regulate the
affairs of the distracted Kingdom of Mo-
rocco, they followed the same formula
there. While acquiescing in the new re-
gime which guaranteed the independence
and integrity of Morocco, we explicitly
announced that we assumed no police re-
sponsibility for the enforcement of the
treaty. And if any honest doubt was
left as to our attitude in regard to the
enforcement of Old World agreements,
it was dispelled five years later, when
our Government refused to protest
against the overthrow of the Acte d' Al-
geciras.
We declined to be drawn into quarrels
abroad which might endanger in any way
our traditional policy.
HOW THE WAR CAME TO AMERICA
305
For Freedom of the Seas
Our second great tradition in interna-
tional relations has been our persistent
effort to secure a stable and equitable
agreement of the nations upon such a
maritime code as would assure to all the
world a just freedom of the seas.
This effort was born of our vital need.
For although it was possible for the Re-
public to keep aloof from the nineteenth
century disputes that rent the Continent
of Europe, we could not be indifferent to
the way in which war was conducted at
sea. In those early years of our national
life, when we were still but a few com-
munities ranged along the Atlantic
coast, we were a seafaring people. At
a time when our frontiersmen had not yet
reached the Mississippi, the fame of our
daring clipper ships had spread to all the
Seven Seas. So while we could watch the
triumphant march and the tragic counter-
march of Napoleon's grand army with
detached indifference, his Continental
blockade and the British Orders in Coun-
cil at once affected the lives of our citi-
zens intimately and disastrously.
So it was in the case of the Barbary
pirates. We had no interest in the land
quarrels and civil wars of the Barbary
States, but we fought them for obstruct-
ing the freedom of the seas.
And in the decades ever since,
although the imagination of our people
has been engrossed in the immense
labor of winning the West, our Depart-
ment of State has never lost sight of
the compelling interest that we have
upon the seas, and has constantly striven
to gain the assent of all nations to a
maritime code which should be framed
and enforced by a joint responsibility.
Various watchwords have arisen in this
long controversy. We have urged the
inviolability of private property at sea,
we have asked for a liberal free list and
a narrow definition of contraband; but
our main insistence has not been on any
such details. One salient idea has guided
our diplomacy. The law of the sea must
be founded not on might, but on right
and a common accord — upon a code bind-
ing all alike, which cannot be changed
or set aside by the will of any one
nation. Our ideal has been not a weak-
ening but a strengthening of legal re-
straint by the free will and agreement
of all. We have asked nothing for our-
selves that we do not ask for the whole
world. The seas will never be free, in
our American meaning, until all who sail
thereon have had a voice in framing sea
laws. The just governance of the seas
must rest on the consent of the governed.
The Declaration of London
No other question of international
polity has found the great powers more
divided. But in our insistence on this
fundamental principle, we have been
strengthened by the support of many
other countries. At times we have had
the support of Great Britain. No one of
our Secretaries of State has more clearly
defined our ideal than has Viscount Grey,
recently British Secretary of State for
Foreign Affairs. None of our statesmen
has ever gone so far as he in advocating
limitation of the rights of belligerents on
the sea. It was on his initiative that the
international naval conference was sum-
moned to London in 1909, and it was
under his guidance that the eminent in-
ternational lawyers and diplomats and
Admirals who gathered there drew up the
Declaration of London.
While there were in that declaration
sections that did not quite meet our ap-
proval and that we should have liked to
amend, the document was from our point
of view a tremendous step in advance.
For although, like any effort to concisely
formulate the broad principles of equity,
it did not wholly succeed in its purpose,
it was at least an honest attempt to
arrive at an agreement on a complete inr-
ternational code of sea law, based upon
mutual consent and not to be altered by
any belligerent in the heat of the conflict.
But the Declaration of London was not
ratified by the British Parliament, for
the point of view prevailing then in
England was that a power dependent
almost wholly upon its navy for protec-
tion could not safely accept further lim-
itations upon action at sea unless there
were compensating limitations on land
powers. And this latter concession Ger-
306
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
many consistently refused to make. This
conference therefore came to nought;
and, the London Declaration having been
rejected by the strongest maritime
power, its indorsement was postponed by
all the other countries involved. Our
motives, however, remained unchanged,
and our Government persisted in its pur-
pose to secure a general ratification
either of this Declaration or of some
similar maritime code.
Principle of Arbitration
There has been in our diplomacy one
more outstanding aspiration. We have
constantly sought to substitute judicial
for military settlement of disputes
between nations.
The genesis of this idea dates from
the discussions over the Federal organ-
izations of our thirteen original States,
which were almost as jealous of their
sovereignties as are the nations of
Europe today. The first great step
toward the League of Honor, which we
hope will at last bring peace to the
world, was taken when our thirteen
States agreed to disarm and submit all
their disputes to the high tribunal of the
new federation.
And this idea of an interstate court,
which except at the time of our civil war
has given this nation internal peace, has
profoundly influenced our foreign policy.
Of our efforts to bring others to our way
of thinking, a historical resume was
presented by our delegates at the First
Hague Conference. A project was sub-
mitted there for the formation of a world
court. And a few years later Mr. Root,
our Secretary of State, in instructing our
delegates to the Second Conference at
The Hague, laid especial emphasis on this
same international ideal.
We have taken a particular pride in
being in the vanguard of this movement
for the peaceable settlement by process
of law of all disputes between nations.
And these efforts have not been without
success. For, although the last few dec-
ades have seen this principle time and
again put under a terrific strain, no
nation has dared to go to war against
the award of a court of arbitration. The
stupendous possibilities that lie in ar-
bitration for solving international prob-
lems, promoting liberal principles, and
safeguarding human life had been amply
demonstrated before the present war
begaji.
But in the discussions at The Hague,
largely through the resistance of the
German Empire and its satellites, the
efforts of our delegates and those of
other Governments to bring about a
general treaty of compulsory arbitra-
tion had failed; and therefore this
nation, having been thwarted in its
attempts to secure a general agreement,
began negotiations with all those nations
which, like our own, preferred the
methods of law and peace, with the pur-
pose of effecting dual arbitration
treaties. And before the end of 1914 we
had signed far-reaching treaties with
thirty nations, twenty of which had been
duly ratified and proclaimed. But in this
work, too, we were made to feel the
same opposition as at The Hague; for,
while Great Britain, France, Russia, and
Italy cordially welcomed our overtures,
the German and Austro-Hungarian Em-
pires were noticeably absent from the
list of those nations who desired, by
specific agreements in advance, to min-
imize the danger of war.
Three Cardinal Doctrines
On the eve of the present conflict our
position toward other nations might have
been summarized under three heads:
I. The Monroe Doctrine. — We had
pledged ourselves to defend the New
World from European aggression, and we
had by word and deed made it clear that
we would not intervene in any European
dispute.
II. The Freedom of the Seas. — In every
naval conference our influence had been
given in support of the principle that sea
law to be just and worthy of general
respect must be based on the consent of
the governed.
III. Arbitration. — As we had secured
peace at home by referring interstate dis-
putes to a Federal tribunal, we urged a
similar settlement of international con-
troversies. Our ideal was a permanent
world court. We had already signed ar-
HOW THE WAR CAME TO AMERICA
307
bitration treaties not only with great
powers which might conceivably attack
us, but even more freely with weaker
neighbors in order to show our good faith
in recognizing the equality of all nations
both great and small. We had made plain
to the nations our purpose to forestall by
every means in our power the recurrence
of wars in the world.
The outbreak of war in 1914 caught
this nation by surprise. The peoples of
Europe had had at least some warnings
of the coming storm, but to us such a
blind, savage onslaught on the ideals of
civilization had appeared impossible.
The war was incomprehensible. Either
side was championed here by millions
living among us who were of European
birth. Their contradictory accusations
threw our thought into disarray, and in
the first chaotic days we could see no
clear issue that affected our national
policy. There was no direct assault on
our rights. It seemed at first to most
of us a purely European dispute, and
our minds were not prepared to take
sides in such a conflict. The President's
proclamation of neutrality was received
by us as natural and inevitable. It was
quickly followed by his appeal to "the
citizens of the Republic."
" Every man who really loves America
will act and speak in the true spirit of
neutrality," he said, " which is the spirit
of impartiality and fairness and friend-
liness to all concerned. * * * It will
be easy to excite passion and difficult to
allay it." He expressed the fear that
our nation might become divided in
camps of hostile opinion. " Such divisions
among us * * * might seriously stand
in the way of the proper performance
of our duty as the one great nation at
peace, the one people holding itself ready
to play a part of impartial mediation
and speak counsels of peace and accom-
modation, not as a partisan, but as a
friend."
This purpose — the preservation of a
strict neutrality in order that later we
might be of use in the great task of
mediation — dominated all the President's
early speeches.
" We are the mediating nation of the
world," he declared in an address on April
20, 1915. "We are compounded of the
nations of the world; we mediate their
blood, we mediate their traditions, we
mediate their sentiments, their tastes,
their passions; we are ourselves com-
pounded of those things. We are, there-
fore, able to understand them in the com-
pound, not separately as partisans, but
unitedly as knowing and comprehending
and embodying them all. It is in that
sense that I mean that America is a
mediating nation."
American neutrality, in those first
months of the great war, was beyond any
question real.
Stirred hy Events in Belgium
But the spirit of neutrality was not
easy to maintain. Public opinion was
deeply stirred by the German invasion of
Belgium and by reports of atrocities
there. The Royal Belgian Commission,
which came in September, 1914, to lay
their country's cause for complaint be-
fore our National Government, was re-
ceived with sympathy and respect. The
President in his reply reserved our deci-
sion in the affair. It was the only course
he could take without an abrupt depar-
ture from our most treasured traditions
of non-interference in Old World disputes.
But the sympathy of America went out to
the Belgians in the heroic tragedy, and
from every section of our land money con-
tributions and supplies of food and cloth-
ing poured over to the Commission for
Relief in Belgium, which was under the
able management of our fellow-country-
men abroad.
Still, the thought of taking an active
part in this European war was very far
from most of our minds. The nation
shared with the President the belief that
by maintaining a strict neutrality we
could best serve Europe at the end as
impartial mediators.
But in the very first days of the war
our Government foresaw that compli-
cations on the seas . might put us in
grave risk of being drawn into the con-
flict. No neutral nation could foretell
what violations of its vital interests at
sea might be attempted by the belli-
gerents. And so, on Aug. 6, 1914, our
Secretary of State dispatched an iden-
308
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
tical note to all the powers then at war,
calling attention to the risk of serious
trouble arising out of this uncertainty
of neutrals as to their maritime rights,
and proposing that the Declaration of
London be accepted by all nations for the
duration of the war.
Controversies With Great Britain
But the British Government's re-
sponse, while expressing sympathy with
the purpose of our suggestion and de-
claring their " keen desire to consult so
far as possible the interests of neutral
countries," announced their decision " to
adopt generally the rules of the Declara-
tion in question, subject to certain modi-
fications and additions which they judge
indispensable to the efficient conduct of
their naval operations." The Declara-
tion had not been indorsed by any power
in time of peace, and there was no legal
obligation on Great Britain to accept
it. Her reply, however, was disappoint-
ing, for it did nothing to clarify the situ-
ation. Great Britain recognized as bind-
ing certain long-accepted principles of
international law and sought now to ap-
ply them to the peculiar and unforeseen
conditions of this war. But these prin-
ciples were often vague and therefore
full of dangerous possibilities of friction.
Controversies soon arose between
Great Britain and this nation. In prac-
tice their ruling sometimes seemed to
our Government inconsistent with the
spirit of international law, and especially
with the established precedents which
they invoked. But, painful as this diver-
gency of opinion sometimes was, it did
not seriously threaten our position of
neutrality, for the issues that arose in-
volved only rights of property and were
amply covered by the arbitration treaty
signed only a short time before by Great
Britain and the United States.
And this controversy led to a clearer
understanding on our part of the British
attitude toward our ideal of the freedom
of the seas. They were not willing to
accept our classification of the seas as
being distinct from the Old World. We
had confined our interest to matters
affecting rights at sea and had kept
carefully aloof from issues affecting the
interests of European nations on land.
The British were interested in both. They
explained that they had participated in
the London naval conference in the hope
that it would lead to a sound and liberal
entente in the interest of the rights of
all nations on the sea and on the land
as well, and that they had refused to
ratify the London Declaration because
no compensating accord on the Continent
had resulted. They could not afford to
decrease the striking power of their navy
unless their powerful neighbors on land
agreed to decrease their armies.
America's Changed Attitude
That this attitude of England deeply
impressed our Government is shown by
the increasing attention given by the
United States to the search for ways and
means of insuring at the end of the war
a lasting peace for all the world. The
address of our President, on May 27,
1916, before the League to Enforce
Peace was a milestone in our history.
He outlined the main principles on
which a stable peace must rest, principles
plainly indicating that this nation would
have to give up its position of isolation
and assume the responsibilities of a
world power. The President said:
So sincerely do we believe these things
that I am sure that I speak the mind and
wish of the people of America when I say
that the United States is willing to become
a partner in any feasible association of na-
tions formed in order to realize these ob-
jects and make them secure against violation.
It was a new and significant note in
our foreign policy. But the mind of
America had learned much in the long,
bitter months of war. Future historians
will make charts of this remarkable evo-
lution in our public opinion : the gradual
abandonment of the illusion of isolation;
the slow growth of a realization that we
could not win freedom on sea — for us a
vital interest — unless we consented to do
our share in maintaining freedom on
land as well, and that we could not have
peace in the world — the peace we loved
and needed for the perfection of our de-
mocracy— unless we were willing and
prepared to help to restrain any nation
that willfully endangered the peace of
the whole world family.
HOW THE WAR CAME TO AMERICA
309
Had this address of the President come
before the war there would have arisen
a storm of protest from all sections of
the land. But in May, 1916, the nation's
response was emphatic approval.
No Treaty with Germany
In the meantime, although our neutral
rights were not brought into question by
Germany as early as by England, the
German controversy was infinitely more
serious.
For any dissension that might arise
no arbitration treaty existed between the
United States and the German Govern-
ment. This was from no fault of ours.
We had tried to establish with Germany
the same treaty relations we had with
Great Britain and nineteen other nations.
But these overtures had been rejected.
And this action on the part of the Im-
perial German Government was only one
example of its whole system of diplo-
macy. In both conferences at The Hague
it had been the German delegates who
Were the most active in blocking all proj-
ects for the pacific settlement of dis-
putes between nations.
They had preferred to limit inter-
national relations to the old modes of
diplomacy and war. It was therefore
obvious from the first that any contro-
versy with the German Government
would be exceedingly serious; for if it
could not be solved by direct diplomatic
conversations, there was no recourse ex-
cept to war.
From such conversations there is small
hope of satisfactory results unless the
good faith of both sides is profound. If
either side lacks good faith, or reveals in
all its actions an insidious hostility, diplo-
macy is of no avail. And so it has proved
in the present case.
In the first year of the "war the Gov-
ernment of Germany stirred up among its
people a feeling of resentment against
the United States on account of our
insistence upon our right as a neutral
nation to trade in munitions with the
belligerent powers. Our legal right in the
matter was not seriously questioned by
Germany. She could not have done so
consistently, for as recently as the Balkan
wars of 1912 and 1913 both Germany and
Austria sold munitions to the belligerents.
Their appeals to us in the present
war were not to observe international
law, but to revise it in their interest.
And these appeals they tried to make
on moral and humanitarian grounds. But
upon " the moral issue " involved, the
stand taken by the United States was
consistent with its traditional policy and
with obvious common sense.
Our Defense at StaJ^e
For, if, with all other neutrals, we re-
fused to sell munitions to belligerents,
we could never in time of a war of our
own obtain munitions from neutrals, and
the nation which had accumulated the
largest reserves of war supplies in time
of peace would be assured of victory.
The militarist State that invested its
money in arsenals would be at a fatal
advantage over the free people who in-
vested their wealth in schools. To write
into international law that neutrals
should not trade in munitions would be
to hand over the world to the rule of the
nation with the largest armament fac-
tories. Such a policy the United States
of America could not accept.
But our principal controversy with the
German Government, and the one which
rendered the situation at once acute, rose
out of their announcement of a sea zone
where their submarines would operate in
violation of all accepted principles of in-
ternational law. Our indignation at such
a threat was soon rendered passionate by
the sinking of the Lusitania. This at-
tack upon our rights was not only
grossly illegal; it defied the fundamental
concepts of humanity.
Aggravating restraints on our trade
were grievances which could be settled
by litigation after the war, but the
wanton murder of peaceable men and of
innocent women and children, citizens of
a nation with which Germany was at
peace, was a crime against the civilized
world which could never be settled in
any court.
Our Government, however, inspired
still by a desire to preserve peace if
possible, used every resource of di-
plomacy to force the German Govern-
ment to abandon such attacks. This diplo-
310
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
matic correspondence, which has already-
been published, proves beyond doubt that
our Government sought by every honor-
able means to preserve faith in that
mutual sincerity between nations which
is the only basis of sound diplomatic in-
terchange.
But evidence of the bad faith of the
Imperial German Government soon piled
up on every hand. Honest efforts on
our part to establish a firm basis of
good neighborliness with the German
people were met by their Government
with quibbles, misrepresentations, and
counteraccusations against their enemies
abroad.
Work of Hostile Spies
And meanwhile in this country official
agents of the Central Powers — protected
from criminal prosecution by diplomatic
immunity — conspired against our internal
peace and placed spies and agents
provocateurs throughout the length and
breadth of our land, and even in high
positions of trust in departments of our
Government.
While expressing a cordial friendship
for the people of the United States, the
Government of Germany had its agents
at work both in Latin America and
Japan. They bought or subsidized
papers and supported speakers there to
rouse feelings of bitterness and distrust
against us in those friendly nations, in
order to embroil us in war. They were
inciting to insurrection in Cuba, in Haiti,
and in Santo Domingo; their hostile hand
was stretched out to take the Danish Isl-
ands; and everywhere in South America
they were abroad sowing the seeds of dis-
sension, trying to stir up one nation
against another and all against the
United States.
In their sum these various operations
amounted to direct assault upon the Mon-
roe Doctrine. And even if we had given
up our right to travel on the sea, even
if we had surrendered to German threats
and abandoned our legitimate trade in
munitions, the German offensive in the
New World, in our own land and among
our neighbors, was becoming too serious
to be ignored.
So long as it was possible, the Govern-
ment of the United States tried to be-
lieve that such activities, the evidence of
which was already in a large measure at
hand, were the work of irresponsible and
misguided individuals. It was only re-
luctantly, in the face of overwhelming
proof, that the recall of the Austro-Hun-
garian Ambassador and of the German
Military and Naval Attaches was de-
manded.
tVoof of their criminal violations of our
hospitality was presented to their Gov-
ernments. But these Governments in re-
ply offered no apologies nor did they issue
reprimands. It became clear that such
intrigue was their settled policy.
In the meantime the attacks of the
German submarines upon the lives and
property of American citizens had gone
on; the protests of our Government were
now sharp and ominous, and this nation
was rapidly being drawn into a state
of war.
Warnings Given by President
As the President said in Topeka, on
Feb. 2, 1916:
"We are not going to invade any nation's
right. But suppose, my fellow-countrymen,
some nation should invade our rights. What
then? * * * I have come here to tell you
that the difficulties of our foreign policy
* * * daily increase in number and in*
tricacy and in danger; and I would be
derelict to my duty to you if I did not
deal with you in these matters with the
utmost candor, and tell you what it may be
necessary to use the force of the United States
to do.
The next day, at St. Louis, he repeated
his warning:
The danger is not from within, gentlemen,
it is from without ; and I am bound to tell
you that that danger is constant and imme-.
diate— not because anything new has hap-
pened, not because there has been any
change in our international relationships
within recent weeks or months, but because
the danger comes with every turn of events.
The break would have come sooner if
our Government had not been restrained
by the hope that saner counsels might
still prevail in Germany. For it was
well known to us that the German
people had to a very large extent been
kept in ignorance of many of the secret
crimes of their Government against us.
And the presence of a faction of Ger-
man public opinion less hostile to this
HOW THE WAR CAME TO AMERICA
311
country was shown when their Govern-
ment acquiesced to some degree in our
demands at the time of the Sussex out-
rage, and for nearly a year maintained
at least a pretense of observing the
pledge they had made to us. The tension
was abated.
While the war spirit was growing in
some sections of our nation, there was
still no widespread desire to take part
in the conflict abroad; for the tradition
of non-interference in Europe's political
affairs was too deeply rooted in our na-
tional life to be easily overthrown.
Moreover, two other considerations
strengthened our Government in its ef-
forts to remain neutral in this war. The
first was our traditional sense of re-
sponsibility toward all the republics of
the New World. Throughout the crisis
our Government was in constant com-
munication with the countries of Central
and South America.
, They, too, preferred the ways of peace.
And there was a very obvious obligation
upon us to safeguard their interests with
our own.
The second consideration, which had
been so often developed in the President's
speeches, was the hope that by keeping
aloof from the bitter passions abroad, by
preserving untroubled here the holy ideals
of civilized intercourse between nations,
we might be free at the end of this war
to bind up the wounds of the conflict, to
be the restorers and rebuilders of the
wrecked structure of the world.
Neutrality Becomes Unsafe
All these motives held us back, but it
was not long until we were beset by fur-
ther complications. We soon had reason
to believe that the recent compliance of
the German Government had not been
made to us in good faith, and was only
temporary, and by the end of 1916 it was
plain that our neutral status had again
been made unsafe through the ever-in-
creasing aggressiveness of the German
autocracy. There was a general agree-
ment here with the statement of our
President on Oct. 26, 1916, that this con-
flict was the last great war involving the
world in which we would remain neutral.
It was in this frame of mind, fearing
we might be drawn into the war if it did
not soon come to an end, that the Presi-
dent began the preparation of his note,
asking the belligerent powers to define
their war aims. But before he had com-
pleted it the world was surprised by the
peace move of the German Government —
an identical note on behalf of the Ger-
man Empire, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria,
and Turkey, sent through neutral powers
on Dec. 12, 1916, to the Governments of
the Allies, proposing negotiations for
peace.
While expressing the wish to end this
war — " a- catastrophe which thousands of
years of common civilization was unable
to prevent and which injures the most
precious achievements of humanity " —
the greater portion of the note was
couched in terms that gave small hope of
a lasting peace.
Boasting of German conquests, "the
glorious deeds of our armies," the note
implanted in neutral minds the belief
that it was the purpose of the Imperial
German Government to insist upon such
conditions as would leave all Central
Europe under German dominance and so
build up an empire which would menace
the whole liberal world.
Moreover, the German proposal was
accompanied by a thinly veiled threat to
all neutral nations; and from a thousand
sources, official and unofficial, the word
came to Washington that unless the neu-
trals used their influence to bring the
war to an end on terms dictated from
Berlin, Germany and her allies would
consider themselves henceforth free from
any obligations to respect the rights of
neutrals.
The Kaiser ordered the neutrals to
exert pressure on the Entente to bring
the war to an abrupt end, or to beware of
the consequences. Clear warnings were
brought to our Government that if the
German peace move should not be suc-
cessful, the submarines would be un-
leashed for a more intense and ruthless
war upon all commerce.
On the 18th of December the President
dispatched his note to all the belligerent
powers, asking them to define their war
aims. There was still hope in our minds
that the mutual suspicions between the
warring powers might be decreased, and
312
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
the menace of future German aggression
and dominance be removed, by finding a
guaranty of good faith in a league of
nations.
There was a chance that by the crea-
tion of such a league as part of the peace
negotiations the war could now be
brought to an end before our nation was
involved. Two statements issued to the
press by our Secretary of State, upon
the day the note was dispatched, threw a
clear light on the seriousness with which
our Government viewed the crisis.
German Reply Evasive
From this point, events moved rapidly.
The powers of the Entente replied to the
German peace note. Neutral nations
took action on the note of the President,
and from both belligerents replies to this
note were soon in our hands.
The German reply was evasive — in ac-
cord with their traditional preference for
diplomacy behind closed doors. Refusing
to state to the world their terms, Ger-
many and her allies merely proposed a
conference. They adjourned all discus-
sion of any plan for a league of peace
until after hostilities should end.
The response of the Entente Powers
was frank and in harmony with our prin-
cipal purpose. Many questions raised in
the statement of their aims were so pure-
ly European in character as to have small
interest for us; but our great concern
in Furope was the lasting restoration of
pe? je, and it was clear that this was also
tr ; chief interest of the Entente nations.
As to the wisdom of some of the meas-
ures they proposed toward this end, we
might differ in opinion, but the trend of
their proposals was the establishment of
just frontiers based on the rights of all
nations, the small as well as the great, to
decide their own destinies.
The aims of the belligerents were now
becoming clear. From the outbreak of
hostilities the German Government had
claimed that it was fighting a war of
defense. But the tone of its recent pro-
posals had been that of a conqueror. It
sought a peace based on victory.
The Central Empires aspired to extend
their domination over other races. They
were willing to make liberal terms to
any one of their enemies, in a separate
peace which would free their hands to
crush other opponents. But they were
not willing to accept any peace which
did not, all fronts considered, leave them
victors and the dominating imperial
power of Europe.
The war aims of the Entente showed a
determination to thwart this ambition of
the Imperial German Government.
Against the German peace to further
German growth and aggression the
Entente Powers offered a plan for a
European peace that should make the
whole Continent secure.
Blow at German Domination
At this juncture the President read his
address to the Senate, on Jan. 22,
1917, in which he outlined the kind of
peace the United States of America
could join in guaranteeing. His words
were addressed not only to the Senate
and this nation, but to people of all
countries:
May I not add that I hope and believe that
I am in effect speaking for liberals and
friends of humanity in every nation and of
every program of liberty? I would fain be-
lieve that I am speaking for the silent mass
of mankind everywhere who have as yet had
no place or opportunity to speak their real
hearts out concerning the death and ruin
they see to have come already upon the per-
sons and the homes they hold most dear.
The address was a rebuke to those
who still cherished dreams of a world
dominated by one nation. For the peace
he outlined was not that of a victorious
Emperor, it was not the peace of Caesar.
It was in behalf of all the world, and it
was a peace of the people:
No peace can last, or ought to last, which
does not recognize and accept the principle
that Governments derive all their just powers
from the consent of the governed, and that
no right anywhere exists to hand people
about from sovereignty to sovereignty as if
they were property.
I am proposing, as it were, that the nations
should with one accord adopt the doctrine
of President Monroe as the doctrine of the
world ; that no nation should seek to extend
its policy over any other nation or people,
but that every people should be left free to
determine its own polity, its own way of
development, unhindered, unthreatened, un-
afraid, the little along with the great and
powerful.
I am proposing that all nations henceforth
avoid entangling alliances which would draw,
them into competitions of power, catch them
HOW THE WAR CAME TO AMERICA
313
in a net of intrigue and selfish rivalry and
disturb their own affairs with influences in-
truded from without. There is no entangling
alliance in a concert of power. When all
unite to act in the same sense and with
the same purpose, all act in the common in-
terest and are free to live their own lives
under a common protection.
I am proposing government by the consent
of the governed ; that freedom of the seas
which in international conference after con-
ference representatives of the United States
have urged with the eloquence of those who
are convinced disciples of liberty,- and that
moderation of armaments which makes of
armies and navies a power for order merely,
not an instrument of aggression or of selfish
violence.
And the paths of the sea must, alike in
Law and in fact, be free. The freedom of the
seas is the sine qua non of peace, equality,
and co-operation.
It is a problem closely connected with
the limitation of naval armament and the
co-operation of the navies of the world in
keeping the seas at once free and safe. And
the question of limiting naval armaments
opens the wider and perhaps more difficult
question of the limitation of armies and of
all programs of military preparation. * * *
There can be no sense of safety and equality
among the nations if great preponderating
armaments are henceforth to continue here
and there to be built up and maintained.
Mere agreements may not make peace se-
cure. It will be absolutely necessary that
a force be created as a guarantor of the
permanency of the settlement so much greater
than the force of any nation now engaged
or any alliance hitherto formed or projected
that no nation, no probable combination of
nations, could face or withstand it. If the
peace presently to be made is to endure, it
must be a peace made secure by the or-
ganized major force of mankind.
The Issue Becomes Clearer
If there were any doubt in our minds
as to which of the great alliances was the
more in sympathy with these ideals, it
was removed by the popular response
abroad to this address of the President.
For, while exception was taken to some
parts of it in Britain and France, it was
plain that so far as the peoples of the
Entente were concerned the President had
been amply justified in stating that he
spoke for all forward-looking, liberal-
minded men and women. It was not so
in Germany. The people there who could
be reached, and whose hearts were stirred
by this enunciation of the principles of a
people's peace, were too few or too op-
pressed to make their voices heard in the
councils of their nation. Already, on Jan.
16, 1917, unknown to the people of Ger-
many, Herr Zimmermann, their Secre-
tary of Foreign Affairs, had secretly dis-
patched a note to their Minister in Mex-
ico, informing him of the German inten-
tion to repudiate the' Sussex pledge and
instructing him to offer to the Mexican
Government New Mexico and Arizona if
Mexico would join with Japan in attack-
ing the United States.
In the new year of 1917, as through
our acceptance of world responsibilities
so plainly indicated in the President's ut-
terances in regard to a league of na-
tions we felt ourselves now drawing
nearer to a full accord with the Powers
of the Entente; and, as on the other
hand, we found ourselves more and more
outraged at the German Government's
methods of conducting warfare and their
brutal treatment of people in their con-
quered lands; as we more and more un-
covered their hostile intrigues against
the peace of the New World; and, above
all, as the sinister and anti-democratic
ideals of their ruling class became mani-
fest in their manoeuvres for a peace of
conquest — the Imperial German Govern-
ment abruptly threw aside the mask.
Unlimited Submarine Warfare
On the last day of January, 1917,
Count Bernstorff handed to Mr. Lansing
a note, in which his Government an-
nounced its purpose to intensify and ren-
der more ruthless the operations of their
submarines at sea, in a manner against
which our Government had protested
from the beginning. The German Chan-
cellor also stated before the Imperial
Diet that the reason this ruthless pol-
icy had not been earlier employed was
simply because the Imperial Government
had not then been ready to act. In
brief, under the guise of friendship and
the cloak of false promises, it had been
preparing this attack.
This was the direct challenge. There
was no possible answer except to hand
their Ambassador his passports and so
have done with a diplomatic correspon-
dence which had been vitiated from the
start by the often proved bad faith of
the Imperial Government.
On the same day, Feb. 3, 1917, the
314
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
President addressed both houses of our
Congress and announced the complete
severance of our relations with Ger-
many. The reluctance with which he
took this step was evident in every word.
But diplomacy had failed, and it would
have been the hollowest pretense to
maintain relations. At the same time,
however, he made it plain that he did
not regard this act as tantamount to a
declaration of war. Here for the first
time the President made his sharp dis-
tinction between government and people
in undemocratic lands:
" We are the sincere friends of the
German people," he said, " and earnestly
desire to remain at peace with the
Government which speaks for them.
* * * God grant we may not be chal-
lenged by acts of willful injustice on the
part of the Government of Germany."
In this address of the President, and
in its indorsement by the Senate, there
was a solemn warning; for we still had
hope that the German Government might
hesitate to drive us to war. But it was
soon evident that our warning had fallen
on deaf ears. The tortuous ways and
means of German official diplomacy were
clearly shown in the negotiations opened
by them through the Swiss Legation on
the 10th of February. In no word of
their proposals did the German Govern-
ment meet the real issue between us.
And our State Department replied that
no minor negotiations could be enter-
tained until the main issue had been met
by the withdrawal of the submarine
order.
The Armed Neutrality Phase
By the 1st of March it had become
plain that the Imperial Government, un-
restrained by the warning in the Presi-
dent's address to Congress on Feb. 3, was
determined to make good its threat. The
President then again appeared before
Congress to report the development of
the crisis and to ask the approval of the
representatives of the nation for the
course of armed neutrality upon which,
under his constitutional authority, he had
now determined. More than 500 of the
531 members of the two houses of Con-
gress showed themselves ready and anx-
ious to act; and the armed neutrality
declaration would have been accepted if
it had not been for the legal death of the
Sixty-fourth Congress on March 4.
No " overt " act, however, was ordered
by our Government until Count Bern-
storff had reached Berlin and Mr. Gerard
was in Washington. For the German
Ambassador on his departure had
begged that no irrevocable decision
should be taken until he had had the
chance to make one final plea for peace
to his sovereign. We do not know the
nature of his report to the Kaiser; we
know only that, even if he kept his
pledge and urged an eleventh-hour rev-
ocation of the submarine order, he was
unable to sway the policy of the Im-
perial Government.
And so, having exhausted every re-
source of patience, our Government on
the 12th of March finally issued orders
to place armed guards on our merchant
ships.
American Aloofness Ended
With the definite break in diplomatic
relations there vanished the last vestige
of cordiality toward the Government of
Germany. Our attitude was now to
change. So long as we had maintained a
strict neutrality in the war, for the
reason that circumstances might arise in
which Europe would have need of an
impartial mediator, for us to have given
official heed to the accusations of either
party would have been to prejudge the
case before all the evidence was in.
But now at last, with the breaking of
friendly relations with the German Gov-
ernment, we were relieved of the op-
pressive duty of endeavoring to maintain
a judicial detachment from the rights
and wrongs involved in the war. We were
no longer the outside observers striving
to hold an even balance of judgment be-
tween disputants. One party by direct
attack upon our rights and liberties was
forcing us into the conflict. And, much
as we had hoped to keep out of the fray,
it was no little relief to be free at last
from that reserve which is expected of a
judge.
Much evidence had been presented to
us of things so abhorrent to our ideas of
HOW THE WAR CAME TO AMERICA
315
humanity that they had seemed incredi-
ble, things we had been loath to believe,
and with heavy hearts we had sought to
reserve our judgment. But with the
breaking of relations with the Govern-
ment of Germany that duty at last was
ended. The perfidy of that Government
in its dealings with this nation relieved
us of the necessity of striving to give
them the benefit of the doubt in regard
to their crimes abroad. The Government
which under cover of profuse professions
of friendship had tried to embroil us in
war with Mexico and Japan could not ex-
pect us to believe in its good faith in
other matters. The men whose paid
agents dynamited our factories here were
capable of the infamies reported against
them over the sea. Their Government's
protestations, that their purpose was self-
defense and the freeing of small nations,
fell like a house of cards before the reve-
lation of their " peace terms."
And judging the German Government
now in the light of our own experience
through the long and patient years of our
honest attempt to keep the peace, we
could see the great autocracy and read
her record through the war. And we
found that record damnable.. Beginning
long before the war in Prussian opposi-
tion to every effort that was made by
other nations and our own to do away
with warfare, the story of the autocracy
has been one of vast preparations for war
combined with an attitude of arrogant
intolerance toward all other points of
view, all other systems of governments,
all other hopes and dreams of men.
Germany's Criminal Record
With a fanatical faith in the destiny
of German Kultur as the system that
must rule the world, the Imperial Gov-
ernment's actions have through years of
boasting, double dealing, and deceit
tended toward aggression upon the rights
of others. And, if there still be any doubt
as to which nation began this war, there
can be no uncertainty as to which one
was most prepared, most exultant at the
chance, and ready instantly to march
upon other nations — even those who had
given no offense.
The wholesale depredations and hideous
atrocities in Belgium and in Serbia were
doubtless part and parcel with the Im-
perial Government's purpose to terrorize
small nations into abject submission for
generations to come. But in this the
autocracy has been blind. For its record
in those countries, and in Poland and in
Northern France, has given not only to
the Allies but to liberal peoples through-
out the world the conviction that this
menace to human liberties everywhere
must be utterly shorn of its power for
harm.
For the evil it has effected has ranged
far out of Europe — out upon the open
seas, where its submarines in defiance of
law and the concepts of humanity have
blown up neutral vessels and covered the-
waves with the dead and the dying, men
and women and children alike. Its agents
have conspired against the peace of neu-
tral nations everywhere, sowing the seeds
of dissension, ceaselessly endeavoring by
tortuous methods of deceit, of bribery,
false promises, and intimidation to stir
up brother nations one against the other,
in order that the liberal world might not
be able to unite, in order that the autoc-
racy might emerge triumphant from the
war.
All this we know from our own ex-
perience with the Imperial Government.
As they have dealt with Europe, so they
have dealt with us and with all man-
kind. And so out of these years the
conviction has grown that until the Ger-
man Nation is divested of such rulers de-
mocracy cannot be safe.
Russia Removes the Last Doubt
There remained but one element to
confuse the issue. One other great au-
tocracy, the Government of the Russian
Czar, had long been hostile to free insti-
tutions; it had been a stronghold of tyr-
ranies reaching far back into the past,
and Jts presence among the Allies had
seemed to be in disaccord with the great
liberal principles they were upholding in
this war. Russia had been a source of
doubt. Repeatedly during the conflict
liberal Europe had been startled by the
news of secret accord between the Kaiser
and the Czar.
But now at this crucial time for our
316
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
nation, on the eve of our entrance into
the war, the free men of all the world
were thrilled and heartened by the news
that the people of Russia had risen to
throw off their Government and found
a new democracy; and the torch of free-
dom in Russia lit up the last dark phases
of the situation abroad. Here, indeed,
was a fit partner for the League of
Honor. The conviction was finally
crystallized in American minds and
hearts that this war across the sea was
no mere conflict between dynasties, but
a stupendous civil war of all the world;
a new campaign in the age-old war, the
prize of which is liberty. Here, at last,
was a struggle in which all who love
freedom have a stake. Further neutral-
ity on our part would have been a crime
against our ancestors, who had given
their lives that we might be free.
" The world must be made safe for
democracy."
State of War Declared
On the 2d of April, 1917, the President
read to the new Congress his message, in
which he asked the Representatives of
the nation to declare the existence of a
state of war, and in the early hours of
the 6th of April the House by an over-
whelming vote accepted the joint reso-
lution which had already passed the Sen-
ate:
Whereas, The Imperial German Government
has committed repeated acts of war against
the Government and the people of the United
States of America: Therefore be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of
Representatives of the United States of
America in Congress assembled, That the
state of war between the United States and
the Imperial German Government whi~h has
thus been thrust upon the United States is
hereby formally declared ; and that the Presi-
dent be, and he is hereby, authorized and
directed to employ the entire naval and
military forces of the United States and
the resources, of the Government to carry
on the war against the Imperial Ger-
man Government, and to bring the conflict
to a successful termination all the resources
of the country are hereby pledged by the
Congress of the United States.
Neutrality was a thing of the past.
The time had come when the President's
proud prophecy was fulfilled:'
There will come that day when the world
will say, " This America that we thought
was full of a multitude of contrary counsels
now speaks with the great volume of the
heart's accord, and that great heart of
America has behind it the supreme moral
force of righteousness and hope and the
liberty of mankind.
To the United States of America
By ROBERT BRIDGES
British Poet Laureate
Brothers in blood! They who this wrong began
To wreck our commonwealth, will rue the day
When first they challenged freemen to the fray,
And with the Briton dared the American.
Now are we pledged to win the Rights of man ;
Labor and Justice now shall have their way,
And in a League of Peace — God grant we may-
Transform the earth, not patch up the old plan.
Sure is our hope since he who led your nation
Spoke for mankind, and ye arose in awe
Of that high call to work the world's salvation ;
Clearing your minds of all estranging blindness
In the vision of Beauty and the Spirit's law,
Freedom and Honor and sweet Loving kindness.
April 30, 1917.
Chief Secretary for Ireland, Who Has Been Recommended
by the British Government as Chairman of the Conven-
tion Called to Settle the Question of Irish Home Rule.
(Photo American Press Association)
iiiiiiiiiuiin •••••■•
if
m^^^^L—
CANADIAN LEADERS IN THE WAR
SIR ROBERT BORDEN
Premier and Leader in the
Fight for Conscription.
(Photo Campbell Studios.)
SIR WILFRID LAURIER
Ex-Premier and Chief Op-
ponent of Cbnscription.
W. J. HANNA
'f\ Recently Appointed Food
Controller.
(Photo Press Illustrating Service.)
SIR ARTHUR CURRIE
Commander in Chief of the
Canadian Corps in France.
(Photo Preaa Illustrating Service. )
■J^^M'^M
Why We Entered the Great War
Address by William Howard Taft
Former President of the United States
[Delivered at the 121st Commencement Efccercises of Union College, Schenectady,
N. Y., June 13, 1917]
Mr. Taft first summarized the attacks
on our shipping and the plots thai led up
to our entry into the war, and then con-
tinued:
NOW, was there any other alterna-
tive for us than to declare war ?
I would like to begin with the
fundamentals. That depends
upon what in fact and in law the act
of Germany was. What was the law?
It is what is called international law;
that is, a rule of conduct adopted by the
acquiescence of all nations, of one nation
toward another, both in peace and in
war. The branch of international law
in which we are concerned here is per-
haps the most definitely fixed of any
branch of that jurisprudence, which in
some respects is indefinite. It is the
branch that governs the capture of com-
mercial vessels at sea. For a hundred
years there haa been very little doubt
about the rules that control that field
of jurisprudence. During the Napoleonic
wars a great many commercial vessels
were captured and in the procedure in-
stituted they had to be brought into the
domestic courts of prize where these
rules were laid down. At the same time
on our own side of the ocean our Su-
preme Court settled many of the cases.
In our civil war, in the war between
France and Germany, similar conditions
were made. So that when we speak of
that law we are speaking of a law that
has some similitude to our domestic law.
In the first place, a belligerent — one
of those engaged in war upon the high
seas — may seize a commercial vessel of
its enemy, may confiscate the vessel and
its cargo, and, if necessity requires, may
sink or burn it. The second is that a
neutral vessel may be seized by a bel-
ligerent vessel upon the high seas and
examined to see whether that neutral
vessel is carrying contraband to the
enemy of the captor, and if so, the con-
traband may be confiscated. Third, a
belligerent vessel may blockade a port
of its enemy. It must blockade it with
visible vessels and a knowledge to the
world that a blockade exists. Even if a
neutral vessel enter this blockade it may
be seized by the belligerent and the
cargo confiscated.
These are the three rules that cover
the whole field of capture of commercial
vessels. But accompanying these rules
is the limitation that in taking a com-
mercial vessel which makes no response
when hailed, which does not attempt to
escape under the circumstances I have
described, it is the bounden duty of the
captor to see to it that the officers, the
crew, and the passengers, all of the
ship's company, shall be put in a safe
place. The captor may, as I say, sink
or burn the vessel at the time or it
may take it into port and have it' ad-
judged a prize, but in either case the
captor is bound to secure the lives of
those who are upon that commercial
vessel.
Deliberate Violations
. Germany has violated that rule. It has
deliberately caused the death of men,
women and children on the high seas,
under the American flag, and where they
had a right to be. Killing against the
law with deliberation is murder, and
Germany has been guilty of murder of
200 of our fellow-citizens, innocent of
any offense, national or international.
Now, what is our duty under these
circumstances? The Constitution of the
United States is interpreted by the
Supreme Court to say the duty of the
citizens of the United States is to render
allegiance, to do service, to pay taxes,
and support the Government, and the
corresponding duty of the United States
318
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
as a Government is to protect the rights
of citizens of the United States at home
and abroad. Because one citizen of the
United States puts himself under the
lawful jurisdiction of another country,
the absolute right of protection is quali-
fied by his voluntary submission to an-
other jurisdiction. The necessity for
protection is not entirely taken away,
but it is qualified. When a man is on an
American deck and under the American
flag, a citizen of the United States, he is
as much entitled to protection from the
unlawful invasion of a foreign power as
if he stood on the soil of the United
States.
In view, therefore, of the murder of
these 200 citizens and of the announce-
ment of a policy to continue these mur-
ders, what alternative was there left
open other than a declaration of war
to the United States? Suppose this had
been Guatemala which had sunk one of
our vessels and had sent ten of our
sailors to the bottom? How many hours
do you think it would be before the
President and the Secretary of the Navy
would send a battleship down to Guate-
mala and be thundering at the ports of
that republic and demanding restitution,
demanding a promise of conduct here-
after, demanding damages for what had
been done, and on failure to answer
promptly, to begin a bombardment ? Even
pacifists would have justified that.
Difficult Situations
Now, what is the difference between
that situation and this? None? Yes.
A very great difference. The nation that
has done this is the greatest military na-
tion in the world. It is a nation with,
which, if we engage, we are likely to lose,
it may be, a million men, and all that to
resent the sacrifice of only 200 souls.
That, it is said, is a trivial discrepancy.
Is it? It is if you look at it from a
grossly material and mathematical
standpoint, but it is not if you under-
stand what it means to consent to the
murder of 200 of our citizens because
there is a powerful nation you have to
meet and overcome in order to vindicate
the rights of our citizens. It means sub-
mission to the domination of another
power; it means giving up the independ-
ence for which we fought in 1776 and
which we made sacrifices to maintain in
1861.
There was great criticism of the Ad-
ministration because we did not immedi-
ately act as we now have acted. I am
not going into the pros and cons of that
discussion. It suffices to say that the
self-restraint, the deliberation, the toler-
ance, if you choose, which characterized
that policy, has had this great and good
effect. It has shown to the world, and it
has shown to our people that in entering
this war we have done it with the ut-
most reluctance, and in entering the
war we are entirely void of offense.
It has shown that we have been forced
in and that the situation has been such
that no self-respecting nation, no nation
which appreciates what a government is
formed for, could avoid doing what we
are doing when the rights of our citizens,
the preservation of which is the chief
object of government, have been defiantly
violated by a power that rests for its
right upon might.
Wh We Are in War
That is why we are in. There are many
of us who think, " for my country, right
or wrong; may she always be right, but
always for my country." I do not care to
discuss that philosophy, but I do think it
important we should realize and take it
home to our souls we do not need that
kind of philosophy in fighting out the
fight we are to fight now. In 1776 we
were fighting for our own independence
and the development of our future. In
1861 we tried to eliminate that living lie
in the Declaration of Independence, which
declared that " all men are born free and
equal." It took us four years of a terri-
ble struggle to demonstrate to the world
what had been doubted. We demonstrat-
ed to the world that we could make sac-
rifices of lives and treasure for the main-
tenance of a moral principle and the in-
tegrity of the nation. We showed in the
words of Lincoln, that " the rule of the
people should not perish from the earth."
And then we went on. and increased
from 30,000,000 to 100,000,000 people,
and we created a material expansion
WHY WE ENTERED THE GREAT WAR
319
which has given us greater wealth thanu
any other country. We have had com-
fort and luxury. Now the question was
when this issue came on whether in that
change from 30,000,000 to 100,000,000,
from comparative wealth to great wealth,
we had lost the moral spirit we had be-
fore shown, we had become so enervated
by our success that we felt it was not
wise to risk the lives of those dear to us,
to risk the destruction that war must
bring in order to assert our rights. Now
we have stepped to the forefront of na-
tions, and they look to us.
Before we came into this fight Russia
had become a democracy, and we find
ourselves fighting shoulder to shoulder
with the democracies of the world. We
find arrayed against us* the military dy-
nasties of the world, Germany, Austria,
and Turkey. Of course, people say Eng-
land has a King; so has Italy and other
countries that are fighting on our side.
A democracy is a country ruled by the
people. The King of England and the
King of Italy haven't any more influence
over the policies of their country than an
ex-President.
Form Not Our Business
The issue at present is drawn between
the democracies of the world and the
military dynasties, and people like to
characterize that as the issue. It is and
it isn't. What I mean by that is: The
United States is not a knight-errant
country going about to independent peo-
ple and saying, " We do not like your
form of government, we have tried our
own popular government and we think it
is better for you to take it, and you have
got to take it." That is a very unrea-
sonable position, in so far as that form of
government deals with only their domes-
tic pursuits and their domestic happiness.
If they like to have a Czar, if they prefer
it, why, it isn't for us to take away their
freedom of will. Otherwise we shall go
back to the logic of the Inquisition, when
they burned people in this world so that
they might not burn in the next.
But when their form of government in-
volves a policy which does not confine its
opinions to the people who make the gov-
ernment or support it, but becomes a
visible policy against the welfare and
happiness of the rest of the world fam-
ily, we have a right and a duty, standing
with other nations as we do, to see to it
that such a foreign policy is stopped and
stamped out forever.
I will not minimize or confuse. Ger-
many is not exhausted. That machine
which it has been creating for fifty years
is a wonderful machine. * * * It did
not interfere with Austria until Austria
showed some signs of coming into a con-
ference, and then it said to Austria,
" This is the time to strike." It had been
creating this force for fifty years, and
now seemed the time to make it most ef-
fective. * * *
This militarism is a cancer which must
be cut out by a surgical operation. It
shows its malignant character in the ut-
ter disregard of the rules of war. It
shows itself in the violation of Belgium,
in the policy of frightfulness in order to
subjugate Belgium; in the violation of
The Hague treaties, which forbid the
dropping of explosives out of aerial craft,
the planting of mines, the use of asphyx-
iating gases and flames, all spread out in
The Hague treaties, and all violated
promptly by this German military ma-
chine.
It is therefore a cancer which would
absorb the wholesome life of the world
unless it is cut out, and necessitates suf-
fering and pain in ridding the world of it.
There are other evidences of divine plan.
Think of the battle of the Marne, where
this matchless machine began to find
France and England unprepared, and they
turned at the Marne when the German
hosts with their guns were heard in Paris,
and by mere moral force they turned
these German legions back. Think of
the blindness of this absorption of gross
materialism as brought into the intellect
of the Germans.
Doril Understand Others
They cannot understand other people.
They cannot recognize a moral force that
binds people together in a cause. They
said England will not stand by Belgium;
it has trouble with Ireland; they said
France is torn with Socialism and it is a
decadent nation. In both cases they made
S20
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
blunders. They said as regards Canada,
Australia, New Zealand, and South
Africa, England has no control over them
by force; they are far removed from it
and will follow the path of materialism
and gain; they will follow where profit
determines; they will not be held. And
yet, nothing has been grander than this
light bond which unites England with
these independent dependencies, and they
have rallied to the support of the mother
country, responded out of gratitude for
the liberty that it had conferred upon
them, and they have made sacrifices
which call for our profound admiration.
Think of it. Canada has furnished up-
ward of 400,000 men. Nearly every home
in English Canada is mourning — their
best and most beloved. If we furnish as
many men as they have for this war our
armies will reach 6,500,000 men.
If our contributions to the Red Cross,
Y. M. C. A., and other voluntary in-
dividual contributions, in addition to
taxes, reach the figures which they have
in Canada, we shall contribute $14 to
$15 per capita.
My friends, those are the mistakes or
blunders that Germany has made, self-
imposed or imposed by a definite rule
that when you subject yourself to grossly
material considerations you lose the
higher mental and spiritual forces which
enable you to conquer in the end.
Now, the last blunder of all. In its
determination to depend upon the devilish
ingenuity of science in the development
of war, the Germans said: " We can
starve England out with this submarine.''
When it saw us it said, " There is a
tango-loving nation, too fat to fight, too
lazy to go into the trenches," and they
have deliberately forced us into the
ranks of their enemies. Think of it.
They have been fighting for nearly
three years. The exhaustion that has
come to them has had no comparison in
history. The war must be determined
by the weight of wealth and resources
and the courageous men which can be
gathered together to fight it out and be
sure of a victorious battle in the end.
And yet, in the face of that fact, we
should impress on them that they delib-
erately forced into the ranks of their en-
emies the nation which can furnish more
wealth, more resources, more equipment,
and more men than any other nation in
the world.
My friends, we are going to make
these sacrifices. We do not know what
they are yet, and we shall not know
until we see the bulletins. The English
people watched the bulletins for May
and saw a loss of 114,000 in the British
Army; 26,000 privates killed and 16,000
officers killed in action; 76,000 privates
wounded, and 3,600 officers wounded
and 7,000 missing. When we watch a re-
port like this, then it will come home to
us in our souls and we shall understand
the sacrifice we have to make.
Wartime Life in European Capitals
Vienna — June, 1917
By a Viennese Sojourner at Berne
VENN A hears little of the actual
fighting. The city is full of peo-
ple who seem bent on enjoyment,
the cafes — where conversation
about the war is taboo — are full of peo-
ple from morning till night, the restau-
rants, where everything except bread and
potatoes can be obtained, if one's purse is
long enough, are crowded; the opera and
the theatres have nearly every seat
booked in advance and the cinemas are
filled at every performance. In the fash-
ionable streets of the city one cannot help
remarking the extraordinary number of
officers of all ranks and of both services,
who appear to have no other duties than
to make themselves agreeable to ladies.
Both morning and afternoon the pave-
ments are so crowded that progress is a
matter of the utmost difficulty. On all
sides are fine shops full of the latest
fashions which find purchasers even at
the prevailing exorbitant prices. Every-
thing is up to date and of the best, but
only within the reach of the rich.
If one makes inquiries below the sur-
face, however, one finds that housekeep-
ing, even on the most modest scale, is
almost an impossibility, owing to the dif-
ficulty of obtaining supplies. The rich
solve this difficulty by giving up all idea
of catering for themselves and going to a
good restaurant for most of their meals,
but to those of moderate or small income
the food problem is an ever-increasing
anxiety. The question is no longer
" What shall I buy? " but " What can I
buy?" for it is impossible to procure
many articles which weije formerly re-
garded as necessaries.
No longer can a customer, unless he
can afford to pay a fancy price, choose a
piece of meat; he must be thankful for
anything he can get. Bread is not to be
bought except with a bread card at a par-
ticular shop in the district in which the
purchaser dwells, and very often he can-
not get bread at all. The supply of po-
tatoes is limited to one pound per person
weekly, but for some weeks recently there
were none on the market. Milk is so
scarce that no person can have more
than about one-fifth of a pint daily. Such
things as coffee, butter, fat, macaroni,
rice, petroleum, soap, and leather are not
to be bought. Cards are the order of
the day — bread cards, fat cards, sugar
cards, coffee cards — indeed, meat is about
the only article of food for which a card
is not necessary. This is because it was
foun&ahat the demand for meat was not
increasing, presumably on account of its
prohibitive price. But as one Viennese
plaintively remarked to my informant:
" What earthly use are the cards to me if
I cannot procure the articles to which
they are supposed to entitle me? "
The shops are full of substitutes and
prices have gone up enormously — in many
cases as much as 300 or 400 per cent. A
pair of men's boots of medium quality
costs 85 kroner, (at pre-war rates, $17.50,)
a lounge suit 300 kroner ($62.50) and
more ; a small box of sardines 4.50 kroner,
(90 cents.) Meat ranges from 6 kroner
($1.25) to 14 kroner ($2.75) per kilo-
gram, (2.2 lbs.) Danish butter is 14
kroner per kilogram, and one candle (car-
riage size) costs 70 or 80 hellers, (16
cents.) Cheese costs 5 kroner ($1.04) to
7 kroner ($1.37) per kilogram, and every-
thing else is in proportion.
The poor people are not noticeable in
the streets. They are only heard of by
chance, as it were, and their distress and
privations during the last Winter, owing
to the scarcity of coal and coke and the
price of food, were the cause of nume-
rous deaths from " hunger-typhus." At-
tempts are now being made to relieve
their wants and cheap meat is being sup-
plied to the really needy; but however
cheap this meat may be, it is not of much
use if the money is not forthcoming to
pay for it.
In the country life is strenuous. The
villages and small towns are peopled by
?>22
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
old men, women, and children, for every
man and youth capable of holding a
weapon has been drafted into the army.
Day in and day out, from early dawn till
late in the evening, the entire population
of a village may be seen working on the
land trying to raise a crop sufficient for
their needs during the coming year, after
a very large portion of the harvest has
been commandeered by the Government
to feed the army — and Vienna. Even in
peace time the peasant lives frugally, but
now he has to be content with his piece of
black bread, which he soaks in his substi-
tute for coffee, and his knodel, (a kind
of dumpling,) and he may consider
himself very fortunate if he can add
eggs from his own fowls and potatoes
from his own patch of ground. Meat he
very seldom tastes, as he cannot afford
to buy it, and he has also to do without
many articles, as they are unobtainable
in the shops.
Hopes for Peace
The attitude of the people toward the
war may be described as one of total in-
difference— except in regard to its dura-
tion. The only desire of the people is for
peace, " no matter who wins." For some
little time there have been persistent ru-
mors that Austria was about to make a
separate peace. Indeed, the Burgomas-
ter of Vienna has spoken very openly and
freely about the desirability of peace.
Letters received from Vienna have spoken
of peace almost as a fait accompli. If
Austria could shake off German influ-
ence and get good terms she would make
peace tomorrow, but as she knows that
she would be obliged to give up so much
of her territory she is obliged to continue
the fight, in the hope that something may
turn up. As an Austrian soldier friend of
my informant expressed it: " We are be-
ginning to realize that all along we have
been the tool of Germany, and whether
we win or lose we shall have to pay, and
pay dearly."
From the press it is most difficult to
gather anything about the real state of
affairs except as regards parliamentary
reform, which is being kept in the fore-
ground and dangled before the eyes of
the people to prevent them from dwell-
ing upon more important matters. Every
paper is carefully censored and papers
frequently appear with a column or more
blank; it is not an unknown thing for a
number not to appear at all.
Paris— July, 1917
[By a Correspondent op The New York
World.]
The complete list of things regulated
in Paris is as follows :
Bread — May be sold not less than
twelve hours after it leaves the baker's
oven ; must be of uniform " standard
loaf " shape, all kinds of rolls being for-
bidden; must contain not more than 85
per cent, of wheat flour.
Meat — May not be sold or consumed in
restaurants on Mondays and Tuesdays,
with the exception of horse, donkey, or
mule meat, which, however, may be
bought only in butcher shops and not in
restaurants.
Sugar — May be sold only upon presen-
tation of a card issued by the municipal
authority, which permits the purchase of
not more than 750 grams per person per
month.
Pastry — May be made only of rice flour
and may not be sold on Tuesdays and
Wednesdays, on which days all pastry
shops, tearooms, candy stores, &c, must
be closed.
Coal, Gas, Transportation
Coal — Stocks in excess of one ton must
be declared by all householders to the
municipal authority; persons whose
homes are not supplied with gas for
heating and cooking are granted priority
in the purchase of coal, to an extent,
however, not exceeding eighty pounds
per month. (Coal cards are soon to be
introduced.)
Spirits — Alcohol, turpentine, gasoline,
&c, may be purchased only by munici-
pal card, to the extent of not more than
two liters per month per household.
Gas and Electricity — Consumption in
any household reduced by Government
decree to about two-thirds of the amount
consumed by the same household in No-
vember of 1913 or November of 1915.
WARTIME ^ LIFE IN EUROPEAN CAPITALS
323
Railroad Transportation — Trains great-
ly reduced in number, safe conducts for
railroad travel issued only for journeys
made necessary by business, health, or
family reasons; each passenger limited
to sixty pounds of personal baggage, ex-
cept commercial travelers, who may carry
up to 400 pounds by special license.
Paris Subway — Closed between 10 P.
M. and 5:15 A. M., except on Thursdays,
Saturdays, and Sundays, when trains run
till 11:15 P.M.
Automobile Taxicabs — Reduced in num-
ber to a maximum of 5,974, of which,
however, not more than 2,500 are in op-
eration at any given hour. (There were
8,000 constantly in operation before the
war.)
Automobiles in General — Are limited
to a maximum consumption of forty liters
of gasoline per vehicle per week.
Street Car and Bus Lines — Are in op-
eration daily only from 6 A. M. to 10 P.
M. (Only two bus lines are operating on
the pre-war scale.)
Must Keep to Earth
Aviation and Ballooning — Are strictly,
forbidden to private individuals.
Telegrams and Cables — Are accepted
for transmission only after the sender
has verified his identity by passports,
&c; must not be in code; must be in
French except as regards messages
abroad, which may be couched in French,
Italian, or English, and are subject to
censorship.
Letters — Are subject to censorship, and
may be received at the general delivery
without verification of the recipient's
identity by passports, &c. Price of post-
age in France has been increased to 3
cents.
Telephone Communication — Is restrict-
ed to local and a few suburban ex-
changes. * Long-distance calls are pro-
hibited throughout France.
Wireless Telegraphy — May be used
only by the Government.
Stores — Must be closed at 7 P. M.
daily, except grocery and provision es-
tablishments.
Importation and Exportation of Mer-
chandise— Regulated by a series of re-
strictions decreed by the Government. In
principle all imports are forbidden, but
there are numerous exceptions to this
law.
Firearms— May not be sold, and gun-
smiths must keep a register -to show to
the police at monthly intervals.
Two Non-Bathing Days
Bathing Establishments — Are closed
Mondays and Tuesdays.
Museums — Are closed wjibh the excep-
tion of a few rooms in tfc'Louvre and
Luxembourg.
Theatrical, Musical, and Motion Pict-
ure Performances — Are subject to cen-
sorship by the Prefect of Police.
Advertising Matter — Must be submit-
ted to the same authority.
Newspapers — Are subject to the mili-
tary censorship; may not publish more
than one edition daily or be cried by
newsdealers; are restricted in size ac-
cording to the form in which they appear.
(Great newspapers like Le Matin and
Le Temps print only one sheet four days
a w^ek.)
Photography — Is forbidden in the zone
of the armies, and subject to local re-
strictions elsewhere.
Theatres and Concert Halls — Are per-
mitted to give only seven evening and
two matinee performances, or vice versa,
and must close at 11 P. M.
No Evening Clothes
Evening Clothes and Decollete Frocks
— May not be worn at theatres or res-
taurants or in other public places.
Cafes and Restaurants — Must be closed
at 9:30 P. M.; may not sell spirituous
liquors to soldiers at any time, and to
civilians before 11 A. M.; may not have
orchestras.
Dancing — Is forbidden both in public
places and in the home.
Games of Chance — Are not tolerated
even in the fashionable clubs.
Hunting — Is forbidden except in re-
gions where, on the responsibility of the
local Government authority, a general
authorization to destroy overabundant
game during a specified period is issued.
Horse Racing — Is prohibited, with the
exception of a few rarely authorized
semi-public " trials " of thoroughbreds at
which betting is not permitted.
324
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Fairs — Save certain semi-public bazaars
held for the benefit of war charities, are
forbidden.
Stock Exchange Transactions in Fut-
ures— Are prohibited, except for the
liquidation of contracts entered upon be-
fore the war.
Gold — May not be dealt in commer-
cially and may not be taken out of
France.
Personal liberty is restricted by numer-
ous regulations. France is divided into
three zones — of the army, of the interior,
and of the frontiers. For all of them
passports and municipal identification
papers (permis de sejour) are required;
for the zone of the armies one must also
have a special safe conduct issued by the
Great General Staff, and for the frontier
zone a safe conduct issued by the Minis-
try of War. Motoring from one commu-
nity to another is forbidden except in
cases considered exceptional by the Gov-
ernment. To enter or leave France for-
eigners are obliged to carry passports
countersigned by a French Consulate in
the country from which they have come
or by a Consulate in France of the coun-
try to which they are going, and in addi-
tion to all the papers mentioned above
they are now required to obtain a special
identity card, application for which must
be made immediately.
Less than half these restrictive meas-
ures were put into effect at the time of
mobilization, and all those controlling
food consumption are less than six
months old.
Berlin— June, 1917
[By F. Sefton Delmer, an Australian, Eng-
lish Lecturer at Berlin University from 1901
to 1914; interned at Ruhleben from Novem-
ber, 1914, to March, 1915; resident at Berlin
until May, 1917. — In The London Times.]
The Germans were enthusiastic for the
war only so long as they were convinced
that it was going to pay a tangible, ma-
terial dividend. As long as it promised
to be a big scoop of other nations' wealth
they were for it, heart and soul, peer and
peasant, Socialist and Junker. Let this
never be forgotten. Their enthusiasm
waned as soon as success began to look
doubtful. Their doubts will turn into ex-
ecration from the moment they recognize
that defeat is inevitable. The last of
these three stages has not yet been
reached, but they are well on in the sec-
ond.
It was in the days immediately follow-
ing Rumania's entrance into the war that
their confidence reached its lowest ebb.
It was about this time that the criticism
of the Emperor and his family and his
policy became positively bitter — so bitter
as to alarm his Majesty not a little. The
Rumanian debacle saved the situation,
and the offer of peace clinched it.
When the limelight-loving Kaiser
stepped forward as the protagonist of
peace it was a clever move with a double
object. It aimed at throwing dust in the
eyes of pacifists abroad in order to pro-
mote dissension in the ranks of the
Allies, and at the stime time it was meant
to convince the malcontents at home that
they were the victims not of the German
Emperor's own criminal policy, but of
"that wicked England and its accom-
plices."
Jeers at the Kaiser
When I remarked to the intelligent old
Portierfrau of a house in the aristocratic
Tiergarten quarter that I had seen the
Kaiser a few days before and that he
was looking very well, " Ach, der! " (Oh,
he!) said the old lady. "I daresay -he
does, but he wouldn't look so well by a
long chalk if he only knew what folk
around here are thinking and saying
about him. And he thought he was going
to beat the English! He, indeed! "
Any one who knows German will no
longer recognize the Germany in which
the contemptuous demonstrative pro-
noun " der " can be used of his Imperial
Majesty. That in itself is almost a revo-
lution. No; the common people and,
what is more, the common soldiers have
not the faintest trace left of enthusiasm
for the war. " Ach, Gott, wenn man nur
das Ende absehen konnte," (If one only
knew when and how it's all going to end,)
they sigh. You hear the same song wher-
ever you go: at the Boerse, in the banks,
in the shops, and in the queues.
WARTIME LIFE IN EUROPEAN CAPITALS
325
At the police station, where I had to
report myself daily, I often exchanged a
few words with the man whose duty it
was to stamp my paper. He used to ask
me about once a fortnight when I thought
the war was coming to an end, and to
give an oracular answer each time rather
taxed my supply of commonplaces. With
some people who asked this question I
usually fell back on the reply of the
Scotsman to his German prisoner: " I
canna say positeevely; but I think the
fur-st three year-rs'll see the wur-rst of
it." On another occasion, when I mod-
estly disclaimed all powers of second
sight, the man, a furniture dealer, would
not take " I haven't the f ainest idea " for
an answer. " Oh, you must know, all
right," he said, "for you're an English-
man."
Just before I came away, however, the
Mowe films were shown, and they were,
from many points of view, well worth
seeing. From a German standpoint they
are undoubtedly a gross mistake, for, in
their grim realism, they bring home to
the beholder the wholesale and wanton
destruction of peaceful merchantmen and
lead the imagination to conceive the un-
speakable horrors of the U-boat war,
horrors which the Germans, as a whole,
have not yet grasped. One sees on these
films, which take exactly one hour to
show, steamers and sailing ships brought
up, one sees the torpedo strike the ship,
and the noble vessel, as in agony, strug-
gle, writhe, fill, and sink.
The effect on the spectators was the
very reverse of what the military author-
ities wished to produce. Far from being
exhilarated, the public seemed depressed
by the sight of what they felt to be cold-
blooded murder of unarmed ships.
"Schrecklich! Schrecklich! " (Frightful!)
they whisper, as if it is just beginning
to dawn on them why that other more
terrible and cowardly form of hostilities,
the U-boat war, has made the German
name so detested throughout the civilized
world.
On one of the pictures one sees the
Captain of the Brecknockshire after his
ship has sunk, standing on the bridge of
the Mowe beside Graf Dohna, the Ger-
man commander. The latter had made
some joke at which the British Captain,
as was intended, had felt constrained to
laugh, although he had just seen his ship
sunk, but his heart was breaking. The
chivalrous German newspapers sneer at
his heartlessness. " This is an English
dschentleman," they say, "laughing as
he watches his ship go down ! "
Hidden Casualties
In spite of all the Germans' twisting of
facts, and all their skill in making the
worse appear the better reason, they
really do not believe they are winning.
None of them has, it is true, any idea of
their actual losses in the field. Vague
estimates are current. I take the one
that is going the rounds as being most
symptomatic. Among the officials at the
Deutsche Bank a report was recently in
circulation estimating Germany's losses
alone at 1,300,000 men killed up to the
end of March, 1917. A civilian in a high
official position, who was present at the
discussion, contradicted this, saying that
he believed this estimate to be too low by
at least half a million.
But no official totals are published.
The long sheets of casualties are still
pasted up on the polished granite of the
Kriegsakademie (Staff College) in Ber-
lin, but one no longer sees the groups of
weeping women and eager searchers that
were constantly standing there in the
early stages of the war. The authorities
now have more expeditious private ways
of informing the relatives.
In spite of their doubts about victory,
and of their distrust of and resentment
at the methods their own Government has
adopted toward them, there is no sign
that the Germans will yield till they are
at their last gasp. I have, however, my-
self heard certain members of the Roman
Catholic Centre Party in the Reichstag
say that they did not see how either Ger-
many or its enemies could possibly hold
out till Christmas. Any such discourag-
ing statements when made by less privi-
leged individuals than members of Par-
liament are liable to be regarded as
treasonable, and a reward of £150 is
promised to any one who can bring any
propagator of such rumors to book. Po-
lice proclamations to this effect adorn
the advertisement pillars in the streets.
326
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
This public incitement to private denun-
ciation has produced a reign of terror.
* Nobody is safe in even the most confi-
dential conversation," I heard a univer-
sity student say. This new regulation
has certainly had the effect of muzzling
conversation between all but the closest
of friends. .
Even their idol Hindenburg now comes*
in for criticism. He has the reputation
of being a man who boasts of never hav-
ing read any books except those written
on military subjects, nor have I ever seen
or heard of a single statement of his that
betrayed anything more than a mediocre
mind. Nevertheless, among the Revent-
low party Hindenburg is still a fetich.
Hindenburg or no Hindenburg, both
soldiers and officers are heartily sick of
the war in general and the western front
in particular, from which officers are
known regularly to head their letters
home with the words, " Noch am Leben,"
(Still alive.)
And that, I think, expresses the state
of Germany regarded as a whole. " In
spite of everything, we're still alive ! "
The well-paid munition workers excite
the envy of the rest of the working
classes. " These munition workers, who
are getting handsome pay and all sorts
of extra food, even sausage and fat, are
the last who have reason to strike," says
the ordinary workman.
The munition workers' strike in Ber-
lin in the middle of April was brought
about by the proclamation of a smaller
bread ticket. The strike had practically
no political inspiration, and was soon
nipped in the bud. The authorities, fear-
ing a new outbreak on May 1, liberally
sprinkled policemen about on the bridges
and at other strategic points of the town,
much to their discomfort on that bleak
east-wind day.
These strikes, as well as the riots at
Magdeburg and Leipsic in March, seem
to have been rather absurdly exaggerated
in some English newspapers. As far as
Berlin goes, not even a revolver shot
was fired. All the talk about machine
guns having been turned on the crowd
is sheer moonshine.
The German Government put the peo-
ple on bread rations at an early stage in
the war. One after another, almost all
other foodstuffs had to be brought under
the card system. Only at a compara-
tively late date, however, was the inti-
mate connection between the supply of
food- for human being and the supply of
fodder for stock recognized. The tardy
recognition of the economic connection
between food and fodder very nearly led
to disaster. The Reichsfuttermittelstelle
(Imperial Fodder Commission) is now of
almost greater importance than the
Reichsgetreidestelle, (Imperial Bread-
stuffs Commission.)
These two organizations are at present
working out a great scheme for the form-
ation of a monopoly of the fodder and
breadstuffs produced in the whole of
Germany. Up to the middle of May Ba-
varia was still half unwilling to throw in
its lot with Northern Germany by join-
ing in the proposed monopoly, but was
showing signs of yielding to Prussia's
cajolery.
Great battles were taking place behind
the scenes when I left, as I know from
private sources, as to whether the new
organization of the breadstuff and fodder
supplies of the whole German Empire
was to be run on the lines of a great pri-
vate monopoly or on State socialistic
lines. Some big financiers were anxious
for the former, while their opponents,
following Adam Smith, (Yes! Adam
Smith was quoted in the commission,)
maintained that such a plan would spell
depredation and hasten revolution. As
far as I could understand, Dr. Michaelis
was likely to decide in favor of the State
socialistic form.
Wood for Food
In Germany there is at present in use
a method secretly but every extensively
practiced of obtaining a kind of flour
from wood. This " flour " goes by the
name of Holzmehl. It is a modification
of the discovery of a Swedish savant,
whose name I have forgotten. I saw a
German translation of his book on the
subject in the hands of the Director of
the Fodder Commission.
This new wood-fodder is a sort of for-
lorn hope which the landowners have
eagerly clutched at. The Russian forests
in the occupied districts, I have heard,
are being ruthlessly cut down and turned
WARTIME LIFE IN EUROPEAN CAPITALS
327
into wood-meal. This wood-meal is intend-
ed primarily to serve as a cattle food.
Of its nutritive properties I know noth-
ing. They are said to be low. Bread is
also made from it, and I have been told
that it is given to the soldiers. I am
more inclined to think that it is reserved
as a delicacy for the prisoners' camps.
It will probably be an improvement on
the war bread served out to us at Ruh-
leben in the Winter of 1914-15, which was
made of all sorts of inferior ingredients
and included flour made from straw. I
remember yet the rasped, scratched feel-
ing it produced in one's throat and diges-
tive canal.
Constantinople — June, 1917
[By a correspondent who obtained this ex-
pression of views from an official who in-
vestigated conditions in Turkey.]
It is almost impossible to give a com-
plete picture of present-day conditions in
the Ottoman Empire, because even the
most inquiring foreign resident in Tur-
key finds his efforts to obtain accurate
information persistently balked. No di-
plomatist is allowed to leave Constantino-
ple, except, of course, to return home;
and commmunication between Ambassa-
dors and Ministers there, and Consuls
and Vice Consuls at Smyrna, Beirut,
Damascus, and Jerusalem, are limited
and extremely irregular. Only one non-
Turk has succeeded in getting through
from Smyrna to Constantinople for near-
ly a year. He turned up toward the
end of last month, and told us that,
thanks to the good feeling of the Turk-
ish Governor the**e, Europeans and
Americans have a very comfortable time.
The British colony numbers about forty,
and its members are technically supposed
to be " interned." As a matter of fact,
however, they are allowed complete lib-
erty during the daytime, the only re-
striction being that they must be indoors
before 10 o'clock each evening. The Eng-
lishmen there are nearly all representa-
tives of large Lancashire and Yorkshire
textile firms. They are greatly respected
by the Turks, and bear up very bravely.
British Prisoners
British officers and men whom I have
met in Turkey generally told me that
they were well treated; and my own ex-
perience is similar, so far as the civilians
are concerned. The internment of civi-
lians, I admit, is frequently attended by
serious hardships, but these arise from
the general conditions existing in Tur-
key, and are not to be ascribed to cruel-
ty on the part of the Turks. I have
known cases of poor Europeans who have
had to walk with their jailers hundreds
of miles across barren country to inland
internment camps.
The peace sentiment is daily growing
stronger throughout all classes, but it is
folly to imagine that Turkey will ever
take the initiative toward making a
separate peace. I think, on the other
hand, that sympathetic handling on the
part of the allied powers might " detach "
Turkey from her Teutonic masters.
Popular discontent in Constantinople is
provoked by the food scarcity, and not by
the loss of close on 500,000 square miles
of Turkish territory and 5,000,000 Turk-
ish subjects in Asia. I don't think the
average poor Turk has any spirit left to
grieve greatly over empire losses, but the
authorities, who probably know their
people better than I do, take no risks;
and an organized attempt to conceal, or
at least minimize, British success in
Mesopotamia and Egypt is in operation.
. The fall of Bagdad has not yet been offi-
cially announced in Turkey, nor has any
Turkish newspaper ever contained any
reference to it.
The German Crip
The Germans are more unpopular than
ever; but, curiously enough, their grip
on the country is tighter than ever. The
only tactful thing the Germans do is to
conceal the outward manifestation of
their authority. The story which con-
stantly crops up about a German garri-
son of 60,000 men in Constantinople is
false. At the most there are not 6,000;
and these are kept discreetly concealed in
a building outside the city. The crews
of the Goeben and Breslau never come to
Constantinople, and there are no German
policemen in the city. Enver Pasha still
328
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
continues to be the dominant figure in
Turkey. .
This man is an enigma. He rules with
a hand of iron; and those of his oppo-
nents who have escaped the summary
process of hanging are so terrified and
obsequious that the great man rules un-
perturbed. The misery and suffering of
the masses of the people in Constanti-
nople and the other large cities are very
great; but I doubt whether, making al-
lowance for the size of their respective
populations, there is as much abject pov-
erty as in London or New York. It must
be admitted, however, that people do act-
ually die of starvation in Constantinople/
In spite of all German efforts to impose
a " system " of food distribution upon
Turkey, bread is the only article of food
in which a partial Government monopoly
has been established. Every Turk, rich
or poor, is entitled to half a pound of
bread daily for one penny. If his needs
extend beyond this amount, he must buy
" Trangola " bread, (a kind of luxury
bread,) at Is. 8d. per pound. The Euro-
peans find the cost of living terribly
high. Early this month, as I personally
ascertained, tea cost £2, coffee 14s., and
sugar 8s. per pound. The middle and
upper classes, in spite of, or because of,
the war, live a gay, feverish kind of life.
The cafes, theatres, and cinema houses
are crowded daily. Special cinema per-
formances are given for the women.
New and Old Turkey
The Young Turk Government, it must
be confessed, is doing its utmost to en-
courage the Turks to prepare themselves
for the after-the-war economic struggle.
Elementary school teachers are excused
military service, -and new schools are
springing up like mushrooms throughout
the empire. The " right-f or-women "
movement is making astonishing prog-
ress. Let me quote the following in-
stance, (one among many:) A great
charity concert took place early last
month in Constantinople, and a group
of aristocratic " new " women determined
to exercise their rights. They went to-
gether to the concert hall, only to find
their entrance to it barred by two police-
men. " There are men in there; you can-
not enter," said the head policeman, in
horrified tones. " We are going to enter.
We've bought our tickets," said the
spokeswoman of the group. " Impossi-
ble," said the policeman. "Telephone
the Ministry of the Interior and see what
the Minister says," cried the women.
The policeman rang up the Ministry and
received the laconic reply: " Let the
ladies in." The "new" woman in Tur-
key had won another victory.
Side by side with the new movement
are the old ways. I went recently to call
upon the Grand Vizier and his wife. The
latter ordered coffee, but in spite of re-
peated protests to the servants it was
not until one hour and a half later that
the coffee arrived. The Grand Vizier's
wife is not " modern." She claps her
hands to summon the servants, and does
not touch an electric bell. The long delay
before the coffee was served did not dis-
please her. " You see," she explained,
" that we Turks are not really suited to
the rapid, go-ahead methods of the
West."
New Order of Knighthood for Women
in Great Britain
IN recognition of services that have
been rendered both by British sub-
jects and their allies in connection
with the war the King has instituted two
orders.
The first is an Order of Knighthood,
to be styled " The Order of the British
Empire," and to be conferred for serv-
ices rendered to the empire, whether at
home or abroad. This order will follow,
in most respects, the precedents of other
orders of knighthood, but it will consist
of five classes, and will be given to
women as well as men. The first two
NEW ORDER OF KNIGHTHOOD FOR WOMEN
329
classes will, in the case of men, carry
the honor of knighthood, and in the case
of women the privilege of prefixing the
title " Dame " to their names.
STAR WORN BY MEMBERS OF FIRST TWO
CLASSES, ORDER OF THE BRITISH
EMPIRE
The second order will be entitled the
" Order of the Companions of Honour,"
and will consist of one class only, to
which women will be eligible equally
with men. The order will carry with it
no title or precedence, and will be con-
ferred upon a limited number of persons,
for whom this distinction seems to be the
most appropriate form of recognition,
constituting, as it will, an honor disso-
ciated either from the acceptance of title
or the classification of merit.
Both orders, though created in con-
nection with the war, will doubtless sur-
vive it.
The King appointed the Prince of
Wales to be Grand Master of the order.
The five classes of the order are as
follows:
Men.— 1. Knights Grand Cross, (G. B.
E.) 2. Knights Commanders, (K. B. E.)
3. Commanders, (C. B. E.) 4. Officers,
(O. B. E.) 5. Members, (M. B. E.)
"Women. — 1. Dames Grand Cross, (G.
B. E.) 2. Dames Commanders, (D. B.
E.) 3. Commanders, (C. B. E.) 4. Offi-
cers, (O. B. E.) 5. Members, (M. B. E.)
The badge of the order, worn by the
members of the first, second, and third
classes, is a silver gilt cross, enameled
pearl gray, in the centre of which, in a
BADGE, ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE
circle enameled crimson, is a representa-
tion of Britannia seated. The circle con-
tains the motto of the order, " For God
and the Empire."
The star, worn by members of the first
two classes, is an eight-pointed silver
star, the centre of which bears the same
device as the badge.
The treatment of the badge for the
fourth class is similar to that for the
first, second, and third classes, except
that it is smaller and is not enameled.
In the case of the fifth class the badge
is of silver instead of silver gilt.
As in the case of other orders, the
members will have the privilege of plac-
ing the initials (above indicated) after
their names.
Assassination of Austrian Premier
The Apologia of Dr. Adler an Important Utterance
DR. FRIEDRICH ADLER, who as-
sassinated the Austrian Premier,
Count Sturgkh, in October, 1916,
was condemed to death for his
act, but the Socialists of neutral coun-
tries and the radicals in Germany and
Russia have petitioned that his life
be spared. After the sentence was
pronounced the condemned man turned
to the spectators and shouted, " Long
live international, revolutionary Social
Democracy!" a cry that was loudly re-
echoed from the crowded court and gal-
leries, while women waved their hand-
kerchiefs and the whole assembly, even
including some individuals in the well of
the court, enthusiastically applauded the
prisoner. The President thereupon or-
dered the court to be cleared, and four
people were arrested in the process,
while other arrests were afterward made
in the street.
Dr. Adler delivered an address after
his trial which produced a profound im-
pression. He protested emphatically
against the attempt to represent him as
not responsible for his actions. He had
known beforehand, he said, that the
" Government Socialists " of Austria and
Germany would try to place that con-
struction on his deed, and his counsel
was naturally anxious to do the same,
but the change that came over Austrian
political life within only a few days of
the assassination of Count Sturgkh was
striking enough to compel some slight
recognition even then that the deed was
not that of a mere irresponsible.
He asserted that all constitutional
rights had been suspended in Austria by
the failure of the Premier to assemble
the Reichsrat. He declared that the key-
note to the situation in Austria and the
explanation of his deed were that there
was no authority left in Austria that
could be considered constitutionally com-
petent, and that Count Sturgkh had per-
sistently suppressed the one institution
which could have held him and his Cabi-
net to account, namely, the Reichsrat.
What other way remained open then, he
asked, of calling Ministers to account
than the way they had themselves chosen,
that of force? Years before, in Novem-
ber, 1898, Herr Hochenburger himself,
(Count Stiirgkh's Minister of Justice,)
who was not in office then, declared in
the Reichsrat on the subject of legis-
lation by royal decree that any treading
underfoot of justice in Austria would not
go unpunished. " Herr Minister-Presi-
dent," he said at that time, " take care
that you do not bring things to such a
pass that you are made to learn that an
aggravated people can create justice for
itself, and that today still there is an
emergency code of peoples." Yet it was
this same Hochenburger, who, in con-
junction with Count Sturgkh, promul-
gated on July 25, 1914, such a series of
arbitrary decrees as proved that every-
thing had been prepared long before the
outbreak of war.
" Hochenburger and Sturgkh," said
Dr. Adler, " deliberately planned this
coup d'etat, and for that reason the
moral justification of my deed is com-
plete for me as a citizen. The ques-
tion at issue is not whether force is
justifiable, but what is my individual
position. In my opinion, every citizen
is justified, if the law is trodden under-
foot, in securing1 justice for himself.
When a Government has placed itself
outside the legal domain, every citizen
is justified in holding it to account out-
side that domain also. Indeed, every
citizen is not only justified in so doing,
but is under an obligation so to do."
He objected to being classed as either
a patriot or an anti-patriot. He had al-
ways held, he said, that the cause of so-
cialism was a much greater thing than
any temporary State organism, and that
Socialists should not identify themselves
too intimately with any one State, as
certain of his former friends had now
vnfortunately done. Indeed, he declared,
ASSASSINATION OF AUSTRIAN PREMIER
331
it is only since the '70s that the ideal of
the national State has taken root among
even the bourgeoisie, which at the same
time began to regard it, not as the na-
tion, but as an economic unit. Every-
where before that date the intellectual
bourgeoisie was not patriotic, but na-
tional, and the attitude of the German
Austrians was then what that of the
Czechs is today. Now, however, the
bourgeoisie is interested in the main-
tenance as an economic unit not only of
Austria, but of the whole Central Euro-
pean bloc — with the King of Prussia at
its head, of course, and Austria sub-
ordinate to him. Its ideal, in fact, is no
longer national independence, but na-
tional predominance and the foundation
of an empire from Berlin to Bagdad.
Many Social Democrats, Dr. Adler com-
plained, had themselves been carried
away by this development, but while, he
observed, it was true in his own case that
Austria played a part in his motives, it
was not on account of her existence as a
State, but as a moral unit. It was the
Austrian character for which he was
concerned.
" Already at school," he said, " it was
clear to me that the greatest sin, the
one which cannot be forgiven, is the sin
against character; the sin that is cus-
tomary in Austria. And if you wish to
understand my deed and all that led to
it, there must run like a red thread
through all your considerations the recog-
nition that it was a revolt, a protest
against this sin against character which
prevents any manly action in Austria.
We are in a State which was once made
(Roman) Catholic again by fire and
sword at the time of the counter-reforma-
tion. We are in a - State in which the
convictions of men are despised, in which
it is never recognized that the individual
must act according to his convictions. It
is the State of the Metternich doctrine
which weighed down Austria before
1848, the State which has fettered free
speech in order to create a slavish public
opinion.
I have shown what
Hochenburger said in 1898 and how he
afterward acted as Minister. It is this
abandonment of any loyalty to convic-
tions, this complete lack of stability,
which has always filled me with the deep-
est hatred of Austria, not as a political
unit, but as a moral one; of the Aus-
trian character for untrustworthiness."
These traits, Dr. Adler continued, were
to be found among all the nationalities of
the monarchy, and they had penetrated
his own party, a penetration against
which his deed was a protest. He was
not a fanatical purist, he declared, but
he did hold that a man should be clear
with himself as to the ground on which
he stood, and he despised a party that al-
lowed Austrian Germans to masquerade
as Socialists. He denied, however, that
he was isolated from the majority of his
party except as concerned his final act,
and maintained, indeed, that in the seven
months that had since elapsed the world
had in many respects come around to his
standpoint and that much that was char-
acterized as absurd then was now con-
sidered quite natural.
Internationalism, for instance, had be-
come the very hope of the Austrian Gov-
ernment, and none were today more
sought after by Count Czernin than the
" revolutionists," to whom the Public
Prosecutor had referred as being the
speaker's associates, and who, as having
a certain amount of influence in Russia,
were to travel to Stockholm with the
Government Socialists of Germany as
" the commercial travelers of the Foreign
Office." Austria's real greeting to the
Stockholm conference, however, Dr. Ad-
ler observed, would be the sentence
passed upon himself.
Proceeding to trace in detail the devel-
opments which led him to regard his
party as having altogether forsaken the
Socialist ideal and his attempts to per-
suade it of its mistake, Dr. Adler stated
that he finally came to the conclusion
that only by acting in opposition to fhe
party leaders would it be possible to ef-
fect a real revolution in Austria, and that
he must do what he could to pave the
way for that revolution. That, he said,
did not mean that he became an anarch-
ist, or that he imagined he alone could
set afoot a revolution. On the contrary,
he had always held that the battle must
be fought, not by individuals, but by the
masses, and he had never believed that
S3*
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISJORY
the people would rise in his support. All
he wanted to do was to prove to the peo-
ple and the Government alike that revo-
lutionary action in Austria was not a
matter of impossibility, and thus to set
the ball a-rolling. It was not his inten-
tion to introduce a new Socialist method
of warfare, and in general he would
deprecate such isolated deeds; but his
own was an exceptional one, provoked
by exceptional circumstances.
Dr. Adler proceeded to recount the spe-
cial considerations that had weighed with
him, and dealt in detail with the abuse
of the censorship, the scandal of the
political trials held during the war, and
Count Stiirgkh's determined attempt to
establish permanently an absolutist
regime, which eventually became so ap-
parent as to be beyond all doubt, and
finally determined the speaker to take
forcible action. And at this point the
latter was careful to point out that it was
not against Count Stiirgkh himself but
against his system that the deed was di-
rected. He had, he said, a certain re-
spect for the former Premier, who con-
trasted favorably in his manly straight-
forwardness with many of his associates.
Having consciously taken his stand on
force, he had to be removed by force, but
the speaker reserved his contempt for
those Austrians " who tolerated Stiirgkh
without attempting to defend themselves,
and who by their behavior furnshed the
proof that every land has the Stiirgkh it
deserves."
Above all, Dr. Adler concluded, he was
moved to his final act by the political
situation at the moment. The fact that
there seemed not tfte slightest prospect
of peace affected him profoundly, and
he thought hopelessly of what would
happen at the Austrian Labor Congress
that was to meet on Nov. 5, and of how
he would again bring forward his mo-
tion few peace without annexations, and
of how he would perhaps be able to
count an increase of two or three in his
following. In that way, he felt, he would
never reach the masses; hence his choice
of another weapon, which had proved
effective' in this, as in other respects.
The resolution that was adopted on Nov.
5, said the speaker, was almost identical
with my own, with the one that had al-
ways been rejected previously. My deed,
therefore, had the result I anticipated. I
have never regretted it since, and am
convinced that it was profitable — that I
did what had to be done to rescue the sit-
uation from the stagnation into which it
had fallen.
The Armenian Tragedy
By Edmund Candler
[Written at Bagdad in April, 1917]
ONE of the best things that are being
done in Bagdad is the salvage of
Armenian women and children who
have survived the massacres and who are
now living in Mussulman families. These
are being gathered into homes financed
by the British Government, and their
own community is looking after them.
I visited one of these institutions yes-
terday. The inmates were all young,
many of marriageable age, and there
were a great number of children under
6 who have already forgotten their lan-
guage and their faith.
The bald statement of what they have
suffered and seen is a damning and un-
answerable arraignment against the
Turkish Government. The first girl I
saw was a child of 10 from a village
near Erzerum. She and her family had
started on donkeys with a few of their
belongings, but in three days the Kurds
had left them nothing, and they had to
walk. The Turks had issued a procla-
mation in all the villages that the Ar-
menians were to be sent away to a col-
ony that was being prepared for them,
and that their property was to be kept
under the care of the Government dur-
ing the war and then restored. This was
THE FRENCH BATTLE FRONT IN ALSACE
Picture-map (in ten-mile squares in perspective) showing
where the battle line rests on the Swiss frontier and the
section of Alsace so far regained by France.
iht The •■ H*< ■ /, n> tnrtol)
THE ARMENIAN TRAGEDY
333
more than a year ago. The gendarmes
were very pleasant to them in their
homes, and told them that they were to
be given new land to cultivate, and that
their journey would not be long. The
first assurance, as they guessed, was
visionary. In the second the gendarmes
did not lie.
For many of them it was all over on
the third day. Two or three hundred of
the men were separated from the women
and killed at a distance, shot or cut down
with the sword. After that the same
thing happened nearly every day. The
guards were very haphazard; there was
no system. Some of the women were
pushed into the river, others thrust over
precipices. Twelve hundred left the two
villages near Erzerum; 400 only reached
Ras-el-Ain. The survivors were all wo-
men and children; there was not a man
among them, or a child over the age of 9.
I met a refugee from the Kara-Hissar
district who, with six companions, had
been saved by some Armenian women
he found established in a Bedouin camp.
Eight hundred families in all had left
Kara-Hissar. Half of these were cap-
sized and drowned on Arab boats on the
Euphrates. The survivors, when they
reached Deir-ez-Zor, were placed in an
internment camp. While here they ap-
proached the Mutesarrif, hoping to pur-
chase their release. They offered him
3,000 liras. It was not enough. They
made a second collection; every piastre
they could raise was thrown into the pool.
This time the sum was nearly 5,000
liras, and the Mutesarrif accepted the
bribe on condition that they should sign
a paper, " We, the Armenians' of ,
give this sum willingly to the Turkish
Army." But it did not save them. The
hated gendarmes accompanied them on
the march, and nine miles from the city
the massacre began. Sticks and stones
and knives and daggers were employed,
and a few merciful bullets. But, as al-
ways happens, the assasins tired of their
work; even the physical part of it was
exhausting, and the last act was post-
poned from day to day. In the end a
tired gendarme gave them the hint to go.
The night was dark, and the guard more
careless than usual, and the last rem-
nants of the party, fifty-five in all,
made their escape.
Another man I heard of was the sole
survivor of a group of refugees who dis-
appeared between Ras-el-Ain and Nisi-
bin. They were taken into the desert
and formed in line, as in a Chinese
execution, to be dispatched with the
sword. There was no shortage of am-
munition, I was told, but the sword was
employed for reasons of economy. While
waiting for his turn, it occurred to the
Armenian that a bullet would be an
easier death. So he broke from the line.
In the confusion the gendarmes missed
him. It was almost dusk; he hid in the
brushwood ; by a miracle he escaped, and
found his way to Bagdad.
The main features of the massacres
are much the same. The emigrants, if
they are not killed on the road, are taken
to some depot, where they are kept a
few days. Here they find a large camp
of two or three thousand or more. Soon
notice comes from Constantinople that
the refugees of a certain district have
been allotted land for cultivation, and
they are told they must start on their
journey again. This, they know, is prob-
ably the death sentence, but they nourish
a thin hope. For the first half day they
are generally safe, as murder on a large
scale is deprecated near a town. No-
body, for instance, saw any one killed in
Trebizond; but a few days after the Ar-
menians had left the city their bodies
came floating down the river. The desert
is a non-conductor. What is done there
leaves only vague rumor.
The refugees, though unarmed, some-
times turn on their guard. More than
once the assassins have paid dearly.
There is a woman in Bagdad who was
one of a band of 200 or 300 Armenian
women from the hills who held a pass
near Urfa. Their men had been treach-
erously killed off earlier, and they knew
that obedience to the proclamation of ex-
ile was as fatal as resistance. They held
the pass with their rifles nearly a week,
and the Turks had to bring up artillery.
Some fifty of them escaped. The wo-
man who is now in Bagdad was rescued
334
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
by a Turk of the better school, who re-
spected her honor and on the journey
treated her as his own daughter, though
he failed to convert her to Islam.
Few Armenian women were so fortu-
nate. Many were killed with as little
scruple as the men. Plainness or good
looks were fatal in different ways. The
old and ugly died by violence or were
starved; the young were taken into the
families of the Turks. A traveler now
in Bagdad was given a letter by an offi-
cial at Ras-el-Ain to deliver to the
gendarme in charge on the road.
" Choose a pretty one for me," he wrote,
" and leave her in the village outside
the town."
At Aleppo and Ras-el-Ain German of-
ficers stalked side by side with these
spectres of famine and murder and death,
and not a finger was raised or a word
said.
Enormous Weight of Metal Hurled by Artillery
THE weight of projectiles fired from
the German 77-millimeter guns in
the battle of the Somme in July,
1916, was more than 121,000 tons, or about
equal to the combined weight of four
superdreadnought battleships of the Penn-
sylvania type, the largest vessel of that
class now in commission in the United
States Navy. In an article dealing with
the expenditure of ammunition in the
Somme battles The Field Artillery Jour-
nal, published by the officers of the
United States Army, says that in July
there is reason to believe that the 77-
millimeter guns in the German Army
fired projectiles the total weight of
which was 121,140.25 tons, or 242,280,500
pounds.
" That the expenditure of field artil-
lery ammunition in the present war has
been enormous and beyond any concep-
tion based upon previous experience is
well known, but, like many other mat-
ters of importance," The Field Artillery
Journal says, " exact data have not gen-
erally been available.
" The following data, taken from Gen-
eral Sixt von Arnim's report concerning
the battle of the Somme, July, 1916, are
extremely interesting in that they give
the maximum expended in any one day
of twenty-four hours and the average
daily expenditure during the month of
July, 1916.
" First — Maximum artillery ammuni-
tion expended in any one day of twenty-
four hours:
Rounds Per Gun.
77-mm. field gun 322
105-mm. field howitzer 470
150-mm. howitzer 233
Rounds Per Gun.
105-mm. gun 321
210-mm. mortar 116
" Second — Daily average during July,
1916:
Rounds Per Gun.
77-mm. field gun 145
105-mm. field howitzer 170
150-mm. howitzer 119
105-mm. gun 118
210-mm. mortar 51
" One field battery (howitzers) ex-
pended in one day 3,500 gas shells.
" The actual number of guns in action
is not known. The best information
gives a probable number of one field
gun, exclusive of heavy types, for every
twenty yards of front. The approximate
frontage of the Somme battle was forty
miles, so that the number of field guns
engaged numbered in the vicinity of
3,500. Each gun fired 145 projectiles
per day, or a total of 4,495 for the month,
and the total fired becomes 15,732,500.
" The German 77-millimeter projectile
weighs 7 kilograms, or 15.4 pounds, so
that the total weight fired was 242,280,-
500 pounds, or 121,140.25 tons. The
computed weight of the heavy artillery
ammunition would probably more than
double this amount."
It was announced by the British Min-
istry of Munitions that the British ex-
penditure of shells of the calibre of six
inches and upward during the first week
of the offensive that opened near Arras
on April 9, 1917, was nearly twice that
of the first week of the Somme offen-
sive, while the expenditure of such shells
during the second week was six and one-
half times that of the second week on
the Somme.
General Haig's Official Report
Battles on the Ancre From Nov. 18, 1916, to
March 13, 1917
[Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, Com-
mander in Chief of the British armies in
France, on May 31 submitted his official
report to the Secretary of State for War
of the operations of the armies under his
command during the period following
Nov. 18, 1916, which is the end of the pre-
ceding report covering the period from
May 19, 1916, to Nov. 15, 1916, as printed
in Current History Magazine March,
1917, Pages 1114-1132.]
I.
General Headquarters,
British Armies in France,
May 31, 1917.
My Lord:
I have the honor to submit the following
report on the operations of the British
armies in France from the 18th of November,
1916, to the commencement of our present
offensive.
Nature of Operations
(1) My plans for the Winter, already de-
cided on at the opening- of the period under
review, were based on several considerations :
The enemy's strength had been consider-
ably reduced by the severe and protracted
struggle on the Somme battlefields, and so
far as circumstances and the weather would
permit it was most desirable to allow him
no respite during the Winter.
With this object, although possibilities
were limited by the state of the ground un-
der Winter conditions, I considered it feasi-
ble to turn to good account the very favor-
able situation then existing in the region of
the River Ancre as a result of the Somme
battle.
Our operations prior to the 18th of Novem-
ber, 1916, had forced the enemy into a very
pronounced salient in the area between the
Ancre and the Scarpe Valleys, and had ob-
tained for us greatly improved opportunities
for observation over this salient. A com-
paratively short further advance would give
us complete possession of the few points
south of the Ancre to which the enemy still
clung, and would enable us to gain entire
command of the spur above Beaumont
Hamel. Thereafter the configuration of the
ground in the neighborhood of the Ancre
Valley was such that every fresh advance
would enfilade the enemy's positions and au-
tomatically open up to the observation of our
troops some new part of his defense. Ar-
rangements could, therefore, be made for sys-
tematic and deliberate attacks to be deliv-
ered on selected positions, to gain further
observation for ourselves and deprive the
enemy of that advantage. By these means
the enemy's defenses would be continually
outflanked, and we should be enabled to di-
rect our massed artillery fire with such ac-
curacy against his trenches and communi-
cations as to make his positions in the Ancre
Valley exceedingly costly to maintain.
With the same object in view a number of
minor enterprises and raids were planned to
be carried out along the whole front of the
British armies.
In addition to the operations outlined
above, preparations for the resumption of a
general offensive in the Spring had to be
proceeded with in due course. In this con-
nection, steps had to be taken to overcome
the difficulties which a temporary lack of
railway facilities would place in the way of
completing our task within the allotted time.
Provision had also to be made to cope with
the effect of Winter conditions upon work
and roads, a factor to which the prolonged
frost at the commencement of the present
year subsequently gave special prominence.
Another very important consideration was
the training of the forces under my com-
mand. It was highly desirable that during
the Winter the troops engaged in the recent
prolonged fighting should be given an ade-
quate period out of the line for training,
rest, and refitting.
Certain modifications of my program in
this respect eventually became necessary. To
meet the wishes of our allies in connection
with the plan of operations for the Spring
of 1917, a gradual extension of the British
front southward as far as a point opposite
the town of Roye was decided on in January,
and was completed without incident of im-
portance by Feb. 26, 1917. This alteration
entailed the maintenance by the British
forces of an exceptionally active front of
110 miles, including the whole of the Somme
battle front, and, combined with the con-
tinued activity maintained throughout the
Winter, interfered to no small extent with my
arrangements for reliefs. The training of the
troops had, consequently, to be restricted to
such limited opportunities as circumstances
from time to time permitted.
The operations on the Ancre, however, as
well as the minor enterprises and raids to
which reference has been made, were carried
out as intended. Besides gaining valuable
position and observation by local attacks in
the neighborhood of Bouchavesnes, Sailly-
Saillisel, and Grandcourt, these raids and
336
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
minor enterprises were the means of inflict-
ing heavy casualties on the enemy, and con-
tributed very appreciably to the total of
5,284 prisoners taken from him in the period
under review.
The Enemy's Position
(2) At the conclusion of the operations of
the 13th of November and following days the
enemy still held the whole of the Ancre Val-
ley from Le Transloy to Grandcourt, and his
first line of defense lay along the lower
northern slopes of the Thiepval Ridge.
North of the Ancre he still held the greater
part of the spur above Beaumont Hamel.
Beyond that point the original German front
line, in which the enemy had established
himself two years previously, ran past S'erre,
Gommecourt, and Monchy-au-Bois to the
northern slopes of the main watershed, and
then northeast down to the valley of the
River Scarpe east of Arras.
Besides the positions held by him on our
immediate front, and in addition to the for-
tified villages of the Ancre Valley with their
connecting trenches, the enemy had prepared
along the forward crest of the ridge north of
the Ancre Valley a strong second system of
defense. This consisted of a double line of
trenches, heavily wired, and ran northwest
from Saillisel past Le Transloy to the Albert-
Bapaume road, where it turned west past
Grevillers and Loupart "Wood and then north-
west again past Achiet-le-Petit to Bucquoy.
This system, which was known as the Le
Transloy-Loupart line, both by reason of its
situation and as a result of the skill and in-
dustry expended in its preparation, consti-
tuted an exceedingly strong natural defensive
position, second only to that from which the
enemy had recently been driven on the Mor-
val-Thiepval Ridge. Parallel to this line, but
on the far side of the crest, he had con-
structed toward the close of the past year a
third defensive system on the line Rocquigny,
Bapaume, Ablainzeville.
Operations Commenced
(3.) The first object of our operations in
the Ancre Valley was to advance our trenches
to within assaulting distance of the Le Trans-
loy-Loupart line.
Accordingly, on Nov. 18, 1916, before the
rapidly deteriorating condition of the ground
had yet made an undertaking on so consid-
erable a scale impossible, an attack was de-
livered against the next German line of de-
fense, overlooking the villages of Pys and
Grandcourt. Valuable positions were gained
on a front of about 5,000 yards, while a
simultaneous attack north of the Ancre con-
siderably improved the situation of our
troops in the Beaucourt Valley.
By this time Winter conditions had set in,
and along a great part of our new front
movement across the open had become prac-
tically impossible. During the remainder of
the month, therefore, and throughout Decem-
ber, our energies were principally directed to
the improvement of our own trenches and of
roads and communications behind them. At
the same time the necessary rearrangement
of our artillery was completed, so as to take
full advantage of the opportunities afforded
by our new positions for concentration of
fire.
The Beaumont Hamel Spur
(4.) As soon as active operations again be-
came possible, proceedings were commenced
to drive the enemy from the remainder of the
LINE JULY | st 1916 ~
" MARCH 1 5 *>» »9 1 7» ■»
SCALE OF MILES
BRITISH ADVANCE DURING THE ANCRE
OFFENSIVE
Beaumont Hamel Spur. In January a num-
ber of small operations were carried out with
this object, resulting in a progressive im-
provement of our position. Before the end
of the month the whole of the high ground
north and east of Beaumont Hamel was in
our possession, we had pushed across the
Beaucourt Valley 1,000 yards north of Beau-
court Village, and had gained a footing on
the southern slopes of the spur to the east.
The most important of these attacks was
undertaken at dawn on the morning of the
13 th of January against a system of hostile
trenches extending for some 1,500 yards
along the crest of the spur east and north-
east of Beaumont Hamel. By 8 :30 A. M. all
our objectives had been captured, together
with over 200 prisoners. That afternoon an
enemy counterattack was broken up by our
artillery.
GENERAL HAIG'S OFFICIAL REPORT
337
Throughout the whole of the month's fight-
ing in this area, in which over 500 German
prisoners were taken by us, our casualties
were exceedingly light. This satisfactory
circumstance can be attributed mainly to
the close and skillful co-operation between
our infantry and artillery, and to the ex-
cellence of our artillery preparation and
barrages. These in turn were made possible
by the opportunities for accurate observation
afforded by the high ground north of Thiep-
val and by the fine work done by our air-
craft.
Grandcourt
(5) Possession of the Beaumont Hamel
Spur opened up a new and extensive field
of action for our artillery. The whole of the
Beaucourt Valley and the western slopes of
the spur beyond from opposite Grandcourt to
Serre now lay exposed to our fire. Opera-
tions were, therefore, at once commenced
under the cover of our guns to clear the rer
mainder of the valley south of the Serre
Hill, and to push our line forward to the
crest of the spur.
On the night of the 3d-4th of February an
important German line of defense on the
southern slopes of this spur, forming part of
the enemy's original second-line system north
of the Ancre, was captured by our troops on
a front of about three-quarters of a mile.
The enemy's resistance was stubborn and
hard fighting took place, which lasted
throughout the whole of the following day
and night. During this period a number of
determined counterattacks were beaten off by
our infantry or dispersed by our artillery,
and by the 5th of February we had gained
the whole of our objectives. In this operation,
in which the excellence of our artillery co-
operation was very marked, we took 176
prisoners and four machine guns.
This success brought our front forward
north of the Ancre to a point level with the
centre of Grandcourt, and made the enemy's
hold on his position in that village and in his
more western defenses south of the river
very precarious. It was not unexpected,
therefore, when on the morning of the Gth of
February our patrols reported that the last
remaining portion of the old German second-
line system south of the river, lying between
Grandcourt and Stuff Redoubt, had been
evacuated. The abandoned trenches were oc-
cupied by our troops the same morning.
Constant reconnoissances were sent out by
us to keep touch with the enemy and to as-
certain his movements and intentions. Grand-
court itself was next found to be clear of
the enemy, and by 10 o'clock on the morning
of the 7th of February was also in ou>* posses-
sion. That night we carried Baillescourt
Farm, about half way between Beaumont
and Miraumont, capturing eighty-seven pris-
oners.
(6) The task of driving the enemy from his
position in the Beaucourt Valley was re-
sumed on the night of Feb. 10-11. Our prin-
cipal attack was directed against some 1,500
yards of a strong line of trenches, the west-
ern end of which was already in our pos-
session, lying at the southern foot of the
Serre Hill. Our infantry were formed up
after dark, and at 8 :30 P. M. advanced
under our covering artillery barrage. After
considerable fighting in the centre and to-
ward the left of our attack, the whole of the
trench line which formed our objective was
gained, with the exception of two strong
points which held out for a few days longer.
At 5 A. M. a determined counterattack from
the direction of Puisieux-au-Mont was beaten
off by our artillery and machine-gun fire.
Two other counterattacks on Feb. 11 and a
third on Feb. 12 were equally unsuccessful.
The Advance Toward Miraumont
(7) The village of Serre now formed the
point of a very pronounced salient, which
our further progress along the Ancre Valley
would render increasingly difficult, if not
impossible, for the enemy to hold. Accord-
ingly, an operation on a somewhat larger
scale than anything hitherto attempted since
the new year was now undertaken. Its ob-
ject was to carry our line forward along the
spur which runs northward from the main
Morval-Thiepval Ridge about Courcelette,
and so gain possession of the high ground at
its northern extremity. The possession of this
high ground, besides commanding the ap-
proaches to Pys and Miraumont from the
south, would give observation over the upper
valley of the Ancre, in which many hostile
batteries were situated in positions enabling
their fire to be directed for the defense of
the Serre sector. At the same time arrange-
ments were made for a smaller attack on the
opposite bank of the river, designed to seize
a portion of the Sunken Road lying along
the eastern crest of the second spur north
of the Ancre and so obtain control of the
approaches to Miraumont from the west.
Our assault was delivered simultaneously
on both banks of the Ancre at 5 :45 A. M.
on the 17th of February. The night was par-
ticularly dark, and thick mist and heavy con-
ditions of the ground produced by the thaw
that had just set in added to the difficulties
with which our troops had to contend. The
enemy was, moreover, on the alert, and com-
menced a heavy barrage some time before
the hour of our assault, while our attacking
battalions were still forming up. None the
less, our troops advanced to the assault with
great gallantry. On the left of our attack
our artillery preparation had been assisted
by observation from the positions already
won on the right back of the Ancre. In con-
sequence, our infantry were able to make a
very considerable advance, and established
themselves within a few hundred yards of
Petit Miraumont. The right of our attack
encountered more serious resistance, but here
also valuable progress was made.
S38
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
North of the Ancre our troops met with
complete success. The whole of the position
attacked, on a front of about half a mile,
was secured without great difficulty, and an
enemy counterattack during the morning was
easily driven off.
Next day, at 11:30 A. M., the enemy deliv-
ered a second counterattack from the north
with considerable forces', estimated at two
battalions, upon our new positions north of
the river. His advancing waves came under
the concentrated fire of our artillery and
machine guns while still some distance in
front of our lines, and were driven back in
disorder with exceedingly heavy losses.
Eleven officers and 588 other ranks were
taken prisoners by us in these operations.
Miraumont and Serre Evacuated
(8) The ground gained by these two attacks
and by minor operations carried out during
the succeeding days gave us the observation
we desired, as well as complete command
over the German artillery positions in the
upper Ancre Valley and over his defenses
in and around Pys and Miraumont. The
constant bombardment by our artillery, com-
bined with the threat of an attack in which
his troops would have been at great disad-
vantage, accordingly decided the enemy to
abandon both villages. Our possession of
Miraumont, however, gravely endangered the
enemy's positions at Serre by opening up for
us possibilities of a further advance north-
ward, while the loss of Serre would speedily
render Puisieux-au-Mont and Gommecourt
equally difficult of defense. There was,
therefore, good ground to expect that the
evacuation of Pys and Miraumont would
shortly be followed by a withdrawal on a
more considerable scale. This, in fact, oc-
curred.
On the 24th of February the enemy's posi-
tions before Pys, Miraumont, and Serre were
found by our patrols to have been evacuated,
and were occupied by our troops. Our patrols
were then at once pushed forward, supported
by strong infantry detachments, and by the
evening of the 25th of February the enemy's
first system of defense from north of Gueude-
court to west of Serre, and including Luisen-
hof Farm, Warlencourt-Eaucourt, Pys, Mi-
raumont, Beauregard Dovecot, and Serre,
had fallen into our hands. The enemy of-
fered some opposition with machine guns at
selected strong points in his line, and his ar-
tillery actively shelled the areas from which
he had withdrawn ; but the measures taken
to deal with such tactics proved adequate,
and the casualties inflicted on our troops
were light.
The enemy's retirement at this juncture was
greatly favored by the weather. The pro-
longed period of exceptional frost, following
a wet Autumn, had frozen the ground to a
great depth. When the thaw commenced in the
third week of February the roads disinte-
grated by the frost broke up, the sides of
trenches fell in, and the area across which
our troops had fought their way forward re-
turned to a condition of slough and quag-
mire even worse than that of the previous
Autumn. On the other hand, the condition
of the roads and the surface of the ground
behind the enemy steadily improved the
further he withdrew from the scene of the
fighting. He was also materially assisted by
a succession of misty days, which greatly in-
terfered with the work of our airplanes.
Over such ground and in such conditions
rapid pursuit was impossible. It is greatly
to the credit of all ranks concerned that, in
spite of all difficulties, constant touch was
maintained with the enemy and that timely
information was obtained of his movements.
Le Barque and Gommecourt
(9) Resistance of a more serious character
was encountered in a strong secondary line
of defense which, from a point in the Le
Tnansloy-Loupart line due west of the vil-
lage of Beaulencourt, crossed in front of
Ligny-Thilloy and Le Barque to the southern
defenses of Loupart Wood. Between Feb.
25 and March 2 a series of attacks were car-
ried out against this line, and the enemy was
gradually driven out of his positions. By the
evening of the latter day the whole line of
trenches and the villages of Le Barque,
Ligny-Thilloy and Thilloy had in turn been
captured. One hundred and twenty-eight
prisoners and a number of trench mortars
and machine guns were taken in this fight-
ing, in the course of which the enemy made
several vigorous . but unsuccessful counter-
attacks.
Meanwhile, rapid progress had been made
on the remainder of the front of our ad-
vance. On Feb. 27 the enemy's rear-
guards in Puisieux-au-Mont were driven to
their last positions of defense in the neigh-
borhood of the church, and to the north-
west of the village our front was extended
to within a few hundred yards of Gomme-
court. That evening our patrols entered
Gommecourt Village and Park, following
closely upon the retreating enemy, and by
10 P. M. Gommecourt and its defenses had
been occupied. Next morning the capture of
Puisieux-au-Mont was completed.
Irles
(10) The enemy had, therefore, been driven
back to the Le Transloy-Loupart line, ex-
cept that he still held the village of Irles,
which formed a salient to his position and
was linked up to it at Loupart Wood and
Achiet-le-Petit by well constructed and well-
wired trenches.
Accordingly, our next step was to take
Irles, as a preliminary to a larger undertak-
ing against the Le Transloy-Loupart line
itself; but before either operation could be
attempted exceedingly heavy work had to
be done in the improvement of roads and
communications, and in bringing forward
guns and ammunition. The following week
was devoted to these very necessary tasks.
GENERAL HAIG'S OFFICIAL REPORT
339
Meanwhile, operations were limited to small
enterprises designed to keep in touch with
the enemy and to establish forward posts
which might assist in the forthcoming at-
tack.
The assault on Irles and its defenses was
delivered at 5:25 on the morning of March
10, and was completely successful. The
whole of our objectives were captured, and
in the village and the surrounding works 289
prisoners were taken, together with sixteen
machine guns and four trench mortars. Our
casualties were very light, being considera-
bly less than the number of our prisoners.
The Loupart Line
(11) The way was now open for the main
operation against the centre of the Le Trans-
loy-Loupart line, which throughout March
11 was heavily shelled by all kinds of our
artillery. So effective was this bombard-
ment that during the night of March 12-13
the enemy once more abandoned his posi-
tions, and fell back on the parallel system
of defenses already referred to on the re-
verse side of the ridge. Grevillers and Lou-
part Wood were thereupon occupied by our
troops, and methodical preparations were at
once begun for an attack on the enemy's next
line of defense.
[The second section op the report covering
the general withdrawal of the germans
to the beginning op the british offen-
SIVE April 9, 1917, will appear in the
September issue of Current History
Magazine.]
Burial of German Prisoners
THE Swiss Minister in London, M.
Carlin, transmitted to the Foreign
Office under date of May 22 the
following copy of a Note Verbale of
the German Foreign Office, dated
May 9:
The Daily Mirror, in their issue of Jan. 8
last, published under the heading " Hun Skel-
eton for Anatomy Class " a picture showing
blind English soldiers receiving instructions
in skeleton anatomy.
Beneath the picture was written, " Twelve
months ago the skeleton was a living Ger-
man."
The Foreign Office would be glad if the
Swiss Legation would protest strongly to the
British Government, pointing out at the same
time that in Germany only the skeletons of
convicts are made use of for such purposes.
The German Government have a right to ex-
pect that German prisoners in England should
be buried in a manner in accordance with the
conceptions of civilized peoples regarding the
respect due to the dead. This is still more so
in the case of soldiers who, after bravely de-
fending the land of their birth, have died in
a foreign country ; for the earthly remains of
such men even their opponents ought to en-
tertain feelings of sympathy and respect.
The reply of the Foreign Minister,
dated June 6, is as follows:
The Secretary of State for Foreign Af-
fairs presents his compliments to the Swiss
Minister, and with reference to Monsieur
Carlin's note No. 48G S.G. of May 22, trans-
mitting a Note Verbale from the German
Government relative to a photograph pub-
lished with the description " Hun Skeleton
for Anatomy Class," in The Daily Mirror of
Jan. 8, 1917, together with the statement
" Twelve months ago the skeleton was a
living German," has the honor to request
that the German Government may be in-
formed as follows :
The German Government's protest is based
on an inaccurate statement, as the photo-
graph in question did not, as stated by The
Daily Mirror, represent the skeleton of a
German soldier, and a contradiction of the
statement was published in the edition of the
newspaper in question of Jan. 10, 1917, un-
der the heading " Training Blind Soldiers."
The skeleton depicted in the photograph
was purchased by the National Institute for
the Blind before August, 1914.
The bodies of German prisoners who die
when in British hands are invariably buried
in a manner which is in full accord with the
conceptions of civilized peoples regarding the
respect due to the dead.
German Barbarities in France
Official Report of Illegal Treatment Inflicted Upon
Inhabitants in Occupied Territory
The appended report, handed to Premier Ribot by a commission appointed to investigate
acts of the enemy in violation of the law of nations, was published by the French Government
in the Journal Officiel on June 1, 1917. The commission consisted of Georges Payelle, First
President of the Court of Accounts; Armand Mollard, Minister Plenipotentiary; Georges
Maringer, Counselor of State, and Edmond Paillot, Judge in the Court of Cassation. The
complete text of the report has been translated for Current History Magazine.
SINCE April 12, [1917,] the date of
our previous report, we have pur-
sued our investigations in the por-
tions of France recently freed from
enemy occupation, and this further in-
quiry has only confirmed our conviction
that all the violations of international
law of which the Germans were guilty
at the time of their departure were com-
mitted under general orders issued by
the Supreme Command. In all the towns
the same measures of unjust severity and
cruelty toward individuals, the same
methods of devastation and brigandage
were employed simultaneously and in
identical conditions. Everywhere the
people were exploited and deported, the
factories destroyed, houses demolished or
burned, furniture stolen or smashed, trees
cut down, wells contaminated, farm
implements broken or carried away.
There is not a single locality where
inhabitants of both sexes, from sixteen
to sixty years of age, were not torn from
their homes and sent into Germany or
Northern France; sent with no more re-
gard for the grief of their families than
for the morality of the young girls thus
subjected to the most disquieting dan-
gers. The scenes caused by these depor-
tations were so heartrending that the
Germans themselves at times were moved
by them. Thus at Nesle, whence 180
women or girls and 164 men were taken
away on Feb. 17, 1917, an officer said
that he "could not bear to watch their
departure, because it was too sad a
sight." It is true that all were not so
sensitive, as the two following episodes
prove :
At Douilly a young woman, who had
given birth to a dead infant two days
before, was forced to rise from her bed
and depart. As she passed, weeping,
before the door of Mme. Wager, the lat-
ter, seeing that she was scarcely clothed,
threw a shawl over her shoulders to pro-
tect her from the cold, and watched her
depart with the certainty that the poor
unfortunate would never come back.
One day in November, 1915, after the
evacuation of a part of the population,
a distracted woman came to the Town
Hall of Chauny; she was uttering cries
of despair and tearing her hair, demand-
ing the return of her daughter, a child
of 15 years, who had been sent away she
knew not where. The Mayor tcok her to
Reserve Officer Bergschmidt, a Berlin
lawyer, the local representative of the
Kommandantur; but he drove her away,
saying that she annoyed him and was
disturbing everybody. Then, turning to
the Municipal Magistrate, who was try-
ing to move him, he cried: " Mr. Mayor,
you know very well, as I have told you
repeatedly, that the words * pity ' and
• humanity ' are erased from the diction-
ary. I want it to be understood that you
are not to annoy me further in these
matters. That is clear, is it not? "
Slavery of Deported Victims
It would be impossible to overempha-
size the profoundly outrageous character
of these abominable practices, which are
nothing else than the re-establishment,
for Germany's profit, of the hardest and
most revolting form of slavery. The
" Notice Concerning the Columns of
Civilian Workers," which was prepared
by Column Commander Kugemann,
(Form. 5 v. 28. 4. 16. ZAK,) and of
which we possess a copy, surpasses any-
thing imaginable in this regard. It con-
tains long instructions, the principal ones
being these:
GERMAN BARBARITIES IN FRANCE
341
General Considerations
The persons belonging to the column of
civilian workers are employed in the con-
struction of roads, in farm labor, and in
tasks of other kinds. It is forbidden to
make them work in the zone of operations,
properly so called.
All workers of said column wear on the
part of the left arm (sic) a red armlet firm-
ly sewed on; the armlet contains on the out-
side a black A, which should be easily vis-
ible. Workers whose conduct is bad, or who
have been punished for attempts to escape,
wear the badge on both arms.
Duties of the Workers
The workers live together in places under
guard. In exceptional cases permission to
live outside the camp may be granted to
aged workers whose conduct is particularly
good, or who have voluntarily sought ad-
mission into the column of workers.
During their labors, and on the way to
and from work, the men are guarded by
soldiers. At the command of " Achtung ! "
("Attention ") given by the soldier in charge,
the working gangs must, in passing before
the officers, as a mark of respect take off
their caps. The work that is ordered must
be done with speed and good-will.
In case of insubordination or attempt to es-
cape, the soldiers will, if occasion requires,
use their weapons unsparingly.
Payment, Food, and Housing
Every workman receives a daily wage of
2.25 francs, (45 cents,) from which are de-
ducted 1.50 francs for board and 25 centimes
for clothes, or a total of 1.75 francs, (35
cents.) Of the remaining 50 centimes, 25 are
paid on account, 25 go into the reserve fund.
Every ten days each serious workman re-
ceives 2.50 francs, (50 cents.)
Those who are placed under arrest receive
only bread and water ; however, in case of
moderate offenses, the complete rations are
given every second day, and every third day
in case of serious offenses. Workmen must
furnish their own clothes, linen, and shoes.
The administration undertakes only the
mending and renewal of footwear and cloth-
ing worn out by work.
Punishments
The civilian workers are warned that in
case of infraction of any nature whatever,
and particularly when it is a matter of at-
tempted escape, of disobedience, of insub-
ordination, of theft, or deception, they can
be punished by the ordinary police— if the
German law does not provide heavier pen-
alties— with imprisonment not exceeding
three months, or with a fine not exceeding
1,000 marks, ($250.) In case of an offense
against a member of the German Army the
delinquent will be tried before the War
Council and may be sentenced to death.
Jail sentences, punishments for minor of-
fenses, for serious offenses, prison to the
extent of three months, and fines to a max-
imum amount of 1,000 marks may be inflict-
ed by the local commandant of the place
where the workers are housed. The impris-
onment must be imposed in such manner
that the man shall not be absent from his
work, but shall be confined during other
than his working hours. Besides, he shall
not receive his pay for that period.
Workers whose attitude gives rise to con-
tinual complaints may be thrown into a sep-
arate section for discipline.
System of Draconian Laws
Thus all these free men, women, and
girls, accustomed to family life, whom
the Germans have carried away in
crowds from the invaded regions in de-
fiance of the most formal rules of inter-
national law, are compelled, under a sys-
tem of pitiless servitude, to perform the
hardest kinds of work for the enemy.
At the mere will of a commandant the
slightest infractions of the Draconian
rules are punished with imprisonment
that may run to three months, during
which the victims, forced to work hard
from morning to night, receive, two days
out of every three, only a little bread and
water as their sole nourishment.
If this is the treatment of the de-
ported, that imposed upon the inhabi-
tants who are not evacuated is scarcely
more tolerable. A notable illustration
of the fact is found in the following
proclamation, which was posted up at
Holnon (Aisne) on July 20, 1915:
All workingmen and women and children
of 15 years are required to labor in the fields
every day, including Sunday, from 4 o'clock
in the morning until 8 in the evening, (French
time.) Recreation, half an hour in the morn-
ing, an. hour at noon, and half an hour in
the afternoon. Disobedience will be punished
in the following manner :
1. Lazy workmen will be brought together
during the harvest, along with the workmen
in barracks, under the inspection of German
Corporals. After the harvest the idlers will
be imprisoned six months; on every third
day the rations shall be only bread and
water.
2. Lazy women will be exiled to Holnon to
work. After. the harvest the women will be
imprisoned six months.
3. Idle children will be punished with
blows of a stick.
Furthermore, the commandant reserves the
right to punish lazy workmen with twenty
Wows of a stick every day.
342
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
The workmen of Vandelles Commi'ne are
punished severely.
[Signed] GLOSS,
Colonel and Commandant.
Other Tyrannous Edicts
Innumerable notices posted up by the
enemy upon the walls of the invaded
communities bear irrefutable witness to
the harshness of the yoke that weighed
upon our unfortunate fellow-countrymen
and to the rigor and continuity of the
requisitions levied upon them. In these
posters will be found, formulated in the
most imperative terms and with threats
of punishment, the obligation to salute
officers, to go without lights, and to keep
all doors open during the night; also
edicts forbidding the people to leave their
homes at certain hours and orders com-
pelling them to place everything, even to
their garden products, at the disposal of
the military authorities. One ordinance
from General Commandant in Chief von
Below, dated Oct. 1, 1915, appears to
have been promulgated solely to give a
semblance of legality to the most
arbitrary executions. It will suffice here
to reproduce the measure with which it
ends:
In every commune a certain number of
notables, whose names will be published,
will answer with their Jives for the safety
of the railways in the territory tributary
to the commune. Besides, every community
in the territory belonging to a railway line
that has been damaged or destroyed shall
pay a contribution or suffer other punish-
ment. In certain circumstances the whole
town can be evacuated, the men taken to the
prison camp and the rest of the population
scattered to other localities.
These were not vain threats. On the
remnant of a placard, the upper part
of which has not been found — the whole
was posted up at Amigny-Rouy (Aisne)
— appears this notice:
5. Leon Oudard, farmer and Mayor of
Floignes, because he did not immediately no-
tify the nearest German authorities of the
known presence of enemy soldiers.
In accordance with the sentence, the con-
demned were shot on the 3d of August, [or
April,] 1916, at 5:45 o'clock in the morning.
[Here follows the mention of seven persons
condemned to terms of imprisonment or re-
clusion.]
Because in the communes of La Valine and
Floignes a large proportion of the inhabi-
tants doubtless had knowledge of the criminal
conduct of the persons above named, one-
half of all the men of the communes of La
Valine and of Floignes are, besides, incor-
porated for the duration of the war in a sec-
tion of workers.
[Signed] V. BOCKELBERG.
Wringing Money From Cities
Officer Bergschmidt told the Mayor
of Chauny that the words pity and
humanity were to be expunged from the
dictionary. These, alas! are not the only
expressions that have been eliminated
from the German vocabulary. It is the
same with all those which represent any
idea of generosity or simple honesty, and
the mind would refuse to admit, if not
compelled by the evidence, that the army
of a civilized nation could be guilty of
such a frenzy of theft and fury of de-
struction. In all the invaded regions and
during the whole period of occupation the
municipalities have been scandalously ex-
ploited and the goods of private indi-
viduals continually pillaged.
In the beginning Nesle was struck with
a forced contribution of 13,000 francs,
and in the interval, before the sum could
be produced, M. Obry, the assistant who
was fulfilling the functions of Mayor,
with two members of the Council and
an owner of property, were imprisoned in
a cellar for six hours. Later the city
had to pay 3,000 francs because a few old
suits of armor were found in an aban-
doned house, and 30,000 as the penalty
for the discovery of three shotguns — for
game — in the home of one of the resi-
dents.
In March, 1915, the authorities seized
a great quantity of wheat at Nesle, which
had been stored up in reserve for the
needs of the population, and then com-
pelled the Mayor to buy flour from
them for cash. In the same year, after
having exacted the expenditure of 6,896
francs for tilling and seeding, they seized
the whole crop, and it was necessary to
buy back a part of it to feed the horses.
The municipality was compelled, besides,
to enter into a consortium for the issu-
ance of regional bonds. This measure
was quite general, as we indicated in our
previous report, and at Rethonvillers,
where it was not put into effect rapidly
enough to suit the German authorities,
an officer announced that if within an
GERMAN BARBARITIES IN FRANCE
343
hour the City Council did not meet and
submit to the bond issue, the Mayor, the
notables of the town, and their families
would be arrested immediately and de-
ported to Germany.
Looting and Destroying
At the end of their stay in Nesle the
Germans, who had already indulged in
many acts of pillage, finished the dis-
mantling of the houses and carried on
particularly fruitful operations in those
occupied by the superior and general of-
ficers. In the church they carried away
the pipes of the great organs, and after
having broken the bells by throwing them
out of the belfry they carried away the
pieces. Dr. Braillon, 60 years old, who
for four months had spent himself in
caring for the enemy wounded, was ar-
rested and transferred to Germany under
a gross pretext. His wife had to give
lodgings to the General Staff and the
secretaries of the central telephone serv-
ice. Before their departure her guests
sacked the house, breaking the marbles
and furniture, the windows and mirrors,
ripping up the upholstered seats with a
knife, cutting down ninety pear trees and
as many feet of vines in the garden, and
contaminating the well with manure. This
task was attended to by the cook, the
chauffeur, and the orderlies of the of-
ficers, with the aid of the secretaries.
When Mme. Braillon protested against
the destruction of the roofs of small
buildings belonging to her home, a
Lieutenant contented himself with reply-
ing: " It is the order! "
Everywhere, as we have many times
repeated, incessant depredations were
committed cynically. The number of
broken safes that we have seen in the
course of our investigations is unprece-
dented, and we have also found proof
that the enemy had no scruples against
theft, even from individuals. Many per-
sons, in fact, were robbed of objects of
value and of securities and cash which
they carried on their persons. At Vrai-
gnes, notably, the Germans on the eve of
departure searched many inhabitants of
the neighboring villages after they had
been herded into farmhouses and sta-
bles. They did the same at Tincourt,
where Mme. Vancopenolle, after having
been ordered to undress, saw them carry
away a rente bond representing 1,500
francs.
A Characteristic Theft
An old man atHoisel, M. Villain, was
ruined by an important theft committed
in characteristic circumstances. On
•March 4, at the time of the final evacua-
tion of the inhabitants, he had been com-
pelled to remain with the baker who fur-
nished bread for the soldiers. At that
time he owned 150,000 francs [$30,000]
in securities, and the enemy authorities
knew it. On March 15 M. Villain was
informed that he was wanted at the
kommandantur. He went there and had
to wait a long time; finally he was told
that the chief could not receive him.
When he got back to the bakery he found
that the valise which contained his for-
tune, and which he had hidden under the
covers of his bed, had disappeared.
He had noticed for several days that
the Germans, as he said, had been hover-
ing around his securities. Several times
the secretaries of the kommandantur had
come under thin pretexts to his quarters,
and on the evening before the theft, after
the departure of one who had stopped
a considerable time near the door of the
house, it was seen that the key of that
door had been carried away. As early
as the end of February an officer of the
pioneers, calling at M. Villain's house,
had laid hands upon the linen, the plate,
and various other objects, and had sent
them all, carefully wrapped, to the rail-
way station. The owner was well aware
that the most timid protest would have
been not only useless but dangerous. A
workman in Roisel, who had broken one
of his own chairs in order not to see it
carried away, had been imprisoned, and
Mme. Boinet, for having expressed her-
self in a rather lively manner at the
moment when they were taking away her
piano, had been condemned to prison and
to pay a fine of 200 marks.
In many places the commandants used
still more summary methods to mulct the
inhabitants and those drrven from their
homes. They simply ordered them to
come and deposit their valuables. They
344
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
used this method notably at Mesnil-Saint-
Nicaise and at Voyennes, where there
were many victims; at Rouy-le-Petit,
where the enemy gathered in 330,000
francs in securities; at Offoy, where the
people had the prudence not t<5 deliver
any but insignificant papers, and at
Nesle, where the Mayor flatly refused
to transmit the order.
It is not without interest to add that
at Vraignes and Nesle the Germans ap-
propriated a part of the provisions fur-
nished by the Spanish-American Food
Commission.
Vast Destruction of Houses
In our report of April 12 we mentioned
the total destruction of cities and villages
by means of fire and explosives. We
have found an appalling number of
further cases of this sort. The method
was applied in a systematic and general
manner, and scarcely any place was
spared except certain towns to which
the enemy sent the populations from
other localities; even there, sometimes,
the Germans, on retiring, took pleasure
in cannonading the unfortunates whom
they had themselves assigned to those
places. We have already told of the bom-
bardment of Brouage, a suburb of Chauny;
Rouy-le-Petit, where people from Douchy,
Omissy, Matigny, Morcourt, Sancourt,
and Viller-Saint-Christophe were herded
together, suffered the same fate. On
March 18, when the last unit had de-
parted, the German artillery fired on the
village before any allied soldier could
reach there. Three persons were
wounded; a little girl, a woman, and a
man were killed.
Out of thirty-seven towns and villages
in the Canton of Roye only three remain
— Roye, Erchue, and Moyencourt; all
the others were burned. In the Canton
of Nesle sixteen communes were burned;
Nesle, Languevoisin, Rouy - le - Grand,
Rouy-le-Petit, and Mesnil-Saint-Nicaise
alone escaped the devastation. Finally,
in the Canton of Ham, out of twenty-one
towns there remain only Ham, Estouilly,
Saint-Sulpice, and Eppeville. As we in-
dicated above, the localities spared were
places of asylum for the last inhabitants
of the villages condemned to the flames.
As for the remnants of the population
in the Arrondissement of Peronne, the
Germans gathered a part of them at Tin-
court, at Vraignes, and at Bouvincourt, in
a pitiable state of misery. Of the other
inhabitants not a trace remains, but it
seems already to be certain, from in-
vestigations which we are making, that
as long ago as 1914 these people were
the victims of frightful atrocities. At
Vraignes two sections were burned, de-
spite the presence of a great number of
persons evacuated from the surrounding
region. Many of these unfortunates,
while houses were blazing around them,
saw the illumination made by the flames
of their own villages in the distance. The
Germans had said, on the eve of their
departure, to residents of Monchy-
Lagache : " Look in the direction of
Monchy tomorrow! " And the next day,
indeed, Monchy was in flames.
Trying to Ruin the Region
Even in the places where the residences
were not all annihilated, the enemy tried,
with all the means in his power, to ruin
the country; and everywhere he ravaged
the factories. At Bernes and Hervilly,
adjoining towns, there were two im-
portant sugar factories, one belonging to
M. Busignies, the other to M. Carpeza.
The soldiers blew up the buildings of
both, having first pillaged them. All the
destruction of property, moreover, was
executed with implacable minuteness. In
order to demolish houses the Germans
first made excavations or cut long, nar-
row channels into the walls, intended to
promote the crumbling of the building
when the mine exploded. They did this
at Roisel and Peronne.
This latter city was left in a lament-
able condition. After the furniture had
been carried away or broken, a great
number of houses were blown up. Among
the ruins we found slashed mattresses,
bolsters that had been slit from end to
end, baby carriages and sewing machines
that had been deliberately smashed, cup-
boards that had been broken in, and
safes, notably those of the Bank of
France, which were shattered and empty.
On one of the walls of the City Hall,
which is almost entirely destroyed, was
displayed a large wooden panel on which
GERMAN BARBARITIES IN FRANCE
345
was painted in large letters the inscrip-
tion, * Nicht argern, nur wundern ! "
(Don't be annoyed, only astonished!)
and we have seen and photographed an
unexploded bomb fixed to a beam in the
fallen roof of the monument; to the bomb
were still attached the strings intended
to set it off.
At Nesle, after compelling the resi-
dents of the suburbs to go into the mid-
dle of the town, the troops demolished
the empty houses with axes. They also
destroyed the gas factory, the Lesaffre
distillery, the Evence Coppe factory for
chemical products, and the Tabary malt-
house.
At Offoy, two days before the retreat,
they consigned all that remained of the
popuation to one part of the village, with
orders not to stir outside until after
forty-eight hours. Then they blew up
and set fire to the vacated quarter.
Belated Explosions
Bapaume has been completely devas-
tated, and on March 25, at 11:30 in the
evening, an explosion, certainly produced
by a bomb with retarded action, blew the
City Hall to pieces and caused the death
of two members of Parliament, Messrs.
Briquet and Tailliandier, Deputies from
the Pas-de-Calais, who had installed
themselves in that edifice for the night.
This catastrophe at Bapaume is not the
only one that has taken place since the
departure of the enemy, for the latter,
before turning back, sowed in the coun-
try which he was compelled to surren-
der a number of deadly snares set as
well for the civilian population as for the
allied soldiers. It was thus that the
churches in Sapignies and Bethancourt
were blown up, the first on the 18th, the
second on the 22d of April, that is to
say, mere than a month after the Ger-
man retreat.
The measures intended to destroy the
fruit trees and render useless the wells
have been generalized in all the regions
we have visited. At Rouy-le-Petit the
Germans, after trying to make the , in-
habitants themselves contaminate their
wells with manure, compelled the chil-
dren to do it. At Berne some time in
February two soldiers, accompanied by
a petty officer, who called himself an
architect, came to Mrs. Payen and asked
whether she had provided herself with
water, warning her that they were go-
ing to stop up the cistern with manure.
One of the men added : " It is unfortunate
to be obliged to do this." At Mesnil-
Saint-Nicaise a German said to Mme.
Wager, pointing to the well on the farm
where she was interned after leaving
Douilly: "Nicht drink! Colics!"
Text of Official Orders
The General Staff of the British Fifth
Army has come into possession of an
order given by the German commandant
of outposts on March 14, 1917, in which
this sentence occurs: " The detachment
of the Sixth Cuirassiers will see to it
that manure in sufficient quantities is
placed in the wells." Another document
entitled " Order Relating to Destruction,"
and bearing at the top the words " Streng
geheim " (strictly secret) has also been
communicated to us. We quote from
Chapter III.:
The commandant of outposts will direct the
destruction of the various localities. The
final and complete destruction of Grevillers,
Biefvillers, Aubin, and Avesnes will begin at
the hour of X+2. To provide the detachments
for setting fire to houses each commandant
in the sector will furnish two sub-officers
and twenty men from the B battalions, and
two stretcher bearers with litters. The de-
struction of Favreuil, Beugnatre, and FrSmi-
court will begin on the second day of the re-
tirement at the hour of X-f-3. The destruction
of Morchies will be executed in the morning of
the third day of the retirement, at about 5
o'clock. * * * The destruction of Louver-
val, Boursies, Demicourt will begin on the
third day of the retirement. For these opera-
tions the commandant of pioneers will ar-
range with the commandant of outposts of
Division S, Sector III., Major von Uechtritz,
at Doignies, in such manner that all the de-
tails of destruction not carried out under
orders of the commandant of outposts shall
be executed later by Division S.
The lighting of the incendiary fires shall bo
executed under command of the officers by
the different detachments. The destruction
of all wells is important.
TIEDE (F. d. R.)
BAESSLER, Oberleutnant.
Through a dispatch emanating from
the German Legation at Berne, Germany
attempted, in view of the indignation
aroused throughout the world by these
latest crimes of her armies, to promul-
346
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
gate the idea that " the measures regret-
fully adopted by the commanders were
limited to strict military necessities and
had no other object than the defense and
safety of their troops." In support of
this statement Germany cited an Order
of the Day, said to have been issued in
the following terms on March 11, 1917,
by a division General " operating in the
region of Bapaume," and bearing no
other signature than the initials V. 0.:
The acts of destruction now in progress in
the abandoned territory are intended to wipe
out all war materials that would be useful
to the enemy, the trees, and all structures
in so far as they might serve the enemy
artillery for a covering. Everything over
and above this military aim should be
avoided. I request all persons intrusted with
this work to keep close watch and see that
nothing is destroyed except what enters into
this program, and to spare particularly the
trees and plants around cemeteries and in
gardens of little elevation, also all crosses.
If this Order of the Day is not apoc-
ryphal, it simply proves that among
the enemy Generals there was one less
brutal and inhuman than the others. In
any case, it must be admitted that his
orders were very poorly carried out.
At the Bar of Nations
The German Government appears to
regard military interest as an excuse for
everything; but is it not precisely to
prevent those abuses for which this in-
terest would be the pretext that there
exists a public international law, and
that conventions, which Germany herself
has formally indorsed, have been enacted
by the civilized nations? Was it, further-
more, in behalf of military interest that
the enemy burned villages situated far
from the highways, where their destruc-
tion could not retard the march of a
pursuing force; that citizens and their
wives and children were reduced to servi-
tude; that their goods were stolen, their
furniture destroyed, their wells poisoned,
their farming implements broken, and
fruit trees cut down or girdled by thou-
sands so as to kill them slowly where
they stand?
The truth is that the German High
Command intended, in a mood of anger
and hatred, to terrorize a defenseless
population. Such was the mentality of
the chief officers from the beginning,
and such it has remained. The deposi-
tion made before us by M. Fabre, Presi-
dent of the Chamber in the Paris Court
of Appeals, gave us a striking proof of
this. That Magistrate found himself
with his family at Lassigny, county seat
of the canton which he represents in the
General Council of the Oise, when the
first troops of General von Kluck ar-
rived there. From Aug. 31, 1914, his
property was occupied by officers of the
General Staff. A superior officer, who
spoke French well, at that time sum-
moned him, as well as Mme. Fabre and
the rest of the household, and said:
" You do not know the news, but I am
going to tell it to you. You are beaten
everywhere — in Alsace, in the east, in
the north, at St. Quentin; your friends
the Russians are annihilated; the Brit-
ish fleet no longer exists, the English
troops are scattered. We are the mas-
ters. We mean to wipe France off the
map. It must disappear. In three days
we shall be at Paris; we shall take it;
we shall carry away all Its wealth, artis-
tic and commercial; we shall pillage and
devastate it; nothing but ashes and ruins
will remain. Paris must no longer
exist."
This harangue, which was to be re-
peated a few hours later, certainly re-
flected the thought of the great chief.
When General von Kluck arrived, a little
later, he was furious at finding the town
almost deserted. In the presence of M.
and Mme. Fabre he uttered terrible im-
precations. " Curses upon the inhabi-
tants who have left their homes! " he
cried. " This village shall be punished ;
everything shall be pillaged, destroyed;
nothing shall remain. We will it. Woe,
woe to this wretched population ! "
The Looting of Lassigny
These threats were soon to be put into
effect. The next day, Sept. 1, 144 motor
trucks arrived; the men in them scat-
tered themselves through the town and
gave it over to pillage; they carried off
everything of any value, packed and
crated the objects, placed them in the
trucks, and ranged the vehicles in a row
after having tilted them. All afternoon
GERMAN BARBARITIES IN FRANCE
347
there was an orgy of confusion; the
horde killed the animals in the farm-
yards, shook the fruits from the trees,
and carried into the public square great
heaps of provisions. To cook their food
and entertain themselves with bonfires
they burned all the furniture that they
disdained to carry away. Soldiers
dressed out in old French uniforms or
women's clothes paraded the streets,
shouting, under the complacent eyes of
officers.
After such scenes, how can one be-
lieve in the so-called humanitarian in-
tentions of the enemy command, or in
the scruples trumped up by the news
dispatch from the Berne Legation? Ac-
cording to the text already cited, this
Order of the Day pretended especially to
direct the sparing of trees and plants
around cemeteries; but it failed to order
the soldiers to respect the graves them-
selves, for the sacred dwelling places of
the dead have been many times violated.
To the horrors of this nature related in
our previous report, unhappily, many
others must be added. The cemetery at
Peronne was shamefully ravaged, and
many tombs were profaned. At Hervilly
five vaults were ransacked, and the altar
in the funereal monument of the Paux
family was broken. At Cartigny the
Germans opened five vaults, each with a
chapel above it, by tearing apart the
stones. They did the same thing at
Ronsoy, at Becquincourt, at Dompierre,
at Bouvincourt, and at Herbecourt. At
Nurly, Roisel, Bernes, they even broke
into coffins. In the inclosed ground
serving as a private cemetery for the
Rohan family at Manancourt they buried
a great number of their soldiers, and, an
inconceivable thing, established a kitchen
in the interior of the Rohan mausoleum
and latrines among their family tombs.
In the crypt, where indescribable dis-
order reigns, almost all the compart-
ments are empty. A child's coffin, taken
from one of them, was stripped of its
lead. A heavy leaden casket, half drawn
from another compartment, bears on its
lid marks of a chisel. A block of marble,
in which is seen a small excavation, has
been thrown among the debris; it bears
the inscription: " Here rests the heart
of Mme. Amelie de Musnier de Folleville,
Countess of Boissy, who died at Paris,
July 16, 1830, at the age of 32 years and
10 months."
To what motive should these mon-
strous profanations be attributed? Did
the enemy hope to find valuables or gold
placed by the families under the protec-
tion of the dead, or jewels in the coffins ?
It is noteworthy that the sepulchres of
the rich suffered especially. Whatever
the reason, the repetition of the same
acts in so many cemeteries gives ground
for affirming that the German chiefs at
least tolerated these crimes, if they did
not order them.
G. PAYELLE, President.
ARMAND MOLLARD.
G. MARINGER.
PAILLOT, Secretary.
The Resurrection of Devastated France
Fruit Trees Saved by Surgery
THREE months after the French
armies had taken back from the
Germans 1,000 square kilometers of
French soil, blasted and devastated, they
had worked such marvels in restoring
the fields and orchards that press corre-
spondents devoted enthusiastic articles to
the transformation. One of these, an
American, looking on the brighter side
of the picture, wrote in the last week of
May, 1917:
" To a person who passed through this
district the day after the German hordes
had departed, and who passes there
today, the change almost exceeds human
belief. It presents a miracle that only
the genius of the French race and its
painstaking industry could have per-
formed. Nothing has been done to restore
the ruined towns, villages, and farm-
houses, but these now stand in the midst
of fields of waving grain and blossoming
348
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
orchards. * * * One has the start-
ling impression that those thousands of
hewn-down trees have all grown up
again. A close examination, however,
shows what has really happened. The
French soldiers, working under direction
of the French Generals, who know other
things than mere military operations,
have found the means of saving a large
proportion of the trees."
This miracle was worked especially
upon those trees which the Germans had
intended to destroy by cutting off a circle
of bark around the trunk. With a few
days' exposure to the sun, that treatment
was sufficient to kill thousands of peach,
plum, apple, apricot, and cherry trees
that had been half a century attaining
their full productiveness. These were
saved by prompt " first aid." The
wounds were merely bound up like the
wounds of a soldier. The American cor-
respondent already quoted has described
the process:
" Thousands of army Surgeons and Red
Cross ambulance drivers and stretcher
carriers assisted in this work, so like, in
many respects, their own. The circle
where the bark had been cut away was
first covered with a special grafting ce-
ment, and the entire wound then care-
fully bandaged up — often with the same
bandages that had been prepared for
human limbs.
" So great was the number of trees
that had to be dressed in this way that
the entire available supply of grafting
preparation was quickly exhausted. Tar
was then used as a substitute, and, final-
ly, loamy clay. Substitutes for surgical
bandages also had to be found, and in
the end it was discovered that moss,
twisted and tied about the dressed wound,
was as effective as anything else.
" A much more serious problem, of
course, presented itself where the trees
had been entirely cut or sawed down.
But here French genius also solved the
problem. The stumps, protruding usually
two or three feet from the ground, were
first trimmed off in a scientific manner,
so as to conserve the sap and prevent the
death of the roots. This stump was then
treated with grafting paste, and carefully
bandaged, till the cut-down tree, lying
at the side, budded from the sap and life
that remained in it. Branches that
showed great numbers of buds and other
signs of exceptional vitality were then
cut off and finally grafted into the care-
fully prepared stump. Today these grafts
are in full leaf and blossom; the roots
appear to have been entirely saved by
this process. Years have been saved in
restoring the cut-down orchards of
France."
A more conservative view is presented
by an English correspondent, who esti-
mates that in the territory recovered by
a single French army the Germans had
felled over 32,000 fruit trees. After stat-
ing that some of these have been saved
by the methods indicated, he adds: " Un-
happily, in the immense majority of
cases, German malice has proved effec-
tive." The actual extent of the tree-res-
cue work lies somewhere between these
two views.
Of the lands devastated by the Ger-
mans between Noyon and the Somme the
zone covered by the French Army alone
contained 243 evacuated villages and
hamlets, not counting the communes re-
covered in the Soissons district or those
in the British zone. The pursuing French
Army found here a wretched population
of 35,000 old men and women, mothers
of large families, and children under 15.
Twelve thousand, for whom it was im-
possible to find food or shelter, were re-
moved to the interior of France, while
the remainder stayed in their ruined vil-
lages and are endeavoring to restore life
and prosperity to what had been one of
the richest agricultural districts of
France. Aided by the French Army and
by American, French, and British civil-
ians, they achieved wonders in the few
weeks that still remained for planting
and sowing.
The situation was that 250,000 acres of
agricultural land which had once kept
the whole region in prosperity had been
neither plowed nor sown. There was one
small exception. About 1 per cent, of
the land had been sown with rye in Sep-
tember and October, before the enemy
had fully made up his mind to retire.
The work began at the end of March,
and in less than two months over 6,000
THE RESURRECTION OF DEVASTATED FRANCE
349
acres had been plowed and over 3,500
acres sown. No draught animals of any-
kind har* been left behind by the enemy,
and almost all the agricultural imple-
ments had either been carried off or
destroyed. The army, however, could
supply horses, and miracles of ingenuity
were displayed by the French officers in
repairing and improvising the indispen-
sable machines.
The French military authorities organ-
ized the whole project with wisdom and
efficiency. First they concentrated their
energies upon the vegetable gardens, and
these were soon flourishing throughout
the district, later giving large yields of
potatoes, strawberries, and vegetables —
enough to carry the local population until
Winter. The army based its system on
that adopted in the reconquered territory
of Alsace. The recovered zone was
divided into seven sectors, each under
the command of a Lieutenant Colonel or
Major. Each officer had under his
orders a permanent staff, which included
an agricultural expert, an architect, and
about forty military engineers. This
military organization is still working
hand in hand with the civil organization,
headed in each town by the Mayor, or,
if he has been carried off by the Ger-
mans, then by a municipal councilor,
who acts as intermediary between the
army and the people. The results
achieved have been surprising.
The first step was to supply food for
the people, and this was done through
the army commissariat. Horses for
plowing were lent by the army, broken
plows and harrows were repaired by
motor mechanics of the army, seeds of
all kinds were procured, and thirty Amer-
ican tractors found lying idle in a depot
were put to work. Soldiers joined the mea-
gre peasant contingent of laborers and
toiled early and late to sow, cultivate, and
gather the crops, counting all as part of
their service for beloved France.
In the meantime houses are being re-
paired where possible, and temporary
buildings erected where no habitation
exists. Schools have been opened, mili-
tary doctors attend the sick, a postal
service has begun, and so far as possible
life is being made endurable for the
thousands who suffered so much during
the German occupation and virtually lost
everything they possessed when the in-
vaders departed.
The State, in providing the peasants
with their immediate necessities as con-
cerns seeds, animals, implements, and the
like, has adopted the following system:
One-fifth of the cost price is to be paid
down by the beneficiary, while the re-
mainder is to be set against the indem-
nity that he is to receive from the State
as compensation for the damage that he
has suffered through the war. On this
principle army horses still capable of
work in the fields, though past war work,
are being sold in the district. Brood
mares also are being sent there on certain
conditions. In addition to State aid, the
inhabitants are being helped by French,
English, and American subscriptions.
Baron Henri de Rothschild has central-
ized a part of the work and founded a
store that has rendered invaluable serv-
ices by supplying gratuitously all neces-
sities.
Midsummer of 1917 finds at least a
beginning made in the vast task of re-
building the ruined towns, partly with
American aid. Noyon has been " adopt-
ed" by the City of Washington and is
being rebuilt by contributions from the
people of that city. The American Fund
for French Wounded has taken full
charge of the hamlet of Behericourt, and
the Comtesse de Chabrannes has under-
taken to rebuild the hamlet of Maucourt,
which the enemy reduced to a desolate
heap of bricks and stones. The vastness
of the task that remains, however, is in-
dicated by the fact that fully a hundred
towns and villages were as thoroughly
destroyed as Maucourt.
In the picturesque mountain region of
the Vosges is the village of Vitrimont,
an earlier victim of German destructive-
ness, which Mrs. Crocker of California
has chosen for a similar work of resur-
rection. Being too infirm to go abroad
herself, she sent Miss Daisy Polk with an
ample fund to rebuild a ruined town in
the region designated. Miss Polk chose
Vitrimont, a village in Lorraine that had
been reduced to a mass of blackened
stones during the fighting around Nancy.
S50
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
The place was a desert when she began,
but soon she found herself at the head
of a small army of eager villagers, most-
ly old men and young women, who un-
dertook the heaviest tasks of house build-
ing under her leadership. The Prefet
of the department came and solemnly
laid the first stone of the new village.
Already a church and rows of attractive
two-story houses have risen under the
American magic. In an illustrated arti-
cle on the subject in Les Annales an en-
thusiastic French writer says:
" The construction of Vitrimont con-
stitutes an experience which deserves to
found a school. The architect of the de-
partment, who is directing the work, in-
tends to make of Vitrimont a model vil-
lage. Houses, farms, public buildings,
are, being erected according to a plan
which gives them a logical grouping.
" Mme. Crocker has devoted a first ap-
propriation of $20,000 to the resurrection
of Vitrimont. Her ingenious charity
seeks to avoid the form of alms and to
render a real service. Half of her gift
will remain the property of the com-
mune, the other half is to be returned to
her in annuities from the war indemnity
which Vitrimont will receive when the
imitators of the Huns will be compelled
to pay for breakage."
Two Years Under the Germans
A Villager's Diary
SAVY is a little village three miles
southwest of St. Quentin. A resident
of Savy kept a diary throughout the
years of German occupation, a simple
document, such as any villager might
write, but presenting a unique and
truthful picture of what the people suf-
fered under the heel of the invader. A
correspondent of The London Times,
writing from France, has summarized its
contents in an interesting article.
The diary begins with occasional en-
tries recording the outbreak of the war,
the passing of English soldiers, and then,
on Aug. 28, 1914, the news comes that
the Germans are at St. Quentin. "At
Savy nobody would believe it. However,
it was only too true." The next day the
first Germans appeared in Savy itself.
They celebrated the day by looting a
baker's shop and taking possession of the
local tavern and drinking all the liquor.
Then began the real occupation, with
continual and increasing requisitions,
plunderings, limitations of the liberty of
the residents, and punishments for minor
offenses. People were fined or impris-
oned for going out of the village into the
wood without permission, for hiding oats
or food in their houses or gardens, for
not saluting German officers or not sa-
luting properly, for giving oats to a
horse to eat, for plowing a field without
permission, for resisting German soldiers
who came to loot furniture without au-
thority, for giving coffee to a French
prisoner of war, and (the Mayor himself
being the culprit in this case) for selling
potatoes contrary to orders. When a man
was imprisoned he got off his sentence
after a few days by paying money.
Meanwhile, constant thieving went on
by German soldiers, especially from out-
houses, barns, &c, which the villagers,
being obliged to be indoors after dusk,
were powerless to prevent. Houses were
looted and barns stripped of planks and
whatever odds and ends seemed worth
taking.
Then notice was formally posted giving
the German soldiers the right to go
into any garden and take vegetables as
they pleased.
Besides money tribute, requisitions
were made for innumerable articles, such
as oats, corn, clover, eggs, potatoes, beans,
straw, blankets, boards, tools, and espe-
cially wine, which was hunted for in ev-
ery celler and hiding place and drunk.
Besides firearms, bicycles and blankets
had to be given up. Individual houses
were plundered of chairs, beds, stoves,
bottles, casks, and so forth. Censuses
were made at one time and another of
TWO YEARS UNDER THE GERMANS
351
agricultural implements, fruit trees,
fowls, wheelbarrows, all bronze articles,
and sheep, besides horses, asses, and
mules, of which the three last were all
first vaccinated and then commandeered
by installments. So with cows. By No-
vember, 1916, only three cows were left
in Savy to give milk to the children and
invalids, and on Feb. 9, 1917, even these
last three were taken.
A census was taken of all walnut
trees, then all were cut down and the
wood carted away. The Germans sheared
all the sheep and similarly sent away
the wool. Russian prisoners were set to
break up the stones of the local mill to
prevent illicit grinding. People were for-
bidden to go into the wood to gather
fuel, or glean in the harvest fields, or
to set traps for game. Notices ordered
all the people to be ready to work in
the fields from 4 in the morning to 8
in the evening. Children were made to
weed the crops. As the corn and oats
were reaped the Germans took charge
of it all. The people were ordered to
pick all the fruit and turn it over to
the authorities. Finally, all copper arti-
cles, including the bells of the church
and the school, were taken off to Ger-
many.
We hear of the brutal abusing of old
men of 80 by German soldiers and of
men being beaten with sticks for trivial
offenses. Thus :
At the general census of horses at Holnon,
the owners had to stand for six hours at
their horses' heads. Henri Catry happened
to be standing- two yards away from his
horse. A gendarme demanded " Is that your
horse? " Henri replied, " Yes," and was
beaten with a stick. "When he protested,
" Don't hit so hard," he was beaten even
more severely. There was one, an old man,
who was lying down in front of his horse.
He was severely beaten by a gendarme. M.
Datchy of Holnon saw an old man who had
hardly strength to walk. Two Germans hit
him continually with their sticks. The other
communes were treated in the same brutal
manner.
These random quotations, says the cor-
respondent, can give little of the impres-
sion created by reading the whole docu-
ment, but they suffice to show the regime
under which the people lived, a regime
which grew steadily more severe. Then
came the beginning of the end.
On June 29, 1916, we read: "Com-
mencement of the German offensive, ac-
cording to some; of the English offensive,
according to others. For the last ten
days at least there has been uninterrupt-
ed bombardment." For some days the
bombardment continued, then on July 3 it
ceased : " All is quite quiet." Though the
people in Savy knew nothing of it, the
British had made their great attack and
were slowly at work breaking the Ger-
man power on the slopes of the ridge
toward Contalmaison and Mametz.
In November the Germans began to
fill in the wells under the pretense that
they were no longer wholesome, to de-
stroy empty houses, and to carry all
sorts of goods away. Just before Christ-
mas the destruction of the fruit trees
commenced and went on through the
January frosts, when the Germans also
pulled down the temporary huts which
they had built for camp purposes. On
Feb. 10 the Cure, doubtless with a hint of
what was coming, turned over the sacred
objects and vessels from the church to
the Germans for safe keeping.
And then comes the last entry in the
diary: " There is a rumor current that
soon we are all going to be evacuated
from our homes." They were evacuated
to certain villages where the residents
of the country round were concentrated
before the Germans began in earnest
their work of devastation, and by the
middle of March the great retreat was
in full swing. When the British reached
the site of Savy in the early days of
April the village was no more than a
litter of dust and broken bricks. The
torch and high explosives had done their
work well before the Germans left the
town.
Von Bissing's Plan to Annex Belgium
Pan-German Program Revealed
THE late Governor General of Bel-
gium, Baron von Bissing, left at his
death an extraordinary " political
testament," which has finally reached the
outside world through the columns of
the Hamburger Nachrichten and the
Deutsche Tageszeitung. As a frank and
insistent statement of the Junker demand
for the annexation of Belgium it must
rank among the historic documents bear-
ing upon the war aims of the Central
Powers.
It begins with a long argument about
the dire necessity and sacred duty of
Germany to annex Belgium, insisting
especially upon the military requirements
of " the next war " and the value of the
Belgian coal mines. Baron von Bissing
protests against any thought of Ger-
many's accepting " the Meuse line " and
the fortresses of Liege and Namur, be-
cause the German frontier " must reach
the sea." Coming to details, he reveals
in the following passage the real intent
underlying the talk about " the liberation
of the Flemings " :
"We have among the Flemings many open,
and very many still undeclared, friends, who
are ready to join the great circle of German
world interests. ' That will also he very im-
portant for the future policy of Holland.
But, as soon as we remove our protecting
hand, the Flemish movement will be branded
by the Walloons and the Frenchlings
(Franzoslinge) as pro-German, and will be
completely suppressed. We must do every-
thing without delay to repress boundless
hopes on the part of the Flemings. Some of
them dream of an independent State of
Flanders, with a King to govern it, and of
complete separation. It is true that we must
protect the Flemish movement, but never
must we lend a hand to make the Flemings
completely independent. The Flemings, with
their antagonistic attitude to the Walloons,
will, as a Germanic tribe, constitute a
strengthening of Germanism. But if we
abandon part of Belgium, or if we make a
part of it, such as the territory of Flanders,
into an independent Flemish State, we are
not only creating for ourselves considerable/
difficulties, but we are depriving ourselves of
the considerable advantages and aids which
can be afforded us only by Belgium as a
whole and under German administration. If
only on account of the necessary bases for
our fleet, and in order not to cut off Ant-
werp from the Belgian trade area, it is
necessary to have the adjacent hinterland.
Thus at the conclusion of peace we shall
find opportunity after a century to make
good the mistakes of the Vienna Congress.
In 1871, by the annexation of Alsace-Lor-
raine, which Prussia even at the time of the
Vienna Congress wanted to claim for her-
self, repaired the first of these mistakes. It
is our business now to put aside reluctance
and ideas of reconciliation, and not to fall
into new mistakes.
Baron von Bissing goes on to argue
that the annexation of Belgium is the
only means of obtaining " the necessary
respect " from England, and of saving the
Germans from being regarded all over
the world as weaklings. He says that it
is also the only means of repairing the
prestige of German diplomacy. He then
deals with alleged German anxieties as to
the danger of incorporating non-German
territory, and proceeds to the following
conclusions :
There is no prospect that we shall ever be
able to conclude with the King of the Bel-
gians and his Government a peace by which
Belgium will remain in the German sphere
of power, and it is impossible that the Quad-
ruple Entente, over the heads of its allies,
shall ever accept our peace demands with
regard to Belgium. It only remains for us,
therefore, to avoid during the peace negotia-
tions all discussion about the form of the an-
nexation and to apply nothing but the right
of conquest.
It is true that dynastic considerations have
an importance which is not to be underesti-
mated. For, in view of our just and ruth-
less procedure, the King of the Belgians will
be deposed, and will remain abroad as an
aggrieved enemy. We must put up with that,
and it is to be regarded almost as a happy
circumstance that necessity compels us to
leave dynastic considerations entirely out of
account. A King will never voluntarily hand
over his country to the conqueror, and Bel-
gium's King can never consent to abandon
his sovereignty or to allow it to be restricted.
If he did so his prestige would be so under-
mined that he would have to be regarded not
as a support, but as an obstacle, to German
interests. On the most various occasions the
English have described the right of conquest
as the healthiest and simplest kind of right,
and we can read in Machiavelli that he who
desires to take possession of a country will
be compelled to remove the King or Regent,
even by killing him.
VON BISSING'S PLAN TO ANNEX BELGIUM
353
These are grave decisions, but they must
be taken, for we are concerned with the wel-
fare and the future of Germany, and con-
cerned also with reparation for the war of
destruction that has been directed against us.
Finally, Baron von Bissing demands
that Belgium shall be kept under the
present dictatorship after the peace, and
discusses the comparative values of Bel-
gium and the Belgian Congo. He says:
For years to come we must maintain the
existing state of dictatorship. It is the only
form of administration, based as it is upon
military resources, which can be chosen, In
order to gain time for the gradual and me-
thodical building up of the most appropriate
possible administration. The completion of
the annexation will be regarded by many
Flemings and by a great part of the Wal-
loons as a release from uncertainty and from
vain hopes. Both races will return to the
life that will be rendered possible by re-
newed opportunities for trade and pleasure.
The Walloons can, and must, decide, during
this period of transition, whether they will
adapt themselves to the definitely altered
state of affairs, or whether they prefer to
leave Belgium. He who remains in the coun-
try must declare his allegiance to Germany,
and, after a fixed time, must declare his
adoption of Germanism. * * *
Half measures and a middle course must
be condemned most of all. Lack of deter-
mination in the decisive days of German fate
will be a grave wrong to the blood that has
been shed. Among such half measures I in-
clude the intention of treating Belgium
merely as a pawn which might be used to
recover or extend our colonial possessions.
As regards the extension of our colonial pos-
sessions, the Belgian Congo comes especially
into question. The possession of the Belgian
Congo is certainly to be aimed at, and I de-
sire to insist that a German colonial em-
pire, whatever its shape, is indispensable for
Germany's world policy and expansion of
power. But, on the other hand, I am of the
opinion that only such frontiers as will con-
tribute to the acquisition of greater freedom
on the sea are calculated to make colonial
possessions valuable. Consequently the sup-
porters of the colonial movement must also
demand the Belgian coast, together with the
Belgian hinterland. If we give up the Bel-
gian coast our fleet will lack important bases
for its share in the protection of our colonial
empire. '
Vorwarts, the Berlin Socialist organ,
published in May, 1917, an interchange
of letters between Baron Gebsattel, a
Pan-Germanist leader, and Chancellor
von Bethmann Hollweg. On May 5 the
Baron wrote to the Chancellor on behalf
of the Executive Committee of the Pan-
Germanist League protesting against the
Government's too narrow view of the
way in which the results of certain vic-
tory should be utilized. The Baron said
that the soldiers might even overturn
the monarchy itself if they returned
from the war and found that all pos-
sible gains from their sacrifices had
not been secured by the Government.
The Chancellor replied on May 13 with
a letter in which he said:
Only after the complete defeat of all the
enemies of Germany will the time be rip©
for considering the Pan-Germanist war aims.
For the moment, the interests of the country
forbid a closer examination of these aims.
The league has rendered great service to
Germany by developing national sentiment
and combating the idealism of those who
dreamed of a fraternity of nations, but it is
grotesquely lacking in political judgment.
The Chancellor added that the Baron'*
allusion to a possible revolution, if it had
any foundation, was a condemnation of
those who were stirring up a dangerous
spirit among the people, and, if it had no
foundation, then it was a threat betray-
ing the desires of those who were using
it to subjugate to their own will the re-
sponsible counselors chosen by the
Kaiser.
Battle's Grim Realities at Ginchy
An Irish Officer's Realistic Account of One
Day's Awful Experiences
Second Lieutenant Arthur C. Young of the Seventh Battalion, Royal Irish Fusiliers, a
volunteer from Kobe, Japan, took part in the storming of Ginchy on the Somme front,
Sept. 9, 1916, and wrote the subjoined letter to a relative in London shortly afterward.
This remarkable narrative is here presented in its entirety, with the exception of a few
personal references.
THE storming of Ginchy took place
on Saturday last, Sept. 9. It
had been taken once or twice
before, I believe, (some say four
times,) but even out here it is so diffi-
cult to get authentic news about things
which are happening quite close to us
that you will have to make allowances
for my possible inaccuracies. Each time,
however, it was recaptured by the Ger-
mans, for to them it was a most im-
portant stronghold, particularly from
their artillery's point of view. A gunner
officer told me why this was. You must
remember that artillery fire is not very
effective unless there is good observa-
tion, for atmospheric conditions affect
shooting considerably. Now, the best sort
of observation is that obtained from
high ground in a forward position — it is
better even than airplane or balloon ob-
servation, so I am told. Well, Ginchy
was the last bit of high ground which
the Germans held, and now that they
have lost it, they are dependent on their
less certain aerial observation, or, failing
that, they must shoot by the map, which
is no better than guesswork. Hence the
vital importance to the Germans of
Ginchy.
Try and picture in your mind's eye a
fairly broad valley running more or less
north and south. You must imagine that
the Germans are somewhere over the
further, or southern, crest. You are
looking across the valley from the ruins
of Guillemont. About half-right the fur-
ther crest rises to a height crowned by
a mass of wreckage and tangled trees.
Well, that is Ginchy. The valley narrows
somewhat and bends round this way to
the right of Ginchy. Then it bends back
again to its original line of direction,
and goes on, goodness knows where. At
that point another valley branches off
at right angles to the left, or southward,
and leads up to Combles, which the
French are investing.
At the point of the peninsula between
this valley and that other one is
Falfemont Farm, which is now in our
possession, for we have driven the Ger-
mans well back along the flat top of the
peninsula to some place beyond Leuze
Wood, which is on the right of Ginchy
as we face it from Guillemont. You can
see the trees stcking up on the sky-
line. Now, if you look the other way,
half-left, you will see the ruins of Del-
ville Wood, which seems to start almost
at the botom of the broad valley and to
go over the top of the slope beyond.
Well, we hold that place too. In fact, we
hold all the ground which you can see in
front of you, except Ginchy, and that is
what the Irish division is now going to
storm at the point of the bayonet, if you
have the patience to follow me.
I have conjured up some kind of scene
in your mind — a framework, anyway.
Now, to complete it, you must imagine
that every square yard of ground, in
front, behind, wherever you look, is
churned up as if by some monster plow
until barely one blade of green is left.
Think what Hampstead Heath would look
like if it were dug up in all directions
into pits about ten feet deep and fifteen
feet across — and you will have framed
an image (I'm afraid a faint one only)
of the awful scene of desolation which
your eyes have to dwell upon for days at
a time on the battlefield of the Somme.
Seeling a Habitable Trench
On the night previous to the taking of
Ginchy my battalion had to take up a
BATTLE'S GRIM REALITIES AT GINCHY
355
position on the further slope of the val-
ley. We were some distance in rear at
the time, where the shells did not fall so
plentifully. We had had nearly a week
of it already, and a more horrible five
days I have never passed in my life. We
had been over the top from Falfemont
Farm on the Tuesday, and had been
thanked for our services in a special di-
visional order, but the price we had to
pay for that feat of arms was a big one,
as the casualty list printed by this time
only too well shows.
I was sent out to find a habitable
trench for my company. I found one near
the spot indicated on the map. We moved
in there at dusk. There is no proceeding
to your sector through a long communi-
cation trench at the Somme. You just go
over the top, skirting shell holes all the
way. Nor is there any " taking over "
in the sense in which that term is used
in the more civilized regions further
north, where the officer of the relieving
company finds out the exact delimita-
tions of his frontage, and takes an inven-
tory of all stock in the way of ammuni-
tion, bombs, stores, &c. You don't do
things on those lines here. The reliev-
ing company comes up at an unexpected
hour, the commander reports himself to
you, and asks you all sorts of questions
which you answer to the best of your
ability, and then you get your men to-,
gether and make off, hell for leather.
And the trenches are nothing like the
elaborate affairs you meet with in the
more settled parts of the line. They are
just ditches and nothing else. There are
no dugouts or shelters or fire bays or
anything of that sort. Then, again, you
don't always relieve another regiment in
the same trench. You may prefer to go
on a little bit in search of a more suit-
able one.
Driven Out by the Dead
Well, as I have just said, we moved
into our trench north of Guillemont at
dusk. We faced half-right, as it were,
looking up the slope toward Ginchy. It
was like being near the foot of Parlia-
ment Hill, with the village on top. Our
right flank was down near the bottom
of the valley; our left extended up to
the higher ground toward the ruins of
Waterlot Farm. The trench was very
shallow in places, where it had been
knocked in by shellfire. I had chosen
it as the only one suitable in the neigh-
borhood, but it was a horrible place.
Bsssr ™™
SCENE OF THE FIGHT FOR GINCHY
British dead were lying about every-
where. Our men had to give up digging
in some places, because they came down
to bodies which were buried there when
the parapet blew in. The smell turned
us sick. At last in desperation I went
out to look for another trench, for I felt
sure the Germans must have the range
of the trench we were in, and that they
would give us hell when dawn broke. To
niy joy I found that a very deep trench
some distance back had just been vacated
by another regiment, so we went in
there.
The night was bitterly cold. I have
felt hunger and thirst and fatigue out
here to a degree I have never experienced
them before, but those torments I can en-
dure far better than I thought I could.
But the cold — my word! It is dreadful.
I suppose life in the Far East does not
harden one's constitution against that tor-
ture. Many a night have I slept out in
the open, in narrow, wet trenches, with
the rain pouring down, and almost
groaned with the agony of cold. If two
can huddle together, you can get some
356
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
warmth, but the trenches are frequently
too narrow for that. I think I feel the
cold more than any one.
However, dawn broke at last. It was
very misty. All night we had been
trying to get into touch with the unit on
our left, but without success. So the
Captain sent me out with an orderly to
see whether I could manage it. We two
stumbled along, but the mist was so
dense we could see nothing. We came
to one trench after another, but not a
living thing could we see — nothing but
dead, British and German, some of them
mangled beyond recognition. Bombs and
rifles and equipment were lying all over
the place, with here and there a great-
coat, khaki or gray according to the
nationality of their one-time owners, but
of living beings we could see no sign
whatsoever. There was a horrible
stench in places which nearly turned our
stomachs.
A Dangerous Reconnoissance
To make matters more wretched, we
could not make sure of our direction, and
were afraid of running into a German
patrol, or even into a German trench, for
such accidents are by no means uncom-
mon in this region. However, we man-
aged to find our way back and report that
up to such and such a point on the map
(approximately) there was no one on
our left. The Captain was not content
with this, so I went out again, this time
with another officer. Having a compass
on this second occasion, I felt far more
self-confidence, and to our mutual satis-
faction we discovered that the unit on
our left was the right flank of an English
division. Captain was very bucked
when we brought back this information.
As the mist continued for some time
afterward, we were able to light fires
and make breakfast.
Now, I have forgotten to tell you that
we were in reserve. The front line was
some five or six hundred yards higher up
the slope nearer Ginchy. We knew that
a big attack was coming off that day, but
did not think we should be called upon to
take part. Accordingly, we settled down
for the day, and most of the men slept. I
felt quite at home, as I sat in the bottom
of the deep trench, reading the papers I
had received the previous day from Eng-
land. I went through The Times and
was much interested in its Japan Supple-
ment, for the memories it brought back of
many happy days in Dai Nippon were
vivid ones. I also read The Nation from
cover to cover. At Falfemont Farm I
had picked up a good copy of Burns's
" Poems " in the Everyman Series, so I
read "The Cottars Saturday Night"
and some other pieces. Mentally, in fact,
I was living in quite another world, and
it was only the occasional " cr-r-r-rump "
of a Boche shell which brought me back
to my senses and to the hideous reality
of things.
" Over the Top "
It was about 4 o'clock in the afternoon
when we first learned that we should
have to take part in the attack on Ginchy.
Now, you probably expect me to say at
this point in my narrative that my heart
leaped with joy at the news and that the
men gave three rousing cheers, for that's
the sort of thing you read in the papers.
Well, I had been over the top once al-
ready that week, and knew what it was
to see men dropping dead all around me,
to see men blown to bits, to see men
writhing in pain, to see men running
round and round, gibbering, raving mad.
Can you wonder, therefore, that I felt
a sort of sickening dread of the horrors
which I knew we should all have to go
through? How the others felt I don't
exactly know, but I don't think I am far
wrong when I say that their emotions
were not far different from mine. You
read no end of twaddle in the papers at
home about the spirit in which men go
into action. You might almost think
they reveled in the horror and the agony
of it all. I saw one account of the battle
of Ginchy in which the correspondent
spoke of the men of a certain regiment
in reserve as " almost crying with rage "
because they couldn't take part in the
show. All I can say is that I should like
to see such superhuman beings. It is
rubbish like this which makes thousands
of people in England think that war is
great sport. As a famous Yankee Gen-
eral said, " War is hell," and you have
only got to be in the Somme one single
day to know it. The man who says he
BATTLE'S GRIM REALITIES AT GINCHY
357
loves being in a charge is a liar, and an
adjective liar at that.
But to get on with the story. We were
ordered to move up into the front line to
reinforce the Royal Irish Rifles. None
of us knew for a certainty whether we
were going over the top or not, but every-
thing seemed to point that way. Guides
were sent down by the Rifles to lead us
up. We wended our way up slowly,
keeping as much as possible to the
trenches, which were so shallow that the
deepest part of them did not conceal more
than our waists, but they were something
to duck into if we heard a shell coming.
The bombardment was now intense. Our
shells bursting in the village of Ginchy
made it belch forth smoke like a volcano.
The German shells were bursting on the
slope in front of us. The noise was
deafening. I turned to my servant
O'Brein, who has always been a cheery,
optimistic soul, and said, " Well, O'Brien,
how do you think we'll fare? " and his
answer was for once not encouraging.
"We'll never come out alive, Sir! " was
his reply. Happily, we both came out
alive, but I never though we should at the
time.
Real Picture of a Charge
It was at this moment, just as we were
debouching on to the scragged front line
of trench, that we beheld a scene which
stirred and thrilled us to the bottommost
depths of our souls. The great charge of
the Irish division had begun, and we had
come up in the nick of time. Mere words
must fail to convey anything like a true
picture of the scene, but it is burned into
the memory of all those who were there
and saw it. Let me employ once more
the simile of Parliament Hill. You are
more than half way up it now. The flat
top, where the village lies a heap of
ruins, surrounded by a fence of shat-
tered trees, is about 400 yards away. Be-
tween the outer fringe of Ginchy and the
front line of our own trenches is No
Man's Land — a wilderness of pits, so close
together that you could ride astraddle
the partitions between any two of them.
As you look half-right, obliquely along
No Man's Land, you behold a great host
of yellow-coated men rise out of the earth
and surge forward and upward in a tor-
rent— not in extended order, as you might
expect, but in one mass — I almost said a
compact mass. The only way I can de-
scribe the scene is to ask you to picture
five or six columns of men marching up
hill in fours, with about a hundred yards
between each column. Now, conceive
those columns being gradually disorgan-
ized, some men going off to the right and
others to the left to avoid shell holes.
There seems to be no end to them. Just
when you think the flood is subsiding, an-
other wave comes surging up the beach
toward Ginchy.
We joined in on the left. There was
no time for us any more than the others
to get into extended order. We formed
another stream converging on the others
at the summit. By this time we were all
wildly excited. Our shouts and yells
alone must have struck terror into the
Germans, who were firing their machine
guns down the slope. But there was no
wavering in the Irish host. We couldn't
run. We advanced at a steady walking
pace, stumbling here and there, but
going ever onward and upward. That
numbing dread had now left me complete-
ly. Like the others, I was intoxicated
with the glory of it all. I can remember
shouting and bawling to the men of my
platoon, who were only too eager to go
on. The German barrage had now been
opened in earnest, and shells were falling
here, there, and everywhere in No Man's
Land. They were mostly dropping on
our right, but they were coming nearer
and nearer, as if a screen were being
drawn across our front. I knew that it
was a case of " now or never " and stum-
bled on feverishly. We managed to get
through the barrage in the nick of time,
for it closed behind us, and after that we
had no shells to fear in front of us.
A Psychological Note
I mention, merely as an interesting fact
in psychology, how in a crisis of this sort
one's mental faculties are sharpened. In-
stinct told us when the shells were coming
gradually closer to crouch down in the
holes until they had passed. Acquired
knowledge on the other hand — the knowl-
edge instilled into one by lectures and
books, (of which I have only read one,
namely, Haking's " Company Training,")
358
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
— told us that it was safer in the long
run to push ahead before the enemy got
the range, and it was acquired knowledge
that won. And here's another observa-
tion I should like to make by the way: I
remember reading somewhere, I think it
was in a book by Winston Churchill, that
of the battle of Omdurman the writer
could recollect nothing in the way of
noise; he had an acute visual recollection
of all that went on about him, but his
aural recollection was nil; he could only
recall the scene as if it were a cinemato-
graph picture. Curiously, this was my
own experience at Ginchy. The din must
have been deafening, (I learned after-
ward that it could be heard miles away,)
yet I have only a confused remembrance
of it. Shells, which at any other time
would have scared me out of my wits, I
never so much as heard — not even when
they were bursting quite close to me. One
landed in the midst of a bunch of men
about seventy yards away on my right;
I have a most vivid recollection of seeing
a tremendous burst of clay and earth go
shooting up into the air — yes, and even
parts of human bodies — and that when
the smoke cleared away there was noth-
ing left. I shall never forget that hor-
rifying spectacle as long as I live, but I
shall remember it as a sight only, for I
can associate no sound with it.
Capture of the Trenches
How long we were in crossing No
Man's Land I don't know. It could not
have been more than five minutes, yet it
seemed much longer. We were now well
up to the Boche. We had to clamber
over all manner of obstacles — fallen trees,
beams, great mounds of brick and rubble
— in fact, over the ruins of Ginchy. It
seems like a nightmare to me now. I
remember seeing comrades falling round
me. My sense of hearing returned, for
I became conscious of a new sound, name-
ly, the pop, pop, pop of machine guns
and the continuous crackling of rifle fire.
I remember men lying in shell holes hold-
ing out their arms and beseeching water.
I remember men crawling about and
coughing up blood, as they searched round
for some place in which they could shelter
until help could reach thehn. By this
time all units were mixed up. But they
were all Irishmen. They were cheering
and cheering and cheering like mad. It
was hell let loose. There was a machine
gun playing on us near by, and we all
made for it.
At this moment we caught our first
sight of the Germans. They were in a
trench of sorts, which ran in and out
among the ruins. Some of them had
their hands up. Others were kneeling
and holding their arms out to us. Still
others were running up and down the
trench distractedly as if they didn't know
which way to go, but as we got close they
went down on their knees, too. To the
everlasting good name of the Irish sol-
diery, not one of these Germans, some of
whom had been engaged in slaughtering
our men up to the very last moment, was
killed. I did not see a single instance of
a prisoner being shot or bayonetted.
When you remember that our men were
now worked up to a frenzy of excitement,
this crowning act of mercy to their foes
is surely to their eternal credit. They
could feel pity even in their rage.
Only Trvo Officers Left
By this time we had penetrated the
German front line, and were on the flat
ground where the village once stood, sur-
rounded by a wood of fairly high trees.
There was no holding the men back. They
rushed through Ginchy, driving the Ger-
mans before them. The German dead
were lying everywhere, some of them
having been frightfully mangled by our
shellfire. As I was clambering out of
the front trench, I felt a sudden stab in
my right thigh. I thought I had got a
"blighty," [a wound serious enough to
send him back to Britain,] but found it
was only a graze from a bullet, and so
went on.
I managed to find my men without dif-
ficulty. They had rushed through the
ruins of the village and were almost a
hundred yards beyond the wood, where
the ground dips down slightly into a
shallow valley and mounts up gradually
to a ridge about half a mile away. We
were facing south here, having Delville
Wood away to our left and Leuze Wood
on bur right. and I were the only
two officers left in the company, so it
was up to us to take charge. There
BATTLE'S GRIM REALITIES AT GINCHY
359
were not more than half a dozen officers
in this part of the line, and so we had a
great deal of work to do. We could see
the Germans hopping over the distant
ridge like rabbits, and we had some dif-
ficulty in preventing our men from chas-
ing them, for we had orders not to go too
far.
We got them — Irish Fusiliers, Innis-
killings, and Dublins — to dig in by linking
up the shell craters, and though the
men were tired, (some wanted to smoke
and others to make tea,) they worked
with a will, and before long we had
got a pretty decent trench outlined.
Scenes Among Prisoners
While we were at work a number of
Germans who had stopped behind, and
were hiding in shell holes, commenced a
bombing attack on our right. But they
did not keep it up long, for they hoisted
a white flag, (a handkerchief tied to a
rifle,) as a sign of surrender. I should
think we must have made about twenty
prisoners. They were very frightened.
Some of them bunked into a sunken road
or cutting which ran straight out from
the wood in a southerly direction, and
huddled together, with hands upraised.
They began to empty their pockets and
hand out souvenirs — watches, compasses,
cigars, penknives — to their captors, and
even wanted to shake hands with us!
There was no other officer about at the
moment, so I had to find an escort to take
the prisoners down. Among the prison-
ers was a tall, distinguished-looking man,
and I asked him in my broken German
whether he was an officer. " Ja ! mein
Herr ! " was the answer I got. " Sprechen
sie English?" "Ja!" "Good," I said,
thankful that I didn't have to rack my
brains for any more German words;
" please tell your men that no harm will
come to them if they follow you quietly."
He turned round and addressed his men,
who seemed to be very grateful that we
were not going to kill them! I must say
the officer behaved with real soldierly
dignity, and, not to be outdone in polite-
ness, I treated him with the same re-
spect that he showed me. I gave him an
escort for himself and told off three or
four men for the remainder. I could not
but rather admire his bearing, for he
did not show anything like the terror
that his men did.
I heard afterward that when Captain
's company rushed a trench more to
our right, round the corner of the wood,
a German officer surrendered in great
style. He stood to attention, gave a
clinking salute, and said in perfect Eng-
lish, " Sir, myself, this other officer, and
ten men are your prisoners." Captain
said, " Right you are, old chap ! "
and they shook hands, the prisoners be-
ing led away immediately. So you see
there are certain amenities which are ob-
served even on the bloodiest of battle-
fields. I believe our prisoners were all
Bavarians, who are better mannered from
all accounts than the Prussians. They
could thank their stars they had Irish
chivalry to deal with.
There were a great many German dead
and wounded in the sunken road. One
of them was an officer. He was lying at
the entrance to a dugout. He was wav-
ing his arms about. I went over and
spoke to him. He could talk a little Eng-
lish. All he could say was, " Comrade, I
die, I die." I asked him where he was
hit and he said in the stomach. It was
impossible to move him, for our stretcher
bearers had not yet come up, so I got my
servant to look for an overcoat to throw
over him, as he was suffering terribly
from the cold. Whether or not he sur-
vived the night I do not know.
After, the Battle
Our line was now extended across the
sunken road and beyond the corner of
the wood to our right. Darkness was
coming on. Airplanes were hovering
overhead, and shortly afterward our
shells began to form a barrage in front.
The Germans had evidently rallied, for
we could see a long line of them coming
up on our right, evidently from the di-
rection of Leuze Wood. Our machine
guns opened fire. The counterattack
was hung up, but the Germans must have
dug themselves in for the night, for in
the morning they gave us a good deal of
trouble.
I could go on in this strain for a long
time, but will cut the rest of the story
short, for you must be weary of it. As
briefly as possible, then, after the coun-
360
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
terattack had subsided, I was ordered to
take my men and join up with the rest of
the battalion on our right. There we
spent the night in a trench. We must
have been facing south. It was a miser-
able night we passed, for we were all
very cold and thirsty. We had to keep
digging. When morning broke it was
very misty. We expected to be relieved
at 2 in the morning, but the relief did not
come till noon. Never shall I forget
those hours of suspense. We were all
hungry. The only food we could get was
German black bread, which we picked up
all over the place; also German tinned
sausages and bully-beef. We had to lift
up some of the dead to get at these
things. Some of them had water bottles
full of cold coffee, which we drank.
We all craved a smoke. Fortunately,
the German haversacks were pretty well
stocked with cigarettes and cigars. I got
a handful of cigars off a dead German,
and smoked them all morning. Also a
tin of cigarettes. His chocolates also
came in handy. Poor devil, he must have
been a cheery soul when living, for he had
a photograph of himself in his pocket, in
a group with his wife and two children,
and the picture made him look a jolly
old sport. And here he was dead, with
both legs missing! The trench (be-
tween ours and the wood) was stacked
with dead. It was full of debris — bombs,
shovels, and what not — and torn books,
magazines, and newspapers. I came
across a copy of Schiller's " Wallen-
stein."
Treatment of Wounded Germans
Hearing moans as I went along the
trench, I looked into a shelter or hole dug
in the side and found a young German.
He could not move, as his legs were
broken. He begged me to get him some
water, so I hunted round and found a
flask of cold coffee, which I held to his
lips. He kept saying " Danke, Kamerad,
danke, danke." However much you may
hate the Germans when you are fighting
them, you can only feel pity for them
when you see them lying helpless and
wounded on the ground. I saw this man
afterward on his way to the dressing
station. About ten yards further on was
another German, minus a leg. He, too,
craved water, but I could get him none,
though I looked everywhere. Our men
were very good to the German wounded.
An Irishman's heart melts very soon. In
fact, kindness and compassion for the
wounded, our own and the enemy's, is
about the only decent thing I have seen
in war. It is not at all uncommon to
see a British and German soldier side by
side in the same shell hole nursing each
other as best they can and placidly smok-
ing cigarettes. A poor wounded Ger-
man who hobbled into our trench in the
morning, his face badly mutilated by a
bullet— he whimpered and moaned as
piteously as a child — was bound up by
one of our officers, who took off his coat
and set to work in earnest. Another
German, whose legs were hit, was carried
in by our men and put into a shell hole
for safety, where he lay awaiting the
stretcher bearers when we left. It is
with a sense of pride that I can write
this of our soldiers.
There was a counterattack on our left
in the morning, and for a few minutes the
machine guns were very active, but the
Germans were beaten off. At last we
were relieved, and made our way back,
behind Guillemont, to be taken out of the
line. We spent one night in a camp and
next day came on here. I am writing
this in a picturesque French village. You
can see green fields and trees and stacks
of corn and cattle when you look through
the window. Here, at all events, " grim-
visaged war hath smoothed his wrinkled
front." I am not alone in hoping that
we shall not have to go back to that
hellish place.
Well, now, that's the story of the great
Irish charge at Ginchy, so far as I can
tell it. I suppose by this time the great
event has been forgotten by the English
public. But it will never be forgotten
by those who took part in it, for it is an
event we shall remember with pride to
the end of our days.
Need I tell you how proud we officers
and men are of the Royal Irish Fusiliers
who played as big a part as any in the
storming of that stronghold, and who
went into action shouting their old battle
cry of " Faugh-a-Ballagh "— " Clear the
way! "
THE EUROPEAN WAR AS
SEEN BY CARTOONISTS
[Italian Cartoon]
The World Moves Slowly
" And still it moves
who tried to seize it.
—From II 1,20, Florence.
Galileo said — and in the end it will crush those
361
[English Cartoon]
The Old Love and the New
ou-D
— From Cassell's Saturday Journal.
Miss U-Boat: " Will you love me as much three months later? "
William (sotto voce) : " I wonder! "
362
[Norwegian Cartoon]
U-Boat Morality
—From Hvepsen, Christiania.
" We are champions of the freedom of the seas."— German Claim.
363
[German Cartoon]
Britain and the U- Boats
—From Lustige Blaetter, Berlin.
Ruler of the Waves: "I will break Germany! I will smash Germany!
I will ! ! ! "
364
[German Cartoon]
??
Still Lies the Sea!
w
Hi*:
:<.:->-*&:::.::y:V::*s.v^:;;
v;'#
—From Lustige Blaetter, Berlin.
[A German dream which is a long way from fulfillment.]
365
[English Cartoons]
A Naval Discovery
—From The Sunday Evening Telegram, London.
Father Neptune (to John Bull and Brother Jonathan) : " Well, boys, it's
taken over a hundred years and Armageddon to convince you that my seas are
intended not to divide, but to bring you together."
The Hope of the Family
—From The News of the World, London.
The Woeful Warrior:" He is our last hope, Willie dear, and he's sinking fast! "
366
[American Cartoon]
Getting Hotter Every. Minute
—From The New York Times,
367
[Spanish Cartoon]
The German Note to Spain
—From Iberia, Barcelona.
Germany (to Spain) : " Bless you, my dear, you are the only one who
has stood by me. You shall be rewarded afterward."
368
[English Cartoon]
The Junk Sale at Stockholm
— From The Passing Show, London.
Auctioneer Bethmann (to Russia) : "Going! Going! this wonderful peace
masterpiece. Just the thing for a democratic art lover's parlor! "
369
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A .2
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**-* a)
0) £
So
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370
[Dutch Cartoon]
The Stockholm Conference
—From De NotenJcraker, Amsterdam.
[English Cartoon]
St. George and the Pacifist
~~ "—From The London Evening Mews.
Peace Crank : " Before you go on with this conflict you must give me your
word that you will do nothing really injurious to the dragon."
371
[German Cartoon]
Germany's Clever Retreat
—From Kladderdatsch, Berlin.
British Tommy: "Where are those confounded Germans?"
372
[French Cartoon]
In the Torture Chamber at Nuremberg
■ : . ■■-'
—From La Baionnette, Paris.
German Mother: "All these instruments, my boy, will be useful after our
victory — with the aid of the good old God."
373
[Russian Cartoon]
Company for Nicholas
— From Novi Satiricon, Petrograd.
" Ha, ha! Here is a fourth partner. New we can play whist! "
[The other three are the ex-Shah of Persia, ex-Sultan Abdul Hamid of Turkey, and ex-King
Manuel of Portugal.]
374
[German Cartoon]
Wartime Punch and Judy
■::ll;i!l6i: '
—From Der Brummer, Berlin.
Mars: "Whose turn next?"
Britain : " Please, Sir, take Ivan next !
375
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376
[Dutch Cartoon]
A. Difficult Problem
—From. De Nieuwe Amsterdammer, Amsterdam.
Peace Angel : " I don't see where I can ever get hold of it."
377
[American Cartoons]
Russia's Answer *fOh, Say, Can You See ?"
-Duluth Herald.
—Knoxville Journal and Tribune.
w— and Greece!"
The Middleman
— Mobile Register.
Find the Producer and the Consumer.
— St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
378
[American Cartoons]
A Late Spring
Blind the Enemy
—Mobile Register.
How Constantine Lost His Crown
—Baltimore American.
Bars of Gold
—St. Louis Republic.
—Memphis Commercial Appeal.
379
[American Cartoons]
Who Next?
That Draft Gives Him a Chill
—New York World.
When Charlie Begins Strafing
-:y
*^S
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-Los Angeles Times.
In the Wrong Shop
"I DON'T WANT
A HAIR CUT OinlV.
I WA IN T A
tfr^, .CLEAN SHAVE.!.'" • .
—St. I/Oitis Post-Dispatch.
— St. Joseph News-Press.
380
Pf^<;ry-, - ■■
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JOSEPH JACQUES CESAIRE JOFFRE
The Victor of the Marne and Marshal of France, with One
of the Vast Crowds That Gathered to See Him in New York
(© Underwood <t Underwood and Mayor's Reception Committee)
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THE CALL TO ARMS
President's Proclamation of Conscription
Law Creating the National Army
of the United States
mmn, Congress has enact-
ed and the President has
on the 18th day of May, one
thousand nine hundred and
seventeen, approved a law,
which contains the following
provisions :
SECTION 5. — That all male persons
between the ages of 21 and 30,
both inclusive, shall be subject to
registration in accordance with regu-
lations to be prescribed by the
President: And upon proclamation by
the President or other public notice
given by him or by his direction stating
the time and place of such registration
it shall be the duty of all persons of the
designated ages, except officers and
enlisted men of the regular army,
the navy, and the National Guard
an*d Naval Militia while in the
service of the Umted States, to
present themselves for and submit to
registration under the provisions of
this act: And every such person shall
be deemed to have notice of the require-
ments of this act upon the publication
of said proclamation or other notice as
aforesaid, given by the President or by
his direction : And any person who shall
willfully fail or refuse to present him-
self for registration or to submit thereto
as herein provided shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor and shall, upon conviction
in the District Court of the United States
having jurisdiction thereof, be punished
by imprisonment for not more than one
year, and shall thereupon be duly regis-
tered ; provided that in the call of the
docket precedence shall be given, in
courts trying the same, to the trial of
criminal proceedings under this act;
provided, further, that persons shall be
subject to registration as herein provided
who shall have attained their twenty-
first birthday and who shall not have
attained their thirty-first birthday on or
before the day set for the registration;
and all persons so registered shall be
and remain .subject to draft into the
forces hereby authorized unless excepted
or excused therefrom as in this act pro-
vided; provided, further, that in the
case of temporary absence from actual
place of legal residence of any person
liable to registration as provided herein,
such registration may be made by mail
under regulations to be prescribed by
the President.
SECTION 6.-That the President is
hereby authorized to utilize the service
of any or all departments and any or
all officers or agents of the United States
and of the several States-, Territories,
and the District of Columbia and sub-
divisions thereof in the execution of this
act, and all officers and agents of the
United States and of the several States,
Territories, and subdivisions thereof, and
of the District of Columbia ; and all per-
sons designated or appointed under regu-
lations prescribed by the President,
whether such appointments are made by
the President himself or by the Gover-
nor or other officer of any State or Ter-
ritory to perform any duty in the execu-
tion of this act, are hereby required to
perform such duty as the President shall
order or direct, and all such officers and
agents and persons so designated or ap«
pointed shall hereby have full authority
for all acts done by them in the execu-
tion of this act by the direction of the
President. Correspondence in the execu-
tion of this act may be carried in penalty
envelopes, bearing the frank of the War
Department. Any person charged, aa
herein provided, with the duty of carry-
ing into effect any of the provisions of
this act or the regulations made or direc-
tions given thereunder who shall fail or
381
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neglect to perform such duty, and any
person charged with such duty or having
and exercising any authority under said
act, regulations, or directions, who shall
knowingly make or be a party to the
making of any false or incorrect registra-
tion, physical examination, exemption,
enlistment, enrollment, or muster, and
any person who shall make or be a party
to the making of any false statement or
certificate as to the fitness or liability
of himself or any other person for service
under the provisions of this act, or regu-
lations made by the President there-
under, or otherwise evades or aids an-
other to evade the requirements of this
act or of said regulations, or who, in
any manner, shall fail or neglect fully
to perform any duty required of him in
the execution of this act, shall, if not
subject to military law, be guilty of a
misdemeanor, and upon conviction in the
District Court of the United States hav-
ing jurisdiction thereof be punished by
imprisonment for not more than one
year, or, if subject to military law, shall
/be tried by court-martial and suffer such
punishment as a court-marital may
direct.
S^om, $Utttfant I, Woodrow
Wilson, President of the
United States, do call upon the
Governor of each of the several
States and Territories, the
Board of Commissioners of the
District of Columbia, and all
officers and agents of the sev-
eral States and Territories, of
the District of Columbia, and
of the counties and municipali-
ties therein, to perform certain
duties in the execution of the
foregoing law, which duties will
be communicated to them di-
rectly in regulations of even
date herewith.
9k nb I do further proclaim
and give notice to all per-
sons subject to registration in
the several States and in the
District of Columbia, in ac-
cordance with the above law,
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382
that the time and place of such
registration shall be between 7
A. M. and 7 P. M. on the fifth
day of June, 1917, at the regis-
tration place in the precinct
wherein they have their per-
manent homes. Those who
shall have attained their
twenty-first birthday and who
shall not have attained their
thirty-first birthday on or be-
fore the day here named are
required to register, excepting
only officers and enlisted men
of the regular army, the navy,
the Marine Corps, and the Na-
tional Guard and Navy Militia,
while in the service of the
United States, and officers in
the Officers' Reserve Corps and
enlisted men in the Enlisted
Reserve Corps while in active
service. In the Territories of
Alaska, Hawaii, and Porto Rico
a day for registration will be
named in a later proclamation.
JLnb I do charge those who
through sickness shall be
unable to present themselves
for registration that they
apply on or before the day of
registration to the County
Clerk of the county where
they may be for instructions as
to how they may be registered
by agent. Those who expect to
be absent on the day named
from the counties , in which
they have their permanent
homes may register by mail,
but their mailed registration
cards must reach the places
in which they have their per-
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manent homes by the day
named herein. They should
apply as soon as practicable to
the County Clerk of the
county wherein they may be
for instructions as to how
they may accomplish their
registration by mail. In case
such persons as, through sick-
ness or absence, may be unable
to . present themselves person-
ally for registration shall be
sojourning in cities of over
30,000 population, they shall
apply to the City Clerk of the
city wherein they may be so-
journing rather than to the
Clerk of the county. The Clerks
of counties and of cities of over
30,000 population in which
numerous applications from the
sick and from nonresidents are
expected are authorized to
establish such agencies and to
employ and deputize such cleri-
cal force as may be necessary to
accommodate these applica-
tions.
nrij* power against which we
are arrayed has sought
to impose its will upon the
world by force. To this end it
has increased armament until
it has changed the face of war.
In the sense in which we have
been wont to think of armies,
there are no armies in this
struggle, there are entire na-
tions armed. Thus, the men
who remain to till the soil and
man the factories are no less a
part of the army that is France
than the men beneath the battle
flags. It must be so with us.
It is not an army that we must
shape and train for war; it is
a nation.
JJJn this end our people must
draw close in one com-
pact front against a common
foe. But this cannot be if each
man pursues a private purpose.
All must pursue one purpose.
The nation needs all" men; but
ft needs each man not in the
field that will most pleasure
him, but in the endeavor that
will best serve the common
good. Thus, though a sharp-
shooter pleases to operate a
trip-hammer for the forging of
great guns and an expert ma-
chinist desires to march with
the flag, the nation is being
served only when the sharp-
shooter marches and the ma-
chinist remains at his levers.
JjTlf* whole
team,
nation must be a
in which each man
shall play the part for which he
is best fitted. To this end, Con-
gress has provided that the
nation shall be organized for
war by selection ; that each man
shall ' be classified for service
in the place to which it shall
best serve the general good to
call him.
TJTfy? significance of this can-
not be overstated. It is a
new thing in our history and a
landmark in our progress. It
is a new manner of accepting
and vitalizing our duty to give
ourselves with thoughtful de-
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383
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votion to the common purpose
of us all. It is in no sense a
conscription of the unwilling;
it is, rather, selection from a
nation which has volunteered
in mass. It is no more a choos-
ing of those who shall march
with the colors than it is a se-
lection of those who shall serve
an equally necessary and de-
voted purpose in the industries
that lie behind the battle line.
/jTlj* day here named is the
time upon which all shall
present themselves for assign-
ment to their tasks. It is for
that reason destined to be re-
membered as one of the most
conspicuous moments in our
history. It is nothing less than
the day upon which the man-
hood of the country shall step
forward in one solid rank in de-
fense of the ideals to which this
nation is consecrated. It is im-
portant to those ideals no less
than to the pride of this genera-
tion in manifesting its devotion
to them, that there be no gaps
in the ranks.
^Jjt is essential that the day
be approached in thoughtful
apprehension of its signifi-
cance, and that we accord to it
the honor and the meaning that
it deserves. Our industrial
need prescribes that it be not
made a technical holiday, but
the stern sacrifice that is before
us urges that it be carried in
all our hearts as a great day of
patriotic devotion and obliga-
tion, when the duty shall lie
upon every man, whether he is
himself to be registered or not,
to see to it that the name of
every male person of the desig-
nated ages is written on these
lists of honor.
fin WitntBS Wfymtxf, I have
hereunto set my hand and
caused the seal of the United
States to be affixed. Done at
the City of Washington this
18th day of May in the year of
our Lord one thousand nine
hundred and seventeen, and of
the independence of the United
States of America the one hun-
dred and forty-first.
By the President :
ROBERT LANSING,
Secretary of State.
!* 1* 1* 1* 1*1* Mltm 1*1* 1*1* to to total*** 1*1* 1*1*1* to*
384
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The New American Army
Operation of the Selective Draft Law and Formation of the
Nation's Military Forces
CONGRESS passed the bill May 18
authorizing the formation of the
new army by conscription — after
a month's earnest debate. The
measure provides for increasing the
regular army to 287,000 men and the
National Guard to 625,000. It further
adopts for the United States the theory
and system of compulsory service — which
constitutes a revolutionary change — and
provides a system of selective drafts be-
tween the ages of 21 and 30 years where-
by men may be taken by the Govern-
ment.
The President is authorized to take
500,000 at once and 500,000 later, in addi-
tion to the regular army and National
Guard increases. In all, this legislation
provides an army of approximately
2,000,000 to be raised in the first year
following the passage of the law. The
vote in the Senate was 81 to 8 and in the
House 397 to 24.
President Wilson signed the measure
the day it passed, and at once issued the
proclamation printed in the preceding
pages, calling the nation to arms. In this
proclamation he defined the workings of
the law, and fixed June 5 as the day for
registration. This day is to be made the
occasion of great patriotic demonstra-
tions throughout the country.
About 10,000,000 men between 21 and
30, inclusive, are expected to be regis-
tered. After the registration and ex-
emptions have been completed, those de-
clared to be eligible for drafting will
have their names placed in jury wheels
and 500,000 will be drafted for Federal
service in the formation of the new na-
tional army. It is expected that the sec-
ond call for 500,000 men will follow with-
in a few weeks. The new army will be
completed as follows:
The regular army will be recruited to the
maximum war strength of 287,000 men by-
voluntary enlistment or, as a last resort, by
selective enrollment.
The National Guard will be recruited to the
maximum war strength of 625,000 men by
voluntary enlistment or, as a last resort, by
selective enrollment.
The first additional force of 500,000 men
will be raised by selective enrollment.
The new army will be mobilized in 16
divisions of 28,000 men each, distributed
among the States as follows:
First — Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut,
Rhode Island, Vermont, and New Hamp-
shire.
Second — Lower New York State and Long
Island.
Third — Upper New York State and North-
ern Pennsylvania.
Fourth — Southern Pennsylvania.
Fifth — Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New
Jersey, and District of Columbia.
Sixth — Tennessee, North Carolina, and
South Carolina.
Seventh — Alabama, Georgia, and Florida.
Eighth — Ohio and West Virginia.
Ninth — Indiana and Kentucky.
Tenth — Wisconsin and Michigan.
Eleventh — Illinois.
Twelfth — Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louis-
iana.
Thirteenth — North Dakota, South Dakota,
Nebraska, Minnesota, and Iowa.
Fourteenth — Colorado, Kansas, and Mis-
souri.
Fifteenth — Arizona, New Mexico, Texas,
and Oklahoma.
Sixteenth — Washington, Oregon, Idaho,
Montana, California, Nevada, and Utah.
National Guard Called Out
Coincident with the proclamation,
President Wilson issued orders for the
mobilization of the entire National
Guard, which will immediately be drafted
into the Federal service; 60,000 of this
force out of a total of 160,000 were
drafted into the Federal service prior
to May 15. New National Guard units
will be expanded to a total of 400,000, to
be known as the National Guard Army,
consisting of sixteen divisions.
All men taken into the army will serve
for the period of the war.
Although local units will be kept in-
tact, so far as possible, the regular army,
National Guard, and enrolled men will be
welded into a homogeneous army, with
386
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
officers appointed and assigned by the
President.
Enlisted men will receive pay of $30 a
month, an increase of $15, and the pay of
the other grades is increased.
Recruits of the regular army will go
into training at once. The National
Guard units will be in training, it is ex-
pected, by July 1, and the 500,000 en-
rolled men by Sept. 1.
There was a prolonged conflict over a
provision authorizing the formation of
four divisions of volunteers at the pleas-
ure of the President, which was intended
to authorize former President Roosevelt
to head this volunteer army; it was final-
ly incorporated into the bill. Announce-
ment was made on May 19, however, that
the President had decided not to avail
himself of the authority to organize vol-
unteer divisions. He announced at the
same time that a division of the United
States regulars would be sent to France
at the earliest date practicable, to be
commanded by Major Gen. John J.
Pershing, who had been in command of
the expedition to Mexico. The Secretary
of the Navy announced May 19 that 2,600
marines would accompany the Pershing
expedition.
Training Camps Established
Officers' training camps were opened
on May 15 as follows:
First — Troops from all New England States,
Plattsburg Barracks, N. Y.
Second — New York Congressional Districts
1 to 26, (including Long Island, New York
City, and a strip north of the city,) Platts-
burg Barracks, N. Y.
Third — Remainder of New York State and
Pennsylvania Congressional Districts 10, 11,
14, 15, 16, 21, 25, and 28, Madison Barracks,
N. Y.
Fourth — Remainder of Pennsylvania State,
Including Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Fort
Niagara, N. Y.
Fifth — New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland,
Virginia, and District of Columbia, Fort
Myer, Va.
Sixth — North and South Carolina and Ten-
nessee, Fort Oglethorpe, Ga., near Chatta-
nooga, Tenn.
Seventh — Georgia, Alabama, and Florida,
Fort McPherson, Ga., near Atlanta.
Eighth — Ohio and West Virginia, Fort Ben-
jamin Harrison, near Indianapolis.
Ninth — Indiana and Kentucky, Fort Ben-
jamin Harrison.
Tenth — Illinois, Fort Sheridan, near Chicago.
Eleventh — Michigan and Wisconsin, Fort
Sheridan.
Twelfth — Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louis-
iana, Fort Logan H. Root, Ark., near Little
Rock.
Thirteenth — Minnesota, Iowa, North and
South Dakota, and Nebraska, Fort Snelling,
Minn., near St. Paul.
Fourteenth — Missouri, Kansas, and Colo-
rado, Fort Riley, Kan.
Fifteenth — Oklahoma and Texas, Leon
Springs, Texas, near San Antonio.
Sixteenth — Montana, Idaho, Oregon, Cali-
fornia, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Arizona,
and New Mexico, Presidio, San Francisco.
In addition there will be two separate
cavalry divisions which probably will be
situated in the Southwest, near the Mexi-
can border. Officers for the cavalry di-
visions will be trained at all of the six-
teen officers' training camps, which will
open with 40,000 prospective officers un-
der training.
Each infantry division consists of nine
full regiments of infantry, three regi-
ments of field artillery, one regiment of
cavalry, one regiment of engineers, one
division hospital, and four camp infirma-
ries. The total strength of the sixteen is
15,022 officers and 439,792 men.
The two cavalry divisions combined
will have 1,214 officers and 32,062 fight-
ing men, including mounted engineers
and horse artillery units, and each will
have also its divisional hospital and camp
infirmaries.
The proportion of coast artillery troops
to be provided out of the first 500,000
will be 666 officers and 20,000 men, with
requisite medical troops.
Supplementing these tactical units will
be: Sixteen regiments of heavy field ar-
tillery, strength, 768 officers and 21,104
men; eight aero squadrons, or one new
squadron to each two new infantry divis-
ions ; eight balloon companies, ten field
hospitals^ ten ambulance companies,
twenty-two field bakeries, six telephone
battalions, sixteen pack companies, six
ammunition trains, and six supply trains.
Provisions of Conscription Bill
Under the provisions of the conscrip-
tion measure men without dependent
wives or children are required to serve
unless exempted on some other ground.
Unmarried men with dependents, on the
other hand, are not required to serve.
Unmarried men belonging to exempted
THE NEW AMERICAN ARMY
387
classes under regulations to be pre-
scribed by the President also may be ex-
empted, even if they have no dependents.
The President himself is the final au-
thority on all questions of exemption or
discharge. The law authorizes him to
appoint a 'local board for each county or
similar subdivision and a local board for
each 30,000 population in cities of 30,000
or more. These local boards will consist
of three or more persons, none of them
to be connected with the military estab-
lishment. The members of these boards
will be chosen from local authorities or
other citizens of the subdivision in which
the board has jurisdiction.
Local boards have power to hear and
determine, subject to review by district
boards to be appointed for each Federal
judicial district, all questions of exemp-
tion and all questions of including indi-
viduals or classes in the selective draft
or of discharging them from it.
In densely populated judicial districts,
as in New York City, more than one
board will be appointed to revise the
findings of local boards in each district
when appeals are taken.
The entire scheme is to localize the
exemption boards and boards of review as
much as possible, officials feeling that in
this way, and by keeping military men
off the boards, the minimum of friction
will result.
The district boards, also appointed
solely by the President, have authority
to review on appeal, affirm, modify, or
reverse the decision of local boards, as to
any individual or any class of individu-
als. Those not satisfied with the decision
of the Board of Review may appeal
directly to the President. In appointing
all boards, the President has absolute
control at all times of the exemption ma-
chinery. The exemption work is a purely
civil procedure. The army has no part in
the matter until after all questions of
exemption or discharge of individuals or
classes have been finally disposed of and
the new draft army is called to the
colors.
The specific exemptions fixed by the
bill include State and Federal officials of
the legislative, executive, and judicial
branches, persons in the naval or military
service, members of religious sects with
conscientious scruples against war. The
President is authorized to exclude from
the draft or to draft for " partial mili-
tar service only," county and municipal
officers, Custom House clerks, persons
employed by the United States in the
transportation of the mails and certain
other designated classes, together with
" persons engaged in industries, includ-
ing agriculture, found to be necessary to
the maintenance of the military estab-
lishment or the effective operation of the
military forces or the maintenance of the
national interest during the emergency."
Mobilizing America's Resources
THE mobilizing of America's re-
sources and the organizing of its
man power for the war proceeded
in earnest in May. In every direction
new forms of co-operation in industry
were established with the help of leading
business men, technical experts, and men
whose organizing abilities had been pre-
viously employed in private enterprise.
Committees to serve under Bernard M.
Baruch, Chairman of the Committee on
Raw Materials of the Advisory Commis-
sion, and Julius Rosenwald, Chairman of
the Committee of Supplies, were ap-
pointed by the Council of National De-
fense. These committees assisted in the
co-ordination of industries. Judge El-
bert H. Gary was appointed Chairman
of the Committee on Steel, and among
the members of the committee was
Charles M. Schwab of the Bethlehem
Steel Company. A. C. Bedford, Presi-
dent of the Standard Oil Company, was
appointed Chairman of the Committee on
Oil. Other committees to handle alcohol,
aluminium, asbestos, magnesia, and roof-
ing; brass, coal tar by-products, lumber,
lead; mica, nickel, rubber, sulphur, wool,
and zinc, were selected from the chief
leaders in those lines.
388
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
The Commercial Economy Board of the
Advisory Commission to promote effici-
ency, eliminate waste, and especially to
assist commercial houses in releasing em-
ployes for Government service without
dislocating business, proceeded with its
work. A committee was appointed to in-
crease output of coal and by co-operation
with the Committees on Raw Materials
and Transportation to accelerate the
movement of coal to points where the
need is greatest.
Medical men organized a board to
work with the Council of National De-
fense.
The Women's Committee, presided over
by Dr. Anna H. Shaw, endeavored to
prevent overlapping by the numerous
women's organizations, and to organize
their work in an efficient manner.
Measures were undertaken to recruit
for farm work boys between the age of
16 and the age of enlistment, of whom
there are 5,000,000, with 2,000,000 esti-
mated as idle. This was directed by the
Department of Agriculture through the
United States Boys' Working Reserve.
The leaders of capital and labor on
May 15 met at Washington, and, putting
aside all differences, agreed to co-operate.
Samuel Gompers, President of the Amer-
ican Federation of Labor and Chairman
of the Labor Committee of the Advisory
Commission, invited a group of America's
greatest industrial magnates to discuss
methods of co-operation between employ-
ers and workers. Those who accepted
included John D. Rockefeller, Jr., Emer-
son McMillan of New York, Daniel Gug-
genheim, Theodore Marburg of Balti-
more, and Colgate Hoyt of New York.
The meeting in the Labor Federation
building at Washington was unprece-
dented. Mr. Rockefeller promised that
he would do all he could to co-operate
with labor. Similar pledges were re-
ceived from other men representing great
industrial interests, who were not present
at the meeting. At its conclusion the
spokesmen of capital and labor went in a
body to the White House, and were re-
ceived by the President, who said that
this was a most welcome visit, because it
meant a most welcome thing — co-opera-
tion of the whole nation. The labor union
leaders of America have also conferred
with the British labor representatives
who have been visiting Washington and
learning how in England employers and
workers have co-operated for the prose-
cution of the war.
The Government received invaluable
assistance from the iron and steel pro-
ducers, who formed a central organiza-
tion and took charge of all orders for
war munitions. All steel mills were clas-
sified according to tonnage, so as to make
a proper distribution of the financial
burden. The copper producers made an
agreement with the Metals Committee of
the National Defense Council to supply
copper at the average market price for
the last ten years, instead of the current
market prices. Secretary of the Navy
Daniels stated that his department is
thereby saving $850,000 in the cost of
cartridge cases under contracts just
awarded. The agreement was brought
about by Bernard M. Baruch. Satisfac-
tory arrangements were also made by the
Navy Department with the petroleum in-
terests to supply the navy's needs at
reasonable cost. Judge Gary, Chairman
of the United States Steel Corporation,
announced that the Government was to
obtain the steel it required at lower
prices. Other branches of trade and in-
dustry also acted on the principle that
patriotism demands the subordination of
profit-seeking to war needs.
The State Governments began to or-
ganize so as to help the National Govern-
ment, New York in particular being well
advanced with its scheme of defense
work. Early in May a conference of
Governors and State delegates was held
at Washington and received explanations
regarding the various projects of com-
mittees of the National Defense Council.
VISIT OF NOTED DIPLOMATS
Marshal Joffre and Ministers Balfour and Viviani
Welcomed by the United States
Text of Their Most Eloquent Speeches
THE entrance of the United States
into the great conflict was imme-
diately followed by a decision on
the part of the British and
French Governments each to send on
one of its warships a high commission
to convey the greetings and sense of
appreciation of those Governments to
this country, and also to discuss ways
and means for securing the most effective
co-operation of the United States.
The British Commission was headed by
Arthur J. Balfour, Foreign Minister and
former Premier; his personal staff in-
cluded the Hon. Sir Eric Drummond,
K. C. M. G., G. C. B.; Ian Malcolm, M. P.;
C. F. Dormer, and G. Butler. Sir Eric
Drummond is a half-brother and heir pre-
sumptive of the Earl of Perth. Mr. Mal-
colm at different times was an attache
of the British Embassies in Berlin, Paris,
and Petrograd, and during the war has
been the British Red Cross officer in
France, Switzerland, and Russia.
Other members of the party were
Rear Admiral Dudley R. S. de Chair,
K. C. B., M. V. O.; Fleet Paymaster Vin-
cent Lawford, D. S. 0., Admiralty; Major
General George T. M. Bridges, C. M. G.,
D. S. O.; Captain H. H. Spender-Clay,
M. P.; Lord Cunliffe, Governor of the
Bank of England. Admiral de Chair
is one of the naval advisers of the British
Foreign Office. General Bridges was
the head of the military mission with the
Belgian field army and served in both
the Boer war and the present conflict.
Captain Spender-Clay married the daugh-
ter of William Waldorf Astor. The
commission also included the following:
War Office.— Colonel Goodwin, Colonel
Langhorne, Major L. W. B. Rees, V. C, M.
C, Royal Flying Corps, and Major C. E.
Dansey.
Blockade Department Experts.— Lord Eu-
stace Percy of the Foreign Office. A. A. Paton
of the Foreign Office, F. P. Robinson of the
Board of Trade, S. McKenna of the War
Trade Intelligence Department, and M. D.
Peterson of the Foreign Trade Department,
Foreign Office.
Wheat Commission.— A. A. Anderson, Chair-
man, and Mr. Vigor.
Munitions.— W. T. Layton, Director of Re-
quirements and Statistics Branch, Secretariat
of the Ministry of Munitions ; C. T. Phillips,
American and Transport Department, Minis-
try of Munitions ; Captain Leeming, Mr.
Amos.
Ordnance and Lines of Communication.—
Captain Heron.
Supplies and Transports.— Major Puckle.
The French Commission was headed by
former Premier Viviani, Minister of Jus-
tice; General Joffre, Marshal of France;
Vice Admiral Chocheprat, Senior Vice
Admiral of the French Navy, and Mar-
quis de Chambrun, a member of the
Chamber of Deputies, a lineal descend-
ant of Marquis de Lafayette. The party
also included M. Simon, Inspector of
Finance; M. Hovelacque, Inspector Gen-
eral of Public Instruction, and the per-
sonal staff of Marshal Joffre, compris-
ing Lieut. Col. Fabry, Chief of Staff;
Lieut. Col. Remond, (artillery,) General
Headquarters; Major Rerquim, Ministry
of War; Lieutenant de Tossan, Tenth
Army, and Surgeon Major Dreyfus of the
Medical Corps. The other members of
the party are Lieutenant A. J. A. K.
Lindeboom of the Ministry of Marine, a
specialist in sea transport, and Captain
George E. Simon, Aid de Camp of Ad-
miral Chocheprat.
Arrival of British Mission
The visit of these eminent men was
meant to fulfill two. separate functions,
the one to express to the people of Amer-
ica the gratification of the allied Govern-
ments over our action, and the other to
discuss practical ways and means with
our Government to secure its most effec-
tive co-operation with the Allies.
The British Commissioners stole se-
cretly away from England April 11 on a
390
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
fast ship, protected in every possible
way from German spies, who might have
sent out word to lurking submarines.
The voyage was entirely uneventful,
however, and the party arrived at Hal-
ifax April 20. Crossing to St. John, a
special train took them to the little
Canadian town of McAdam, just across
the International Bridge, which Werner
Horn, a former German officer, had
attempted to blow up.
Meanwhile the American Reception
Committee, headed by Breckinridge
Long, Third Assistant Secretary of
State; Rear Admiral Fletcher, and Major
Gen. Wood, slipped out of Washington
April 15 under the impression that the
British party had started two days
earlier than it did. With a five-car spe-
cial train standing with steam up, the
committee waited anxiously from Monday
until Friday afternoon, when the word
came from Halifax which sent them on a
night ride to the border. At 9 A. M. of
the 21st they arrived at the little frontier
town of Vanceboro, Me. The American
officials, with the army and navy repre-
sentatives in uniform, descended to a
dingy and deserted station platform in
a thick, cold mist. News of the distin-
guished guests' arrival soon brought a
small gathering of railroad workers,
farmers, and French Canadians, rein-
forced by a squad of youngsters who
came marching up with three worn
American flags.
To these modest surroundings the spe-
cial train, which had gone on to Mc-
Adam, returned two hours later bearing
Mr. Balfour and his party. As it drew
across the bridge, Secretary Long and
his party mounted the rear of the ob-
servation car and disappeared inside to
welcome the commission formally to
American soil.
Mr. Balfour's Statement
The party reached Washington on
Sunday, April 22. While en route Mr.
Balfour issued the following statement:
I have not come here to make speeches or
indulge in interviews, but to do what I can
to make co-operation easy and effective be-
tween those who are striving with all their
power to bring about a lasting peace by the
only means that can secure it, namely, a suc-
cessful war.
On my own behalf let me express the deep
gratification I feel at being connected in any
capacity whatever with events which asso-
ciate our countries in a common effort for a
great ideal.
On behalf of my countrymen, let me ex-
press our gratitude for all that the citizens of
the United States of America have done to
mitigate the lot of those who, in the allied
countries, have suffered from the cruelties of
the most deliberately cruel of all wars. To
name no others, the efforts of Mr. Gerard to
alleviate the condition of British and other
prisoners of war in Germany and the admin-
istrative genius which Mr. Hoover has un-
grudgingly devoted to the relief of the un-
happy Belgians and French in the territories
still in enemy occupation, will never be for-
gotten, while an inexhaustible stream of char"
itable effort has supplied medical and nurs-
ing skill to the service of the wounded and
the sick.
These are the memorable doing of a benef-
icent neutrality. But the days of neutrality
are, I rejoice to think, at an end, and the
first page i* being turned in a new chapter in
the history of mankind.
Your President, in a most apt and vivid
phrase, has proclaimed that the world must
be made safe for democracy. Democracies,
wherever they are to be found, and not least
the democracies of the British Empire, will
hail the pronouncement as a happy augury.
That self-governing communities are not to
be treated as negligible simply because they
are small, that the ruthless domination of one
unscrupulous power imperils the future of
civilization and the liberties of mankind, are
truths of political ethics which the bitter ex-
periences of war are burning into the souls
of all freedom-loving peoples. That this great
people should have thrown themselves whole-
heartedly into this mighty struggle, prepared
for all the efforts and sacrifices that may be
required to win success for this most right-
eous cause, is an event at once so happy and
so momentous that only the historian of the
future will be able, as I believe, to measure
Its true proportions.
At Washington the party was met in
the station by Secretary of State Lansing
and Colonel W. W. Harts, the President's
Aid; Frank L. Polk, Counselor of the
State Department and Assistant Secre-
tary of State; Sir Cecil Spring-Rice, the
British Ambassador, and others. Es-
corted by two troops of cavalry, the
visitors were taken to the private resi-
dence of Franklin MacVeagh, former Sec-
retary of the Treasury, which had been
placed at their disposal. The streets
through which they passed were filled
with welcoming crowds, and as they
passed they were everywhere greeted
with cheers and waving flags, the Stars
VISIT OF NOTED DIPLOMATS
391
and Stripes and the union jack being
freely intermingled.
Mr. Balfour first conferred with Presi-
dent Wilson on the. morning of the 23d,
and that night the President and Mrs.
Wilson gave a dinner at the White House
in honor of the party.
Seeding No Formal Alliance
On April 25 Mr. Balfour made his first
important official declaration, in which
he stated that the Entente Powers did
not seek a formal alliance with the
United States. Speaking to a group of
newspaper correspondents, he said:
I do not suppose that it is possible for you—
I am sure it would not be possible for me
were I in your place— to realize in concrete
detail all that the war means to those who
have been engaged in it for now two years
and a half. That is a feeling which comes,
and can only come, by actual experience. We
on the other side of the Atlantic have been
living in an atmosphere of war since August,
1914, and you cannot move about the streets,
you cannot go about your daily business, even
if your affairs be disassociated with the war
Itself, without having evidences of the war
brought to your notice every moment.
I arrived here on Sunday afternoon and
went out in the evening after dark, and I was
struck by a somewhat unusual feeling which
at the first moment I did not analyze ; and
suddenly it came upon me that this was the
first time for two years and a half or more
when I had seen a properly lighted street.
There is not a street in London, there is not
a street in any city in the United Kingdom
in which after dark the whole community is
not wrapped in a gloom exceeding that which
must have existed before the invention of
gas or electric lighting. But that is a small
matter, and I only mention it because it hap-
pened to strike me as one of my earliest ex-
periences in this city.
Of course, the more tragic side of war is
never, and cannot ever be, absent from our
minds. I saw with great regret this morning
in the newspapers that the son of Bonar Law,
our Chancellor of the Exchequer, was wound-
ed and missing in some of the operations now
going on in Palestine, and I instinctively cast
my mind back to the losses of this war in all
circles, but as an illustration it seems to me
impressive. I went over the melancholy list,
and, if my memory serves me right, out of
the small number of Cabinet Ministers, men
of Cabinet rank who were serving the State
when the war broke out in August, 1914, one
has been killed in action, four at least have
lost sons. That is the sort of things that have
happened in quite a small and narrowly re-
stricted class of men, but it is characteristic
of what is happeneing throughout the whole
country.
The condition of France in that respect is
evidently even more full of sorrow and trag-
edy than our own, because we had not a great
army, we had but a small army when war
broke out, whereas the French Army was
of the great Continental type, was on a war
footing, and was, from the very inception of
military operations, engaged in sanguinary
conflict with the common enemy.
Tribute to General Joffre
"We have today among us a mission from
France. I doubt not— indeed, I am fully con-
vinced—that they will receive a welcome not
less warm, not less heartfelt, than that which
you have so generously and encouragingly
extended to us. That was and certainly will
be increased by the reflection that one mem-
ber of the mission is Marshal Joffre, who will
go down through all time as the General in
command of the allied forces at one of the
most critical moments in the world's history.
I remember when I was here before there
was a book which was given out in the schools
called " The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the
"World." I do not know whether they all
quite deserve that title, but there can be no
doubt or question whatever that, among the
decisive battles of the world, the Battle of
the Marne was the most decisive. It was a
turning point in the history of mankind, and
I rejoice that the hero of that event is today
coming among us and will join us, the Brit-
ish Nation in laying before the people of the
United States our gratitude for the sympathy
which they have shown and are showing, and
our warm confidence in the value of the as-
sistance which they are affording the allied
cause.
Gentlemen, I do not believe that the magni-
tude of that assistance can by any possibility
be exaggerated. I am told that there are some
doubting critics who seem to think that the
object of the mission of France and Great
Britain to this country is to inveigle the
United States out of its traditional policy and
to entangle it in formal alliances, secret or
public, with European powers. I cannot
imagine any rumor with less foundation, nor
can I imagine a policy so utterly unnecessary-
Our confidence in the assistance which we
are going to get from this community is not
based upon such shallow considerations as
those which arise out of formal treaties. No
treaty could increase the undoubted confi-
dence with which we look to the United
States, who, having come into the war, are
going to see the war through. * * * I feel
perfectly certain that you will throw into it
all your unequaled resources, all your powers
of invention, of production, all your man
power, all the resources of that country which
has greater resources than any other country
in the world, and, already having come to
the decision, nothing will turn you from it
but success crowning our joint efforts.
The vessel bearing the French High
Commission was convoyed across the
392
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Atlantic by French warships, and was
met about a hundred miles at sea by
American naval officers aboard a flotilla
of our destroyers. The meeting was at
night, and not a light was shown by
either party; the vessels knew of each
other's presence only by the phospores-
cence kicked up by the propellers. At
dawn the flotilla and its guests fell in
by rendezvous with an American cruiser,
which led the way to Hampton Roads,
arriving there on April 24. Here the
visitors were tendered the use of Presi-
dent Wilson's yacht, the Mayflower,
which they at once boarded.
French Mission Welcomed
Meanwhile, every American ship in the
harbor hoisted the French tricolor to the
masthead, and the band of a warship
played "The Star-Spangled Banner."
Marshal Joffre and the military and
naval members stood at salute until the
last note had floated across tlie water,
while the civilian members stood with
bared heads. Immediately after came
the French national anthem, which was
saluted in a similar manner.
The ship bearing the mission dropped
anchor off Fort Monroe, while the con-
voy steamed several miles further on.
High army and navy officers greeted the
visitors and accompanied them to Wash-
ington, where the Mayflower arrived soon
after noon on April 25.
On the broad landing stage were as-
sembled a company of marines and two
troops of the Second Cavalry, with the
Marine Band at hand to play appropriate
music, all these military contingents in
blue dress uniforms, with service facings.
The members of the French Embassy
Staff were there also.
As the yacht docked, Secretary Lan-
sing, accompanied by Frank L. Polk, the
Counselor of the State Department;
William Phillips, the Assistant Secre-
tary of State, and Colonel W. W. Harts,
U. S. A., the President's aid, walked up
the gangplank to extend a welcome to
the French Commissioners in the na-
tion's name. As Mr. Lansing reached
the deck of the ship trumpeters gave
him four flourishes, and the Mayflower's
band played a few bars of a ceremonial
march. The greeting of the Secretary of
State was first extended to M. Viviani,
and then to Marshal Joffre, and was of
an extremely cordial character. Only
a few minutes were spent in exchanging
felicitations, however, and then the whole
party, French and American, came
ashore, while the Marine Band played
" The Marseillaise," the marines and
troopers saluted, and the spectators ap-
plauded.
The trip through Washington to the
residence of Henry White, former Am-
bassador to France, which was placed
at their disposal, was one continuous ova-
tion. The streets were lined with peo-
ple, all of whom were carrying the
French tricolor and the Stars and
Stripes, and as the visitors passed they
were greeted with enthusiastic cheers
of welcome. Secretary Lansing issued
this statement:
It is very gratifying to this Government
and to the people that we should have as our
guests such distinguished representatives of
the French Republic as arrived this noon. In
sending men who so fully represent the
French Government and people we have the
very best evidence of the spirit and feeling
of France toward the United States. We can
assure the French people that we reciprocate
this spirit which induced them to send these
Commissioners, and rejoice that the two
great nations are battling side by side for
the liberty of mankind.
Statement by M. Viviani
M. Viviani's first official statement
was issued on the 26th, after he had
paid his formal visit to President Wilson,
It was addressed to the representatives
of the press, as follows :
I am indeed happy to have been chosen to
present the greetings of the French Republic
to the illustrious man whose name is in every
French mouth today, whose incomparable
message is at this very hour being read and
commented upon in all our schools as the
most perfect charter of human rights and
which so fully expresses the virtues of your
race— long suffering patience before appeal-
ing to force ; and force to avenge that long
suffering patience when there can be no other
means.
Since you are here to listen to me I ask
you to repeat a thousandfold the expression
of our deep gratitude for the enthusiastic re-
ception the American people has granted us
in Washington. It is not to us, but to our
beloved and heroic France that reception was
accorded. We were proud to be her children
VISIT OF NOTED DIPLOMATS
393
in those unforgettable moments when we read
in the radiance of the faces we saw the noble
sincerity of your hearts. And I desire to
thank also the press of the United States
represented by you. I fully realize the ardent
and disinterested help you have given by
your tireless propaganda in the cause of
right.
We have come to this land to salute the
American people and its Government, to call
to fresh vigor our lifelong friendship, sweet
and cordial in the ordinary course of our
lives, and which these tragic hours have
raised to all the ardor of brotherly love— a
brotherly love which in these last years of
suffering has multiplied its most touching ex-
pressions. You have given "help, not only in
treasure, but also in every act of kindness
and good-will. For us your children have
shed their blood, and the names of your
sacred dead are inscribed forever in our
hearts. And it was with a full knowledge of
the meaning of what you did that you acted.
Your inexhaustible generosity was not the
charity of the fortunate to the distressed— it
was an affirmation of your conscience, a
reasoned approval of your Judgment.
. Your fellow-countrymen knew that under
the savage assault of a nation of prey which
has made of war, to quote a famous saying,
" its national industry," we were upholding
with our incomparable allies, faithful and
valiant to the death, with all those who are
fighting shoulder to shoulder with us on the
firing line, the sons of indomitable Eng-
land, a struggle for the violated rights of
man, for that democratic spirit which the
forces of autocracy were attempting to crush
throughout the world. We are ready to carry
that struggle on to the end.
And now, as President Wilson has said, the
Republic of the United States rises in its
strength as a champion of right and rallies
to the side of France and her allies. Only
our descendants, when time has removed
them sufficiently far from present events,
will be able to measure the full significance,
the grandeur of a historic act which has
sent a thrill through the whole world. From
today on all the forces of freedom are let
loose, and not only victory, of which we
were already assured, is certain ; the true
meaning of victory is made manifest. It
cannot be merely a fortunate military con-
clusion to this struggle— it will be the victory
of morality and right, and will forever secure
the existence of a world in which all our
children shall draw free breath in full peace
and undisturbed pursuit of their labors.
44 France Day " in New York
April 26 was officially designated as
France Day by Governor Whitman of
New York in commemoration of the his-
toric friendship between the United
States and the French Republic, with
particular significance as the accepted
anniversary of Lafayette's departure
from France in 1777 to fight by the side
of Washington.
From one end of New York City to
the other the tricolor flew with the
American flag to proclaim the union of
the two republics in the war. Groups
of children in their schoolrooms and of
their elders in meeting halls sang the
" Marseillaise " and applauded tributes
in poetry and prose to Lafayette and
France. Wreaths of flowers were piled
high about the statue of Lafayette in
Union Square, and Frenchmen were the
guests of honor at luncheons and din-
ners. By order of Dr. Finley, State
Commissioner of Education, President
Wilson's war address to Congress was
read in all the schools.
At Washington s Tomb
One of the most imposing and signi-
ficant episodes during the sojourn of the
distinguished guests was a visit by both
commissions to the tomb of Washington
at Mount Vernon on April 29. The two
former Premiers of France and Great
Britain, standing before the tomb of the
first President, with the flags of the
three great democracies floating together
above it, spoke with deep emotion of the
common fight for freedom in which all
three were together engaged, while
Joseph Jacques Cesaire Joffre, Marshal
of France, laid on the marble sarcopha-
gus with his own hands a bronze palm
wound with the French tricolor. A card
attached to a huge wreath of lilies placed
beside the French palm bore the follow-
ing words in Mr. Balfour's handwriting:
"Dedicated by the British Mission to
the immortal memory of George Wash-
ington, soldier, statesman, patriot, who
would have rejoiced to see the country
of which he was by birth a citizen and
the country his genius called into exist-
ence fighting side by side to save man-
kind from a military. despotism."
An Eloquent Tribute
Mr. Viviani's speech on that occasion
was a notable tribute in the following
eloquent terms:
In this spot lies all that is mortal of a great
hero. Close by this spot is the modest abode
where Washington rested after the tre-
394
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
mendous labor of achieving for a nation its
emancipation. In this spot meet the admira-
tion of the whole world and the veneration of
the American people. In this spot rise be-
fore us the glorious memories left by the
soldiers of France led by Rochambeau and
Lafayette. A descendant of the latter, my
friend, M. de Chambrun, accompanies us.
And I esteem it a supreme honor as well
as a satisfaction for my conscience to be
entitled to render this homage to our an-
cestors in the presence of my colleague and
friend, Mr. Balfour, who so nobly represents
his great nation. By thus coming to lay here
the respectful tribute of every English mind,
he shows, in this historic moment of com-
munion which France has willed, what na-
tions that live for liberty can do.
When we contemplate in the distant past
the luminous presence of Washington; in
nearer times the majestic figure of Abraham
Lincoln ; when we respectfully salute Presi-
dent Wilson, the worthy heir of these great
memories, we at one glance measure the vast
career of the American people. It is because
the American people proclaimed and won for
the nation the right to govern itself, it is
because it proclaimed and won the equality
of all men, that the free American public, at
the hour marked by fate, has been enabled
with commanding force to carry its action
beyond the seas. It is because it was resolved
to extend its action still further that Congress
was enabled to obtain within the space of a
few days the vote of conscription and to pro-
claim the necessity for a national army in the
full splendor of civil peace.
In the name of France I salute the young
army which will share in our common glory.
While paying this supreme tribute to the
memory of Washington I do not diminish the
effect of my words when I turn my thoughts
to the memory of so many unnamed heroes.
I ask you before this tomb to bow in
earnest meditation and all the fervor of piety
before all the soldiers of the allied nations
who. for nearly three years have been fight-
ing under different flags for the same ideal.
I beg you to address the homage of your
hearts and souls to all the heroes, born to
live in happiness, in the tranquil pursuit of
their labors, in the enjoyment of all human
affections, who went into battle with virile
cheerfulness and gave themselves up, not to
death alone, but to the eternal silence that
closes over those whose sacrifice remains un-
named, in the full knowledge that save for
those who loved them their names would dis-
appear with their bodies. Their monument is
In our hearts. Not the living alone greet us
here; the ranks of the dead themselves rise
to surround the soldiers of liberty.
At this solemn hour in the history of the
world, while saluting from this sacred mound
the final victory of justice, I send to the Re-
public of the United States the greetings of
the French Republic.
Mr. Balfour, who followed M. Viviani,
said:
My friend and colleague, M. Viviani, in
phrases burning with emotion, and in elo-
quent language, not only has paid tribute
to the hero who is buried here, but has
brought our thoughts down to the present
crisis, the greatest in the world's history. He
has told us of the people of France, England,
Belgium, Russia, Italy, and Serbia who have
sacrificed their lives for what they believe to
be the cause of liberty. No spot on the face
of the earth, where a speech in behalf of lib-
erty might be made, could be more appropri-
ate than the tomb of Washington.
Mr. Balfour concluded by reading the
inscription on the card attached to the
British wreath, which he himself had
written.
Mr. Balfour was followed by Governor
Stuart of Virginia, who spoke of the
pride of his State in claiming Wash-
ington as its son, and expressed the ap-
preciation of America at the honor that
had been paid to her hero.
Marshal Joffre, as France's greatest
soldier, added a tribute to the greatest
soldier of the United States-
" In the French Army," he said, " all
venerate the name and memory of
Washington. I respectfully salute here
the great soldier and lay upon his tomb
the palm we offer our soldiers who have
died for their country."
The bronze palm which is the symbol
with which France honors her military
heroes was laid on the sarcophagus by
Marshal Joffre, assisted by Lieutenant de
Tossan, his aid.
Mr. Balfour and General Bridges,
Great Britain's chief army representa-
tive in the mission, placed the British
wreath. The three flags of Great Brit-
ain, France and the United States
rested on it. The French palm had on
it only a wide band in the French na-
tional colors.
The earnestness and feeling with which
the allied representatives spoke carried
with it a full conviction of the reality
of the symbolism which they sought to
convey.
Visit to Senate Chamber
In the United States Senate Chamber
May 1 Vice Premier Viviani, Marshal
Joffre, and Ambassador Jusserand were
granted the courtesies of the floor. A
demonstration followed such as had not
been witnessed in that Chamber since
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MR. BALFOUR AND MR. LANSING
Arthur James Balfour, British Foreign Minister and Head
of Diplomatic Mission to United States.
(Secretary Lansing on Right)
(Photo Harris <C Ewing)
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PROMINENT WAR AMBASSADORS
SIR CECIL SPRING-RICE
British Ambassador to
United States
(American Press Ass'n)
JULES JUSSERAND
French Ambassador to
United States
(Photo (£> Harris d Ewing)
WALTER H. PAGE
American Ambassador to
Great Britain
(Photo © Paul Thompson)
WILLIAM G. SHARP
American Ambassador to
France
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VISIT OF NOTED DIPLOMATS
395
Lafayette was the guest of the United
States in 1822.
The visit was made by invitation. The
French Mission reached Vice President
Marshall's room shortly before 12:30
o'clock. The Vice President was notified,
and he named Mr. Hitchcock of Nebras-
ka, who has been the active leader of
the Committee on Foreign Relations, and
Mr. Lodge of Massachusetts, the ranking
Republican of the committee, to usher
the guests into the chamber.
The two Senators crossed the lobby to
the Vice President's room and returned
at once. M. Viviani entered with Mr.
Hitchcock, Marshal Joffre with Mr.
Lodge, and the French Ambassador with
Admiral Chocheprat. The committee's
return was not expected so soon, but
grave salutes to Marshal Joffre by two
bright-eyed little pages at the door,
which the Marshal as gravely returned,
gave the signal. The Senators clapped
hands deafeningly and rose, the galleries
shouted more deafeningly still and rose,
leaning forward and waving, while mem-
bers of the House standing at the back
of the chamber surged forward.
The visitors shook hands with the
Vice President and stood beside him,
looking with evident pleasure at the wild
scene before them. When the applause
had lasted for several minutes Mr. Mar-
shall tapped for order.
" The Senate of the United States,"
he said, " has had the pleasure and
honor many times of receiving distin-
guished visitors to the Republic. It had
the honor of receiving General Lafay-
ette, and now, nearly a century later,
it has the honor of welcoming the Vice
Premier of the French Government and
the Marshal of France."
" Mr. President," said Senator Martin
of Virginia, the majority leader, " I move
that the Senate now recess so that Sena-
tors may have the pleasure of greeting
personally our distinguished guests."
The motion was carried by acclama-
tion, and an informal reception began.
Viviani Addresses Senate
M. Viviani, during the reception, in
which Representatives as well as Sena-
tors participated, was prevailed upon to
make an address and spoke as follows:
Since I have been granted the supreme
honor of speaking- before the representatives
of the American people, may I ask them first
to allow me to thank this magnificent cap-
ital for the welcome it has accorded us? Ac-
customed as we are in our own free land
to popular manifestations, and though we
had been warned by your fellow-countrymen
who live in Paris of the enthusiastic burning
in your hearts, we are still full of the emo-
tion raised by the sights that awaited us.
I shall never cease to see the proud and
stalwart men who saluted our passage ; your
women, whose grace adds fresh beauty to
your city, their arms outstretched full of
flowers, and your children hurrying to meet
us at the call of their schoolmasters, as if
our coming were looked upon as a lesson
for them, all with one accord acclaiming,
in our perishable persons, immortal France.
And yet I predict there will be a yet grander
manifestation the day when your illustrious
President, relieved from the burden of power,
will come among us bearing the salute of
the Republic of the United States to a free
Europ'e, whose foundations from end to end
shall be based on right. It is with unspeak-
able emotion that we cross the threshold of
this legislative palace where prudence and
boldness meet, and that I, for the first time
in the annals of America, though a foreigner,
speak in this hall, which only a few days
since resounded with the words of virile force.
Tou have set all the democracies of the
world the most magnificent example. So soon
as the common peril was made manifest to
you, with simplicity and within a few short
days you voted a formidable credit and pro-
claimed that a formidable army was to be
raised. The commentary on his acts which
President Wilson gave before acting, and
which you made yours, remains in the his-
tory of free peoples the weightiest of lessons.
Doubtless you were resolved to avenge the
insult offered your flag, which the whole
world respected ; doubtless through the thick-
ness of these massive walls the mournful
cry of all the victims which criminal hands
hurled into the depths of the sea, has reached
and stirred your souls; but it will be your
honor in history that you also heard the
cry of humanity, and invoked against autoc-
racy the rights of democracies. And I can
only wonder as I speak what, if they still
have any power to think, are the thoughts
of the autocrats who three years ago against
us, three months ago against you, unchained
this conflict.
Ah ! doubtless they said among themselves
that a democracy is an ideal Government,
that it showers reforms on mankind, that it
can in the domain of labor quicken all
economic activities. And yet now we see the
French Republic fighting in defense of its
territory and the liberty of nations and op-
posing to the avalanche let loose by Prussian
militarism the union of all its children who
are still capable of striking many a weighty
blow. And now we see England, far removed
396
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
like you from conscription, who has also, by
virtue of a discipline all accept, raised from
her soil millions of fighting men. And we see
other nations accomplishing the same act;
and that liberty not only inflames all hearts
but co-ordinates and brings into being all
needed efforts. And now we see all America
rise and sharpen her weapons in the midst
of peace for the common struggle.
Together we will carry on that struggle;
and when by force we have at last imposed
military victory, our labors will not be con-
cluded. Our task will be — I quote the noble
words of President Wilson — to organize the
society of nations. I well know that our
enemies, who have never seen before them
anything but horizons of carnage, will never
cease to jeer at so noble a dream. Such has
always been the fate of ideas at their birth ;
and if thinkers and men of action had al-
lowed themselves to be discouraged by
skeptics mankind would still be in its in-
fancy and we should still be slaves. After
material victory we will win this moral vic-
tory. We will shatter the ponderous sword
of militarism ; we will establish guarantees
for peace; and then we can disappear from
the world's stage, since we shall leave at the
cost of our common immolation the noblest
heritage future generations can possess.
When he concluded, shouts of "Jof-
fre! " " Joffre! " filled the Chamber, and
the Marshal turned and said with a
smile: "I do not speak English." Then
raising his right hand, he called out,
" Vivent les Etats-Unis! " With a mili-
tary salute, he was gone.
Reception in the House
M. Viviani and Marshal Joffre visited
the House of Representatives by invita
tion on May 3. Practically the entire mem
bership of the House and the crowded
galleries rose and applauded as the
visitors were announced. Several chil
dren of members received kisses from the
Marshal of France and the Vice Premier.
When Miss Jeannette Rankin, woman
member of the House, approached, M
Viviani and Admiral Chocheprat kissed
her hand.
M. Viviani mounted the Speaker's
rostrum and said:
Gentlemen : Once more my fellow-country-
men and I are admitted to the honor of
being present at a sitting in a legislative
chamber. May I be permitted to express our
emotion at this solemn derogation against
rules more than a century old, and, so far
as I am concerned, may I say that as a
Member of Parliament accustomed for twenty
years to the passions and storms which
sweep through political assemblies I appre-
ciate more than any one at this moment the
supreme joy of being near this chair, which
is in such a commanding position that, how-
ever feeble may be the voice that speaks
thence, it is heard over the whole world?
Gentlemen, I will not thank you, not
because our gratitude fails, but because
words to express it fail. We feel that your
sympathy and enthusiasm come not only
from your hearts but from the jealousy
.which you have for your own honor. We
have all felt that you were not merely fulfill-
ing the obligation of international courtesy.
Suddenly, in all its charming intimacy, the
complexity of the American soul has been
revealed to us. When one meets an Amer-
ican one is supposed to meet a practical man,
merely a practical man, caring only for busi-
ness, only interested in business. But when
at certain hours in private life one studies
the American soul one discovers at the same
time how fresh and delicate it is ; and when
at certain moments of public life one con-
siders the soul of the nation, then one sees
all the force of the ideals that rise from it
is so that this American people, in its perfect
balance, is at once practical and sentimental,
a realizer and a dreamer, and is always
ready to place its practical qualities at the
disposal of its puissant thoughts.
Intrusted with a mandate from a free
people, we come among freemen to compare
our ideas, exchange our views, to measure
the whole extent of the problems raised by
this war, and all the allied nations, simply
because they repose on democratic insti-
tutions, through their Governments, meet in
the same lofty region on equal terms, in full
liberty.
I well know that at this very hour in the
Central Empires there is an absolute mon-
archy which binds other peoples to its will
by vassal links of steel. It has been said
that this was a sign of strength; it is only
an appearance of strength. In truth, only a
few weeks ago, pn the eve of the day when
outraged America was about to rise in its
force, on the morrow of the day when the
Russian revolution, faithful to its alliance,
called at once its soldiers to arms and its
people to independence, this absolute mon-
arch was seen to totter on the steps of his
throne as he felt the first breath of the
tempest pass over his crown. He bent
toward his people in humiliation, and, in
order to win their sympathy, borrowed from
free peoples their highest institutions and
promised his subjects universal suffrage.
The day before yesterday, in a public meet-
ing at which I was present, I heard one of
your greatest orators say with deep emotion:
** It has been sworn on the tomb of Wash-
ington." And then I understood the full
import of those words. If Washington could
rise from his tomb, if from his sacred mound
he could view the world as it now is—
shrunk to smaller proportions by the lessen-
ing of material and moral distances and the
mingling of every kind of communication be-
VISIT OF NOTED DIPLOMATS
397
tween men— he would feel his labors were
not yet concluded; and that, just as a man of
superior and powerful mind owes a debt to
all other men, so a superior and powerful na-
tion owes a debt to other nations, and after
establishing1 its own independence must aid
others to maintain their independence or to
conquer it. It is the mysterious logic of his-
tory which President Wilson so marvelously
understood, thanks to a mind as vigorous as
it is subtle, as capable of analysis as it is of
synthesis, of minute observation followed by
swift action.
It has been sworn on the tomb of Wash-
ington. It has been sworn on the tomb of
our allied soldiers, fallen in a sacred cause.
It has been sworn by the bedside of our
wounded men. It has been sworn on the
heads of our orphan children. It has been
sworn on cradles and on tombs. It has
been sworn!
Marshal Joffre in Chicago
The French Mission left Washington
by special train on* the 3d for a tour of
the Middle Western States, and reached
Chicago on the 4th. At a public recep-
tion Marshal Joffre delivered his first
address, as follows:
My friends, I am proud to have in my hand
the American flag, which is to the American
people what the French flag is to the people
of France, a symbol of liberty. I hold in my
other hand the flag of France, who has given
of her best, her stanchest, and her bravest,
and which also stands for liberty. I had the
honor to carry the French flag on the field of
battle, and I am glad to join the flag of
many battles to the flag that has never
known defeat. With this flag I bring to you
the salute of the French Army to the Ameri-
can people, our stanch ally in the common
cause.
As he joined the two flags of red,, white,
and blue with the closing words, the
whole assembly mounted the seats and
cheered.
The mission was enthusiastically wel-
comed and hospitably entertained at Chi-
cago, and thence proceeded to St. Louis.
On May 6 at St. Louis 20,000 persons
crowded into the Coliseum to welcome the
visitors, and as many more stood outside,
unable to obtain admission. From there
they proceeded to Kansas City, where
they were received with tumultuous en-
thusiasm. They returned to the East
via Springfield, 111., where they visited
the tomb of Lincoln ; a wreath was placed
upon the sarcophagus by Marshal Joffre;
here the Legislature was also addressed.
At all towns through which they passed
large crowds assembled and greeted the
visitors with shouts of welcome.
At Philadelphia they were elaborately
entertained. Independence Hall was
visited. General Joffre, receiving a
Marshal's baton made from a piece of
one of the Independence Hall rafters,
said he held " a piece of real liberty, and
wished to convey to the American people
the greetings of the French Army and
an expression of happiness in having the
co-operation of Americans."
At Independence Hall M. Viviani said:
" We do not feel in America as if we
were far from home. The ideals and
aims of America and of France are the
same. It was in this holy place that
freedom was first breathed from the
mouths of men for the inspiration of
every nation."
French Envoys in Nev> York
The visitors reached New York City
on the afternoon of May 9. The recep-
tion tendered them on their arrival was
the most enthusiastic ever granted any
man or group of men in the city's his-
tory. For two days and nights enormous
crowds filled Fifth Avenue and Broadway
and overflowed far back into adjoining
streets. Flags, bunting, and illumina-
tions appeared from one end of the city
to the other, and the visitors passed for
miles along Fifth Avenue amid a won-
derful vista of the French tricolor, the
British union jack and the American
Stars and Stripes.
The New York Public Library and the
Court of Honor in front of it were re-
markable for the beauty of the decora-
tions. The columns of plaster, sur-
mounted by the American eagle standing
on globes with wings outstretched, sup-
ported streamers of the dark blue of
France and poles from which hung the
flags of the three allies. In front of the
library many pine trees gave a touch
of color to the great marble building.
Along the terrace and on either side of
the entrance way were five great poles
supporting streaming banners alternately
displaying the rooster of France, the lion
of Britain, and the American eagle. At
night the scene was far more beautiful,
with the great lines of the library out-
398
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
lined with indirect lighting and each
column of the court standing clear in a
blaze of golden illumination.
Address at City Hall
At the City Hall, where the formal re-
ception was held on the evening of the
mission's arrival, M. Viviani, in response
to an address by Mayor Mitchel, replied
as follows:
You were right when you dwelt on the
wonderful spectacle which France has given
to the world for three years. You were right
when you said that the blood of France is
flowing like water. From the open wounds
of our soldiers has flowed the pure red blood
of France. It has flooded our plains in the
very spots where formerly our farmers and
our workmen were living at peace.
And why does the invader pollute our soil?
We are a pacific nation, as pacific as your-
selves, but you have seen for yourselves how
easy it was to remain faithful to dreams of
universal peace. You cherished such dreams.
Y"ou were a great people, with only one
thought — humanity and justice. We were
a free democracy and we had only one
thought— universal right and humanity. But
German aggression was thrust upon us. We
were compelled to rise in arms, and now we
fight— we fight for our territory, for our
wealth, for our historical traditions— in order
that the invader may not take another step
on our sacred soil. France fights for the
world — for justice, for humanity — and it is
because she fights for that that at last the
American people have risen to give France
and her allies their moral and -material aid.
Slavery Worse Than War
I fully understand how you faltered in the
face of the awful duty that confronted you.
For war has its dangers and its horrors, its
moaning widows, its premature deaths, and
casts a blight on the mothers of infants who
are our hope and joy and who know only
woe and calamity.
War is a horrible thing, but could there be
anything more terrible for people than to
live without honor or independence? Just
as you were unwilling to allow your national
honor to be humiliated under the insolent
threats and mandates of Germany, we were
unwilling to submit to break our oaths.
When we look back into the events of the
last three years, you have seen small peoples
oppressed and great nations like Russia,
England, France, and Italy rush to the de-
fense of the rights of mankind in order to
save from the wreck some portion of their
national honor. You have felt the revolt of
your consciences from the first hour when
German aggression struck at your brothers,
and it was then an easy matter for those
who had witnessed the evolution of Ameri-
can feeling to foresee what would happen
and what has actually happened since.
All America has risen in arms. We' have
just visited the Middle West. We have just
seen what enthusiasm has arisen among
the men, the women, and the children of
these regions.
We have found everywhere, even in those
very places where we had been told we
would not find it, the virile resolution of a
whole people acclaiming our message, and
we find it here again in these streets of New
York, this great city where millions of men
surge like waves of the sea.
Democracy in Arms
I cannot do better in order to symbolize
this union of the French and American peo-
ple than to appear before you side by side
with Marshal Joffre. It is" indeed pleasing
to me in this by no means foreign land, in
this friendly land, bound by so many ties to
France, to thank the French Army for the
heroic manner it has fought, for the great
deeds it has done. That army at the outset
of the war had to give way materially
before the most formidable onslaught that
the history of man has ever recorded, but
came back and hurled itself upon the in-
vader. Yes, they threw themselves into the
fray, those youths in their teens, their eyes
aflame and their hearts, going into battle,
going to death, but going for the country,
for civilization, for mankind.
Our army is our nation in arms. It is de-
mocracy in arms for its honor and indepen-
dence. You will say— you also — that you have
seen that wonderful sight of democracy
which has known how to organize its forces,
how to marshal its strength. A- democracy
which has not awaited the hour of danger,
which, like our own, had its army, its lead-
ers, its chiefs, and which, thanks to what
it had done, was able to hold its own.
As I was on my way here I heard the
crowd acclaiming those who accompanied
me, and who wear the uniform like Marshal
Joffre, as the saviors of the world. Yes;
the soldiers of the Marne are the saviors
of the world. But if we had not had con-
scription, if there had not been the men to
answer the call of mobilization, what would
have befallen our country despite its courage,
its enthusiasm, its valor? There, citizens,
you have the great and grave legend taught
by the war.
So long as there is in the world a war-
like Germany, so long as there is a na-
tion of prey, a country bent on oppression,
on treachery and violence, so long wrill de-
mocracies be imperiled. If they would save
the treasures of civilization and the heritage
of mankind which are theirs they must meet
the danger, they must be ready, they must
arm themselves, but with the purpose never
to place the sword at the service of aught
but the right.
The home of Henry C. Frick on Fifth
Avenue was placed at the service of the
guests. On May 10 the whole city united
VISIT OF NOTED DIPLOMATS
399
in demonstrations. The commission went
in the morning to attend the unveiling; of
a statue of Lafayette in Prospect Park,
Brooklyn, and later were entertained at
luncheon by the Merchants' Association
of New York. In the afternoon Columbia
University conferred the honorary degree
of Doctor of Laws upon Marshal Joffre
.and Vice Premier Viviani, after which
they visited Grant's Tomb. In the evening
a reception was given in the Public Li-
brary by the French patriotic societies,
and a great gala concert followed in the
Metropolitan Opera House, where the au-
dience contributed $85,000 for Marshal
Joffre's use in relief work'. The Mar-
shal's arrival in the Opera House at 11
o'clock at night, when the audience in-
terrupted Paderewski's playing of a mas-
terpiece to rise and cheer the victor of the
Marne, marked the climax of a memora-
ble and strenuous day for the visitors.
Balfour Visits Congress
Meanwhile at Washington the British
Commissioners remained in daily confer-
ence with Cabinet officials. On May 5
Mr. Balfour, head of the commission, was
invited to attend Congress. In the scene
that followed two precedents of a century
and a half were broken. It was the first
time in American history that a British
official had been -invited to address the
House of .Representatives, and it was the
first time that a President of the United
States had sat in the gallery. The wel-
come to Mr. Balfour and his associates
equaled, if it did not surpass, the demon-
stration which had greeted M. Viviani
and Marshal Joffre earlier in the week.
The demonstration given to the Presi-
dent rivaled that which Mr. Balfour re-
ceived. Unannounced, he slipped into
the Executive Gallery. For several min-
utes no one on the floor saw Mr. Wilson,
although he was sitting in the front row.
Then suddenly a member on the floor dis-
covered him, and a group rose, applaud-
ing. The whole House followed, and for
several minutes the floor and galleries
joined in hearty applause.
As the applause died down, Speaker
Clark appointed a committee to escort
the British Mission into the Chamber.
At a few minutes after 12:30 o'clock
they appeared and the whole House rose
to greet them while hearty applause
swept the floor and the galleries. The
ovation lasted several minutes, subsiding
only to start with a new outburst of
cheers and hand-clapping when the
Speaker introduced Mr. Balfour. The
British Minister was visibly affected by
the warmth of his reception.
Through it all the President joined
vigorously in the applause. When the
speaker had finished and stood below the
rostrum with General Bridges, Admiral
de Chair, and the British Ambassador,
shaking hands with the members as they
filed past, Mr. Wilson again surprised
those present by slipping downstairs
quietly and passing down the line with
the Congressmen.
Balfour s Address to the House
In his address before the House of
Representatives Mr. Balfour said:
Will you permit me, on behalf of my
friends and myself, to offer you my deepest
and sincerest thanks for the rare and valued
honor which you have done us by receiving
us here today? We all feel the greatness of
this honor, but I think to none of us can it
come home so closely as to one who, like
myself, has been for forty-three years in the
service of a free assembly like your own.
I rejoice to think that a member, a very
old member I am sorry to say, of the British
House of Commons has been received here
today by this great sister assembly with
such kindness as you have shown to me and
to my friends.
Ladies and -gentlemen, these two assemblies
are the greatest and the oldest of the free
assemblies now governing great nations in the
world. The history, indeed, of the .two is
very different. The beginnings of the British-
House of Commons go back to a dim historic
past, and its full rights and status have only
been conquered and permanently secured
after centuries of political struggle.
Your fate has been a happier one. You
were called into existence at a much later
stage of social development. You came into
being complete and perfected and all your
powers determined and your place in the
constitution secured beyond chance of revo-
lution, but though the history of these two
great assemblies is different, each of them
represents the great democratic principle to
which wo look forward as the security for
the future peace of the world. All of the free
assemblies now to be found governing the
great nations of the earth have been modeled
either upon your practice or upon ours, or
upon both combined.
Mr. Speaker, the compliment paid to the
mission from Great Britain by such an as-
400
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
sembly and upon such an occasion is one
not one of us is ever likely to forget; but
there is something-, after all, even deeper and
more significant in the circumstances under
which I now have the honor to address you
than any which arise out of the interchange
of courtesies, however sincere, between two
great and friendly nations.
We all, I think, feel instinctively that this
is one of the great moments in the history of
the world, and that what is now happening
on both sides of the Atlantic represents the
drawing together of great and free peoples
for mutual protection against the aggression
of military despotism.
I am not one of those, none of you are
among those, who are such bad democrats as
to say that democracies make no mistakes.
All free assemblies have made blunders,
sometimes they have committed crimes. Why
is it then that we look forward to the spirit
of free institutions, and especially among our
present enemies, as one of the greatest guar-
antees of the future peace of the world? I
will say to you, gentlemen, how it seems
to me.
It is quite true that the people and the
representatives of the people may be be-
trayed by some momentary gust of passion
Into a policy which they ultimately deplore,
but it is only a military despotism of the
German type that can through generations, if
need be, pursue steadily, remorselessly, un-
scrupulously, and appallingly the object of
dominating the civilization of mankind. And,
mark you, this evil, this menace, under which
we are now suffering, is not one which di-
minishes with the growth of knowledge and
progress of material civilization, but, on the
contrary, it increases with them.
When I was young we used to flatter our-
selves that progress inevitably meant peace,
and that growth of knowledge was always
accompanied as its natural fruit by the
growth of good-will among the nations of the
earth. Unhappily, we know better now, and
'we know there is such a thing in the world
as a power which can with unvarying per-
sistency focus all the resources of knowledge
and of civilization into the one great task of
making itself the moral and material master
of the world. It is against that danger that
we, the free peoples of Western civilization,
have banded ourselves together.
British in New York
Mr. Balfour and the other members of
the British Commission reached New
York by special train Friday afternoon,
May 11, and every step of their way
from the Battery to the home of Mr. and
Mrs. Vincent Astor, which had been
placed at their service, lay through
cheering crowds. The party was formally
received at the City Hall by Mayor
Mitchel and a delegation of distinguished
citizens. An enormous crowd was in
attendance. The lawn at the entrance
was filled with 2,000 schoolgirls, all
clad in white middy blouses and dark
blue skirts with red hair ribbons, and
each with a flag. Behind this group was
a column of Boy Scouts in mass and
pyramid formations, all clad in khaki.
Every available foot of space in the park
and surrounding streets was filled with
cheering people, among whom the flags
of the United States, France, and Great
Britain were freely intermingled.
Mr. Balfour was formally greeted by
the Mayor, who was followed by Joseph
H. Choate, former Ambassador to Great
Britain. [Mr. Choate died suddenly three
days later in his New York home.] In
the course of his speech Mr. Choate said:
We hesitated, we doubted, we hung back,
not from any lack of sympathy, not from
any lack of enthusiasm, not because we did
not know what was the right path ; but how
to take it and when to take it was always
the question. I feared at one time that we
might enter into it for some selfish purpose,
for the punishment of aggressions against our
individual, national, personal rights, for the
destruction of American ships or of a few
American lives, ample ground for war ; but
we waited, and it turns out now that we
waited wisely, because we were able at last
to enter into this great contest of the whole
world for a noble and lofty purpose, such
as never attracted nations before. We are
entering into it under your lead, Sir, for the
purpose of the vindication of human rights,
for the vindication of free government
throughout the world, for the establishment —
by and by ; soon, we hope ; late, it may be —
of a peace which shall endure and not a
peace that shall be no peace at all.
Fortunately, we have now no room for
choice. Under the guidance of the President,
we stand pledged now before all the world
to all the allies whom we have joined to
carry into this contest all that we have, all
that we hope for, and all that we ever aspire
unto. We shall be in time to take part in
that peace which shall forever stand and
prevent any more such national outrages as
commenced this war on the side of Germany.
We have been only thirty days in the war,
and already it has had a marvelous effect
upon our own people. Before that there was
apathy, there was indifference, there was
indulgence in personal pursuits, in personal
prosperity; but today every young man in
America, and every old man, too, is asking :
" What can I do best to serve my country? "
Mr. Balfour, in the course of his re-
ply, said:
Those who had the good fortune to drive
VISIT OF NOTED DIPLOMATS
401
through the streets of the city up to this
hall, I am sure must have been astounded
at the whole-hearted exhibition of enthusi-
asm which, from every street, from every
window, from every house, made itself visi-
ble and audible to the spectators. Seldom
have I seen a sight— and my experience, alas,
is an old one— seldom, or never, have I seen
a- sight so deeply moving ; never have I seen
a sight which went more to the heart. If,
on the other side of the Atlantic, where the
stress and strain of battle seem sometimes
hard to sustain, they could have one glimpse
of the sympathies shown them in this vast
and noble community, it would give them, if
there be faint hearts— I have not heard of
them on the other side— if faint hearts there
be, they indeed would regain new strength,
new courage, new enthusiasm, new resolu-
tion, and they would feel again, if they
ever ceased to feel it, that firm determina-
tion to carry through at all sacrifices this
great struggle to its appointed end, which,
after all, is the very strength and nerve
of the allied forces.
Dinner of Mayor's Committee
The climax of all these proceedings
was the joint reception in New York on
May 12 to both the French and English
Commissions. It took the form of a din-
ner at the Waldorf tendered by the
Mayor's Reception Committee, which
was attended by 1,000 of New York
City's leading men; in addition there
were present the only two living ex-
Presidents, Taft and Roosevelt, the Gov-
ernor of New York, and other men dis-
tinguished in official and civic life.
Here again Mr. Choate delivered the
principal address on the part of the
city, following Mayor Mitchel. In the
course of his speech Mr. Choate said:
America, from the Atlantic to the Pacific,
from the Lakes to the Gulf, America has
learned what this war is about, what it is
for— that it is for the establishment of free-
dom against slavery, for the vindication of
free government against tyranny, and op-
pression and autocracy and all the other hor-
rible names that you can apply to misgov-
ernment. When it came to that there was
but one question for America, and our Presi-
dent at Washington has solved it for us.
Nobody can tell how far he saw ahead any
more than we at this moment can tell how
far we can see ahead.
Balfour on the Wars Meaning
In his address Mr. Balfour said:
I have not come here authorized by my
Government to set myself up or to set my
friends up as instructors of the great Amer-
ican people. They know and you know how
to manage your affairs, and do not require
us to teach you. It may be, it probably is,
the fact, that a study of the history of this
war will show those who run and' desire to
read that there are certain mistakes which
a great democracy, imperfectly prepared for
war, may easily make. We shall be happy to
describe these mistakes to you, if happily it
will be your desire to learn the lesson from
them. But I do not propose either now or at
any other occasion to set myself up as an ad-
viser or monitor on these great themes. It is
enough that I proclaim my unalterable con-
viction that we have reached a moment in the
world's history on which the future, not of
this country, but of every country, not of its
interests, but of every interest of civilization
is trembling in the balance. At that critical
moment it is my bounden duty to raise my
voice and to appeal to all who will listen to
me today in the great task which we have
been bearing for two and a half years, and
which you have cheerfully and generously de-
termined to take the weight of upon your own
shoulders. * * *
Why is it that the people of this great city
have come forth instinctively — I was going
to say by thousands ; I feel inclined to say
by millions — to show their enthusiasm for
the cause you have taken up? It is because
they instinctively feel what is the vital issue
at stake, because they instinctively feel that
it is neither desirable nor, were it desirable,
possible for this great Republic to hold itself
aloof from a world in suffering and not do
its part to redeem mankind.
Surely it is a significant fact that here we
are, the representatives of three great democ-
racies, in the very heart of New York, to
plead a common cause. What has brought
us all together? What is the meaning of this
unique gathering? What is the meaning of
the multitude crowding your streets today
and yesterday? It is a shallow view to sup-
pose that each of these great nations has had
a separate and different cause of controversy
with the enemy — that Russia was dragged
in because of Serbia, that France was
dragged in because of Russia, that Great
Britain was dragged in because of the viola-
tion of Belgian territory, and that the United
States has been dragged in because of the
piratical warfare of the German submarines.
All those causes are, each of them, and
separately, no doubt a sufficient reason, but
for a moment to consider this war carried
on by the Allies as that of separate interests,
separate causes of controversy, is an utterly
inadequate and false view of the situation.
These are but symptoms of the absolute
necessity in which a civilized world finds
itself, to deal with an imminent and over-
mastering peril. What is that peril? What
is it we feel that we have got to -stop? I
will tell you my view of it. It is the calcu-
lated and remorseless use of every civilized
weapon to carry out the ends of pure bar-
barism. To us of English speech it seems
402
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
impossible, incredible, that a nation should
clearly set itself to work and co-ordinate
every means of science, every means that
knowledge, that industry can provide, not
for the bettering of its own people, but for
the demolition of other peoples.
The history of the world is too full of the
adventures of unscrupulous ambition. We
know all through history of men who have
endeavored, at the cost of others, to expand
their own State. Within the last century, or
a little more, we have seen men of genius
trying to coerce the world. But this is not a
case of a new Napoleon arising to carry out
a new adventure. This is not a case of ad-
venture, of a genius seeking to satisfy his
ambition within the limits of his own coun-
try.
It is something far different and far more
dangerous for mankind. It is the settled
determination to use every means to put the
whole world at her feet. We all know
It is a commonplace that science has enor-
mously expanded the means by which men
can kill each other. Modern destruction is
carried out as much in the laboratory of
your universities as it is on the field of bat-
tle, but we have always believed, we have
always hoped, that this increased power of
destruction would be limited and controlled
by the growing forces of humanity and civ-
ilization. We have been taught, not by Ger-
many, but by those who rule Germany, by
the military caste which controls Germany—
we have been taught a different lesson, and
we now know not merely that every scien-
tific weapon will be put in force to make
war more horrible than it was in barbarous
times, but that even the rights of civiliza-
tion, of trade, of commerce, even the inter-
communication between different peoples,
will be used for the same sinister object.
Ladies and gentlemen, that is the danger
we have to meet, and if at this moment the
world is bathed in blood and tears from
the highlands of distant Armenia down to
the very fields of France, almost within
sight of the Strait of Dover— if we have
seen a reckless destruction of life, not
merely of soldiers but of civilians; if we
have seen peaceful communities dragged
through the mire, ruined, outraged; if horror
has been heaped upon horror, until really
we almost get callous in reading our news-
papers in the morning— if all these things
are true, shall we not rise up and resist
them?
Shall we who know what freedom is be-
come the humble and obsequious servants
of those who only know what power is?
That will never be tolerated. The free na-
tions of the earth are not thus to be crushed
out of existence, and if any proof is re-
quired that that consummation is impos-
sible, it is a gathering like this where the
three great democracies of the West are
joined together under circumstances unique
in the whole h'story of the world.
And that fact should also give strength
and consolation to those who, feeling the
magnitude of the issue at stake, are inclined
to doubt how the contest will end. But we
will fail unless all here who love liberty, and
who are prepared to labor together, to fight
together, to make our sacrifices in common—
unless that happens we may be destroyed
piecemeal and the civilization of the world
may receive a wound from which it will not
easily recover.
Viviams Dinner Speech
M. Viviani's speech was one of im-
passioned and vivid eloquence. In part
he said:
The Kultur of Germany is all very well so
long as its interests are not crossed, but
when they are it is like a wild beast. Ger-
many did not know the spirit of England,
of France, or of Russia. They said that
England would not fight, that Englishmen
would remain at home while the Continent of
Europe was overrun, but they did not know
the history of that country.
You in America cannot realize, cannot
imagine the suffering and horror of what
war has meant to France and her people.
But you will arouse yourselves to the battle
fcr liberty, justice, democracy, and humanity.
When the war is over and peace reigns
in the world— and Germany is vanquished—
history will say that the free peoples of the
earth joined their powers and resources to
make the world safe for justice, for good
faith between nation and nation, and for
humanity.
In the name of France and my companions
I thank you all and the entire population of
New York for the great ovation and welcome
you have extended us. The soul of America
is so great and noble that it is fitting that
America should arise to fight for the causa
of freedom and justice. It is the greatest
honor of my life to have been here and see
and realize the spirit of this sister republic.
You may depend upon Joffre and myself to
do all we can to aid you and inform you in
all the details of the great task ahead of you.
I see before me now the might and strength
of Germany and realize that it must— that
it will— be overthrown.
Following the dinner at the Waldorf
Mr. Balfour was driven to the home of
Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt. There
he was presented with the diploma of
Doctor of Laws conferred upon him on
Thursday by Columbia University. The
presentation was made by Dr. Nicholas
Murray Butler, President of the univer-
sity, who explained how the degree had
been conferred.
In accepting, Mr. Balfour was deeply
touched. He said afterward that he had
VISIT OF NOTED DIPLOMATS
403
been thrilled as never before in his life
by the reception in New York.
Address to Lawyers' Club
Earlier in the day M. Viviani was the
guest of the lawyers of New York. On
this occasion he delivered another of his
important utterances, of which the fol-
lowing are among the significant pas-
sages:
It is not an abstract salute which the
French Mission has brought to America. No,
we are not here merely to exchange expres-
sions of international friendship; we have
not come merely for the purpose of shaking
hands with you; we have not come here to
salute you nor to become intoxicated by the
clamorous acclamations which greet us in
your streets. We have come here to pene-
trate your souls, to penetrate your hearts.
Yes, this I say, we have come, however un-
worthy we may be of our mission, to show
you the great soul of wounded France, of
suffering France, of eternal France.
All the orators who have preceded me upon
this platform have accorded me too much
praise to permit me, with modesty, to sur-
pass the height of their eulogy. You have
shown the French, isolated at the beginning
of the war, sleeping in muddy and bloody
trenches, fighting night and day, constantly,
not only for themselves, but for humanity.
You have considered the French Army as
the vanguard of all the armies of free men.
Yes, indeed, that is true. For the last three
years we have been fighting for liberty; we
are flinging to the breeze under the fire of
cannon the banner of universal democracy.
May free men now rise and come to our
side! For the honor of humanity let us not
be alone in this fight!
Come to us, American brothers, whose
hearts have been attached to ours since La-
fayette, with his French soldiers, landed
upon your soil and loaned the aid of his
arms to American independence. It is not
for France; it is not for you; it is not for
England; it is not for Russia. No; it is not
for the nations; it is for the whole world;
i£ is for all humanity.
On May 11 Marshal Joffre visited
West Point, reviewed the Cadet Corps,
and was entertained by the staff. Pre-
viously the same day he visited Washing-
ton's Headquarters at Newburg, N. Y.,
where he was received by Governor
Whitman. Here the Eagle of the So-
ciety of the Cincinnati was conferred on
him. He' had been elected an honorary
member of this society. The only other
foreigners who had thus been honored
were Rochambeau and Lafayette.
From New York the French Mission
visited Boston, where they were en-
thusiastically received. M. Viviani pro-
ceeded to Ottawa.
Chamber of Commerce Speech
The New York Chamber of Commerce
luncheon to Mr. Balfour and the English
party was attended by more than 1,000
members and guests. In his address,
after thanking the President, E. H. Out-
erbridge, for his kindly references to the
bond between the United States and Eng-
land, Mr. Balfour said the hope of his
life had been that before he died "the
union between the English-speaking,
freedom-loving branches of the human
race should be drawn far closer than in
the past, and that all temporary causes
of difference which may ever have sep-
arated the two great peoples would be
seen in their true and just proportion, and
that we should all realize, on whatever
side of the Atlantic fortune had placed
us, that the things wherein we have dif-
fered in the past sink into absolute in-
significance when compared with those
vital agreements which at all times, but
never more than at such a time as the
present, unite us in one great spiritual
whole."
In alluding to the bonds between the
English-speaking races, he said:
You have absorbed in your midst many
admirable citizens drawn from all parts of
Europe, whom American institutions and
American ways of thought have molded and
are molding into one great people. I rejoice
to think it should be so. A similar process
on a smaller scale is going on in the self-
governing dominions of the British Empire.
It is a good process, it is a noble process.
Let us never forget that wherever be the
place in which that great and beneficent
process is going on, whether it be in Canada,
whether it be in Australia, or whether on the
largest scale of all it be in the United States
of America, the spirit which the immigrant
absorbs is the spirit in all these places largely
due to a historic past in which your fore-
fathers and my forefathers, gentlemen, all
had their share.
In speaking of the Chairman's refer-
ence to the splendid work of the British
fleet, Mr. Balfour said:
Does anybody think that if the sea power
were transferred from British to German
hands the historian of the future could say
the same of the German fleet? By their fruits
we know them. Deliberately brought into ex-
404
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
istence in the hope that it would break down
that naval power which the German auto-
cracy— not the German people, but the Ger-
man autocracy — recognizes as one of the
greatest bulwarks of freedom, and one of
the most powerful defenses against world
domination, knowing that instinctively they
have been feverishly building for eighteen
or twenty years in order that, if it might
be so, they could destroy the country with
which they had no quarrel, and no cause of
quarrel, but which they regarded with an in-
stinctive and unalterable jealousy. They have
been disappointed. Their fleet remains safely
in the harbor.
What puts out to sea is not the battleship
or the battle cruiser ; there is no successor of
the great fleets of ancient times ; but the
submarine which, in their hands, finds its
natural prey in the destruction of defense-
less merchantmen and the butchery of de-
fenseless women and children. I will do the
German fleet the justice to say that I do
not believe that this was its ideal when this
war started, or when its ships were under
construction. What I do say is that the use
which the German governing classes are now
making of this new weapon, while it will
never decide the issue of this war, neverthe-
less indicates a menace to the future com-
merce of the world which must be absolutely
stopped for the future. Under the old mari-
time laws, which the United States and Great
Britain in particular have always recognized,
fleets undoubtedly did interfere with the com-
merce of any enemy belligerents, and it is
very difficult to see how that could or ought to
be avoided until that happy time comes when
war is neither on land nor sea permitted to
interfere with private rights, or indeed per-
mitted to go on at all.
Germans Made War Inhuman*
But, gentlemen, maritime warfare as It
has been carried on by civlized nations in
the past has been a human affair, carried
out under recognized laws, under which as
little injury was done to the neutral trader
as was possible under the circumstances,
compared to the abominations which are now
insisted upon by the German staff. Huge
tracts of ocean are marked out at the
arbitrary will of one belligerent, and within
these vast areas neutrals, peaceable traders,
do not merely have their ships taken in, ad-
judged in the prize court, dealt with, and
non-belligerent life carefully regarded, but
they are sunk at sea, no examination, no
knowledge of what is in the ship, no knowl-
edge of the character of the crew, no knowl-
edge of whether there are or are not passen-
gers aboard, no knowledge of the goods which
are being transported, of the place from which
they came or the destination designed. That,
gentlemen, is carrying out the methods of
barbarism, and in a manner which would
have been regarded as incredible even in
Germany two years ago. It has been carried
out by a Government which, when it thought
worth while for diplomatic reasons, was
never wearied of talking of the freedom of
the seas.
But it is a method of conducting warfare
which in its Indirect consequences, as well as
its direct consequences, is of such a character
that the civilized world must, -when this war
is over, take effectual precautions against its
repetition. For, if not, it seems to me that,
whenever two countries go to war, and when-
ever it suits the least scrupulous of the
belligerents, not merely will a great wrong
have been inflicted upon its opponent, but the
commerce of the whole civilized world will
be disorganized and destroyed. That is im-
possible to tolerate. And this Chamber has
under its guardianship the interests of trade
and commerce, and it is of all bodies the one
most interested in seeing that, so long as
wars are still permitted — and I hope that will
not be long — maritime warfare shall be con-
ducted under methods consistent with public
law, consistent with ordinary humanity, con-
sistent with those fundamental principles of
morality which underlie — or ought to under-
lie— all law.
Problems After the War
When this tremendous conflict has drawn
to its appointed close, and when, as I believe,
victory shall have crowned our joint efforts,
there will arise not merely between nations
but within nations a series of problems which
will tax all our statesmanship to deal with.
I look forward to that time, not, indeed,
wholly without anxiety, but in the main with
hope and with confidence ; and one of the
reasons for that hope and one of the founda-
tions of that confidence is to be found in the
fact that your nation and my nation will
have so much to do with the settlement of
the questions.
I do not think anybody will accuse me of
being insensible to the genius and to the
accomplishments of other nations. I am one
of those who believe that only in the multi-
tude of different forms of culture can the
completed movement of progress have all the
variety in unity of which it is capable;
and, while I admire other cultures, and
while I recognize how absolutely all im-
portant they are to the future of mankind,
I do think that among the English-speaking
peoples is especially and peculiarly to be
found a certain political moderation in all
classes which gives one the surest hope of
dealing in a reasonable, progressive spirit
with social and political difficulties. And
without that reasonable moderation inter-
changes are violent, and as they are violent
reactions are violent also, and the smooth
advance of humanity is seriously interfered
with.
I believe that on this side of the Atlantic,
and I hope on the other side of the Atlantic,
if and when these great problems have act-
ively to be dealt with, it will not be beyond
the reach of your statesmanship, or of our
own, to deal with them in such a manner that
VISIT OF NOTED DIPLOMATS
405
we cannot merely look back upon this great
war as the beginning of a time of improved
international relations, of settled peace, of
deliberate refusal to pour out oceans of blood
to satisfy some notion of domination ; but that
in addition to those blessings the war, and
what happens after the war, may prove to
be the beginning of a revivified civilization,
which <will be felt in all departments of
human activity, which will not merely touch
the material but also the spiritual side of
mankind, and which will make the second
decade of the twentieth century memorable
in the history of mankind.
The Italian War Commission reached
New York on May 10, headed by Enrico
Arlotta, Minister of Maritime and Rail-
way Transportation, with the following
associates: Generai Gugliemotti, rep-
resenting the Italian Army; Commander
Vannutelli, representing the navy; Alvise
Bragadini of the Transportation Depart-
ment, G. Pardo of the Department of
Industry and Commerce, and Gaetano
Pietra of the Agricultural Department.
The Battle of Arras Day by Day
By Philip Gibbs
[Published by arrangement with The London Chronicle]
The progress of the great struggle in the region of Arras is here graphically described as
seen from day to day by one of the most brilliant correspondents with the British armies in
France. The battle of Arras began on April 9, 1917, and the story is here taken up where it
broke off in the May issue of Current History Magazine.
[See Map on Page 1,22]
A PRIL 23, 1917.— The battle of Arras
/\ has entered into its second phase;
jLjL. that is to say, into a struggle
harder than the first day of the
battle on April 9, when by a surprise,
following great preparations, we gained
great successes all along the line.
This morning shortly before 5 o'clock
English, Welsh, and Scottish troops
made new and strong assaults east
of Arras upon the German line be-
tween Gavrelle, Guemappe, and Fontaine
les Croisilles, which is the last switch
line on this part of the front between the
British and the main Hindenburg line.
It has been hard fighting everywhere,
for the enemy was no longer uncertain
of the place where the British should at-
tack him. As soon as the battle of Arras
started it was clear to him that they
should deliver their next blow when they
had moved forward their guns upon this
" Oppy line," as the British call it, which
protects the Hindenburg position north
and south of Vitry-en-Artois. His troops
were told to expect the British attack at
any moment and hold on at all costs of
life.
. To meet the British strength the
enemy had brought up many new bat-
teries, which were placed in front of the
Hindenburg line and close behind the
Oppy line, and massed large numbers of
machine guns in the villages, trenches,
and emplacements, from which they could
sweep the line of advance by direct and
enfilade fire. These machine guns were
thick in the ruins of Roeux, just north of
the River Scarpe, in Pelves, just south
of it, in two small woods called Bois du
Sart and Bois de Vert, immediately facing
Monchy, on the slope of the hill, and in
and about the village of Guemappe,
which we had assaulted and entered
twice before.
Many German snipers, men of good
marksmanship and tried courage, had been
placed all about in shell holes with orders
to pick off the British officers and men,
and the enemy's gunners had registered
all British positions so that they were
ready to drop down a heavy barrage di-
rectly the British made a sign of attack-
ing.
A Battle to the Death
It was only to be expected that this
second phase of the battle of Arraa
should be extremely hard. For the
British it is a battle to the death. Fight-
ing is in progress at all points attained
by the troops, and there is the ebb and
flow of men — beaten back for a while
406
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
by the intensity of fire, but attacking
again and getting forward.
At the outset of the attack, according
to accounts given me by men who went
over with the first waves, the enemy
showed himself ready to meet it with
fierce resistance. Last night was terri-
bly cold, and the British troops lying
out in shell holes or in shallow trenches
dug a day or two ago suffered from this
exposure. Some of the Scottish troops
had fought in the first day's battles of
Arras, and, with English troops, had
gone forward to Monchy and into the
storm centre of German fire. Some of
the men I met today had been buried
by German crumps and had been dug out
again, and as they lay waiting for the
hour of attack shells fell about them
and the sky was aflame with the flashes
of British bombs. The men craved for
something hot to drink. But they nibbled
dry biscuits and waited for the dawn,
and hoped they would not be too numb
when the light came to get up and walk.
The light came very pale over the
earth, and with it the signal to attack.
The bombardment had been steady all
through the night and then broke into
a hurricane of fire. As soon as the men
left the trenches the gunners laid down
a barrage in front of them and made a
moving wall of shells ahead of them — a
frightful thing to follow, but the safest
if the men did not go too quickly or
failed to distinguish between the line of
German shells and the British. It is not
easy to distinguish, for the men had
hardly risen from the shell holes and
ditches before the enemy's barrage start-
ed and all the ground about them was
vomiting up fountains of mud and shell
splinters. At the same time there came
above all the noise of shellfire a furnace
blast of machine guns. The machine
gunners in Roeux and Pelves, in the two
small woods in front of Monchy, and in
the ground about Guemappe were slash-
ing all the slopes and roads below
Monchy on the hill. " It was the most
awful machine-gun fire I have heard,"
said a young Scot this morning as he
came back with a bullet in the hip.
Desperate Fighting at Monchy
April 24. — Fighting, harder and more
stubborn on both sides, more desperate in
resistance on the enemy's part than any-
thing since the battles of the Somme, has
been in progress east of Arras since the
hour of attack yesterday morning. For
the German Army they have been two
days of dreadful sacrifice, for the Brit-
ish days of grim struggle, with many at-
tacks and counterattacks which in the
end have won and held important ground.
The village of Monchy dominates the
present scene of battle, and is the key
position above the Cambrai road, for
which the enemy is fighting with full
strength. His gunners made it one of
their fixed targets yesterday and today
and flung enormous high explosive shells
at it, so that it is no longer the white
village I saw last week, but a heap of
broken walls and skeleton barns. Oppo-
site lie the two woods of Bois Vert and
the Bois du Sart on the slope of the op-
posite ridge, and it is from these woods
that the enemy has come in his counter-
attacks. At 10 o'clock yesterday morn-
ing strong bodies of Rhinelanders left the
cover of *Bois Vert and, in spite of heavy
losses from British machine-gun fire and
field batteries, succeeded in driving back
part of the British foremost line. Four
thousand Germans of a fresh division
gathered in the Bois du Sart for a further
attempt to break the line, but they were
seen by flying officers, and the British
batteries filled the wood with gas shells
so that great slaughter was done there.
This body of men was literally shelled to
death, and it was a human hell in that
wood under the blue sky.
Like the Somme Battle
April 25. — The battle which is still in
progress east of Arras is developing
rather like the early days of the Somme
battles, when the British fought stub-
bornly to gain or regain a few hundred '
yards of trenches in which the enemy re-
sisted under cover of great-gun fire and
to which he sent up strong bodies of sup-
porting troops to drive the British out by
counterattacks. The attack made by the
Scottish troops yesterday afternoon and
English troops at 3:30 this morning re-
THE BATTLE OF ARRAS DAY BY DAY
407
established the line on this side of the
two woods called Bois Vert and Bois du
Sart, and on the further side of
Guemappe. Parties of British troops who
had been cut off, and were believed to be
in the hands of the enemy, were recov-
ered yesterday, having held out in the
most gallant way in isolated positions.
The British barrage preceding an infantry
attack actually swept over them, and
they gave themselves up for lost, but
escaped from the British shells and Ger-
man shells which burst all around them
and seemed in competition for their
lives.
A similar case happened with a party
of Worcester men, recovered last night.
They were cut off in a small copse, and
lay quiet there for several days, sur-
rounded by the enemy. They had rations
with them, and lived on them until they
were gone. They were then starving and
suffering great agony for lack of water,
but still would not surrender, and last
night they were rewarded for their en-
durance by seeing the enemy retire
before the advancing waves of English
troops, the enemy suffering big losses,
but replacing them each time by fresh
battalions.
It is impossible to estimate the Ger-
man losses during the last three days,
but successive counterattacks were
smashed by shell fire, machine-gun fire,
and rifle fire, so that the ground was
heaped with their dead. There have been
no fewer than eight counterattacks al-
ready upon the village of Gavrelle, and
not one of them reached the British front
line, but they have been broken and dis-
persed. In the first counterattack upon
the British line opposite Monchy between
2,000 and 3,000 Germans left Bois Vert,
but after many hundreds had fallen they
retired to reorganize. The second attack
was in greater numbers and rolled back
the British line for a time, but has now
been forced to retire to its old position
in the woods, which the British kept con-
tinually under an intense fire, so that
the slaughter there must be great. The
guns never cease their laboring night and
day, shelling the enemy's infantry posi-
tions, batteries, lines of communication,
railheads, and crossroads, so that -no
troops may move except under the
menace of death or mutilation.
Fierce Aerial Combats
April 26. — East of Arras, after three
days of battle, the British hold good lines,
with almost all the high and command-
ing positions south of Scarpe, and the
enemy so far has made no further effort
to recapture ground by sending out
masses of men behind heavy curtain fire.
He has paid a heavy price already in
these endeavors, and is reorganizing and
replacing his shattered divisions and
carrying back his wounded to join that
vast army of cripples, blind men, and
nerve-broken men who in Germany are
hideously eloquent of the truth and re-
veal the mockery of official history.
In the daily official reports a brief pict-
ure has been given of the battle which
has raged in the skies while the earth-
men have been struggling below. Truly
during these last few days the air serv^
ice has fought wonderfully. There have
been hours when I have overheard the
continual tattoo of the Lewis guns, and
when the great sweep of the sky has been
tracked out with white shrapnel clouds,
following the British flying squadrons,
engaged hotly with hostile machines.
British Daring in Raids
The British airmen go daily far back
across the German lines, taking thou-
sands of photos, engaging enemy squad-
rons so that they are held back from
the line of battle, and dropping tons of
explosives upon ammunition dumps, rail-
heads, and transport. The boys (for
they are absurdly young in average age)
take all these deadly risks and do all this
work of terror with the same spirit as
did the young gentlemen of England
who rode out with Sir John Chandos and
Sir Walter Manny to seek combat with
the French knights many hundred years
ago along roads where the modern Brit-
ish men at arms go marching today.
During this recent fighting one of them
challenged a German albatross, who ac-
cepted fight, and for an hour they did
every trick known to flying — stalling,
banking, sideslipping, and looping — in
order to get in the first shot. It was
the German who tired first, though he
408
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
showed himself master of his machine.
There are boys in the British air service
who have killed six or seven Germans in
single combat and a few who have ac-
counted for many more and go off again
for mornings, hunting men as if on a
good adventure. Yet they know the risks
and the fortune of war. They cannot
have all the luck all the time. When
their turn comes it is quick to the end,
or if hit and left alive they do amazing
things up there in the>high skies to save
the final crash.
During this battle of Arras the British
airmen have made thousands of flights
over the German lines, have engaged in
hundreds of combats with hostile squad-
rons, and at the cost of their own lives
in many cases have saved the British
infantry great losses by keeping down
the fire of the German batteries, de-
stroying their kite balloons, signaling
preparations for the German counter-
attacks, photographing the enemy's
trenches and positions, and blinding his
own power of observation to some extent,
at least, by chasing his airplanes away
from the lines on a day when the British
infantry is not hard pressed. It is good
to pay this tribute to the flying men,
whose exploits are not much recorded,
though they are always overheard and
though the droning song of their engines
is always the accompaniment of battle
down below.
Capture of Arleux
April 29.— Yesterday the attack north-
ward was delivered against the Oppy
switch line, which the British broke by
the capture of Arleux en Gohelle, which
has fallen to the Canadians, and by suc-
cessful assaults upon Oppy Village, from
which the British troops afterward fell
back for a few hundred yards owing to
the intense enemy fire making a target
of the village. English divisions have
also swept across the northern and west-
ern slopes of Greenland Hill, which I al-
ready described as the dominating po-
sition above Roeux, and hold the ground
in spite of the most resolute counter-
attacks and heavy shelling. Roeux itself
has been entered by the British, and
their line now runs through the station
there.
Further north the Canadians fought
hard in Arleux Wood, and English troops,
who had advanced up to Oppy, came
against strong forces of the enemy, who
came up from Neuvireuil and had to
swing back a little upon a defensive line.
South of the River Scarpe there was
shellfire heavier than the British had
yet encountered since the full height of
the Somme battle, as heavy perhaps as
that on July 1 at Gommecourt. The en-
emy has not only brought up new divi-
sions, massing great reserves, but has
dragged up many new batteries of heavy
guns which are now firing ceaselessly
day and night at long range.
At Lagnicourt I saw the corpses of
the Germans who tried to capture the
Australians' guns, and I was told that
the first estimate of 1,500 men caught on
their own wire by the British artillery
and rifle fire was much below the number
afterward reckoned. This German army
is paying a fearful price for Hinden-
burg's strategic plans, but the men are
fighting now as fiercely as ever they
fought in this war, and this battle, now
raging under a blue sky, is a most bloody
episode of history.
Terrible Word Picture
April 30.— There has been but little
time lately to describe the scenes of war
or chronicle the small human episodes of
this great battle between Lens and St.
Quentin, with its storm centre at Arras,
where men are fighting in mass, killing
in mass, and dying sometimes in mass,
as when German counterattacks were
broken and destroyed at Gavrelle,
Monchy, Guemappe, and Lagnicourt. The
scene of battle changed during the last
few days, because Spring has come at
last and warm sunshine. It has made a
tremendous difference to the look of
things and sense of things.
More frightful now even than in the
worst days of Winter is the way up to
the front. In all that great stretch of
desolation the British left behind the
shell craters which were full of water,
fed water and green water, are now
dried up and are hard, deep pits, scooped
THE BATTLE OF ARRAS DAY BY DAY
409
out of the powdered earth from which
all vitality is gone so that Spring brings
no life to it. I thought, perhaps, that
some of these shell-slashed woods would
put out new shoots when Spring came,
and I watched them curiously for any
sign of rebirth. But there is no sign
and their poor mutilated limbs, their
broken and tattered trunks, stand naked
and stark under the blue sky. Everything
is dead, with a white, ghastly look in the
brilliant sunshine except where here and
there in a litter of timber and brickwork
which marks the site of a French village
a little bush is in bud or flowers blossom
in a scrap heap which once was a garden.
All this is the background of the pres-
ent battle, and through this vast stretch
of barren country British battalions move
slowly forward to take part in the battle
when their turn comes, resting a night or
two among the ruins where other men
who work always behind the lines road-
mending, wiring, on the supply column,
at ammunition dumps, in casualty clear-
ing stations, and railheads make their
billets on the lee side of the broken walls
or in holes dug deep by the enemy and
reported safe for use. Dead horses lie
on the roadsides or in great shell craters.
I passed a row of these poor beasts as
though all had fallen down and died to-
gether in a last comradeship. Dead Ger-
mans or bits of dead Germans lie in old
trenches, and a few days ago I watched
the bombardment of Lens close to the
bones of a little Frenchman who had
worn the red trousers of the old army
when he fought down the slopes of Notre
Dame de Lorette to the outskirts of
Souchez. He seemed like a man of
ancient history, and that red scrap of
clothing belonged to an epoch long gone.
May Day in the Trenches
May 1. — May Day has been quiet along
the British front so far as infantry ac-
tivity was concerned, although noisy
enough with gunfire. It was a • day of
perfect weather, rich in sunshine under a
cloudless sky, through which the British
air squadrons went away this morning
flying low, so that they were fine to see,
with glistening wings and wires. Today
as well as yesterday the enemy's chief
targets were Arleux, captured by the
Canadians, and Guemappe, which fell to
the Scottish troops, both of which places
he tried to take back by repeated and
violent counterattacks. He is still in a
trench on the east side of Guemappe run-
ning down to a bit of ruin called Cavalry
Farm, where there has been close fight-
ing for several days since the great bat-
tle of April 23, when Guemappe was
taken by the Scots.
Two hundred prisoners were taken in
that first forward sweep, when the kilted
men advanced in long lines and went
through and beyond the village of Gue-
mappe with loud shouts and cheers. For
nearly three hours the Scots were held
up by the fire of German machine guns
and artillery, and suffered many casual-
ties, but they fought on, each little group
of men acting with separate initiative,
and it is to their great honor as soldiers
that they destroyed every machine-gun
post in front of them. They were checked
again by machine-gun fire from many
different directions and from the ruin
called Cavalry immediately ahead of
them. This was afterward cleared and
many Germans lie dead there. Then be-
tween 11 and 12 in the morning the en-
emy developed his first counterattack.
He massed great numbers of men in the
valley below Guemappe, flung a great
storm of shell on to the village ahd then
sent forward his troops to work around
it. It was then that these Scottish troops
showed their fierce and stubborn fighting
spirit. They tore rents in the lines of
advancing Bavarians with Lewis guns
and rifle and grenade fire, and the
enemy's losses were so great that the
supporting troops passed over lines of
dead comrades.
Canadians Take Fresnoy
May 3. — -Another day of close, fierce,
difficult fighting is in progress, having
begun early this morning in the darkness
and going on down the long front in hot
sunshine and dust and the smoke of in-
numerable shells. At many points the
British troops succeeded splendidly, in
spite of great resistance from fresh Ger-
man regiments and intense artillery fire.
The most important gains of the day
were in the direction of the village of
410
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Cherisy, where ground has been won by
the English battalions, and in Bulleeourt,
where street fighting is in progress.
This thrust at the enemy by Fontaine lez
Croiselles, where he is still holding out
in a narrow-pointed salient, which should
be an utterly unendurable way to
Cherisy, was taken rapidly without any
serious check, although there was savage
machine-gun fire. At Fontaine lez
Croiselles the British troops found it
very difficult to get forward, owing to
the strength of the German defenses
south of the wood and the barrage of
heavy shellfire.
North of the river Scarpe there was
great fighting around Roeux, Gavrelle,
and Oppy. When the British advanced
they were met by masses of Germans,
and once more the line of battle had an
ebb and flow and both sides passed over
the dead and wounded in assault and re-
tirement. Four times the old windmill
beyond the village changed hands. Men
were fighting here as if these bits of
brick and wall were worth a King's ran-
som or a world's empire, and in a way
they were worth it, for the windmill at
Gavrelle is one point which will decide
a battle or a series of battles upon which
the fate of two empires is at stake. #
In Oppy, above the cathedral, the Ger-
mans had been very businesslike. They
knew this attack was coming. It was
clear that it must come to them, and at
night they worked hard to protect them-
selves. They made machine-gun em-
placements not only in pits and trenches,
but in branches of many trees, and wired
themselves in with many twisted strands.
A second Guards reserve, newly brought
up, held the village and wood and a white
chateau, with its empty windows and
broken roofs, and kept below ground
when the British gunfire stormed about
them. So when the British attacked in
that pale darkness of the night they
found themselves at once in a hail of
machine-gun bullets and later under shell-
fire which made fury about them. They
penetrated into Oppy Wood, but, owing
to the massed German troops, who coun-
terattacked fiercely, they did not go far
into the wood or lose themselves in a sure
deathtrap. They were withdrawn to the
outskirts of Oppy, so that the British
guns could get at the enemy and drive
him below ground again.
To the northward the British stormed
and won long trenches running up from
Oppy to Arleux, and, most necessary for
their further progress, linking up with
the Canadians, who made a great and
successful attack upon the village of
Fresnoy, just south of Acheville. This
was a very gallant feat, in the face of
many difficulties of ground and savage
fire. They completely surrounded the
village and caught the garrison in a trap
from which they had no escape. The
prisoners escaped the British shellfire,
but were nearly done to death by their
own guns. I saw this incident this morn-
ing. They had been put in an inclosure
next to the Canadian field dressing sta-
tion, flying the Red Cross flag, when sud-
denly the German guns began shelling
the area with 5.9s. They burst again and
again during a half hour with tremen-
dous crashes and smoke clouds.
Deadly Windmill Fight
May 4. — I told yesterday of the wind-
mill at Gavrelle and said it changed
hands four times. That figure has now
doubled since yesterday morning. Eight
times the Germans recaptured it and
eight ' times lost it again. While the
British hold it and look above its chaos
of timbers and bricks and sandbags and
rusty wire to those stretches of shelled
earth where many hundred forms lie,
^ other field-gray men are approaching
from Fresnes Woods, shoulder to shoul-
der, until the British guns tear holes in
their ranks and they crumble away under
the machine-gun bullets. So it is at Oppy
and Roeux, in this battleground north of
the Scarpe. Picked troops have been
chosen to hold the villages, and, although
so far they have held them by counter-
attacks in great strength against the
British advanced posts, they suffered
losses which one cannot reckon but I
know to be most bloody under the British
bombardments.
In this fighting just north of Oppy the
British took many prisoners yesterday.
I saw the prisoners made around the
chemical works, whose bricks are pock-
Former Secretary of State. Who Heads the Advisory Com-
mission Sent to Russia by the United States Government.
(Photo Harria 4 Swing)
■ •••••>•■■■>•••■•«>■
MICHAEL V. RODZIANKO
President of the Russian Duma, a Leader in the Revolution,
and a Potent Force in the Provisional Government
(Photo <D Underwood & Underwood)
THE BATTLE OF ARRAS DAY BY DAY
411
marked by the incessant patter of bul-
lets from machine guns. There were a
great many Poles among them, speak-
ing a queer patois, and these men, though
they fought according to order, loathe
war and want to finish with it. They
are tall, lean, swarthy fellows, unlike
the blonde, square-shouldered Prussians'
brought down with them from Roeux.
The Prussian machine gunners stood in
a separate group and were a sturdy-
looking crowd, not very dirty, in spite of
their fighting, and looking well fed.
Other prisoners, twenty of them, came
in like earthmen or men buried and dug
up again, which was their actual fate,
although they did the digging with their
own hands. Their dugouts blown in by
the British shellfire and all the stair-
ways and openings closed, they found
themselves entombed. Horrible enough as
it happens to the British, buried in shell
craters or trenches with friends above
to rescue them quickly if they have that
luck, but most horrible for those men,
cut off from the world in the battle which
swept over them. For two days they
used their spades, digging furiously till
they were drenched with sweat and weak
and parched with thirst. At last they
broke up to daylight and surrendered to
British soldiers, who were surprised to
see them rise out of their tombs.
Some of the British wounded lying out
on these battlefields must have been
picked up by the Germans as the fight-
ing swayed to and fro, but here and
there a man lay where he fell and was
recovered again by his comrades in a
new advance just as parties of unwounded
men held out or hid until the British
line reached them again. One man had
been lying out since April 23. He was
brought in yesterday. He was an officer
who had been hit in the stomach by a
piece of shell and lay in a crater for five
days, unconscious for a time and suffer-
ing in his conscious hours the agony of
thirst, which is the greatest torture of
all.
End of Fourth Week
May 7. — The battle of Arras has now
lasted for a month, with successive
shocks of attack and counterattack, and
for both sides the struggle has been a
fiery ordeal, in which a great sum of
human life has been burned and blasted.
On the great day of April 9 the British
losses were very light, as losses must be
counted nowadays, and in comparison
with the great gains. The enemy losses
on that day were huge in prisoners, in
killed and wounded, in guns, and in all
material of war. Since then, after hours
and even days of panic lest the British
tide of men should break all barriers and
overwhelm his Hindenburg line, the
enemy has been able to rally, to rush up
great reserves, and to replace his cap-
tured and battered guns by many new
batteries. That has saved the Hinden-
burg line for a time at least, but has not
reduced his daiy toil of life and limb,
for he has only been able to defend him-
self by counterattacking, and, although
that is the best means of defense, accord-
ing to the German textbooks, it has
proved to be frightful in cost for the
German soldiers. They succeeded in
flinging back the British here and there
by sheer weight of numbers when, after
hard days' fighting, they lie exhausted
in their advanced positions, but every
time they have been swept by machine-
gun fire and shrapnel, so that they have
fallen in great numbers. To pretend that
the British escaped scot free would be a
silly lie. The casualty lists tell how
many the British have lost.
In the battle of Arras there was in-
dividual courage, incredible almost in
human nature, but what to me is more
amazing is the general stolidity of all
of them — this common valor of shop
boys and cooks and farmers' lads and
factory hands. To say they are always
without fear would be ridiculous. They
are often very much afraid, as all men
must be when high explosives come out
of the blue skies with frightful noises
for abominable slaughter, but these lads
are by some magic, which is in expe-
rience, steeled against ordinary appre-
hensiveness and against imaginative
terror. A few days ago near Oppy I
passed a group who had just been
knocked out by a shell. It was a sight
to turn one sick and cold, but a company
412
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
of boys came along on the way to the
front line, where other shells were fall-
ing, and they paid very little heed to
this group of men.
Night Scenes at Lens
May 8. — Last night and after daylight
this morning the enemy's gunfire was
very heavy southward from the neighbor-
hood of Loos and Lens, and he launched
a violent counterattack against the
British line north of Fresnoy, captured a
few days ago by the Canadians. Further
south still, at Bullecourt, the Scots are
fighting at close quarters, mainly with
bombs, routing the enemy down trenches
and out of the village, regained for a
while in the backward and forward drives
of this fierce struggle westward of
Queant, where the Hindenburg line is
most closely menaced. Elsewhere in the
northern lines it was a night of small
raids on both sides, and along all the
front a night of great artillery. I
watched this battle of guns from the
old trenches looking across to Lens and
giving a wide sweep of the battle front
from the field of Loos to the ground
below the sloping shoulder of Vimy
Ridge.
This ground was the storm centre of
the world's war last night just after
dark, and before the coming of the moon
lights rose from the German lines. The
old devil was lighting his tapers round
the witches' caldrons of fire. These
rockets rose high, flung up like jugglers'
balls, then falling slowly and going out.
Some of them burned for a minute or
more and the woods and trenches beneath
them were illuminated with sharp white
lights. One remained hanging high over
Lens for more than five minutes like a
great star. All through the night the
battle of the guns went on and the sky
was filled with the rush of the shells
and the moon veiled his face from this
horror which made hell on earth. But in
a little wood a nightingale sang all
through the night. *
Germans Recapture Fresnoy
May. 9.— The night bombardment I de-
scribed yesterday was the preliminary of
a strong morning attack against the
British position in and around Fresnoy.
Upon this village and the neighboring
ground the enemy concentrated every-
thing he has in artillery which can be
directed on this sector of the front, and,
in addition to the ordinary high explos-
ives and shrapnel, he flung a storm of
gas shells wherever he thought the Brit-
ish had battery positions. Fresnoy itself
had been a difficult place to hold since
the Canadians took it so gallantly on
May 3. Having Acheville to the north of
it and Oppy to the south, it jutted like
a square-walled bastion with exposed
sides, along which at the time of capture
the Canadians had to form defensive
flanks. The enemy had marked it down
for attack, and for several days made
strong counterthrusts on each side of it
in order to prevent British troops getting
forward to straighten out the line. Eng-
lish troops had to bear the brunt of the
German concentrated fury. The German
Army Corps Staff evidently decided to
attack with the greatest strength possible
on a narrow front, which was already
held by their best troops. For a time that
village is lost, but one day sooner or later
the British will take it back. These men
do not reckon cost, even though it is their
own life that pays.
Australians at Bullecourt
May 13. — While the British were fight-
ing north and south of the Scarpe an
attack was made yesterday morning by
the English and Scots at Bullecourt,
supported by the Australians on their
flank. The English and Scottish troops
advanced from the south and west and
drove forward through the village, estab-
lishing themselves first on the road
which runs through the centre of the
ruins and then going forward again to a
line at the extreme north of the village,
from which they have pushed out posts.
The place is a rabbit warren of tunnels,
in which there may still be Germans
holding out, cut off from all chance of
escape. When the British got through,
the enemy seemed to run up these tun-
nels, hoping to get away to Riencourt,
but by this time the Australians had just
come up and captured a crowd of them
numbering two officers and over 180
THE BATTLE OF ARRAS DAY BY DAY
413
men, bayonetting a number who refused
to surrender and fought like tigers.
The history of this fighting at Bulle-
court is, however, inseparably bound up
with the Australian troops who broke
through the Hindenburg line to the right
of this village and held on to their posi-
tions with amazing and splendid courage,
although they were utterly exposed on
their left and subjected to at least a
dozen counterattacks in considerable force,
preceded and followed by severe shelling.
All Australian officers pay high and
touching tribute to the work of their
stretcher bearers, who were superb in
courage and self-sacrifice. I have seen
the ground they had to cross and I know
the evil and peril of it, but they went
forward with the infantry and day after
day crossed this country in the open with
their heavy burdens, never stopping to
glance at the bursting shells on either
side of them, regardless of their own
lives so that they could save their com-
rades. Unfortunately, the enemy did not
respect ambulances, although they could
clearly see the sign of the Red Cross, but
sniped them continually with shells and
shrapnel bullets, as well as stretcher
parties which had more faith in German
chivalry and for that reason walked de-
liberately in the open, so that they could
not be mistaken. The percentage of mor-
tality among these men is rather higher
than that of the infantry themselves.
Heroic Incidents at Roeux
May 15. — The account I have already
given of the way in which Roeux was
taken a few nights ago left out some
episodes which should be told and re-
membered, for the winning of this place
was the result of many weeks' most fierce
and tragic fighting.
After dusk some British lost their way
from the cemetery and wandered off the
track into the ruined streets of Roeux.
There were some Irishmen among them,
bold and reckless fellows who are very
quick to do the right things in a tight
corner when, as they say, they are on
their own. They searched some dugouts
and hauled out, by good luck, a group
of staff officers belonging to the 362d
Regiment and a doctor.
The doctor found his position rather
obscure. He remained in his dugout
for some time, attending British wounded
brought down to him, and, according to
these men, labeled them for Berlin. It
was quite a time before he realized that
his patients were not German prisoners,
but that he was a British prisoner.
May 16. — The enemy is still making
violent efforts to gain back Roeux and
the part which he recently lost of Bulle-
court, two places where for four weeks
men fought on both sides in a daily
struggle so deadly that the ground there-
about is heaped with bodies.
Yesterday, as I wrote, all Roeux was
in British hands — the chemical works be-
yond the station, where many prisoners
were taken; the chateau, with its great
dugouts and machine-gun emplacements;
the cemetery from which a -great tunnel
runs westward to Mount Pleasant Wood,
and the village of Roeux itself. The
British established machine-gun posts
in the edge of the old German emplace-
ments, dug defensive trenches, and
cleaned out the dugouts in which dead
Germans lay. There can hardly have
been a patch of ground between the shell
craters and the rubbish heap of the
houses and barns on which there was
not a German corpse. Among them lay
men of the British Army. Some day,
when the nightmare of this war has
passed and the enemy has gone back
to his own place, some of the men now
fighting will come to Roeux as to a
sepulchre where the dust of heroes lies;
for all this place is a graveyard, although
no dead lie quiet there yet. Living men
are fighting there again amid all that
mortality. Today's fighting here began
this story of blood all over again; it piled
new dead on the old dead; it refilled the
cup of agony which has overflowed
around these heaps of brickwork and
tattered timbers.
While the artillery protects the
enemy's present line he is digging hard
behind in order to safeguard any further
retreat that may be forced upon him.
Now that the old Hindenburg line is
breached both at Bullecourt and Wan-
414
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
court up north he is trying to strengthen
his new line of defense running down
through Montigny, Drocourt, and Queant.
To fall back on that would mean the
abandonment of Lens and of the Oppy-
Mericourt line and the ground about
Fontaine lez Croiselles, and Cherisy,
which is gravely menaced. His industry
on this back line is helped by forced
labor and there is evidence that he is
employing British prisoners of war under
British shellfire on this work.
May 17. — The British troops today
completed the capture of the village of
Bullecourt, for which they have been
fighting since May 3.
French Offensive On the Aisne
From April 16 to May 17, 1917
[See Map on Page 422]
ANEW battle of the Aisne has been
in progress since April 16, when
General Nivelle, the French Com-
mander in Chief, launched a great of-
fensive on a front of twenty-five miles
between Soissons and Rheims. This was
on the line to which the Germans fell
back after the battle of the Marne and
from which the Allies had been unable
to drive them.
In expectation of a strong offensive in
this region, the enemy had massed large
numbers of men and many guns, the
intense bombardment of the previous ten
days having given them ample warning
that the French were preparing an at-
tack. The Germans fought with great
desperation along the whole front, realiz-
ing that a successful French advance
would isolate the important city of Laon,
upon which the Hindenburg line depends,
but, according to General Nivelle's re-
port at the end of the first day's fight-
ing, " everywhere the valor of our troops
overcame the energetic defense of our
adversary."
The German first-line positions along
the entire front were captured, and at
some places the second line also. Over
10,000 prisoners were taken, as well as
a large quantity of war material. On
the two succeeding days the offensive
was continued with unabated vigor. By
the end of the third day the total num-
ber of prisoners taken was 17,000, with
75 guns. In many places the Germans
were forced to fall back in disorder. The
French gained several important posi-
tions, including the villages of Chavonne,
Chivy, Ostel, and Braye-en-Laonnois.
Further to the west, where the old
German line stood on the south bank of
the Aisne, the French delivered another
attack, no less successful. The impor-
tant town of Vailly was captured in its
entirety, while a powerfully organized
bridgehead between Vailly and Conde-
sur- Aisne also fell into the hands of the
attackers. At the same time the French
struck a strong blow against the west-
ern leg of the German salient, which has
its apex at Fort Conde on the Aisne, cap-
turing the village of Nanteuil-le-Fosse.
East of Craonne, in the forest of La Ville-
au-Bois, the French surrounded a body
of 1,300 Germans, who threw down their
arms. Further to the east, where the
French in their first onslaught captured
the German second-line positions, the
Germans delivered a counterattack, em-
ploying two divisions, or about 40,000
men. The attackers met a hail of ar-
tillery and machine-gun fire, and suf-
fered heavy losses. At no point were
they able to reach the French lines.
Twenty-four guns and three large can-
non with their shell depots were captured
by the French in this region during the
day's fighting, the guns being immedi-
ately turned against the enemy.
South of St. Quentin the Germans
made two strong counterattacks. The
first one failed completely, the second
had only momentary success, as a French
attack immediately afterward retook all
positions, capturing or killing all the
enemy who had penetrated the line.
To stem the French advance, Hinden-
FRENCH OFFENSIVE ON THE AJSNE
415
burg threw twelve new German divi-
sions, approximately 240,000 men, into
the lines on the night of April 18, but
next day the French pushed further
ahead. The most desperate attempt
made by the Germans on April 19 was
between Juvincourt and Berry-au-Bac,
the weakest point on the line. Here 30,-
000 of the best German troops were
hurled forward in a furious counterat-
tack, but were beaten off with heavy
losses. The most important French gains
were made at two widely separated
points — at the angle of the new front
east of Soissons and north of Vailly,
where a sharp salient was developed, and
just northwest of Auberive, in the Cham-
pagne, where the town of Moronvillers
was threatened with capture.
Following up these successes in squeez-
ing out the German salient, which had
its point at Fort Conde, on the Oise, the
French continued to press back the enemy
in this sector on April 20 toward the
Chemin des Dames, the road running
along the crest of the heights north of
the river. General Nivelle's troops occu-
pied the village of Sancy, between Aizy
and Nanteuil. They also made apprecia-
ble progress east of Laffaux. Imme-
diately in front of the French in this
sector is the fort of Malmaison, standing
on a range of high hills and protecting
the high road from Soissons to Laon.
West of Craonne the Germans launched
a heavy attack in the region of Ailles
and Hurtebise Farm, employing large
forces of troops. They met a withering
fire from the French artillery and ma-
chine guns and fell back in disorder. In
Champagne the French also made prog-
ress, capturing several important points
of support in Moronvillers Wood. Here,
also, the Germans attempted strong
counterattacks, but without result.
On April 22 and 23 the Germans con-
cent rat ed* their energies to capture Mont
Haut, the dominating position in West-
ern Champagne, but without result.
Meanwhile the French gained more
ground at the western end of the Sois-
sons-Rheims front. South of St. Quen-
tin the artillery duel which had been in
progress several days continued with
vigor. April 25 was notable for strong
German attacks on the French positions
at Hurtebise Farm, north of the Chemin
des Dames, but the advantage remained
with the French, who on April 27 gained
further ground.
There was now some diminution of the
intensity of the fighting. The French
were in possession of the chief heights of
Moronvillers. On April 30 they began
another offensive on the left of the pre-
vious advance in Western Champagne.
The fighting was particularly severe on
the north slopes of Mont Haut, to the
northeast of which the French pushed a
salient reaching the approaches to the
Nauroy - Moronvillers road. Artillery
fighting of considerable violence contin-
ued along the Chemin des Dames, north
of the Aisne, and in the region northwest
of Rheims. By May 1 the French had
taken well over 21,000 prisoners since the
opening of the drive on April 16.
Scenes of Awful Combat
" One of the most awful parts of the
battle line in France," wrote G. H. Perris,
The London Daily Chronicle correspond-
ent with the French Army, on May 14,
" is the Chemin des Dames and the neigh-
boring points of the Aisne heights, where
mutual bombardments never cease and
infantry fighting goes on continuously.
Before a resistance of unprecedented
obstinacy the French have slowly made
good and slightly extended their hold
upon the ridge, and every day makes its
commanding views more useful to them.
I suppose that in the whole extent of the
war there could hardly be found a natural
stronghold put to better defensive use
than this has been. From the outset the
German armies have been richly provided
with machine guns. They are now em-
ployed upon a larger scale than ever, and
in this rugged ground, with its ravines,
cliffs, woods, and stone villages, they are
peculiarly formidable. The chalk slopes
are honeycombed with caverns and grot-
toes, natural and artificial, which the
German engineers had furnished, en-
larged and connected by tunnels. Here
they awaited the end of the bombard-
ment in comparative immunity, while the
French had to approach from a valley 300
feet below by trenches that were nearly
everywhere overlooked.
416
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
" It is true that when the barbed wire
was completely broken and the chas-
seurs, zouaves, Moroccans, and other
troops of assault were able to dash over
No Man's Land, the caves proved to be
traps and yielded up several thousands
of prisoners. On the crest the Germans
had pierced a number of tunnels through
the chalk from the front to the back
slopes of the hills. Sometimes, as above
Chivy, they let the wave of the assault
pass and then fired upon the French
from behind. Sometimes there were
bloody combats in the entries of these
warrens and the tenants were shot down
as they came out. There was at the head
of the Chivy ravine a wide hole in the
earth down which the Moroccans threw
some grenades and then passed on. It
turned out to be the entrance to a great
tunnel which led by no fewer than 112
steps to another entrance on the back of
the hillside. Apparently against the
eventuality of assault the tunnel had
been mined with five large charges. The
grenades filled the place with smoke
and threw the occupants into panic.
Fearing that they would be blown up
with their own explosives, they bolted
upstairs to the back door, but by that
time the Moroccans had discovered the
second entry, and here they collected
200 frightened Boches as they emerged.
" Generally the German resistance
was brave and determined. In one day
near Cerny counterattacks were launched
only to break like spume upon the ex-
temporized French positions. They be-
came daily stronger, but still thousands
of graycoats were sent to the assault. In
their attempts to recover the Cerny
sugar factory (a heap of ruins, of course)
they started from some specially wide
communication trenches up which col-
umns of grenadiers came four abreast.
As soon as four were shot down another
line stepped forward. Thousands and
thousands of bombs were thrown, but the
French mitrailleuses cduld not be
passed."
The Capture of Craonne
The village of Craonne, several forti-
fied points north and east of the village,
and the German first-line positions on a
front of two and a half miles northwest
of Rheims were captured by the French
on May 4. Craonne, about nine miles
southeast of Laon, stands upon an iso-
lated height at the eastern end of the
Chemin des Dames. It not only protects
the entire plateau north of the Aisne,
but defends also the lowlands between
this height and Neufchatel. The Ger-
mans had been intrenched in this posi-
tion since the first battle of the Aisne,
and many French attacks had broken
against the cliffs on which the village
stands. Its capture by the French gave
them an open road up the valley of the
Miette, where more than two weeks pre-
viously they captured the enemy's second
line south of Juvincourt. An advance
up this corridor would outflank the en-
tire German position depending on Laon
as a centre. Such an advance would have
been a hazardous operation so long as
the Germans clung to Craonne. The cor-
ridor is protected on the east by the
heights of Brimont.
Another brilliant victory was gained
by the French on May 5 on the front
north of the Aisne River at both ends
of the Chemin des Dames. Over 4,300
prisoners were taken. On both sides of
the Soissons-Laon road the French car-
ried a salient in the Hindenburg line
over a front of nearly four miles, ex-
tending from the Moisy farm (southeast
of Vauxaillon) to a point north of Sancy,
including the Laffaux Mill, which stands
on a height at the intersection of the
Soissons-Laon road with that running
north to La Fere. The French line north
of Nanteuil la Fosse and Sancy was
pushed forward to the immediate vicini-
ty of the Soissons road.
At the eastern end of the Chemin des
Dames the French not only repulsed all
German counterattacks, but cleared the
entire plateau from east of the Cerny en
Laonnois to a point east of Craonne, and
pushed forward to the hills which domi-
nate the valley of the Aillette River,
south of Ailles, and the Vanclerc Forest.
The Germans counterattacked more vio-
lently than at any time since the offen-
sive began, throwing fresh troops into the
battle at threatened points in fierce ef-
forts to regain their lost positions. The
fighting was especially prolonged and
FRENCH OFFENSIVE ON THE AISNE
417
violent around Craonne, where the
French took prisoners from two fresh
German divisions and maintained all
their gains. The obstacles confronting
the French armies were in many cases
natural, and, it would seem, insurmount-
able, and the French accomplished mag-
nificent exploits in scaling them in the
face of the enemy, who had accumulated
divisions and batteries.
Fighting Near Rheims
There was no diminution in the heavy
German onslaughts in the neighborhood
of Rheims, where the German positions
between Beine and Sapigneul form a
pronounced salient, which includes Fort
Brimont and Forts Witry, Berru, and
Nogent. After three days' more fighting
the French gained further successes,
capturing first-line trenches over a front
of three-quarters of a mile northeast of
Chevreux, near Craonne, and also a
minor position northwest of Rheims.
In a determined effort to secure the
initiative, the Germans on May 16 deliv-
ered a powerful attack on a front of two
and a half miles northeast of Soissons,
attempting to break through the French
lines north and northwest of Laffaux
Mill, where the French seriously threat-
ened the whole German position as far
north as La Fere. So huge were the
masses of troops thrown by the Germans
against the French lines that at several
points the French were driven back by
sheer force of numbers, but counterat-
tacks immediately organized enabled
them to regain the lost ground.
On May 17 the German counterattacks
still continued with extraordinary in-
sistence, especially on the Chemin des
Dames. A correspondent on that day
summed up the situation in these words:
"To the north of Laffaux village and the
neighboring crossroads in particular the
battle has gone on practically without
intermission for a month. This district
of sharp hills, wooded ravines, and lime-
stone caverns is the corner at which the
Siegfried line turns eastward. The
French advance was desperately opposed
from the first, and it has been possible
to extend it only slightly, but the chief
end has been very fully attained. The
tide of the German assault swells up,
splashes over a piece of trench here or
there, is broken, and in its ebb leaves
terrible human wreckage to mark one
more failure."
The Famous Fight for Vimy Ridge
The story of the remarkable capture of
Vimy Ridge by the Canadians, one of the
outstanding episodes of the British offen-
sive in France in April, 1917, is officially
related as follows by the Canadian War
Records Office:
A GAIN the Canadians have " acquired
/\ merit." In the capture of Vimy
jL JL Ridge on April 9, as in the
lesser action of Courcelette in
September of last year, they have shown
the same high qualities in victorious ad-
vance as they displayed in early days in
desperate resistance on many stricken
fields. At half -past 5 on Easter Monday
morning the great attack was launched
with terrible fire from our massed artil-
lery and from many field guns in hidden
advanced positions. Our " heavies " bom-
barded the enemy positions on and be-
yond the ridge, and trenches, dugouts,
emplacements, and roads, which for long
had been kept in a continual state of dis-
repair by our fire, were now smashed to
uselessness. An intense barrage of
shrapnel from our field guns, strength-
ened by the indirect fire of hundreds of
machine guns, was laid along the front.
At the same moment the Canadian
troops advanced in line, in three waves
of attack. Flurries of snow drifted over
the battlefield as the Canadians left
their jumping-off trenches behind the
rolling barrage. The light was sufficient
for manoeuvring purposes and yet obscure
enough to obstruct the range of vision
and lessen the accuracy of fire of the
German riflemen and machine-gunners.
418
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
The troops on the extreme left made a
start under conditions as favorable as
those in the centre and right, but they
were soon confronted by a strong and
constantly strengthening opposition. The
advance of these troops was soon checked
between its first and second lines of ob-
jectives by heavy fighting, which was
more formidable against the centre of the
line than against the flanks.
A dip in the ground caused a change of
direction, which swung these troops off
their central objectives. They reached
their goals on the flanks, only to find
themselves subjected to heavy, close-
range fire of machine guns and rifles.
To be enfiladed from the centre and the
north was bad enough, but to add to the
situation, caves, or a tunnel, in the hostile
line over which we had already advanced
now disgorged Germans, who promptly
reoccupied their old front and opened fire
on our rear. The enemy at these points
fought with unusual vigor and resolu-
tion. ,
These troops on the extreme left
fought all day against the Huns, and by
10 o'clock at night succeeded in dispos-
ing of the enemy in their rear and cap-
turing the major portion of the enemy
trenches in their centre. " The Pimple,"
in the north, still remained to the enemy,
but by then snow was falling heavily
and it was wisely decided to consolidate
the hard-won gains and prepare for a
counterattack rather than to undertake
a further assault that night. " The
Pimple " would keep for the morrow.
In the meantime the other troops
fought forward to one line after another
without serious check, but with many
brisk encounters and not without casual-
ties. Most of these were the result of
shrapnel fire, only a small percentage
were fatal, and the majority of the
wounds were of a minor character.
On the German second line the troops
drew breath and consolidated their gains.
Our barrage was laid before them steady
as a wall. Fresh troops came up and de-
ployed into position. They waited for
the barrage to lift at the ordained min-
ute and lead them on. The enemy's ar-
tillery fire — their counterbarrage and
bombardment of our gun positions — was
not strong as strength in such things is
considered today. Prisoners were al-
ready hurrying to our rear in hundreds,
pathetically and often ludicrously grate-
ful to the fortunes of war that had
saved them alive for capture. They sur-
rendered promptly and willingly.
The barrage lifted, and the two divis-
ions on the right followed it forward to
the German third line. Here again they
paused for a time, then advanced again,
behind the ever-ready and unslackening
barrage, for a distance of about 1,200
yards. This advance included the capt-
ure of several villages, Hill 140, a num-
ber of fortified woods, and several
trenches and belts of wire. And still
the enemy surrendered by hundreds and
scuttled rearward to safety. Their re-
sistance grew feebler, their hands more
eager to relinquish their weapons and
ascend high above their heads, at each
stage of our advance.
At 10 o'clock snow fell heavily from
black clouds sweeping low across the
ridge. Half an hour later the snow
ceased, the clouds thinned, and the sun
shone fitfully over the shattered and
clamorous battlefield. Word was re-
ceived at the advanced headquarters that
the British division on our immediate
right was enjoying a degree of success
in its operations equal to the Canadian
success.
Events continued to develop with ra-
pidity and precision. By 1 o'clock every
point in the enemy's third line of our ob-
jectives had been reached and secured.
By this time the troops on the right had
consolidated their gains and advanced
strong patrols. From their new positions
they commanded a wide view of enemy
territory to the eastward. They reported
a massing of Germans on a road in the
new field of vision, and our heavy guns
immediately dealt with the matter. By
noon one of the battalions of a division
had received and dealt drastically with
three counterattacks. Its front remained
unshaken. Shortly after this the Cana-
dian Corps was able to state that the
prisoners already to hand numbered three
battalion commanders, 15 other officers,
and more than 2,000 noncommissioned
THE FAMOUS FIGHT FOR VIMY RIDGE
419
officers and men — with plenty more in
sight — making for our " cages " as fast
as their legs could carry them.
The final stage of the attack of the
troops on the right was now made. They
passed through the wide belts of enemy
wire which fringed the plateau by way
of wide gaps torn by our heavy artillery
at fixed intervals. So they issued on the
eastern slopes of Vimy Ridge — the first
allied troops to look down upon the level
plain of Douai since the German occu-
pation in 1914. They saw the villages
of Farbus, Vimy, and Petit Vimy at their
feet, and beyond these the hamlets of
Willerval, Bailleul, Oppy, and Mericourt.
They pressed on to Farbus Wood and
Goulot Wood, and possessed themselves
of several hostile batteries and much
ammunition.
By an early hour of the afternoon all
our objectives, save those of the left of
the attack, were in our possession, and
the task of consolidating and strength-
ening our gains was well in hand.
Throughout the day the most courageous
and devoted co-operation was rendered
to the Canadian Corps by a brigade and
a squadron of the Royal Flying Corps.
The night saw all of Vimy Ridge, with
the exception of a few trenches on Hill
145, secure in Canadian hands.
Last Inhabitants Driven From Rheims
The City of Rheims was evacuated by
its civil population on Easter Sunday,
when the last 17,000 inhabitants, who
had withstood the German bombardment
for two and one-half years, withdrew.
Henry Wood describes this episode as
follows :
BEFORE the German declaration of
war Rheims was a prosperous city,
with 117,000 inhabitants, and
though about 100,000 of the population
left by degrees, the remainder refused
to go. They organized an underground
cellar life, with schools and municipal,
social, and business activities.
The enemy apparently chose Holy
Week for the final -destruction of the
city. On Palm Sunday nearly 1,000
shells were thrown into the city, and the
local authorities immediately suggested
the final evacuation of the city, but the
faithful 17,000 said, " Oh ! but we have
seen much worse than this in 1914." On
Holy Monday another thousand shells
came. The faithful 17,000 began to look
a little dubious, but cheered each other
upf. heroically. But on Tuesday another
thousand shells deluged the city, and the
local authorities had some bills printed
begging the people to flee; but the bom-
bardment was so terrific that it was im-
possible to post the bills. On Wednesday
there came still another thousand shells.
The two newspapers of Rheims, which
had never missed a single issue even
under the severest bombardment, invited
their readers at last to abandon their
homes as they were abandoning their
newspapers. Thursday saw another
thousand shells hurled into Rheims and
the authorities prepared more posters,
this time ordering the population to flee
immediately. The bombardment again
prevented the posting of the bills and the
17,000 still refused to flee.
On Good Friday not only was the num-
ber of shells increased, but their size as
well, and on Saturday were added shells
filled with asphyxiating gas. It was
then, and then only, the faithful 17,000
admitted their defeat.
They still hung out till Easter morn-
ing, however, and then, getting together
their few possessions, and under a new
deluge of shells, they went out, and
Rheims. remained a city without life and
without breath.
The damage done to the remains of
Rheims Cathedral during the bombard-
ments of April and May was so serious
that architects apprehend the complete
collapse of the building.
Military Review of the Month
Period from April 18 to May 18, 1917
By J. B. W. Gardiner
Formerly Lieutenant Eleventh U. S. Cavalry
THE object of these reviews is two-
fold— to give a resume of recent
fighting in the various theatres
of military operations and to
outline the general situation as it exists
at the moment of writing. The second
of these I will take up first, as it will
bring into clearer view the objects on
either side of the fighting, and to what
extent those objects are being attained.
Germany has two chances of winning
the war. The first is the submarine
campaign. If this campaign is success-
ful to the point that oversea communi-
cation between the New World and the
Old is completely broken up German
victory is almost certain to ensue. The
second is a separate peace with Russia.
This will not necessarily make Germany
the winner, but it will greatly enhance
Germany's chances and make victory a
possibility. As to the first, it is practi-
cally impossible. The second is not im-
possible, but improbable. At the same
time a situation exists in Russia which
is not without an omen of ill for the
Allies.
Ominous Conditions in Russia
The situation is one of chaos. In-
stead of liberty and an active struggle
to defeat the most persistent foe to
republican ideas, there is almost un-
bridled license and a complete breaking
down of discipline in the military force.
As one of the Russian leaders stated it,
the people have had a sip from the cup
of liberty, and it has intoxicated them.
The ablest Generals, the greatest states-
men, have all left their posts, either
through removal or resignation. Nich-
olas, Brusiloff, Rusky have gone, and
there is no one apparently able to take
their places. Discipline in the army has
disappeared, the control of the officers
over the men has gone with it, and no
important order can be given unless ap-
proved by the soldiers themselves. The
Russians and the Germans are frater-
nizing openly in No Man's Land, and
there seems no means of breaking up
this ruinous communication. The situ-
ation could not, in a military way, be
very much worse.
It is not that Russia will make a sepa-
rate peace. The probabilities are that
she will not. While this still keeps
Germany away from the Russian gran-
aries, it nevertheless, in so far as mili-
tary operations are concerned, gives Ger-
many the same advantages that such a
peace would bring. That is, it eliminates
Russia from the war, at least for the
current year, and thereby permits the
Central Powers to concentrate in other
quarters a large part of the forces which
have been held on the eastern front by
Russia's swift, hard offensive strokes.
This is an element that has an important
bearing on the fighting in France.
General Hindenburg's Plan
Let us turn back a little to the be-
ginning of the great German retreat and
outline the reasons given by Germany, or
fairly implied as reasons therefor. The
first was undoubtedly to gain time — to
delay the attack of the Allies, which they
felt sure would be launched. The almost
inconceivable devastation left in their
wake is sufficient proof of this. The
second was to give their submarines an
opportunity to destroy sufficient tonnage
to give them the advantage in the land
fighting. Finally, having accumulated
during the Winter a certain reserve of
new material through new levies, returns
from the hospitals, and men released
from manufacturing duties through the
enslavement of the Belgians, their aim
was to begin an offensive in a new field
through open warfare, using this reserve
for the purpose.
What this new reserve amounted to in
MILITARY REVIEW OF THE MONTH
421
numbers we do not know. The normal
yearly increment is approximately 500,-
000; it does not seem reasonable that the
number from other sources could be
greater. This would give the total re-
serve figure at about 1,000,000. It is ap-
parent, however, from the statement as
to the German plan — which statement
comes from Berlin — that Germany
planned to take the initiative which the
Allies had held since the ending of the
battle of Verdun. If she did not, indeed,
there was but little sense in collecting
this reserve which was formed largely by
mortgaging the future. It was a stake
with which to gamble, and therefore must
have been intended to be used in an ef-
fort to accomplish some result through
offensive operations initiated by Ger-
many.
Plans That Have Failed
To what extent, then, do the operations
of the last month indicate success in con-
formity with the German plan? The
first part — to gain time — has proved a
failure. They did not gain time because
the British and French, knowing of the
coming retirement, (I myself was ad-
vised of it from an authoritative source
the first week in February,) had, before
it began, prepared to strike elsewhere
than on the Somme. The British prepa-
ration for the attack on Vimy Ridge was
made in February, the French prepara-
tion for the attacks on Craonne and in
Champagne somewhat later.
The second part of the plan, while in
one sense partially successful, since many
hundreds of thousands of tons of ship-
ping have been sunk, has in reality been
a ruinous failure, since it has thrown the
resources of America into the balance
against Germany. Nor has it even ap-
proached cutting England off from the
New World. Indeed, Canada is sending
troopships across weekly, and there is no
record of any one of them ever having
been sunk.
As for the third, its defeat has been
most complete. Germany has been ut-
terly unable to take the initiative or to
use for this purpose the million men she
had gathered at serious cost to her later
operations. On the contrary, she has
had to use this reserve to resist the ter-
rific and unrelenting pressure which the
British and French have applied to the
two most vital sections of the German
front. And even this does not seem to
have been sufficient. Aside from throw-
ing this reserve into action long before
it was expected, she has had to call on
the Russian front for additional men,
and is using many divisions of them now.
The Russian situation permits this to be
done without present danger. It is an-
other case of mortgaging the future be-
cause of the exigencies of the present.
When Russia is ready to strike again
the result will show how serious the
damage is. We see, therefore, that in
every particular the German plans have
met with defeat.
Less Hopeful Elements
To this extent the situation is entirely
favorable to the Allies. But it is a nega-
tive advantage. In reality the situation
is not as hopeful as might appear from
what has already been said. There is
reason for a somewhat dubious feeling
about any great success this year. The
whole thing hinges on Russia, and we
know what the Russian situation is. The
only way a group of nations holding the
advantage of interior lines can be beaten
is by striking simultaneously at many
points on the inclosing circle. And this
cannot happen. Russia, we have seen,
cannot attack. Any Italian attack will
be met by Austrian reserves, drawn with
impunity from the Russian front. Ru-
mania is dependent upon Russian assist-
ance and Russian supplies, and may con-
sequently be classed with Russia as inca-
pable of offensive action. The army in
Saloniki, although spasmodically active,
is really performing no other function
than that of a holding force, neutralizing
the army of Bulgaria. Only on the
western front can effective fighting be
done, and the forces on this front must
bear the brunt of the entire German
Army. This, then, is the situation with
which the British and French are con-
fronted, and which must be borne in mind
in following the western fighting.
French Fighting on the Aisne
As for the actual fighting, it has been
more severe than during any correspond-
422
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
OUUOGNE
Mo
MONTREUIL
*Jf^C~^ MAUBEUGE
3.V>C_AMBRAI S
FRESNOY *• •-•^ (
BRITISH AND FRENCH BATTLE FRONTS NEAR ARRAS AND ON THE AISNE
ing period of the war. The first attack
to be noted — it began as last month's re-
view was going to press — was the French
attack west of Rheims and in Cham-
pagne. The attack west of Rheims was
against the southern pivot of the so-called
" Hindenburg Line " — against the Laon
position. It was leveled principally
against the heights of the Aisne, where
the allied attacks which followed the
battle of the Marne broke down. From
the Aisne, passing north toward Craonne,
there is an abrupt limestone plateau,
rising in a very difficult, heavily wooded
country and terminating sharply at
Craonne itself.
The first French rush, which was pre-
ceded by the usual terrific bombardment,
carried Nivelle's men well up to this
plateau and accounted for a great many
guns and thousands of prisoners, many
of the latter being caught in the lime-
stone-caves — some natural, some created
by the Germans — with which the plateau
is honeycombed. Following up this suc-
cess, the French struck again and again
until the plateau was taken and Craonne
occupied. French lines were established
about three-quarters of a mile from the
Aillette River, which they now parallel
from Courtecon to Chevreux. The floor
of this valley is now under complete
domination by the French guns, which
occupy the ridge that parallels the
valley throughout.
Here the French have had to stop.
The Germans have thrown into the fight-
ing over 100,000 new troops in their ef-
forts to hold back the French thrust, and
have made the most furious counterat-
tacks, particularly against the Craonne
position. But the French have main-
tained their new positions entirely. In-
deed, it was the terrain which has held
the French back, more than the reserve
material which the Germans have thrown
into the battle. The truth of the matter
is that both sides hold positions which are
exceedingly strong defensively. Each
holds a ridge paralleling the river — one
on one side, one on the other. There is
no object in the French pushing down to
the river unless they can cross it and
seize the heights on the other side. This
promises to be a most difficult operation,
and one accompanied by heavy losses;
THE PRESENT MILITARY SITUATION
423
and there is no indication that any such
attempt is being considered. Indeed, it
would seem that the French have reached
the limit of possibilities here, and that
this section of the line will wait for an
attack to be made from the east, where
the terrain is much more simple and less
favorable for defense.
Between Rheims and Berry-au-Bac the
country is open, gently rolling, without
positions of any particular dominating
value. The attack here almost entirely
cleared the Aisne Canal north of Soivre
and forced the Germans back to within
a mile of the Suippes River. Here, too,
the advance has halted and the French
have had to withstand the heaviest of
countermovements. In the Champagne
country east of Rheims, to which the
French attack extended, there was also
a decided gain in the early days of the
fighting, but the advance stopped at the
heights of Moronvillers. Against this
section, too, the Germans have coun-
tered heavily, but everywhere the French
lines have held. Division after division
of the German reserves has been used up
in these three sections of the line and
withdrawn to recuperate and re-form.
On the British Front
All the British fighting of the month
has been over the narrow front from
Fresnoy to Queant. The ground gained has
been unimportant, but the apparent plan
of the British is important. It must be
realized, first, that the western fighting
still has with it the idea of attrition — of
wearing the Germans down. This has
never been lost sight of by the allied
General Staff since trench warfare de-
veloped. And it is toward this end that
the fight in the west is directed. The
idea of the British, then, seems to be
to provoke the Germans to counter-
attack rather than to gain ground them-
selves.
The percentage of men lost in such at-
tacks is always greater than in the orig-
inal attack. There are several reasons
for this, chief of which is that counter-
attacks, whether made to stop an ad-
vance or to recover lost ground, promise
success only when made before the hos-
tile infantry can consolidate the ground
gained and settle down into new posi-
tions. The artillery, therefore, cannot be
used to the same extent either to prepare
for or to protect the infantry as it moves
forward. The losses involved in such
fighting are always excessive. Such at-
tacks are justified only when important
positions are at stake. Here is appar-
ently the key to the fighting at Roeux, at
Oppy, and at Bullecourt.
There are indications of activity both
on the Saloniki and the Italian fronts,
but such attacks as have been delivered
are only in the preparatory stage. The
Saloniki fighting has been confined to
the Vardar Valley, on both sides of
which the French and British have made
slight advances. On the Italian front,
about midway between Tolmino and Go-
rizia, a new crossing of the Isonzo has
been forced and several heights on the
eastern bank have been seized. In gen-
eral, however, the engagement has been
without definite result.
German Version of the Month's Fighting
April 18 to May 17, 1917
GERMAN accounts of the fighting on
the western front during the month
have maintained that the British
and French attacks have been failures
attended by appalling losses. " After a
week of incomparably wrathful on-
slaught," wrote the correspondent of the
Berlin Lokal-Anzeiger on April 22, " the
German front still stands unshaken, al-
though covered with bruises and pools
of blood on the Aisne and in Champagne,
a guarantee that, since the enemy did not
succeed in the first two days of this
gigantic battle, when their valor and
vigor were fresh, in breaking the German
lines, they will never succeed hereafter."
The German War Office report of
April 23, the day on which the British
424,
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
launched their second great assault since
April 9, said that on the battlefield of
Arras the new offensive had broken down
without success under very heavy enemy
losses, and the report of April 25, refer-
ring to the same day's fighting, added
that the number of British dead and
wounded lying in front of the German
lines, according to aviators and men in
the trenches, was unusually high. Only
on the Cambrai-Arras road did the
British gain ground.
The Berlin Lokal-Anzeiger correspond-
ent described this offensive as the most
gigantic infantry effort ever made by
the British. " British humanity in
khaki," he wrote, "flooded the whole
country in front of the German trenches
at Loos and Arras. Between Hulluch
and Lens they formed a living battering
ram and thus succeeded in taking about
a kilometer of the German first trench.
But a German counterattack, following
immediately, not only ejected them from
the trench, but left every British soldier
on the battlefield. The troops welcomed
an infantry attack as relief from the
rain of iron that the British artillery
is pouring on them incessantly. The Ger-
man soldiers who had for days been ex-
posed to the hell of gunfire never lost
their nerve one moment when the human
sea of khaki threatened to swamp them.
On the Aisne and in Champagne, too, a
sanguinary struggle around the hills
continues as bitterly as in the last eight
days. Evidently the French have re-
ceived fresh munitions and replaced their
tired divisions by new formations."
British Failure Announced
The third attempt of the British to
break through the German lines on the
battlefield of Arras was, according to
the Berlin official statement of April 28,
another complete failure, involving heavy
losses, and followed by a German
counterattack ending in " a heavy de-
feat " for the British. The War Office
report of the following day contained this
account of the battle:
" A very heavy drum fire, which was
begun before daybreak over the whole
front from Lens as far as Queant, was
the prelude to a battle by which the
British for the third time hoped to
pierce the German lines near Arras. By
midday the great battle was decided by
a heavy defeat of the British. At dawn,
on a front of about thirty kilometers,
(eighteen miles,) British storming col-
ums followed curtains of steel, dust, gas,
and smoke, which had been advanced by
degrees. The weight of the enemy thrust
north of the Scarpe was directed against
our positions from Acheville as far as
Roeux, where the battle raged with ex-
traordinary violence. The British forced
their way into Arleux-en-Gohelle and
Oppy and near Gavrelle and Roeux, oc-
cupied by us as advanced positions. They
were met by a counterattack by our in-
fantry. In a severe hand-to-hand strug-
gle the enemy was defeated. At some
points he was driven beyond our former
lines, the whole of which, with the excep-
tion, of Arleux-en-Gohelle, is again in our
hands. South of the Scarpe, in the low-
lands, a desperate battle also raged. In
their wrecked positions our brave troops
withstood the British charges, repeated
several times. Here also the British at-
tacks failed. On the wings of the battle-
field enemy attacking waves broke down
under destructive fire. The British losses
were extraordinarily heavy. April 28
was a new day of honor. Our infantry,
powerfully led and excellently supported
by its sister and auxiliary arm, showed
itself fully equal to its tasks."
Claim Heavy French Losses
The French preparations for a new at-
tack at the end of April are described in
the following dispatch, dated May 1,
from the Berlin Mittagszeitung corre-
spondent at the German headquarters:
" The great battle enters upon the
fourth week and looks very much as
though a new change of parts is about
to take place. On April 9 the English
began a great onslaught, on April 16 the
French fell in line, while on April 23 the
English carried out a second assault,
which they followed with a third on the
28th. Now it is evidently the French
turn again. The country around Artois
is still vibrating with the fierce battle of
the last eight days, and the artillery con-
tinues its chaotic noise, especially around
GERMAN VERSION OF THE MONTH'S FIGHTING
425
Oppy, which yesterday withstood the
British onslaught four different times.
" On the Aisne and in Champagne the
guns are roaring worse than ever today.
As early as Saturday night one noticed
at Berry-au-Bac, where I was at the
time, the thunder of artillery and the
flash and bang of exploding shells in-
creasing in rapidity. Toward Sunday
morning, of course, everything was pre-
pared for a new onslaught. The French,
however, did not think their artillery
preparation sufficient, and continued the
bombardment with all the more ferocity,
since the German guns gave them tit
for tat. Toward Monday morning the
French developed a regular drumfire,
which was mainly directed against the
left wing of the Aisne front around
Vauxaillon and against the line of Braye-
Craonne-Brimont.
" Observation and the testimony of
prisoners tell. an awful story of the over-
whelming losses on the French side.
Large detachments ceased to exist in
the original form. The battlefields which
the Germans have to cross in their
counterattacks are full of the terrors of
slaughter. There are countless bodies
along the whole front which in view of
the French inconsiderateness for the life
of their own men are not to be wondered
at. The Germans, too, mourn many dead
heroes, but it is quite natural that the
French, who have been trying the front
now for three weeks, should have
suffered many more losses. The Ger-
mans know that, and they know that,
thanks to the splendid efficiency of their
artillery and the untiring efforts of their
flying squadrons, they shall have the
upper hand to the end."
Gigantic British Effort
Meanwhile the British were once more
on the offensive, and again, according to
German accounts, with no real success.
"At, this last hour," wrote the Berlin
Lokal-Anzeiger correspondent on May
4, "the last waves of the hostile flood
against the German walls east of Arras
are receding. Another gigantic effort
has spent itself without the desired effect
of breaking through the German lines in
even one single spot." He continued:
" Led by countless tanks, the British in-
fantry rushed on as often as five times in
some places. About noon on May 3 the
most powerful of all the English on-
slaughts that brought them nearly one
kilometer deep into the German lines near
the village of Fresnoy broke down com-
pletely. At Oppy, where the field was
literally covered with English bodies,
they received a staggering blow and re-
tired. In the valley of the Scarpe to-
ward Roeux and in the direction of
Pelves their onslaughts met a like fate
in the fire of German sharpshooters and
machine guns.
" Large, dense masses of troops ope-
rating against the German south flank
succeeded in the first heat of the assault
in piercing the line to Cherisy, which,
however, was recovered by a counterat-
tack. Having completely failed here, the
British sought to gain a foothold at the
village of Bullecourt, four kilometers
east of Queant. Again they were de-
feated, but managed to occupy a short
stretch of trenches, where they are now
completely shut off from their connec-
tions. At 4:30 o'clock this morning
(May 4) the British sent dense masses
against Bullecourt. As far as we know
by this time this attack was also success-
fully repulsed. All the enemy got for
the thousands of dead and wounded sacri-
ficed in this fourth battle is mostly a pile
of walls and burned woodwork, where
once stood a village of 200 inhabitants,
and that after a bombardment that hard-
ly ever had its equal, and after seventeen
divisions spent their breath against nar-
row stretches of the German position.
" While this furor of attack on the Ar-
ras front seems subsiding, the valleys of
the Aisne and Champagne are again
shrouded in steam, dust, smoke, and the
noise of battle. Since early dawn the
French have been trying to rush the Ger-
man position between the Aisne and Bri-
mont. The night before their projectiles
were raining on the Vauxaillon-Laffaux-
Braye-Craonne line. Guns of all calibres
seem to have joined in the hellish concert,
and for a change the Germans now and
then were treated to gas shells. Now the
battle of human masses is again raging
in those valleys. There is no doubting
what it will be."
426
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Fall of Craonne Not Announced
The German reports made no reference
to the capture of Craonne. On the other
hand, the War Office report of May 8 an-
nounced the recapture of Fresnoy. On
May 11 it was stated that the mutual ac-
tivity of the artilleries had increased to
great violence on the whole Arras battle
front and that local advances by the Brit-
ish at Fresnoy and Roeux and between
Monchy and Cherisy remained unsuccess-
ful. On May 13 it was admitted that the
British had succeeded in forcing their
way through the German lines at Roeux.
One report read :
" The great attacks of the English
have broken down. After very strong
artillery preparation, which extended
throughout the whole battlefield of Arras,
from Lens to Queant, the English in the
early morning attacked the lines between
Gavrelle and the Scarpe, astride the Ar-
ras-Cambrai Road, and near Bullecourt.
At Roeux they were successful in forcing
an entry, but at all other points they
were repulsed by our fire and hand-to-
hand fighting, and sustained the heaviest
losses. In the evening several fresh at-
tacks were made on both sides of Mon-
chy. These likewise broke down with
sanguinary losses. The advantages
which the English succeeded in obtaining
at Bullepourt were again wrested from
them by powerful counterthrusts of a
Guard battalion."
The capture of La Neuville, on the
Aisne front, was announced by the War
Office on May 16. A later report said
that rain and mist had rendered the
fighting activity on the western front
slight. On May 17 the German official
statement admitted the loss of ground at
Roeux, but announced the capture of
2,300 English prisoners and 2,700 French-
men since May 1. The British capture
of Bullecourt was conceded.
Kaiser to the Crown Prince
Earlier in the struggle — on April 22 —
the German Kaiser sent the following
telegram to the Crown Prince:
" The troops of all the German tribes
under your command, with steel-hard de-
termination and strongly led, have
brought to failure the great French at-
tempt to break through on the Aisne and
in Champagne. Also there the infantry
again had to bear the brunt, and, thanks
to the indefatigable assistance of the
artillery and other arms, has accom-
plished great things in death-defying
perseverance and irresistible attack. Con-
vey my thanks and those of the Father-
land to the leaders and men. The battle
on the Aisne and in Champagne is not
yet over, but all who fight and bleed there
shall know that the whole of Germany
will remember their deeds, and is at one
with them to carry through the fight for
existence to a victorious end. God
grant it."
Germany's Peace Discussion
Chancellor's Address of May 15, 1917
THE German Chancellor at a meet-
ing of the Reichstag on May 15
delivered an address which had
been anxiously awaited in the
hope that it would be a definite proffer
of peace; but it proved to be a disap-
pointment in that regard. Chancellor
von Bethmann Hollweg was preceded by
Dr. Roesicke, Conservative and President
of the German Farmers' Union, who
said:
" While our brave troops maintain
with streams of blood our territorial
gains, the Social Democratic Party urges
the Imperial Chancellor to conclude a
peace without any indemnity and without
any annexation. The Imperial Govern-
ment has met the Social Democratic de-
mands to such an extraordinary extent
that this party enjoys preferential treat-
ment beyond that accorded to other par-
ties, and the imperial word, * I know no
parties/ is rendered valueless.
" In a statement recently published in
the Norddeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung we
see a far-reaching similarity with the
GENERAL HENRI P. PETAIN
Newly Appointed Comniander in Chief of AH French Armies
Operating on the Western Front
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—
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INTERIOR OF CHURCH AT ROYE
All That Remains of One of France's Most Ancient Churches
After the Passing of the German Army of Occupation
(Photo from Pictorial Press)
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<&s£^'t*<J^
GERMANY'S PEACE DISCUSSION
427
declaration of various party committees
concerning * our relations with Russia.
The Austro-Hungarian Government has
allowed to be issued through the press
declarations which are not far removed
from the views of the Social Democratic
Party's resolution. Telegrams were ex-
changed between the Imperial Chancellor
and Count Czernin [Austro-Hungarian
Foreign Minister] emphasizing the mut-
ual agreement between the two countries.
It can therefore be assumed that the Im-
perial Government met also in this case
the Social Democratic wishes."
Herr Roesicke proceeded to denounce
the Socialist aims as sinister and anti-
national and as tending to a prolonga-
tion, of the war, since, he said, the En-
tente based their hopes on German dis-
union.
" President Wilson," Herr Roesicke
continued, " wants no peace with the
Hohenzollerns, but the monarchy is too
deeply rooted in German hearts for the
malignity of the Entente or of President
Wilson to be capable of destroying it."
He said the Germans acknowledged
that Russia was keeping faith with her
allies, while from Germany disloyalty to
the Hohenzollerns was expected. Pro-
ceeding to denounce the Socialist aims
and expressing doubt as to the Govern-
ment's " will to victory," Herr Roesicke
continued:
" The desire for renunciation of an-
nexation and indemnity gives our en-
emies a charter to prolong the war with-
out risking anything. A rejection of the
renunciation proposals by the Reichstag
will be a manifestation of our strength
and of our will to secure an enduring
peace which will safeguard Germany's
future. The nation demands a clear re-
ply."
Calls Annexationists Robbers
Philip Scheidemann, in introducing the
Social Democratic interpellation, said:
" The party's decision does not de-
mand immediate peace, but action by the
Socialists of all countries. My Breslau
utterance was to the effect that the
Chancellor had stated he had nothing to
do with the memorial which had incited
our enemies to agree with Herr Roesicke,
that we must emerge from all obscurity,
and that the Chancellor must say what
he wanted.
" We adhere to the same point of view
as contained in the demand of Aug. 4 —
the territorial integrity of Germany and
her economic independence and develop-
ment; but today we still refuse to op-
press foreign peoples. On both sides the
nations are being put off with the prom-
ise of an imminent final decision. It is
our task to expose this playing with the
life of peoples, and we cry to all Govern-
ments, 'It is enough!.'
"We are convinced that the Central
Powers will stand fast in repelling in-
tentions of annihilation, but also that the
wishes of the French, English, and Ger-
man annexationists shall not be realized.
Thus think the Socialists, and millions
are with us.
" The supporters of conquest shout for
increase of power, increase of territory,
money, and raw material. That can only
be wanted by a nationally organized
gang of robbers. [This statement pro-
voked a storm of indignation on the
Right.] The drawing of the Kaiser into
this agitation has as a result that abroad
the Kaiser is made responsible for Pan-
German madness and the outbreak of
war, and that he is continually being in-
sulted.
" Peace by agreement would be good
fortune for Europe. Ninety-nine per
cent, of all the peoples look with hope
and longing to Stockholm. If France and
Great Britain renounce annexation and
Germany insists thereon, we shall have a
revolution in the country."
There were prolonged shouts of indig-
nation at this and cries of " Shame!
Stand down! " The President called Herr
Scheidemann to order, but Scheidemann
continued :
" It has not gone so far as that yet;
the enemy does not renounce annexation.
A peace just to all parties should be con-
cluded. I am firmly convinced that no
peace can be concluded without an altera-
tion of frontiers, and that must be ar-
ranged by mutual understanding. I am
bitterly opposed to the slaughter of an-
428
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
other million men simply because certain
Germans desire peace that would follow
conquests. Long live peace! Long live
Europe! "
Bethman Hollweg's Speech
The Chancellor replied to these attacks
in the following terms:
" These interpellations demand from
me a definite statement on the question
of our war aims. To make such a state-
ment at the present moment would not
serve the country's interests. I must
therefore decline to make it.
" Since the Winter of 1914-15 I have
been pressed now from one side, now
from the other, publicly to state our war
aims, if possible with details. Every
day they were demanded from me. To
force me to speak an attempt was made
to construe my silence regarding the
program of the war aims of individual
parties as agreement. Against that I
must resolutely protest. On giving lib-
erty for free discussion of war aims I
had it expressly declared that the Gov-
ernment could not and would not partici-
pate in the conflict of views. I also pro-
tested against any positive conclusions
whatever regarding the Government's
attitude being drawn from the Govern-
ment's silence.
" I now repeat this protest in the most
conclusive form. What I was ever able
to say about our war aims I say here
in the Reichstag publicly. They were
general principles — they ,could not be
more — but they were clear enough to
exclude identification such as was at-
tempted with other programs. These
fundamental lines have been adhered to
up to today. They found further solemn
expression in the peace offer made con-
jointly with our allies on Dec. 12, 1916.
" The supposition which has recently
arisen that some differences of opinion
existed on the peace question between us
and our allies belongs to the realm of
fable. I expressly affirm this now with
certainty. I am at the same time also
expressing the conviction that the lead-
ing statesmen of the powers which are
our allies are with us.
"I thoroughly and fully understand
the passionate interest of the people in
the war aims and peace conditions. I
understand the call for clearness which
today is addressed to me from the Right
and the Left. But in the discussion of
our war aims the only guiding line for
me is the early and satisfactory conclu-
sion of the war. Beyond that I cannot
do or say anything.
Scornful Reference to Socialists
" If the general situation forces me to
reserve, as is the case now, I shall keep
this reserve, and no pressure either from
Herr Scheidemann or Herr Roesicke will
force me from my path. I shall not al-
low myself to be led astray by utter-
ances with which Scheidemann, at a time
when drumfire sounds on the Aisne and
at Arras, believed he could spread among
the people the possibility of a revolution.
The German people will be with me in
condemning such utterances, and also
Roesicke's attempt to represent me as
being under the influence of the Social
Democrats.
"I am reproached for being in the
hands of one party, but I am not in the
hands of any party, either the Right or
the Left. I am glad I can state that defi-
nitely. If I am in the hands of any one,
I am in the hands of my people, whom
alone I have to serve, and all of whose
sons, fighting for the existence of the
nation, are firmly ranged around the
Kaiser, whom they trust and who trusts
them. The Kaiser's word of August lives
unaltered. Roesicke, who sets himself
forward as a particular protector of this
word, has received in the Kaiser's Easter
message the assurance of the unaltered
existence of the Kaiser's word.
" I trust that the reserve which I must
exercise — it would be unscrupulous on my
part did I not exercise it — will find sup-
port from the majority of the Reichstag,
and also among the people. For a month
past unparalleled battles have been wag-
ing on the west front. The entire people,
with all its thoughts and sorrows and
feelings, is with its sons up there, who
with unexampled tenacity and defiance of
death resist the daily renewed attacks
of the English and French.
" Even today I see no readiness for
peace on the part of England or France,
GERMANY'S PEACE DISCUSSION
429
nothing of the abandonment of their ex-
cessive aims of conquest and economic
destruction. Where, then, were the Gov-
ernments who last Winter openly stood
up before the world in order to terminate
this insane slaughter of peoples? Were
they in London or in Paris? The most
recent utterances which I have heard
from London declare that the war aims
which were announced two years ago re-
main unaltered.
" Even Herr Scheidemann will not be-
lieve that I could meet this declaration
with a beau geste. Does any one believe,
in view of the state of mind of our
western enemies, that they could be in-
duced to conclude peace by a program of
renunciation ?
" It comes to this. Shall I immediately
give our western enemies an assurance
which will enable them to prolong the
war indefinitely without danger of losses
to themselves? Shall I tell these en-
emies : ' Come what may, we shall under
all circumstances be people who re-
nounce ; we shall not touch a hair of your
head. But you want our lives — you can,
without any risks, continue to try your
luck? '
" Shall I nail down the German Em-
pire in all directions by a one-sided form-
ula which only comprises one part of the
total peace conditions and which re-
nounces successes won by the blood of
our sons and brothers and leaves all
other matters in suspense?
" No, I will not pursue such a policy.
That would be the basest ingratitude
toward the heroic deeds of our people at
the front and at home. It would per-
manently press down our people, to the
smallest worker, in their entire con-
ditions of life. It would be equivalent to
surrendering the future of the Father-
land.
" Or ought I, conversely, to set forth
a program of conquest. I decline to do
that. [Cries from the Right : " We are
not demanding that."] If it has not
been demanded, then we are of one
opinion. I also decline to set forth a
program of conquest. We did not go
forth to war, and we stand in battle
now against almost the whole world, not
in order to make conquests, but ex-
clusively to secure our existence and to
establish firmly the future of the nation.
A program of conquest helps as little
as a program of reconciliation to win
victory and the war.
" On the contrary, I should thereby
merely play the game of hostile rulers
and make it easier for them further to
delude their war-weary peoples into pro-
longing the war immeasurably. That,
too, would be base ingratitude toward our
warriors near Arras and the Aisne.
" As regards our eastern neighbor,
Russia, I have already recently spoken.
It appears as if new Russia had declined
for herself these violent plans of con-
quest. Whether Russia will or can act
in the same sense on her allies I am un-
able to estimate. Doubtless England,
with the assistance of her allies, is em-
ploying all her efforts to keep Russia
harnessed to England's war chariot and
to traverse Russian wishes for. the
speedy restoration of the world's peace.
Proffer of Peace to Russia
" If, however, Russia wants to prevent
further bloodshed and renounces all vio-
lent plans of conquest for herself, if she
wishes to restore durable relations of
peaceful life side by side with us, then
surely it is a matter of course that we,
as we share this wish, will not disturb
the permanent relationship in the future
and will not render its development im-
possible by demands which, indeed, do
not accord with the freedom of nations
and would deposit in the Russian Nation
the germ of enmity. [Thunderous ap-
plause.]
" I doubt not that an agreement aim-
ing exclusively at a mutual understand-
ing could be attained which excludes
every thought of oppression and which
would leave behind no sting and no dis-
cord.
" Our military position has never been
so good since the beginning of the war.
The enemy in the west, despite his ter-
rible losses, cannot break through. Our
U-boats are operating with increasing
success. I won't use any fine words
about them — the deeds of our U-boat
men speak for themselves. I think even
the neutrals will recognize that.
430
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
" So far as compatible with our duty
toward our own people, who come first,
we take into account the interests of
the neutral States. The concessions which
we have made to them are not empty
promises. That is the case in regard to
our frontier neighbors. Holland and
Scandinavia, as well as those States
which, on account of their geographical
position, are especially greatly exposed
to enemy pressure. I am thinking in
this connection especially of Spain,
which, loyal to her noble traditions, is
endeavoring under great difficulties to
preserve her independent policy of neu-
trality. We thankfully recognize this
attitude and have only one wish — that
the Spanish people reap the reward of
their strong, independent policy by fur-
ther developing their power.
" Thus, time is on our side. With full
confidence we can trust that we are ap-
proaching a satisfactory end. Then the
time will come when we can negotiate
with our enemies about our war aims,
regarding which I am in full harmony
with the supreme army command. Then
we will attain a peace which will bring
us liberty to rebuild what the war has
destroyed in the unhampered develop-
ment of our strength, so that from all
the blood and all the sacrifices an em-
pire, a people will rise again strong, in-
dependent, and unthreatened by its en-
emies, a bulwark of peace and labor."
A motion to end the debate was lost,
after which the middle-of-the-road
parties, made up of the Centrists, Na-
tional Liberals, Progressive People's
Party and German fraction presented a
joint declaration approving the Chan-
cellor's attitude.
Dr. Peter Spahn, leader of the Catholic
Centre Party, spoke in behalf of the
groups just mentioned, approving the
Chancellor's attitude and declaring his
resolute opposition to all enemy inter-
ference with Germany's domestic affairs.
" If the enemy," he said, " is combating
Prussian militarism and the Hohenzol-
lerns in the illustrious person of the
Emperor, it will only result in bringing
his Majesty closer to the hearts of the
German people."
A Republic Suggested
Georg Ledebour, an Independent So-
cialist, created a distinct stir by an allu-
sion to a republic in his address follow-
ing the Chancellor. He said:
" The Chancellor doubtless desires an-
nexations both in the east and west.
With the exception of extravagant vis-
ionaries, nobody believes that Germany
can win a war of subjugation. The Rus-
sian Socialists have made an offer which
opens up the possibility of peace. This
is what the Chancellor forgets. It is
true that a separate peace with Russia
cannot be achieved, but the Russian Gov-
ernment can convert the Entente, and in
this direction we ought to assist it.
" Herr Scheidemann must take up the
cudgels against the Government if he
does not want strong words, which do not
shrink even from the announcement of a
revolution, to be followed by deeds. We
are convinced that events must happen in
Germany as they have happened in Rus-
sia. That is what those in power are
working for. We must soon introduce a
republic in Germany, and we shall pro-
pose that the Constitution Committee
take preparatory steps in that direction."
Progress of the War
Recording Campaigns on All Fronts and Collateral Events
From April 19 Up to and Including May 18, 1917
UNITED STATES
A British Commission headed by Lord Bal-
four and a French Commission headed by-
Rene Viviani conferred with American
officials in Washington on the conduct of
the war.
Heavy loans, authorized by the Bond bill,
were made to the Allies.
Military censorship was established over ca-
bles, telegraph lines, and telephone lines.
On May 16 announcement was made that a
squadron of American torpedo boats, un-
der the command of Rear Admiral Sims,
had safely crossed the Atlantic and was
aiding the British fleet in patrolling the
seas.
The first hospital unit authorized by the
United States Government arrived in Eng-
land May 18.
The Army Conscription bill was passed by
Congress and signed by President Wilson
May 18. The President issued a procla-
mation fixing June 5 as the day for the
registration of men between the ages of
21 and 30. Announcement was made that
an expeditionary force of regular troops
under Major Gen. Pershing would be sent
to France at the earliest possible moment.
SUBMARINE BLOCKADE
Dr. Karl Helfferich informed the Reichstag
that more than 1,600,000 tons of shipping
had been sunk by the Germans in Feb-
ruary and March.
The British official announcement for the
week ended April 29 showed that thirty-
eight merchant ships of over 1,600 tons
each had been sunk. The report for the
week ended May 9 showed sixty-two ves-
sels lost, but of smaller tonnage than in
the three weeks preceding. In the week
ended May 16 twenty-six vessels, eighteen
of over 1,600 tons, were lost. Seventy-
five Norwegian ships were sunk during
April and more than 100 sailors lost their
lives. Captain Persius estimated that the
total tonnage of merchant craft destroyed
by the Germans from the beginning of the
war up to April 1 was 6,641,000.
The Belgian relief ship Korigsli was sunk,
either by a mine or a torpedo.
Two British hospital ships, the Donegal and
the Lanfranc, were sunk without warning
and seventy-five men were killed, includ-
ing some wounded German prisoners.
Other British losses included the troop-
ship Ballarat, the freighter Harpagus,
and the transport Cameronia, on which
140 lives were lost. Ninety lives were lost
when the African steamer Abosso was
torpedoed on April 24.
The list of American ships sunk included the
schooners Woodward Abraham and Percy
Birdsall, the oil tanker Vacuum, on which
seventeen lives were lost; the unarmed
steamer Hilonian, on which four persons
were lost, and the Rockingham, with two
persons killed. Germany disclaimed the
sinking of the American tank steamer
Healdton.
The Dutch fishing fleet was forced to sus-
pend operations because of the constant
torpedoing of vessels and because of Ger-
many's failure to provide coal as she
promised. Germany, in reprisal, an-
nounced that the Relief Commission would
not be allowed to import fish for the popu-
lation of Belgium and Northern France.
Argentina sent an ultimatum to Germany de-
manding satisfaction for the sinking of
the sailing ship Monte Protegido. Ger-
many apologized and offered an indem-
nity.
Guatemala severed diplomatic relations with
Germany.
The President of Haiti sent a message to
Congress demanding a declaration of war
against Germany. The Congress, acting
in accordance with the report of a special
commission, decided against war, but a
strong protest was sent to Germany
against the drowning of five Haitian citi-
zens on the French steamship Montreal,
with the announcement that diplomatic
relations would be severed unless repara-
tion was made.
Turkey severed diplomatic relations with the
United States.
The Chinese House of Representatives re-
fused to pass a resolution declaring war
on Germany.
Liberia severed diplomatic relations with
Germany.
CAMPAIGN IN EASTERN EUROPE
April 28— Increased activity of Russian guns
near Lutsk and the Zlota Lipa, Mara-
yuvka, and Putna Rivers.
May 5— Russian fire increases from Kovel
to Stanislau.
May 6— German offensive beaten back near
Zolotschevsk.
May 18— Russians beat back German attacks
in the region of Shelvov.
CAMPAIGN IN WESTERN EUROPE
April 19— French occupy Aizy, Jouy, Laf-
faux, and Fort de Conde, in the Vailly
432
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
district, take several heights east of
Moronvillers, and carry trench lines near
Auberive.
April 20 — French occupy Sancy and drive
Germans to heights dominated by Mal-
maison Fort; Germans announce aban-
donment of the bank of the River Aisne,
between Conde and Soupir.
April 21— French push forward toward ridge
topped by the Chemin des Dames and
make progress south of Juvincourt; Brit-
ish capture Gonnelieu, drawing their lines
closer around Havrincourt Wood.
April 22— British close in on Havrincourt
"Wood and take part of Trescault; Ger-
mans repulsed by French in attack on
Mont Haut.
April 23— French repulse German attacks in
Belgium.
April 24— British advance east of Monchy and
between Monchy and the Sensee River;
French improve their positions south of
St. Quentin,
April 25— British advance south of the Scarpe
and extend their lines from Trescault to
Bilhemion, south of the Bapaume-Cam-
brai Road.
April 26— French beat off German counter-
attacks near the Chemin des Dames.
April 28— British begin new attack north of
the S'carpe, capture German positions on a
two-mile front north and south of Arleux,
push forward northeast of Gravelle, and
gain ground north of Monchy. .
April 29— British capture German trenches
south of Oppy on a front of half a mile.
April 30— French make new attack in Cham-
pagne and capture trenches on both sides
of Mont Carnillet.
May 2— French in Champagne push forward
south of Beire.
May 3— British penetrate the Hindenburg line
west of Queant, take Fresnoy, and part
of Bullecourt.
May 4— French capture Craonne and German
first line trenches on a front of two and
a half miles northwest of Rheims.
May 5— French carry a salient in the Hin-
denburg line on both sides of the Sois-
sons-Laon Road, on a front of nearly four
miles, clear Craonne Plateau from east of
Cerny-en-Laonnais to a point east of
Craonne, and push forward to the hills
dominating the valley of theAillette River.
May 0— French clear all but a small section
of the Chemin des Dames; British repulse
strong German counterattacks on their
new positions near Bullecourt.
May 8— Germans retake Fresnoy.
May 9— British regain part of the ground lost
at Fresnoy and repel attacks near Gav-
relle ; French capture first line of German
trenches northeast of Chevreux and re-
pulse attacks on the plateau of Chemin
des Dames.
May 11— Allies repulse German attacks
against Lens and in the Cerny section.
May 12— British troops enter Bullecourt and
capture fortified works at Roeux and
Cavalry Farm; French in Verdun region
penetrate German line north of Bezon-
vaux.
"May 13— British advance their outposts north
of Bullecourt and take part of Roeux
Village.
May 14— British capture the whole of Roeux
and advance toward Oppy.
May 15— Germans launch four massed at-
tacks on new British positions in Bulle-
court and penetrate first French line
southwest of Filaine.
May 16— British forced back temporarily at
Roeux, but retake all positions ; Germans
strike hard northeast of Soissons, but are
driven back, by French counterattacks.
May 17— British complete the capture of
Bullecourt; French win ground east of
Craonne and repulse attacks in Laffaux
district ; many villages near St. Quentin
afire.
May 18— Germans repulsed by French with
grenades near Craonne ; French penetrate
German lines in Lorraine near Petoncourt.
BALKAN CAMPAIGN
April 20 — French recapture trenches lost
April 18 near Trsvena Stena.,
April 22 — Fighting renewed in the bend of
the Cerna River and near Lake Doiran.
April 23 — Russians drive Teutons from ad-
vanced posts in Rumania and re-establish
first lines.
April 26 — British take Bulgar trenches west
of Lake Doiran on a 1,000-meter front,
May 5 — French and Venizelist troops in
Macedonia occupy enemy positions in the
region of Jumnica.
May 9 — Russian troops on the Rumanian
front northwest of Senne break through
Teuton positions and advance upon
Jenawer.
May 10 — British take two miles of Bulgar
trenches.
May 12 — Germans and Bulgarians gain a
foothold on Srka di Legen, west of the
Vardar heights ; Venizelos troops carry
an enemy work near Lymnitsa.
May 16 — British troops in Macedonia capture
Kjupri, on the Struma front, and advance
trenches on a wide front southwest of
Ernekeoi.
ITALIAN CAMPAIGN
May 13 — Italians begin terrific bombardment
to destroy Austrian defenses on the Carso
front.
May 15 — Italians take the offensive on the
Isonzo front and make progress in the
Plava area, on the slopes of Monte Cucco,
and on the hills east of Gorizia and
Vertobizza.
May 16 — Italians force a passage of the
Isonzo River, capturing Bombrez, Zagora,
and Zagomila.
May 17 — Italians cross the Isonzo River and
take Mount Kuk ; right wing takes Duino,
on the way to Trieste.
PROGRESS OF THE WAR
433
May 18 — British War Office announces that
British heavy artillery batteries are co-
operating with the Italians against the
Austrians on the Julian front.
ASIA MINOR
April 20 — British force a passage of the
Shatt-el-Adhem and rout Turkish forces
covering the Istabulat station.
April 23 — Turks evacuate Istabulat.
April- 24 — British occupy Samara station.
April 30 — Turks intrench fifteen miles north
of Samara.
May 2 — Russians evacuate Mush.
May 12 — Russians force their way across the
Diala River at two points northwest of
Bagdad.
AERIAL RECORD
The Germans reported that 362 French and
British airplanes were brought down in
April, but admitted the loss of only
seventy-four of their own. In three days,
April 23 to April 25, the Allies reported
fifty-five German machines brought down
and thirty-nine of their own lost. From
May 1 to May 7 seventy-six German air-
planes were brought down, according to
a French report. A compilation from
official sources showed 717 machines lost
in April — 369 German, 201 French and
Belgian, and 147 British. The Germans
bombarded Dunkirk, Nancy, and Belfort.
In response for the bombardment of Cha-
lons and Epernay by the Germans, French
aviators bombarded Treves, on the Saare
River.
The British steamer Gena was torpedoed and
sunk by a German seaplane off the coast
of Suffolk. German airplanes dropped
bombs northeast of London on May 7,
killing one person and injuring two. The
Zeppelin L-22 was brought down in the
North Sea by a British naval battleplane.
British aviators aided the attacking British
monitors in a raid off Zeebrugge and
photographed the entire Belgian coast,
mapping the German defenses.
NAVAL RECORD
A Russian destroyer sank ten schooners in
the Black Sea.
The Germans made several raids off the
coast of England. On April 21 two Ger-
man destroyers were sunk near Dover.
Berlin reported a British outpost vessel
destroyed and a scouting ship torpedoed.
On April 27 German destroyers bombarded
Ramsgate, but were driven off by land
batteries after an attack in which a man
and a woman were killed. British light
cruisers and destroyers chased eleven
German destroyers between the English
and the Dutch coasts. One German tor-
pedo boat was damaged.
German warships bombarded Calais, killing
and wounding civilians. A French de-
stroyer was sunk in a raid on Dunkirk.
A British torpedo-boat destroyer, hit a mine
on May 4. One officer and sixty-one men
were lost. A British mine sweeper was
torpedoed and sunk May 5, with the loss
of two officers and twenty men.
British warships, aided by an air fleet, bom-
barded Zeebrugge on May 12, destroying
two submarine sheds and killing sixty-
three persons.
The armed American steamer Mongolia fired
on a German submarine in British waters
on April 19 and damaged it.
American warships began operations in the
North Sea, and Japanese warships arrived
at Marseilles to combat submarines off
the coast of France.
Fourteen British mine sweepers were sunk,
the British light cruiser Dartmouth was
torpedoed, and an Italian destroyer was
sunk in a raid by Austrian light cruisers
in the Adriatic Sea.
RUSSIA
On May 5 the Council of Workmen's and
Soldiers' Delegates adopted a vote of con-
fidence in the Provisional Government by
a small majority. There followed, how-
ever, a period of bitter conflict between
the council and the Government. Gen-
erals Korniloff, Brusiloff, and Gurko re-
signed from the army, but the last two
withdrew ^their resignations after partial
harmony was restored. General Guchkoff
resigned as Minister of War. He was
succeeded by A. F. Kerensky. Paul N.
Milukoff resigned as Minister of Foreign
Affairs and was succeeded by Tere-
schenko. On May 16 the Government, the
Executive Committee of the Duma, and
the Council of Workmen's and Soldiers'
Delegates agreed on a basic program, in-
cluding continuance of the war. A Coali-
tion Cabinet, containing five representa-
tives of the Socialist groups, was formed,
with Prince Lvoff retained as Premier.
MISCELLANEOUS
Labor troubles and riots occurred in several
cities in Germany because of food scarcity.
The Constitution Committee of the Reichs-
tag adopted several proposals to restrict
the authority of the Emperor. Chancellor
von Bethmann Hollweg in a speech to the
Reichstag on May 15 announced Ger-
many's willingness to make easy peace
terms with Russia, but made no offer to
the other Entente Allies.
A new Cabinet was formed in Greece by
Alexander Zaimis.
General Petain was appointed Commander in
Chief of the French armies operating on
the French front.
A new Cabinet was formed in Spain, with
Marquis Manuel Garcia Prieto as Premier.
Announcement was made that strict neu-
trality would be maintained.
Brazil issued a proclamation of neutrality in
respect to the war between the United
States and Germany. Dr. Lauro Muller
resigned as Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Nilo Pecanha was appointed to succeed
him.
CURRENT HISTORY CHRONICLED
[Period Ended May 20, 1917]
Conduct of Enemy Aliens
THE conduct of the millions of Ger-
mans in the United States after the
declaration of a state of war with their
Fatherland, which was regarded with ap-
prehension by many, proved a gratify-
ing relief during the first six weeks
after the war resolution was adopted.
All Government officials were highly
pleased over the success of the policy
toward aliens which the President advo-
cated in his war message to Congress,
in which he declared that the generous
spirit with which America entered the
war, and the absence of vindictiveness on
the part of the American people, could
best be displayed by their kindly attitude
toward Germans living in this country.
According to a statement issued by the
Department of Justice, it had been found
necessary to arrest only 125 alien
enemies under the President's proclama-
tion. Attorney General Gregory saicf on
May 7:
The foreign-born citizens of America as a
class deserve the highest commendation and
praise for the manner in which they have
conducted themselves since the declaration
of war against Germany. As regards law
and order, they have in almost all Instances
stood with the Government, and have vindi-
cated the President's oft-repeated assertion
that he had no misgivings as to how foreign-
born Americans would measure up to their
responsibilities and duties in the event of
a national crisis.
The number of arrests which the Govern-
ment has been forced to make has been
gratifyingly small. Agents of the Depart-
ment of Justice have arrested only 125 alien
enemies under the President's proclamation.
About one-half of these are being held be-
cause it was decided that they would be
dangerous to the Government if permitted to
remain at large. The remainder of the alien
enemies arrested since the declaration of war
were taken into custody on charges of espion-
age or attempts to foment disloyalty or dis-
orders.
* * *
Latin America and the War
/^UBA is the first nation of Latin
^ America to enter the war as the
ally of the United States and the En-
tente Powers. Other Latin-American
countries, taken alphabetically, stand as
follows: Argentina — which has between
two and three million citizens of Italian
origin and a quarter million French,
while the British and German colonies
are about equal, some 70,000 each — is
still formally neutral, having presented
an ultimatum to Germany and received
an apology. The next submarine out-
rage may lead to severed relations or
war. In Buenos Aires, the capital, there
have been enthusiastic war parades, num-
bering 100,000 men. Bolivia was the
first South American country to indorse
the protest of the United States; the
army is " German trained, but French
equipped and strongly pro-ally." Bolivia,
which has no merchant marine, protested
on principle.
Brazil, where a strong German ele-
ment is balanced by a much larger but
less closely organized Italian colony,
has severed relations with Germany, but
is not yet at war, although the new
Foreign Minister, Senhor Milo Pecanha,
who succeeded Lauro Muller, is strongly
pro-ally and is said to be pledged to go
to war. In Rio de Janeiro the German
Club and the Grande Hotel Schmidt have
been burned to ashes, German newspa-
pers have stopped publication, and Ger-
man flags have been hauled down. In
Chile, it is stated, 70 per cent, of the
population is strongly pro-ally; it is re-
ported that the Chilean Minister to Ger-
many has demanded his passports.
Guatemala has broken with Germany
and has offered the use of her ports and
railroads to the United States for war
purposes. A German wireless plant has
been dismantled. Dr. Lehmann, German
Minister to Guatemala, was one of the
leading figures in the futile plot to stir
up revolutions in Central America to
embarrass the United States. Nicaragua
and Salvador have offered their harbors
to the United States, while Panama has
declared war, and, like Cuba, is now the
ally of the United States and the En-
CURRENT HISTORY CHRONICLED
435
tente. Mexico's final decision is still
uncertain.
* * *
Lord Cecil and German Colonies
T ORD ROBERT CECIL, speaking as
■L* Acting Foreign Secretary, in the ab-
sence of Arthur James Balfour, concern-
ing the application of the non-annexation
theory to Germany's former colonies in
Africa, said that, while it was true that
England had not taken these colonies in
order to rescue the natives from German
rule, but as a part of the war opera-
tions, nevertheless England, having res-
cued them, could hardly contemplate
handing them over again to the tender
mercies of their German tyrants. He
then read an account of the shocking
treatment suffered by the natives in
both German East Africa and German
West Africa, and said that if the En-
tente Powers won any measure of suc-
cess in the war /he would regard with
horror the idea of returning natives who
had been set free from a Government of
that kind.
Corroboration of all that Lord Robert
Cecil said comes from several inde-
pendent sources — from the officers of the
French armies which co-operated with
the English in the capture of the Came-
roon region; from the Belgian expedi-
tionary force now operating in German
East Africa in the direction of the Great
Lakes, and from the Portuguese contin-
gent, which has entered the same region
from the south.
All evidence indicates that Germany
has tried to rule her African colonies by
the means which she applied in Belgium,
in Poland, and in occupied France — en-
slavement, terrorism, and brutality. To
pass over the habitual abuse of women
of the native African races, who were
treated as chattel slaves, there have been
well-substantiated reports, published in
detail in l'lllustration, of the wholesale
murder and mutilation of natives sus-
pected of being favorable to France and
England — or, rather, to the French and
English armies that were approaching
to liberate them — as well as the custom-
ary terrorism to compel natives to fight
in Germany's African armies; for Ger-
many, from the outset, employed negro
troops to fight against the French and
English.
* * *
Britain's Vast War Expenses
^IREAT Britain's war budget for the
^* fiscal year, as introduced May 2 by
Andrew Bonar Law, Chancellor of the
Exchequer, carried estimates of $11,451,-
905,000 for expenditures. Mr. Law laid
emphasis on the statement that Great
Britain was paying a greater share of
her war expenses from her income than
were the other belligerents, the amount
paid out of the revenue being 26 per
cent, of the whole war expenditure. He
said the total of Treasury bills outstand-
ing was about two billion dollars — in ex-
act figures, £463,000,000. He estimated
the daily expenses of the war to Great
Britain at $31,175,000. The excess prof-
its tax was raised from 60 to 80 per cent.
Discussing the expenditures of the last
year, Mr. Bonar Law said they had been
£372,000,000 higher than the estimate.
The increase was largely due to expendi-
tures on munitions and advances to the
Allies and dominions. The estimate for
the Allies and dominions had been ex-
ceeded by £100,000,000.
* * *
First American Gun Fired
CAPTAIN RICE of the American
steamship Mongolia, which arrived
at Liverpool April 25, reported that the
first gun of the war fired from an Amer-
ican ship was fired from the Mongolia
April 19 at the periscope of a German
submarine. He believed that the shell
went true to the mark and sank the
hostile craft. The periscope was sighted
dead ahead on the last afternoon of the
voyage. The Captain gave the order for
full speed ahead with the intention of
ramming the submarine. The periscope
disappeared, and a few minutes later re-
appeared on the ship's broadside. The
gunners fired at 1,000 yards. The sub-
marine immediately disappeared and oil
was seen on the water when it sub-
merged. It was later reported that the
periscope had been smashed and the com-
mander killed, but the submarine was
not sunk.
436
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Portuguese Soldiers in France
A LARGE detachment of soldiers from
Portugal are serving with the
Entente Allies in France. These troops
were landed at Brest early in March,
1917, and went at once to the front.
They consist of infantry, cavalry, and
artillery, and occupy an independent
sector under the command of General
Tamagnani. Portugal also has an army
in East Africa which, in co-operation
with the English and Belgian forces, has
practically occupied all the German terri-
tory there. Conquest was not the pur-
pose of the Portuguese Government; tra-
ditional friendship with England and the
natural sympathy of a Latin country with
Italy and France led her to antagonize
the Teutons. The Portuguese Minister of
Foreign Affairs, Senor Soares, recently
issued a statement which leaves the im-
pression that Portugal would not have
declared war, on its part, but would have
maintained the attitude it took in the
seizure of German ships in its harbors,
if Germany had not chosen to force
belligerency upon it. Fifty thousand
Portuguese troops were reported in
France in May.
* * *
Socialist Parties in the Duma
WITH the Socialists participating
more fully in the provisional
Russian Government, it is important
to distinguish between the different
Socialist parties. Kerensky has beeit
incorrectly described as the Socialist
leader, whereas he is only the leader of
one of the three distinct parties into
which the Russian working class move-
ment is divided. His party is the Group
of Toil, which in the strictest sense is not
a Socialist party, but a political organi-
zation of the mujiks, or peasants, whose
traditions are those of the old Russian
communism, and who, at the election for
the first Duma, were greatly attracted
by the semi-communist program of the
Group of Toil. At that election the
Group of Toil succeeded in returning 104
Deputies to the Duma, but its represen-
tation was subsequently cut down by the
Czar's Government, and it was able to
elect only ten Deputies to the Fourth
Duma. Kerensky was their leader, and
his important position is due to the fact
that the radical peasant movement is
much greater than its Parliamentary rep-
resentation indicates. In the reconstruct-
ed Cabinet the Group of Toil, or Social
Populists, as they are also called, have
three Ministers, including Kerensky. The
second Socialist party is the Social Revo-
lutionary Party, which has been more
anarchistic in its aims and methods, and
most closely connected with the terrorists
and nihilists. The third party, the Social
Democratic Labor Party, is the most rep-
resentative of the industrial working
class population and the counterpart of
the real Socialist movement in other
countries, for it is based upon the Marx-
ian Socialist philosophy. All three Rus-
sian Socialist parties, however, have been
recognized by the international con-
gresses; and, though there are wide dif-
ferences between the Social Democrats
and the Group of Toil, and many minor
differences within each party, they are
united in their opposition to the property-
owning and commercial classes.
* * *
The Personal Wealth op Nicholas
Romanoff
HIGHLY picturesque and irreconcil-
ably divergent accounts of the
wealth of the former Emperor of
Russia have been going the rounds of
the press since the Russian revolution
on the Ides of March. They should all
be regarded with skepticism, for the rea-
son that the vast Crown demesne of Rus-
sia has always been regarded as the per-
sonal property of the Emperors; it has
never been included in the general fiscal
statistics of Russia, and no items concern-
ing it have ever appeared in the Russian
budget. It has been managed by a sep-
arate minister, under the immediate
supervision of the ruler, and has been
treated as a family estate.
Here are a few facts, which seem to be
quite authentic: The Crown demesne of the
Romanoffs includes over a million square
miles— that is, over 640,000,000 acres—
of rich arable land, pasture, and forest,
besides many mines of gold, platinum,
copper, iron, and so forth. The area of
CURRENT HISTORY CHRONICLED
437
the Russian Crown demesne, thus stated
by the Statesman's Year Book, is,
therefore, larger than the combined areas
of Great Britain, France, Germany,
Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Austria;
larger than the area of the United States
east of the Mississippi. The Encyclo-
paedia Britannica makes itself responsi-
ble for the following details: In European
Russia, the Crown demesne contains
400,000,000 acres, or 35 per cent, of the
cultivated land, while 446,000,000 acres,
or 38 per cent, is owned by peasants, the
remainder being held by landowners and
towns. In Poland, the Crown demesne
includes 1,800,000 acres, much of it made
up of confiscated estates.
These enormous Crown holdings be-
come more intelligible, if we remember
that the old Russia was, in fact, a
patriarchal family, of which the Emperor
was the patriarchal head, the source of
all power and of all emoluments. The
Crown lands paid for the maintenance
of the numberless palaces, in Petrograd,
Moscow, Tsarskoe-Selo, Gatchina, and
elsewhere; for the expenses of the Em-
peror and his Court; for the numerous
imperial family, of sixty or seventy mem-
bers; and, further, large lots of land
were given, in lieu of pensions, as a re-
ward for services to the State. Between
1871 and 1881, 1,300,000 acres were thus
distributed. * * *
* * *
One Thousand Days op War
APRIL 30, 1917, was the thousandth
•^J- day of the European war. Two days
later Herr Joseph Freidrich Naumann, a
former Conservative member of the Ger-
man Reichstag, was reported in an Am-
sterdam dispatch to have made in a
lecture the following statement:
" Until now the war has caused us a
loss of 1,300,000 dead. This, together
with the decrease in birth, gives a re-
duction of 3,800,000. The surplus of fe-
males has increased from 800,000 to fart
^as never since the Thirty Years' WarX*
Snore than 2,000,000. The nation has bled
It is stated that this estimate did not
include the losses in the offensive begun
April 1, 1917, which, it is estimated, will
exceed in April alone 200,000. If such
is the case the total number of Germans
killed in the 1,000 days of war will not
fall far short of 1,500,000, or 1,500 a
day, about one in every minute of the
twenty-four hours of each day in the
thousand.
* * *
FT1 HE United States Shipping Board on
•*• May 13 awarded to the Los Angeles
Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company a
contract to build eight steel ships of
8,000 tons each, to cost $10,771,200. It
is the first of momentous steps to rush
ahead operations in all yards on a full-
time basis. Other contracts already
drafted and ready to be signed are to
be awarded within a short time. The
Shipping Board intends to build fully
1,000 such ships in the quickest time
possible. For this purpose a fund of
$750,000,000 was provided by Congress.
* * *
Turkey Breaks Relations
THE Turkish Government on April 20
officially informed the American
Embassy that diplomatic relations with
the United States had been broken off.
Abram I. Elkus, the American Ambas-
sador, was ill with typhus fever at the
time, and was compelled to remain at
Constantinople for some weeks after-
ward; his staff remained with him. Ar-
menian interests in Turkey were confided
to the Swedish Minister. The American
State Department on April 23 gave pass-
ports to Abdul Hak Hussein Bey, First
Secretary and Charge d'Affaires of the
Embassy, and other members of the staff.
The Turkish Ambassador, A. Rustem
Bey, was recalled by the Government
early in the war on account of injudicious
criticisms of the President. Robert Col-
lege and the Bible House and its branches
were closed, and Americans left the Turk-
ish capital. On April 27 the Swedish Min-
ister cabled that the American colleges
at Constantinople would be permitted to
continue their activities.
* .% *
France's New Chief Commander
GENERAL PETAIN was appointed
on May 15 Commander in Chief of
the French armies operating on the
French front. General Nivelle was placed
in command of a group of armies. Gen-
eral Foch, who played an important role
4:>s
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
in the battles of the Marne and the Yser,
succeeds General Petain as Chief of Staff
of the Ministry of War.
The transfers were approved on the
recommendation of the Ministry of War.
General Nivelle some time ago succeeded
General Joffre in chief command along
the western front. Recently a new mili-
tary office was created, that of Chief of
the General Staff, to which General Pe-
tain was assigned, with authority to act
as the principal adviser to the Minister
of War upon all military movements.
This made General Petain the chief con-
sultative authority at the Ministry of
War in formulating movements, but
without actual command of troops in the
field, for which his experience appeared
to qualify him.
General Petain, in a statement on the
day of his appointment, urged America
to send as many men as possible as soon
as they can be transported to France, to
be put into immediate training under
French commanders, but to maintain
their autonomy as American units.
* * *
Strikes in Germany
"TvURING the last days of April and
■*--' early in May a serious strike situ-
ation arose in Germany, but the news
censorship was so strict that only meagre
reports could be obtained, and the facts
were not fully authenticated. On April
23 it was stated that the military author-
ities had taken control of the German
weapon and munition factory at Berlin,
and the workmen were ordered to return
to work immediately; otherwise they
would be mobilized as soldiers and com-
pelled to work at soldiers' wages. This
ended that strike.
Strikes were reported all over the em-
pire, and included the great Krupp works
and other great industrial plants. Field
Marshal Hindenburg sent a message to
General Groener, head of the munitions
department, urging the striking working-
men to resume their labors, in order that
the military forces of the empire, espe-
cially on the western front, should not be
seriously hampered. He said he recog-
nized that the population had been hit
hard by the reduction of the bread ration,
but that undoubtedly the increase in meat
and the regular delivery of potatoes
would compensate therefor. He added:
" Every strike, however small, may be
the means of an unjustifiable weakening
of our defensive forces and is an inex-
cusable crime against the fighting forces,
especially the men in the trenches, who
bleed in consequence."
In reply to this the German Labor Fed-
eration issued an address stating that the
fairer distribution of food would allay
the discontent, but added
The chief causes for the prevailing spirit of
unrest are the inadequacy of the food policy
and a desire to obtain measures for providing
for the complete requisition and just distri-
bution of all available foodstuffs. Workers
are aware, and the fact is undeniable, that
large quantities of foodstuffs are still ob-
tainable outside the rationing system, but at
prices prohibitive to the workers. These food-
stuffs are consumed mainly by people who
are not compelled to place their full working
capacities and service at the defense of the
country. The desire to bring about a more
equal distribution of foodstuffs has been the
fundamental cause of these strikes.
The situation at one time grew men-
acing, according to all reports, but the
firmness of the Government and the as-
surance of better food supplies finally
quieted the workers, and the trouble sub-
sided.
* * *
Democracy or Anarchy in Russia
TT7HILE Russia appears to have
' V passed, for the moment, some of
her more acute troublss, there is evi-
dence that, for a long time to come, criti-
cal problems lie ahead of her. The re-
cent establishment, for a few hours, of
* an independent, autonomous republic "
by the garrison of the military post at
Schluesselburg may be merely laughable,
the revolt of the Buriats was more more
serious, because the Buriats are only one
among scores of smaller and alien na-
tionalities over which swept the vast,
perpetually expanding Russian Empire,
until it covered a fifth of the land sur-
face of the world.
In European Russia there are many of
these smaller nations, of whom the
Poles, the Finns, the Lithuanians are the
most conspicuous; in the Caucasus, a
dozen more, like the Armenians and
Georgians and Circassians; in Turkestan,
CURRENT HISTORY CHRONICLED
439
many more; in Siberia, perhaps a score,
each with its national life and tongue.
Among these the Buriats are one of the
most civilized; they are Mongolians, of
the race that gave mediaeval history
some of its greatest conquerors, men
like Genghis and Kublai Khan, like Bati
and Tamerlane, like Baber and Akbar
the Magnificent, a family that made far
wider conquests than the Caesars, fa-
mous also for high literary gifts and, in
an epoch of bigotry, for deep religious
toleration.
The Buriats are spread out on both
sides of Lake Baikal, the great obstacle
in the way of the trans-Siberian railroad.
They have their comparatively high civ-
ilization, their books in Mongolian,
largely translated from the Northern
Buddhist scriptures of Tibet, their chief
Lama, with papal headquarters at Goose
Lake. They are rich, possessing large
herds of excellent horses and cattle, they
are able to dress themselves in silks dur-
ing the Summer, and in rich furs in Win-
ter. They, like nearly all Mongolian
peoples, have an innate gift for agricul-
ture, giving more attention to intensive
fertilization than do the Russian Si-
berians themselves, and being large pur-
chasers of the newest American agricul-
tural machinery. Here, it would seem,
is a real national unit, as definite as
Serbia. They ask, now, for national
autonomy; many other Siberian tribes
may follow their example.
* * *
American Destroyers at Work in Eu-
ropean Waters
THE first contribution of American
military power to the Entente Alli-
ance against German aggression consist-
ed of a flotilla of American torpedo-boat
destroyers. The vessels reached Eng-
land May 4, but no announcement was
made of the fact until May 16. The
squadron was placed under command of
Rear Admiral Sims. Immediately on
their arrival the American vessels began
operations in the submarine zone. The
British Admiralty announced that these
swift fighting ships were rendering serv-
ices of the greatest value to the allied
cause. Vice Admiral Sir David Beatty,
commander of the British Grand Fleet,
sent the following mesage to Admiral
Henry T. Mayo, commander of the United
States Atlantic Fleet:
The Grand Fleet rejoices that the Atlantic
Fleet will now share in preserving the liber-
ties of the world and in maintaining the chiv-
alry of the sea.
Admiral Mayo replied:
The United States Atlantic Fleet appre-
ciates the message from the British fleet
and welcomes opportunities for work with
the British fleet for the freedom of the seas.
The fact is noted by commentators
that the submarine toll, which reached
high-water mark in the last week in
April, showed a reduction after the
American vessels reached the scene of
operations.
* * *
British Navy's General Staff
A GENERAL STAFF for the British
-L*- Navy was announced May 15. It
is headed by Admiral Sir John R. Jelli-
coe, the First Sea Lord, who will have
the title of Chief of the Naval Staff.
Vice Admiral Sir Henry Oliver, Chief of
the Admiralty War Staff, is an additional
member of the Board of the Admiralty,
with the title of Deputy Chief of the
Naval Staff. Rear Admiral Alexander
L. Duff also became an additional mem-
ber of the Board of the Admiralty, with
the title of Assistant Chief of the Naval
Staff. Rear Admiral Halsey, formerly
Fourth Sea Lord, became Third Sea
Lord, in succession to Vice Admiral
Frederick C. Tudor, who was appointed
Commander in Chief of the China sta-
tion. Rear Admiral Tothill succeeded
Rear Admiral Halsey as Fourth Sea
Lord.
* * *
First American Red Cross Unit
THE first of six fully organized and
equipped hospital units which the
American Red Cross is sending to France
arrived in England on May 17. The
unit comprised about 300 persons, in-
cluding twenty army medical officers,
sixty nurses, and more than 200 other
attaches. It is Base Hospital 4 of Cleve-
land, Ohio, commanded by Major Harry
L. Gilchrist, Medical Corps, U. S. A., and
is under the direction of Dr. George W.
Crile.
This unit will be the first officially
440
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
sanctioned by the United States Govern-
ment to carry the American flag to the
battlefields of France since the United
States entered the war. After a brief
stay in England the unit will be sent to
the Continent, where it will take charge
of a base hospital behind the British
front. The hospital will have acommo-
dations for 500 patients and be fully
equipped by the British Hospital Service.
* * *
American Engineers in France
ANNOUNCEMENT was made May 7
by the War Department that orders
had been given for the forming of nine
regiments of army engineers, which
were to be sent to France as quickly as
possible for railroad work along the lines
of military communications. There Will
be more than 1,000 men in each regi-
ment, or nearly 10,000 in the expedition.
Two regular army engineer officers — a
Colonel and a Lieutenant Colonel — will
be assigned to each regiment. The other
officers will be chosen from the Engi-
neer Officers' Reserve Corps, the mem-
bers of which have been commissioned,
or who will be chosen in the near future.
* * *
DURING the first three weeks of May
the United States Government
loaned the Entente Allies $670,000,000,
divided as follows: Great Britain, $325,-
000,000; France, $100,000,000; Italy,
$100,000,000; Russia, $100,000,000; Bel-
gium, $45,000,000. Loans will be made in
regular installments to the Allies, and it
is estimated that the aggregate will reach
$1,000,000,000 by June 15, 1917.
* * *
THE United States Government in-
vited public subscriptions May 15
to $2,000,000,000 of the $5,000,000,000
loan authorized by Congress; interest,
SY2 per cent., maturity thirty years, re-
deemable in fifteen years at the option of
the Government. Denominations of bear-
er bonds are $50, $100, $500, $1,000; reg-
istered bonds $100, $500, $1,000, $5,000,
$10,000, $50,000, $100,000. The bonds
have privilege of conversion to any bonds
of higher interest if issued; they are ex-
empt from all taxes except inheritance.
The Month's Submarine Depredations
From April 15 to May 13, 1917
THE destruction of merchant ships ships sunk by mine or submarine, are as
by German submarines in the last follows:
month has shown a serious in- 1>Ci0° Under Un-
crease, followed by a decrease, ac- _ Tons l'600 ;u1clcesAs; *lshin*
, ... , , . Gross or TQns fully At- Vessels
cording to the figures published by the Weekended Over. Gross, tacked. Sunk.
British Admiralty. Feb. 24 l<; 6 16 5
The last weekly report in the May March 4.... 15 8 15 2
issue of this magazine was for the seven J£S £ ; ; g J £ jj
days ended April 15. Since then the March 25... 20 7 12 is
losses of British merchant ships have April 1 17 14 20 8
been these: APril s 1T 2 13 *
TT . _, , . April 15 17 9 12 11
Over Under Fishing
1,600 1,600 Ves- As the British Admiralty does not give
Tons. Tons. sels. the aggregate tonnage of ships sunk, only
week ended April 22 40 15 9 approximate estimates can be formed.
Week ended April 29 38 13 8 „ ^ .- _ ... . .
Week ended May 6 24 22 16 But lf we can ™<*pt German official
Week ended May 13 18 5 3 statements, the destruction of shipping
— — since the new campaign began amounts
Total for four weeks.. 120 55 36 to millions of tons> Dr. Karl Helfferich,
According to a British naval expert, Imperial Secretary of the Interior, speak-
the corrected figures for the nine preced- ing before the Reichstag Main Commit-
ing weeks, including all British merchant tee on April 28, said that the results of
THE MONTH'S SUBMARINE DEPREDATIONS
441
the first two months (February and
March) of the unrestricted submarine
campaign was 1,600,000 tons sunk, one
million tons being British. In the Reichs-
tag on May 8, Dr. Pfleger, naval reporter
of the Budget Committee, stated that
when the complete figures for April were
available they would show that the Ger-
man submarines had destroyed at least
1,100,000 tons of shipping. Vice Ad-
miral von Capelle, Minister of the Navy,
who spoke after Dr. Pfleger, said that
the results greatly exceeded the expec-
tations of the German Admiralty, for
during the three months of February,
March, and April 2,800,000 tons had been
sunk, the number of ships being 1,325.
Details are lacking to show how Admiral
von Capelle's figures for the number of
ships are arrived at, since the British
Admiralty reports only 275 British ships
of over 1,600 tons and 130 of under
1,600 tons, a total of 405, sunk during
the period between Feb. 1 and April 29,
exclusive of fishing vessels and other
minor craft.
A French official statement shows that
the number of French merchantmen
sunk during February, March, and April
was 17. Norway lost 64 ships of un-
specified tonnage during March and 75
during April, a total of 139. There are,
of course, the losses of other Allies and
neutrals to be taken into account, but
some experts decline to accept the Ger-
man figures.
Nevertheless, authoritative statements
in the allied countries make it clear that
the havoc wrought by the submarines is
extremely serious. Lord Devonport, the
British food controller, speaking in the
House of Lords on April 25, said that
British shipping was being depleted
every day in large volume, and that it
was at the moment " a wasting se-
curity." Herbert L. Samuel, a former
Cabinet Minister, speaking in London on
April 27, said that figures he had seen
on the sinking of vessels showed that the
situation was worse than official reports
indicated. Admiral Lord Beresford,
speaking in London on May 1, complained
of the incompleteness of the official re-
turns, and said that the losses were ap-
palling. He was inclined, he added, to
risk the penalties of the Defense of the
Realm act and tell the people the truth.
American official utterances have been
equally alarming. Franklin K. Lane, Sec-
retary of the Interior, addressing a joint
meeting of the Council of National De-
fense and Governors of States in Wash-
ington on May 2, made the startling
statement that in the previous week Ger-
man submarines had destroyed 400,000
tons ^ of shipping. Secretary of State
Lansing, without being so specific, was
no less emphatic in declaring that the
seriousness of the submarine situation
could not be exaggerated. Reports to
the State Department gave a total of
eighty vessels lost in one week, figures
much higher than any contained in re-
cent British announcements.
J. Bernard Walker, editor of The
Scientific American, speaking at the an-
nual meeting of the National Security
League in New York on May 2, said
that it was more than likely that Ger-
many had on the ways and nearing com-
pletion not fewer than 500 submarines
of the U-53 type and within six months
should have about 700 submarines afloat,
and in twelve months 1,200. Evidence
at hand, he added, indicated that Ger-
man shipyards had room to keep work
on 530 submarines constantly under way.
According to an interview with a mem-
ber of the crew of the German submarine
U-58, printed in the Amsterdam Tele-
graaf on May 15, the Germans have
about 325 submarines in operation and
about 80 to 100 have been lost through
British nets alone. When at sea the sub-
marines assemble at a given point every
morning and receive wireless instruc-
tions, presumably from Heligoland. There
are about thirty-nine U-boats of the
newest type, each carrying a crew of
56 men, and this fleet is supplemented
by a secondary squadron marked with
a C. The first-class boats have a speed
calculated as sufficient to overtake any
cargo boat. Two-thirds of their crews
are experienced and one-third novices.
The boats carry a fortnight's stores and
have a maximum period of submergence
of from eight to ten hours. Each is
equipped with two periscopes and some-
times descends to from 30 to 50 meters.
442
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
The two most important American
vessels lost have been the oil tanker
Vacuum and the steamer Rockingham.
The Vacuum was sunk on April 28 off
the north coast of Ireland. Seventeen
of the crew, including American naval
gunners, died from exposure in the boats
in which they left the sinking steamer.
The loss of the Rockingham was re-
ported on May 2. The vessel, valued at
$1,300,000 and carrying cargo worth
nearly $2,000,000, was sunk just before
reaching Liverpool from the United
States. Two members of the crew were
killed. The others on board, including
an officer and gunners of the United
States Navy, were saved.
Estimates of Captain Persius
Captain L. Persius, a German naval
critic, writing in the Berliner Tageblatt
in the last week of April, estimated the
total tonnage of merchant craft de-
stroyed by the German Navy from the
beginning of the war up to April 1 at
6,641,000. Of this total, he said, 6,000,-
000 tons were enemy shipping, and
4,998,500 tons are said to have been sunk
before the opening of unrestricted sub-
marine warfare on Feb. 1 this year. The
total of 1,642,500 tons destroyed in Feb-
ruary and March are itemized by Captain
Persius as follows :
FEBRUARY
Tons.
SG8 ships, including
292 enemy vessels 644,000
76 neutral vessels ....". 137,500
MARCH
435 ships, aggregating 861,000
Total 1,642,500
Warships and auxiliary cruisers such
as the Emden, Karlsruhe, and Mowe
have accounted, according to Captain
Persius, for between 400,000 and 500,000
tons of enemy and neutral shipping; but
he explains that these figures are put
completely into the shade even by indi-
vidual achievements of certain submarine
commanders. Three of these are credited
with having accounted for more than 100
ships each, aggregating between 250,000
and 300,000 tons.
As evidence of how U-boat activities
have developed during the war, Captain
Persius gives the following figures of
tonnage sunk by submarines :
1915
Tons.
January 14,000
February 27,000
March 83,000
April ... 33,000
1916
January-February 238,000
March-April 432,000
May-June \ 219,000
July- August 273,779
September 254,600
October 393,500
November 408,500
December 415,500
1917
January 439,500
Commenting on these figures, Captain
Persius said:
" Unless countermeasures can be
found, the shipping losses of our enemies
will swell to still greater proportions. It
remains to be seen what will be the con-
sequences. So much, however, is already
tolerably certain today — the naval su-
premacy of Great Britain will emerge
from this war at least shattered.'*
The Sinking of Hospital Ships
THE British Admiralty issued a state-
ment on April 23 announcing the
sinking of the two hospital steam-
ships Donegal and Lanfranc without
warning by submarines; nineteen British
and fifteen wounded German officers
were drowned. In their statement the
British authorities denied the German
charge that hospital ships were employed
to transport troops and military supplies.
The statement asserts that Germany was
notified that under the rules of interna-
tional law she had the right to visit and
search any such suspicious craft, which
she refused to do. Germany was noti-
fied that, if her course was persisted in,
reprisals would follow, yet the British
hospital ship Asturias was torpedoed
without warning on the night of March
20. The ship was steaming with all
THE SINKING OF HOSPITAL SHIPS
443
navigation lights burning and the proper
Red Cross signs brilliantly illuminated.
The cumulative evidence that she had
been torpedoed and not mined was only-
accepted after it had been confirmed
beyond all doubt and after exhaustive in-
vestigation. The loss of life on this oc-
casion included a nursing sister and a
stewardess. The German official wire-
less message of the 26th finally estab-
lished the guilt of the German Govern-
ment, who, having boasted of the deed,
published on the 29th a further message,
which said: "It would, moreover, be
remarkable that the English in the case
of the Asturias should have abstained
from their customary procedure of using
hospital ships for the transport of troops
and munitions."
On the night of March 30-31 the hos-
pital ship Gloucester Castle met with a
similar fate. On this occasion the Berlin
official wireless message again published
a notification that she was torpedoed by
a U-boat, thus removing any possible
doubt in the matter. The British Govern-
ment thereupon authorized prompt meas-
ures of reprisal, and on April 14 a large
squadron of British and French airplanes
bombarded the German town of Freiburg
with satisfactory results.
In spite of the warnings conveyed to
Germany that her barbarous attacks on
hospital ships would result in such action
on the part of Great Britain, the German
Government published through a wireless
message of April 16 an abusive protest
which " categorically contested any justi-
fication " for this reprisal.
The markings agreed upon at The
Hague Convention, which had hitherto
guaranteed the immunity of hospital
ships from attack, rendered them no
longer inviolable. The custom of show-
ing all navigating lights and illuminating
the distinctive markings at night only
afforded a better target for German sub-
marines. It was therefore decided that
sick and wounded, together with medical
personnel and supplies, must in future be
transported for their own safety in ships
carrying no distinctive markings, and
proceeding without lights in the same
manner as ordinary mercantile traffic.
Notice was accordingly given to the Ger-
nan Government that the British Govern-
ment had withdrawn certain vessels from
the list of hospital ships published in
accordance with international law.
During the recent fighting on the west-
ern front a large number of wounded Ger-
man prisoners have fallen into British
hands. These have had to be transported
to England for treatment by the same
means as the British wounded, and prac-
tically all ships transporting wounded
are bound to carry a proportion of Ger-
man wounded. These naturally share
with British wounded equal risks from
the attacks of German submarines.
Although Germany did not frame any
formal allegation of the misuse of hos-
pital ships against the Allies until the
commencement of 1917, the British hos-
pital ship Asturias was fired at and
missed by a German submarine on Feb.
1, 1915, in broad daylight while flying the
Red Cross flag. In the light of recent
events it seems reasonable to suppose
that the hospital ships Braemar Castle
and Britannic were also torpedoed in No-
vember, 1916, although the evidence at
the time was not considered conclusive.
After the case of the Gloucester Castle
the British authorities made no further
announcement that German prisoners
would be conveyed on hospital ships, but
the German Government followed their
hint by removing a number of imprisoned
French and British officers to camps at
unfortified cities, which action was an-
nounced to be in reprisal for the course
of the Allies in bombarding such cities
and conveying German prisoners on hos-
pital ships. [See also article on " Ger-
man Reprisals," Page 547.]
The British Government let it be
known that, on account of the danger in
transporting the wounded, they would be
kept at hospitals in France. In conse-
quence several thousand new medical men
were ordered to the French front, and
preparations were made to send an in-
creased number of hospital units from
the United States. It was stated that
the first American hospital unit after the
war declaration sailed from New York
May 12, headed by Dr. Creel of Cleve-
land, Ohio.
Home Rule for Ireland
Events Attending the British Government's New Proposal
of an Irish Council
THE question of the government of
Ireland became a prominent issue
in America after the entrance of
this country into the war. Irish societies
in all parts of the country passed reso-
lutions demanding home rule; a major-
ity of the House of Representatives
signed a cablegram to the British autho-
rities joining in the appeal. In England
the demand grew more insistent for some
definite proposal of a settlement of the
question, and the issue became more
acute through the election to Parliament
of Joseph McGuinness, Sinn Feiner, from
the Cork district, who was chosen over
a Nationalist while serving a three-year
sentence in Lewes Prison for connection
with the Dublin rebellion.
A Sinn Fein convention was held at
the Mansion House, Dublin, under the
Chairmanship of Count Plunkett. There
was a large attendance of Catholic
priests, and the lay delegates represented
a considerable number of public boards
as well as local political organizations.
At the instance of the Chairman, votes
of honor were passed in memory of the
men who "sacrificed their lives for Ire-
land's liberty and to those at present in
prison and in exile for Ireland's cause."
These resolutions having been passed,
there was a loud call of three cheers for
the Irish Republic, which met with a
ready response.
Count Plunkett said he wished to refer
to the men who had been sentenced to
long terms of imprisonment for the cause
of Ireland. "I will not," he said — and
there was wild enthusiasm — "insult the
courage of these men by pleading for
their release. We ask no favor of the
enemy, but I must refer to a dishonor
put upon these men by the enemy. These
men, among the noblest who have ever
fought for Ireland, are not only wearing
the prison garb, but are treated as crim-
inals, and in your name I demand that
they be treated as prisoners of war." A
wave of cheering swept through the hall
when Count Plunkett announced that any
offer England had to make short of com-
plete liberty would be treated with con-
tempt by a free-souled nation. He asked
his audience to stand up and affirm their
adhesion to the following declaration:
1. That we proclaim Ireland to be a separate
nation.
2. That we assert Ireland's right to freedom
from all foreign control, denying the author-
ity of any foreign Parliament to make laws
for Ireland.
3. That we affirm the right of the Irish
people to declare their will as law and en-
force their decisions in their own land with-
out let or hindrance from any other country.
4. That maintaining the status of Ireland
as a distinct nation, we demand representa-
tion at the coming Peace Conference.
5. That it is the duty of nations taking part
in the Peace Conference to guarantee the
liberty of the nations calling for their inter-
vention, releasing the small nations from
the control of the greater powers.
G. That our claim for complete independence
is founded on human right and the law of
nations. We declare Ireland has never
yielded to and has ever fought against for-
eign rule, and we hereby bind ourselves to
use every means in our power to obtain com-
plete liberty for our country.
A petition to the Government for abso-
lute home rule was signed by three Irish
Protestant Bishops.
Americans on Irish Issue
Expressions were obtained from a
number of eminent Americans on the
subject for publication in England. For-
mer President Roosevelt wrote as follows :
I most earnestly hope that full home rule
will be given to Ireland ; home rule relatively
to the empire, such as Texas or Maine or
Oregon now enjoys relatively to the national
Government at Washington. Of course, Ire-
land should remain part of the empire. I
have no more sympathy with the irrecon-
cilable extremists on one side of the question
than on the other.
Similar views were expressed by
Charles W. Eliot, President Emeritus of
Harvard University, and Judge Alton B.
Parker, former Democratic nominee for
President. Cardinal Gibbons expressed
himself in part as follows :
Supposing that each county were given its
HOME RULE FOR IRELAND
145
choice as to whether it would come under
the Home Rule Parliament in Dublin or not,
the counties which voted themselves out
would be in a fearfully anomalous position.
They would not belong to England. They
would not belong to Ireland. They would
not be large enough to set up a Home Rule
Parliament of their own. If they did they
could only construct an artificial State, and
such an artificial State cannot endure. * * *
I should like, if possible, to impress upon
Irishmen in Ulster the lesson of our own
civil war here in America. The minority felt
that they were going to be forced, that the
institution of domestic slavery, upon which
they contended that their prosperity de-
pended, was going to be destroyed by a
triumphant majority, and that their rights
and liberties would be taken away from them
at the bidding of the Northern States. For
this reason they set up a confederacy apart
from the Union. Leaving apart the whole
question of the long and bitter War which
ensued, the commerce of the South was
ruined simply because they had erected an
artificial barrier between themselves and the
North which lasted long after the war had
ended, and which ruined every great
Southern commercial centre. If the South
had won its independence it would today be
a ruined country. Only because in the end
it was not able to leave the Union has it
revived commercially, now that it is looked
upon as an integral part of the country. * * *
The American civil war ought to teach all
men a great lesson. Separate nationalities
must be recognized, but no nation can be
permanently divided. Since I have been
asked, then, the only way I see out of the
difficulty is the way of guarantees — a Home
Rule Parliament in Dublin, and Ulstermen
receiving whatever guarantees seems neces-
sary to them for their protection. * * *
American Advice Resented
Frederic Harrison, the noted British
historian and publicist, resented the ad-
vice of Americans in these words, in a
public communication:
Our American friends, in our almost des-
perate crisis at home, repeat the unreal,
untrue, and malicious taunts of our enemies
within and without the United Kingdom when
they tell us to give the Irish " nation "
autonomy. Where is the Irish nation? Our
very dilemma is that there are three sections
of Irishmen, each repudiating, contradicting,
and, if we let them, eager to fight each other.
" The Home Rule act ! " cries one group,
though they and all men of sense know that
the act of 1914 is impracticable as it stands,
and must in any case be revised under the
urgent stress of war.
f No Dublin Parliament for us ! " cries
Ulster — Ulster, far the richest, most civilized,
most vigorous element in Ireland, the only
element which joins us in the war and is- not
openly malevolent.
And now a third factor breaks in with the
cry: "Away with Redmond and his lot,
traitors all ! The independent republic !
Down with British uniforms, officials, and
laws ! "
Our difficulty is, and has been for genera-
tions, to know which of these three groups
we ought to regard as the strongest and most
permanent. Which of them is the Irish
nation? All three furiously claim to be the
real Irish nation. * * *
Ireland has already 103 representatives in
the House of Commons — vastly in excess of
its due proportion. At Westminster the
Nationalist members occupy as much time
as all the rest. They complain of, obstruct,
and vilify our Government in our sore need.
Yet they still cry out for more parliamentary
representation, and they use the excessive
representation they have got in such treason-
able ways as in any other country but ours
would have them sent outside or to jail.
These are the men whom our American
mentors tell us we must "placate." They
seem to think that if we only started the act
of 1914 all would be smooth in Ireland ; that
250,000 Irishmen would enlist the next day.
It is far more likely that if we started the
act and withdrew the strong hand Ireland
in three months would be in a state of chaos,
the three groups at open war. And as soon
as the Sinn Fein recruits got arms in their
hands they would turn them against us and
proclaim the republic, as they did a year ago.
How can responsible statesmen abroad re-
peat that, most false of all the Potsdam lies —
that Ireland has been treated as Poland was
by Russia or as the Czechs are by Austria —
Austria, that will not open its Parliament
at all, which has hanged 2,000 Bohemian
patriots, to say nothing of the hecatombs of
Serbians, Bosnians, and Rumanians?
Why, for two generations Britain has sac-
rificed her men and her own interests to do
justice to Irish demands. Her purse, her
policy, her Parliament, her Government have
all been strained to meet Irish claims, to
restore Irish welfare. Ireland has never been
so wealthy, so prosperous, so hopeful as she
is today.
When the war came Ireland was treated as
being outside of it, as if it were a spoiled and
unmanageable son who must not be crossed.
It was allowed to rest and grow rich in sullen
scorn of all that Britons and true Irishmen
were bearing in the war — this to the eternal
shame of the Irish name, which Britons and
which history will never forget or excuse;
to the eternal shame also of those besotted
politicians who treated Ireland as a timid fool
might treat a dangerous lunatic whom he
was afraid to touch and hoped to coax.
The Government's Proposal
Premier Lloyd George on May 16 pre-
sented the Government's proposals re-
garding a settlement of the Irish ques-
tion in the form *of a letter to John
446
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Redmond, leader of the Irish Nationalist
Party. Following are tne proposals of
the Premier:
Firstly, the immediate application of the
Home Rule act to Ireland, but excluding
therefrom the six counties in the north and
east of Ulster, such exclusions to be subject
to reconsideration by Parliament at the end
of five years, unless it is previously termi-
nated by the action of the Council of Ireland,
to be set up as hereinafter described.
Secondly, with a view to securing" the larg-
est possible measure of common action for the
whole of Ireland, the bill would provide for
a Council of Ireland, to be composed of two
delegations consisting, on the one hand, of
all members returning to Westminster from
the excluded area, and, on the other, of a
delegation equal in numbers from the Irish
Parliament, this council to be summoned on
the initiative of any six members. It would
be empowered by a majority of the votes of
each of the delegations to pass private bill
legislation affecting both the included and
excluded areas ; to recommend to the Crown
the extension to the included area, by an
Order in Council, of any act of the Irish Par-
liament; to agree to the inclusion under the
Home Rule act of the whole of Ireland, sub-
ject to the assent of a majority of the voters
in the excluded areas, the powers to be vested
in the Crown in that case to extend the act
to all of Ireland by an Order in Council ; to
make recommendations on its own initiative
upon the Irish question, including the amend-
ment of the Home Rule act as finally passed.
The President of this Council of Ireland would
be elected by agreement between the delega-
tions, or, in default of agreement, would be
nominated by the Crown.
Thirdly, the letter says that the finan-
cial proposals of the Home Rule bill are
unsatisfactory and should be reconsid-
ered. Important objects, such as the de-
velopment of Irish industries, improve-
ment in town housing, and the further-
ance of education, with increased pay
for teachers, owing to the war condi-
tions, it declares, cannot be dealt with
under the bill without undue burden on
the Irish taxpayers. It continues:
Fourthly, the Government would recommend
that after the second reading of the bill em-
bodying the above proposals, together with
the Home Rule act, it should forthwith be
considered by a conference to be constituted
on the lines of the Speaker's Conference on
Electoral Reform, though not consisting ex-
clusively of members of Parliament, and
meeting under the Chairmanship of some one
commanding the same general confidence in
his impartiality and judgment as Mr. Sp<
himself.
The Government feel that a proposal which
provides for immediate home rule for the
greater part of Ireland, while excluding that
part of Ireland which objects to coming under
the Home Rule act for a definite period, when
Parliament will consider the matter afresh ;
which recognizes the profound sentiment ex-
isting in Ireland for the unity of the country
by creating a common council to consider
Irish affairs ae a whole, and which, finally,
sets up a representative conference to attempt
to adjust the most difficult questions involved
is as far as they can possibly go toward ef-
fecting a legislative settlement in the crisis
of a great war. They are prepared to intro-
duce a bill on these lines.
An Alternative Plan
In his letter the Premier writes that if
the preceding proposition proves unac-
ceptable there remains an alternative
plan, which, though it has been some-
times seriously discussed, has never been
authoritatively proposed — that of assem-
bling a convention of Irishmen of all
parties for the purpose of producing a
scheme of Irish self-government.
" As you will remember," he continues,
" the Constitution of the Union of South
Africa was framed, despite most formid-
able difficulties and obstacles, by a con-
vention representative of all the interests
and parties in the country, and the Gov-
ernment believes that a similar expedient
might in the last resort be found effec-
tual in Ireland. Would it be too much
to hope that Irishmen of all creeds and
parties might meet together in conven-
tion for the purpose of drafting a Con-
stitution for their country which would
secure a just balance of all the opposing
interests and finally compose the unhap-
py discords which have so long distracted
Ireland and imped jd its harmonious de-
velopment? The Government are ready,
in default of the adoption of the present
proposals for home rule, to take the
necessary steps for assembling such a
convention."
It was announced by Mr. Redmond on
May 17 that the Irish Nationalists reject-
ed the first proposal of the Premier, but
accepted the alternative proposition for
the immediate calling of a convention to
decide on a Government for Ireland.
The Background of Home Rule
11 HE situation that evoked the agita-
~ tion for home rule was created by
the Act of Union, signed by King
George III. on Aug. 1, 1800, and which
came into force on Jan. 1, 1801, the first
day of the nineteenth century. Ireland
had had a Parliament since the thirteenth
century, but it was the Parliament of the
Anglo-Norman colony about Dublin.
Twice, the powers of this Irish Parlia-
ment had been limited:
In 1494, by Poynings's law, (so-called
from Sir Edward Poynings, then Lord
Lieutenant of Ireland, who secured its
passage,) which enacted that "All acts
intended to be passed by the Irish Par-
liament must first be submitted to the
King of England and his Privy Council ";
and in 1720, when an English act af-
firmed the right of the English Parlia-
ment to pass laws for Ireland, and de-
prived the Irish House of Lords of the
right to hear appeals.
These limitations were removed in
1782, and from this time until the Act of
Union the Irish Parliament had its period
of largest activity. This Irish Parlia-
ment, often called, from its most distin-
guished member, " Grattan's Parlia-
ment," consisted of a House of Lords and
a House of Commons of 300 members, all
of whom were Protestants. The laws
barring Roman Catholics from Parlia-
ment, and from many civil and military
activities, dated from the time of the
Reformation, from the reigns of Henry
VIII., Edward VI., and Queen Elizabeth.
They were not directed against Irishmen,
but against all Roman Catholics in Great
Britain and Ireland; and, in fact, through
acts passed by the exclusively Protestant
Irish Parliament, Roman Catholics had
larger rights in Ireland than in England,
including the franchise. The resolution
enlarging these rights declared that " as
men and Irishmen, as Christians and
Protestants, we rejoice in the relaxation
of the penal laws against our Roman
Catholic fellow-subjects."
Pitt, then Prime Minister of England,
decided that a legislative union between
England and Ireland was expedient, as
an earlier Act of Union had united the
Parliaments of England and Scotland in
1707. It was necessary to pass this Act
of Union through the Irish Parliament.
This was done by means of rewards in
cash and preferment, new peers being
created to secure a majority in the Irish
House of Lords. These were ordinary
political expedients of the period; Guizot,
by similar methods, governed France
from 1840 to 1848.
Ireland Under the Union
In the combined Parliament at West-
minster, which met on Jan. 22, 1801, Ire-
land was represented by 100 members,
later increased to 103; 4 Bishops and 28
peers, elected from the body of the Irish
peerage, represented Ireland in the
House of Lords. No Roman Catholic
could at that time sit in Parliament.
This system left at least two-thirds of
Ireland unrepresented. A movement for
" Catholic emancipation " was begun in
Ireland, under the leadership of Daniel
O'Connell, in 1823; this movement at-
tained complete success in 1829, when a
law was carried through Parliament by
Sir Robert Peel and signed by George
IV., which extended political equality to
all Roman Catholics within the British
Isles.
In 1785 the population of Ireland was
about 2,850,000; by 1845, it had risen to
about 8,300,000, this rapidly increasing
population pressing dangerously upon the
means of subsistence. Ireland relied too
largely on the potato, and widespread
potato disease caused a series of famines,
culminating in 1847, still remembered in
Ireland as " the black forty seven." Eng-
land made extensive efforts to stem the
famine, using the same means which have
often been employed in India. In March,
1847, 734,000 persons were employed on
relief works; later 3,000,000 cooked ra-
tions were distributed daily. But large
numbers nevertheless died of starvation;
much larger numbers emigrated, chiefly
to the United States.
Ireland was originally divided into
tribal areas, the land being held by mem-
448
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
bers of the tribes in communal tenure.
But the chieftains gradually made them-
selves feudal owners, turning the tribes-
men into tenants. Under the Stuart
Kings numbers of these Irish chieftains
were dispossessed; their lands, which
were really tribal lands, passed, by pur-
chase from the King, into the hands of
English landlords. Further, large areas,
chiefly in Ulster, were colonized by Eng-
lish and Scottish tenants, Protestants or
Presbyterians; this applied especially to
the lands of the O'Donnells and O'Neills,
the Earldoms of Tyrconnell and Tyrone.
The tenure under which the Irish ten-
ants held their land was, over large
areas, a bad one; their leases ran for one
year only. If they made improvements,
draining, clearing, or building, these be-
longed, at the end of the year, to the
landlord, who had the power to raise the
rent to cover the enhanced value of the
land, and generally used it. This sys-
tem put a premium on improvidence and
discouraged all improvements. Largely
because of this, Irish tenants generally
limited their farming to a single crop —
potatoes — and, when this crop failed
through disease, they were reduced to
starvation.
Therefore " land agitation " in Ireland
had two purposes: First, to improve the
land tenure and the status of the tenant;
second, to undo, as far as possible, the
land confiscations of the Stuarts, and
to restore the land to Irish owners. This
double objective constituted the "land
question " in Ireland.
Beginning of Land Purchase
One result of the three years' famine,
which stopped the payment of all land
rents over large areas, was to ruin many
landlords, and so to curtail the resources
of others that they were unable to im-
prove their lands. English statesmen
devised a plan which they hoped would
introduce capital. This plan was em-
bodied in the Encumbered Estates act of
1849, two years after the famine, pro-
viding for the establishment of a court
to examine the affairs of heavily indebt-
ed Irish landlords. The courts were em-
powered to order the sale of such estates
to the value of £20,000,000, ($100,000,-
000.) The estates thus sold were bought
up by Irishmen who had made money in
trade, who considered their new land
merely as an investment, and tried to get
the largest possible profit from it. The
tenants were thus worse off than before.
The new owners immediately increased
all rents, sometimes two and three fold.
This led to the formation of the Ten-
ants' League in the following year, 1850.
It drew up a very moderate program,
which included the following demands:
1. A fair valuation of the rent.
2. Security from eviction while rents
were paid.
3. The right of a tenant to sell his in-
terest in the land, representing the im-
provements he had made, to the incoming
tenant.
4. A settlement of arrears of rent.
But this movement had little practical
result. The first real relief was gained
as a by-product of the Disestablishment
of the Anglican Church in Ireland in
1869. It had until then been the State
Church, supported by tithes paid by all
Ireland, Protestant and Roman Catholic
alike. This palpable injustice Gladstone
determined to remove. All tithes were
remitted, and a sustentation fund was
established to provide the income pre-
viously drawn from tithes.
Even more important was the disposal
of extensive Church lands. The tenants
of these were allowed to become owners
of them, by making a series of payments
extending over a number of years, on the
installment plan. More than six thou-
sand tenants were thus able to buy their
farms, and it is noteworthy that failures
to pay the installments were practically
nonexistent.
This principle of land purchase was
destined to have a large and highly
beneficent development in the following
years.
Parnell and the Land League
The example of tenants thus becoming
owners of their holdings, which were
scattered throughout Ireland, was a
strong stimulus to their neighbors to
work for a like happy consummation.
This widespread desire made possible the
THE BACKGROUND OF HOME RULE
449
foundation of the Land League, by
Michael Davitt, in 1879. But it owed its
success to the organizing genius of
Charles Stewart Parnell. Its aims, prac-
tically the same as those of the earlier
Tenants' League, were embodied in three
catchwords: Fair Rent, Fixed Hold, Free
Sale, which came to be known as " the
three F's."
A fair rent was to be fixed by an im-
partial court; the tenant was to have
security of tenure so long as he paid this
rent; he was to have the right to sell to
the incoming tenant his interest in the
land, represented by the improvements
he had made.
Parnell was a well-to-do landlord of
English descent, a Protestant; the woes
of the tenants therefore formed no part
of his own experience. His object was
not so much to relieve the tenants as to
weaken the power of England and to
work for complete independence. Speak-
ing at Cincinnati on Feb. 23, 1880, he de-
clared that the first thing necessary was
to undermine England's power in Ireland
by destroying the Irish landlords. Ire-
land might then work for independence.
"And let us not forget that that is the
ultimate goal at which all we Irishmen
aim. None of us, whether we be in
America or in Ireland, or wherever we
may be, will be satisfied until we have
destroyed the last link which keeps Ire-
land bound to England."
In this way the purely economic land
question was bound up with political
aims. And, for Parnell, the land ques-
tion was merely the lever for his political
purpose, which was to make Ireland a
separate nation.
Daniel O'Connell had developed a new
political instrument, which came to be
called "constitutional agitation." He
held mass meetings, and in this way
brought pressure to bear on the Govern-
ment, but carefully avoided the slightest
infraction of law. He was arrested in
October, 1843, and imprisoned, but three
months later he was released by a decis-
ion of the House of Lords, which de-
clared that his sentence was illegal; that
he had broken no law.
Parnell heartily despised the moderate
methods of O'Connell. He did not at-
tempt an armed rising, like that of 1798,
not from any moral objection to rebel-
lion, but for a purely practical reason:
he said that Ireland, having no regular
army, would be reduced to guerrilla war-
fare; but guerrilla warfare was impos-
sible in Ireland, because Ireland has a
wide central plain, with mountains along
the rims, whereas guerrilla warfare re-
quires a back country of hills. He was
firmly convinced that an armed move-
ment in Ireland was an impossibility for
this reason.
Creation of the Boycott
With these views, he developed a prac-
tical method for the Land League, in
which legal and illegal means were com-
bined as expediency dictated. One of the
most famous means, not strictly illegal,
was the creation of the " boycott." In an
attack on a Protestant landlord, a Cap-
tain Boycott, which Parnell made at
Ennis on Sept. 18, 1880, Parnell urged
the people of the neighborhood to punish
him " by isolating him from his kind as
if he were a leper of old." The boycott
created by that phrase instantly became
a powerful instrument, which was merci-
lessly used, both against landlords and
against tenants who rented farms from
which their former occupants had been
evicted for non-payment of rent. By this
means, and by agrarian outrages, which
generally took the form of maiming cat-
tle, the Land League established a reign
of terror. In 1881, there were 4,439
agrarian outrages; in the first half of
1882, there were 2,597. On Jan. 28, 1882,
Gladstone told the House of Commons
that "with fatal and painful precision
the steps of crime dogged the steps of the
Land League." In the previous October,
Gladstone had imprisoned Parnell and
his chief lieutenants in Kilmainham Jail,
at Dublin.
Gladstone tried to meet the Land
League agitation in two ways — first, by
removing real grievances; second, by
endeavoring to stop outrages through the
operation of a Coercion act, which gave
him extraordinary authority to deal with
agrarian crimes, such as cattle maiming.
His first object he sought to achieve
by passing the Land act of 1881, which
gave the Irish tenants " the three F's "—
450
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
a fair rent, settled by an impartial court;
a fixed hold of the land, so long as this
legal rent was paid; free sale, or the
right, on leaving a farm, to receive from
the incoming tenant the cash value of all
improvements made, such as clearings,
draining, and buildings.
Parnell opposed this law, refused to
vote for it, walking out of the House of
Commons with thirty-five of his follow-
ers, and did all in his power to keep the
tenants from taking advantage of its
remedies. But they ignored his advice,
flocked to the land courts, and had their
rents very generally lowered and fixed
by law.
By May, 1882, Gladstone had tired of
the task of meeting outrage by coercion.
On May 2, 1882, he entered into an agree-
ment with Parnell, then in Kilmainham
Jail; this was called the Kilmainham
treaty, and marks an important stage in
Gladstone's conversion to home rule. As
an immediate result of this agreement,
agrarian outrages almost ceased; in the
second six months of 1882 they were only
836, as against 2,597 in the first six
months of that year, thus practically es-
tablishing the fact that they had been, or-
ganized by the Land League, which was
able to easily to stop them.
But another event occurred in Ireland,
four days after the Kilmainham treaty,
which for the time made home rule an
impossibility. This was the assassination
of Lord Frederick Cavendish, whom
Gladstone had sent to Ireland as the
agent of his policy of conciliation, and of
Thomas Burke, in Phoenix Park, near
Dublin, on May 6, 1882. This murder so
profoundly shocked England that to
bring forward a home rule measure at
that time was out of the question. It
was postponed for four years.
Advocates of " Physical Force "
O'Connell believed in using means that
were completely legal. Parnell used
means both legal and illegal, but thought
any armed effort to destroy English pow-
er in Ireland impracticable, because of
the geographical character of the
country.
But there have always been, in Ire-
land, men who have not agreed with
either O'Connell or Parnell; who have
advocated illegal means, and have be-
lieved in the possibility of armed re-
bellion. These advocates of " physical
force " have generally chosen a time
when England was at war with one or
another Continental power, and have
tried not only to organize armed force
in Ireland, but also to bring into Ireland
the armies of England's Continental
enemies.
Early instances are: The bringing of
Spanish ships and soldiers to Ireland by
James Fitzgerald in 1579, when Queen
Elizabeth was at war with Philip II. of
Spain; the landing at Kinsale of 4,000
Spaniards, as allies of the O'Neills and
O'Donnells, in 1600; the sending of a
French contingent by Louis XIV. to Ire-
land in 1689; a further force of 3,000
Frenchmen being sent in 1691; the land-
ing of General Humbert with 1,000
Frenchmen at Killala, during the Irish
rebellion of 1798.
These attempts at armed rebellion were
prepared by secret societies, of which
there has been a long series in Ireland,
such as the " Whiteboys " of 1762, so
called because they wore white shirts over
their coats like the French Camisards;
the " Right Boys " twenty-five years
later; the "United Irishmen" who
brought about the rebellion of 1798; the
" Young Ireland " movement of 1848; the
" Fenian " movement, from 1863 to 1868;
the Sinn Feiners of 1916. They all had
the same purpose, the establishment of a
separate Irish nation, by open rebellion,
leading to terrorism; they have all open-
ly and frankly expressed their contempt
for the advocates of "constitutional agita-
tion," like Daniel O'Connell, or his suc-
cessors, the Constitutionalist followers of
John Redmond — the Irish Parliamentary
Nationalists.
One of the gravest difficulties which
beset the solution of the Irish problem is
the existence of these two rival schools —
the Constitutionalists, and the advocates
of " physical force," for the reason that
the physical force men, open enemies of
the Constitutionalists, will flatly refuse
to recognize any settlement made with
,he Constitutionalists, or will use any con-
cessions made to the Constitutionalists
simply as a stepping stone to their own
THE BACKGROUND OF HOME RULE
451
ulterior ends: complete separation and
the establishment of " the Irish Repub-
lic." In this sense, a settlement of the
Irish question made with the Constitu-
tionalists is no settlement, unless the
physical force party can in some way be
compelled to respect it.
Gladstone s First Bill
Gladstone's impulse toward home rule
was cut short by one expression o£ the
" physical force " movement : the Phoenix
Park murders. In October he suppressed
the Land League, whose place was taken
by the National League, which is still in
existence. In the Summer of 1885, Lord
Salisbury and the Conservatives came
into power, and introduced a second and
much larger measure of land purchase,
devoting $25,000,000 to the work of turn-
ing Irish tenants into peasant proprie-
tors. The general election of 1885 gave
the following result: Liberals, 331; Con-
servatives, 249; Irish Nationalists, 86.
If the Conservatives joined forces with
the Nationalists, they would have 335
against Gladstone's 331. In these cir-
cumstances, Gladstone determined to
form a working alliance with Parnell, and
frame a Home Rule bill.
Gladstone's first " Government of Ire-
land bill " was launched in April, 1886.
It proposed to form an Irish Parliament
of two houses; the upper house was to
consist of 28 Peers and 75 members
elected for ten years; the lower house of
204 members, about double the existing
number of Irish Members of Parliament.
Irish Members of Parliament were to be
excluded from the British Parliament at
Westminster. On June 7, 1886, 93 Liberal
Unionists joined with the Conservatives
in voting against this bill, which was de-
feated in the House of Commons by 30
votes.
More Land Purchase
Gladstone had previously made a fur-
ther effort to settle the land question by
introducing a bill which further extended
the operation of land purchase — the pur-
chase of their farms by tenants, who re-
paid the Government by installments.
Lord Salisbury and the Conservatives
returned to power in August, 1886; Lord
Salisbury's nephew, Mr. Arthur James
Balfour, was appointed Chief Secretary
for Ireland. He suppressed the National
League; and, by his steady administra-
tion of the Crimes act, gradually quiet-
ed Ireland. In 1891 he carried through
Parliament a further Land Purchase act,
which applied $150,000,000 to the work
of turning tenants into owners. These
successive Land Purchase acts, culminat-
ing in Wyndham's (Conservative) Land
Purchase act of 1903, have gone far to
solve the Irish land question; once more
it may be put on record that failures to
pay the installments are practically un-
known. The result of these measures
throughout Ireland has been admirable.
Gladstone's Second Bill
Gladstone returned to power in August,
1892. In February, 1893, he introduced
a second Home Rule bill, which proposed
that eighty Irish members should be re-
tained in the Imperial Parliament at
Westminster, though they were not to
vote on measures expressly confined to
Great Britain. Two main objections were
made to this second home rule measure.
The first, by the Conservatives, was that
it not only gave Ireland the right to gov-
ern herself, but also the right to govern
England and Scotland. The second, by
the Irish Nationalists, that the financial
provisions of the bill were such as "to
keep Ireland in bondage." This meant,
in practice, that Ireland might not build
a separate tariff wall.
On Sept. 1, the bill passed the House of
Commons by a majority of 34; but it was
thrown out by the House of Lords by a
vote of 419 to 41. A few months later
Gladstone resigned, his place being taken
by Lord Rosebery, who was succeeded by
Lord Salisbury in June, 1895. Ten years
of Conservative Government followed,
which were marked by the establishment
of County Councils — small local Parlia-
ments for each of the thirty-two counties
of Ireland— in 1898,. and by Wyndham's
Land Purchase act, already mentioned, in
1903.
AsquitKs Home Rule Act
The Liberals returned to power in 1905,
Mr. Asquith becoming Prime Minister in
1908. He secured his parliamentary posi-
452
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
tion by making a working agreement with
the Labor and Nationalist members. The
Nationalists were to support his plan to
disestablish the Anglican Church in
Wales as Gladstone had disestablished it
in Ireland in 1869, while he was to bring
in a Home Rule bill. To insure its pas-
sage, it was necessary to destroy the
practical veto power of the House of
Lords. Asquith did this by means of the
Parliament act of 1911, under which bills
(other than money bills or a bill extend-
ing the maximum duration of Parlia-
ment) if passed by the House of Com-
mons in three successive sessions, wheth-
er of the same Parliament or not, and
rejected each time (or not passed) by the
House of Lords, may become law with-
out their concurrence on the royal assent
being signified, provided that two years
have elapsed between the second reading
in the first session of the House of
Commons and the third reading in the
third session.
The passage of this act cleared the
way for the new Home Rule bill which
was introduced in 1912.
Proposed Dublin Parliament .
Gladstone's first Home Rule bill pro-
posed to exclude the Irish members from
Westminster. His second Home Rule bill
proposed to retain 80 Irish members at
Westminster, besides establishing a sep-
arate Irish Parliament at Dublin. Asquith
made a compromise between these two
plans, and proposed to retain only 42 Irish
members at Westminster, the ground for
their retention being that many Irish
questions were reserved to be dealt with by
the Imperial Parliament. These 42 Irish
members at Westminster were to repre-
sent Belfast (4), Dublin (3), Cork (1),
counties in Ulster (11), in Leinster (8),
Munster (9), and Connaught (6).
The Dublin Parliament was to consist
of two houses — a Senate of 40 members
and a House of Commons of 164 mem-
bers, who were to represent the following
constituencies: Boroughs, Belfast (14),
Dublin (11), Cork (4), Londonderry (2),
Limerick (2), Waterford (1), and Dub-
lin University (2); counties in Ulster
(43), in Leinster (30), in Munster (30),
and in Connaught (25).
Senators were to be drawn from the
four provinces in the following numbers:
Ulster (14), Leinster (11), Munster (9),
and* Connaught (6).
Under this third Home Rule bill, Eng-
land would be able to exercise control
over Ireland in three ways: First,
through the Executive, the Lord Lieuten-
ant being appointed by the Crown, which
means in practice the Prime Minister of
England, and in his turn selecting the
members of the Dublin Cabinet, who
must, however, either be members of the
Dublin Parliament, or become members;
secondly, through financial arrange-
ments, chief of which is the provision
that all Irish taxes are to be paid into
the Exchequer of the United Kingdom,
which shall pay to the Irish Exchequer a
sum of $2,500,000 yearly, to diminish to
$1,000,000 yearly, as an imperial contri-
bution to Irish finances; and a sum equal
to the proceeds of Irish taxes laid by the
Dublin Parliament. Thirdly, through the
reservation of a number of departments
or subjects for decision by the Imperial
Parliament. For example, the Dublin
Parliament is expressly forbidden to
transfer to the Roman Catholic Church
the Protestant Cathedrals, which were
Catholic until the Reformation, such as
the cathedral at Armagh, Christchurch
Cathedral, (founded by the Danes,) and
St. Patrick's Cathedral, (founded by the
Anglo-Normans,) in Dublin.
The arrangement proposed by As-
quith's Home Rule bill is, therefore, com-
parable, not so much to the form of gov-
ernment of the Dominion of Canada or
the Commonwealth of Australia, as to
that which exists, let us say, in New
York State, which sends 43 members to
Congress, (as compared with the 42 Irish
members to be sent to Westminster,) with
a Legislature at Albany consisting of a
Senate of 51 members (compared with
the 40 members of the Dublin Senate)
and a lower house of 150 members, (com-
pared with the 164 members of the lower
house in the Dublin Parliament.) The
restrictions as to taxation and reserved
federal authority are comparable to those
reserved to the Imperial Parliament at
Westminster.
There are three sharply contrasted
THE BACKGROUND OF HOME RUI^E
453
parties in Ireland: (1) the Ulster Union-
ists; (2) the Constitutionalist National-
ists; (3) the successors and heirs of the
" physical force " movements. Inevitably
Asquith's plans for the government of
Ireland make a different impression on
each of these three parties.
To begin with, this third Home Rule
bill is only moderately satisfactory to the
Irish Constitutional Nationalists led by
John Redmond, a former lieutenant of
Parnell, who would like much larger
powers.
It is denounced as wholly inadequate
by the extremists, who do not try to con-
ceal the fact that what they want is not
this moderate home rule scheme, but
complete independence, a separate Irish
Republic. This view is strongly repre-
sented among Irish- Americans, who have,
within the last few weeks, given very
clear expression to their views.
The Unionists of Ulster, of whom Sir
Edward Carson is the leader, strongly
desire to remain in their present relation
to the Imperial Parliament and as strong-
ly object to being governed by a Dublin
Parliament.
The objections of Protestant and indus-
trial Ulster (including six out of the nine
counties of Ulster) to the home rule
plan may be summed up as follows:
First, they say openly that this sup-
posed settlement will be no settlement,
but will simply be used by the extremists
as a basis of further operations against
England, in furtherance of their avowed
plan to form a completely independent
Irish Republic — a plan openly announced
even by Parnell when he was leader of
the parliamentary party. The people of
Ulster say that they will be sacrificed,
not to a genuinely loyal plan of Irish Na-
tionalism, but to this strategic outpost of
armed rebellion. They say that Irish
agitators have always had " two voices,"
one for England and another, more gen-
uine, for extremists. This is their polit-
ical objection.
Second, they object to the probable in-
fluence of the Vatican in Irish affairs.
They have always held this objection; it
has been greatly strengthened by the pro-
German, anti-French action and attitude
of the Vatican in the world war. They
assert that, lured by the bribe of " tem-
poral power," which would mean the dis-
ruption of free Italy, the Vatican has
secretly used its influence through the
hierarchy and the religious orders in
favor of Germany, for example, in Roman
Catholic Canada, which has contributed
only a corporal's guard to the allied ar-
mies, French Canada being notably
priest-ridden. This illustrates the kind
of political intrigue which Ulster Protes-
tants have always apprehended.
Third, they object to the progressive
Northeast being taxed to supply the defi-
ciencies of the backward South and West.
Belfast has a population of 386,947, (as
against 304,802 for Dublin,) with large
industries; her shipyards employed, even
before the war, 22,000 men, with a week-
ly payroll of $175,194; the same district
produces four-fifths of the world's linen.
The people of Ulster say that the South
and West desire to include Ulster in the
home rule plan, in order to be able to
tax Ulster.
Fourth, they object on principle. Home
rule is based on the principle of "gov-
ernment by consent of the governed."
Ulster claims for herself the application
of the same principle. Ulster has always
been loyal to the Union, loyal to all im-
perial aims. She has resented, and pre-
pared to resist, one thing only: the at-
tempt to give her over into the hands of
a hostile majority, who wish to coerce
her. Ulster earnestly protests against
all plans to force her out of the Union,
which expresses her ideals of government
and political justice. As an example of
the separate treatment which she claims
for herself, she cites such a precedent as
that of West Virginia, which, refusing to
leave the Union in 1861, separated from
Virginia, and, in 1862, was made a sepa-
rate State loyal to the Union, and has
since greatly prospered under this ar-
rangement.
These are, in part, the grounds of the
claim that Ulster should be excluded
from the operation of the Home Rule act.
The Entente's Greetings to America
Memorable Utterances of European Leaders
on Entry of United States Into the War
THE entry of the United States into
the war was formally celebrated
in England on April 20. For the
first time in history a flag other
than the union jack was hoisted at the
top of Victoria Tower at Westminster,
where during the entire day the Stars
and Stripes fluttered fraternally with
the English flag above the Houses of
Parliament. A solemn and stately serv-
ice took place at St. Paul's Cathedral,
attended by the King and Queen, and
the most notable representatives of the
British realm. Bishop Brent, an Amer-
ican Bishop, delivered the sermon, and
the Archbishop of Canterbury pro-
nounced the benediction. In his sermon
Bishop Brent said:
This, I venture to say, is not merely the
beginning of a new era but of a new epoch.
At this moment a great nation, well skilled
in self-sacrifice, is standing by with deep
sympathy and bidding godspeed to another
great nation that is making its act of self-
dedication to God. * * * This act of Amer-
ica has enabled her to find her soul. Amer-
ica, which stands for democracy, the cause
of the plain people, must fight, must cham-
pion this cause at all costs.
Hall Caines Winged Words
Hall Caine, the British novelist, wrote
as follows regarding the celebration:
American Day in London was a great and
memorable event. It was another sentinel
on the hilltop of time, another beacon fire in
the history of humanity. The two nations of
Great Britain and America can never be di-
vided again. There has been a national mar-
riage between them, which only one judge
can dissolve, and the name of that judge is
Death. * * *
Two lessons, at least, must be learned from
the service of Friday in St. Paul's Cathedral.
The first is that the accepted idea of the
American Nation as one that weighs and
measures all conduct by material values In
dollars and cents must henceforth be ban-
ished forever. Thrice already in its short
history has it put that hoary old slander to
shame, and now once again has it given the
He to it. The history of nations has perhaps
no parallel to {he high humanity, the splen-
did self-sacrifice, the complete disinterested-
ness that brought America into this war, with
nothing to gain and everything to lose. It
has broken forever with the triple mon-
archies of murder. To live at peace with
crime was to be the accomplice of the crim-
inal. Therefore, in the name of justice, of
mercy, of religion, of human dignity, of all
that makes man's life worth living and dis-
tinguishes it from the life of the brute,
America, for all she is or ever can be, has
drawn the sword and thrown away the scab-
bard. God helping her, # she could do no
other.
The second of the lessons we have to learn
from the services of Friday is that, having
made war in defense of the right, America
will make peace the moment the wrong has
been righted. No national bargains will
weigh with her, no questions of territory,
no problems of the balance of power, no
calculations of profit and loss, no ancient
treaties, no material covenants, no pledges
that are the legacy of past European con-
flicts. Has justice been done? Is the safety
of civilization assured? Has reparation been
made, as far as reparation is possible, for
the outrages that have disgraced the name
of man, and for the sufferings that have
knocked at the door of every heart in
Christendom? These will be her only ques-
tions. Let us take heart and hope from them.
They bring peace nearer.
It was not for nothing that the flags of
Great Britain and America hung side by side
under the chancel arch on Friday morning.
At one moment the sun shot through the
windows of the dome and lit them up with
heavenly radiance. "Was it only the exalta-
tion of the moment that made us think in-
visible powers were giving us a sign that in
the union of the nations which those em-
blems stood for lay the surest hope of the
day when men will beat their swords into
plowshares and know war no more? The
United States of Great Britain and America !
God grant the union celebrated in our old
sanctuary may never be dissolved until that
great day has dawned.
Jubilation in London
One of the unique events of the day
was a luncheon for American wounded
men who, after attending the services at
St. Paul's, were guests of one of the
American women's organizations. There
were present seventy privates and thirty
officers, all Americans, who were con-
valescent patients of hospitals near Lon-
THE ENTENTE'S GREETINGS TO AMERICA
4»5
don. They were accompanied by thirty
nurses connected with the British and
Canadian forces, all of whom were
Americans. Ambassador Page presided.
The roll of the men and women present
showed that nearly forty States were
represented, including every section of
the Union.
Celebrations were held in many of the
large cities of Great Britain in honor of
America, and the Stars and Stripes
were generously displayed from public
and private buildings. At Manchester a
special service was held at the Cathe-
dral at noon. The Lord Mayor, who at-
tended in state, was accompanied by
members of the Council.
April 30 was " America Day " in
Liverpool. A special town meeting of
citizens was held at noon to celebrate the
entrance of the United States into the
war. It was preceded by a service of
thanksgiving at St. Nicholas Church, at-
tended by the Lord Mayor, city officials,
the United States Consul, Consular repre-
sentatives of all the allied powers, and
leading citizens. The sermon was
preached by the Bishop of Liverpool.
Celebration in France
Paris celebrated " United States Day "
on April 20 with exercises in the great
hall of the Sorbonne, and on April 21
with a reception to Ambassador Sharp, a
procession to Lafayette's statue, and
exercises in the City Hall. The Stars
and Stripes were unfurled from the Eiffel
Tower, the City Hall, and other municipal
buildings.
The celebration on the 20th was or-
ganized by the French Maritime League
and was an imposing testimonial in honor
of the United States. On the platform
were Admiral Lacaze, Minister of Ma-
rine; Alexandre Millerand, President of
the league; Mr. Sharp, American Ambas-
sador; J. de Mello Machado, Brazilian
Senator; M. Nail, Under Secretary of
the French Merchant Marine; Ernest
Lavisse, M. Lacour-Gayet, Jean Richepin,
Admiral Fournier, and others. Raymond
Poincare, President of France, who pre-
sided over the ceremonies, was greeted
on his entrance with the " Marseillaise "
and the American national hymn. M.
Millerand made an address saluting the
co-operation of the American fleet. He
said in part:
Washington, Lincoln. Wilson— these are im-
mortal types of the Presidency of a democ-
racy—men who, conscious of their responsi-
bilities, assume the duty of guiding the peo-
ple at whose head they have the honor to be
placed, thus realizing the indispensable har-
mony in human affairs between the principle
of authority and the principle of liberty. Yes,
history will assign to Mr. Wilson a place
among the great statesmen of all time, for he
has been able, in a memorable document, to
make clear the ideal reasons why honor con-
demned neutrality and commanded war in
order to assure to humanity the definitive
blessing of peace. Near him appear the
shadows of the victims whose sacrifice, by
arousing the indignation of the civilized
world, has rendered inevitable the explosion
which we are today witnessing.
A unique feature of the ceremonies was
furnished by Jean Richepin, member of
the French Academy. Surrounded by
armed sailors, the American and French
flags were presented, and, in a voice
vibrant with emotion, the poet recited
" Le Baiser des Drapeaux," (" The Kiss
of the Flags,") which he had composed
for the occasion. While the audience
was applauding the last stanzas the color
bearers dipped the starry banner and
the tricolor in a movement that stirred
deep enthusiasm.
Mr. Sharp,, the American Ambassador, \
presented the formal salute of the great \
Republic to France and her allies, add-
ing:
As a man who feels himself to be American
to the very roots 'of his being, who is filled
with pride by the magnificent traditions of
his country, and who has so often heard, the
heart of America beating, I know, with a cer-
tainty born of profound conviction, that in
this great conflict France has been the lode-
stone that has drawn to itself the complete
devotion and unqualified admiration of the
American people.
Admiral Lacaze paid a stirring tribute
to the sailors of the allied nations, espe-
cially to those obscure heroes, the sailors
of the merchant fleet, who, exposed daily
to the perils of German piracy, bring to
their arduous task the highest courage
and patriotic devotion.
Previous London Celebration
The first celebration of this kind oc-
curred in London April 12; it was at a
luncheon given by the American Club,
at which important speeches were made
456
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
by Ambassador Walter H. Page and
Premier Lloyd George. The keynote of
the Ambassador's speech was in these
words :
These are great days for the Republic.
We have set out to help in an enterprise of
saving the earth as a place worth living in.
.The clear, solemn call of the President and
the voice of Congress, which is the voice of
the people, are to us the high call of duty.
We come in answer only to the high call
of duty, and not for any material reward,
not for territory, not for indemnity or con-
quest, not for anything save the high duty to
succor democracy when it is desperately as-
sailed. We come only for the ideal, that is,
the republic.
Why else have we drawn into this grim
Old World bloody struggle against our tradi-
tions and wishes? Why except that our
standard of honor and our judgment of
safety are the same as yours? Some of our
differences are historical and fundamental,
but most of them are superficial or manu-
factured by agitation. None of them need or
can separate us in the further development of
our national freedom.
The Premier's speech was at consider-
able length. The full text is given below
under a separate subhead.
Lloyd George on America's Entrance
Into the War
[The British Premier's Address at the American Club in London, April 12, 1917]
I AM in the happy position of being,
I think, the first British Minister
of the Crown who, speaking on
behalf of the people of this country,
can salute the American Nation as
comrades in arms. I am glad; I am
proud. I am glad not merely because of
the stupendous resources which this
great nation will bring to the succor of
the alliance, but I rejoice as a democrat
that the advent of the United States
into this war gives the final stamp and
seal to the character of the conflict as
a struggle against military autocracy
throughout the world.
That was the note that ran through
the great deliverance of President Wil-
son. It was echoed, Sir, in your resound-
ing words today. The United States of
America have the noble tradition, never
broken, of having never engaged in war
except for liberty. And this is the great-
est struggle for liberty that they have
ever embarked upon. I am not at all
surprised, when one recalls the wars of
the past, that America took its time to
make up its mind about the character of
this struggle. In Europe most of the
great wars of the past were waged for
dynastic aggrandizement and conquest.
No wonder when this great war started
that there were some elements of suspi-
cion still lurking in the minds of the
people of the United States of America.
There were those who thought perhaps
that Kings were at their old tricks —
and although they saw the gallant Re-
public of France fighting, they some of
them perhaps regarded it as the poor
victim of a conspiracy of monarchical
swashbucklers. The fact that the United
States of America has made up its mind
finally makes it abundantly clear to the
world that this is no struggle of that
character, but a great fight for human
liberty.
The Prussian Menace
They naturally did not know at first
what we had endured in Europe for years
from this military caste in Prussia. It
never has reached the United States
of America. Prussia was not a democ-
racy. The Kaiser promises that it will
be a democracy after the war. I think
he is right. But Prussia not merely was
not a democracy. Prussia was not a
State; Prussia was an army. It had
great industries that had been highly
developed; a great educational system; it
had its universities, it had developed its
science.
All these were subordinate to the one
great predominant purpose, the purpose
of all — a conquering army which was to
intimidate the world. The army was the
LLOYD GEORGE ON AMERICA'S ENTRY INTO THE WAR
457
spear-point of Prussia; the rest was
merely the haft. That was what we had
to deal with in these old countries. It
got on the nerves of Europe. They
knew what it all meant. It was an
army that in recent times, had waged
three wars, all of conquest, and the un-
ceasing tramp of its legions through the
streets of Prussia, on the parade grounds
of Prussia, had got into the Prussian
head. The Kaiser, when he witnessed
on a grand scale his reviews, got drunk
with the sound of it. He delivered the
law to the world as if Potsdam was an-
other Sinai, and he was uttering the law
from the thunder clouds.
But make no mistake. Europe was
uneasy. Europe was half intimidated.
Europe was anxious. Europe was ap-
prehensive. We knew the whole time
what it meant. What we did not know
was the moment it would come.
This is the menace, this is the appre-
hension from which Europe has suffered
for over fifty years. It paralyzed the
beneficent activity of all States, which
ought to be devoted to concentrating on
the well-being of their peoples. They
•had to think about this menace, which
was there constantly as a cloud ready
to burst over the land. No one can tell
except Frenchmen what they endured
from this tyranny, patiently, gallantly,
with dignity, till the hour of deliverance
came. The best energies of domestic
science had been devoted to defending it-
self against the impending blow. France
was like a nation which put up its right
arm to ward off a blow, and could not
give the whole of her strength to the
great things which she was capable of.
That great, bold, imaginative, fertile
mind, which would otherwise have been
clearing new paths for progress, was
paralyzed.
That is the state of things we had to
encounter. The most characteristic of
Prussian institutions is the Hindenburg
line. What is the Hindenburg line? The
Hindenburg line is a line drawn in the
territories of other people, with a warn-
ing that the inhabitants of those terri-
tories shall not cross it at the peril of
their lives. That line has been drawn
in Europe for fifty years.
You recollect what happened some
years ago in France, when the French
Foreign Minister was practically driven
out of office by Prussian interference.
Why? What had he done? He had done
nothing which a Minister of an inde-
pendent State had not the most absolute
right to do. He had crossed the imagi-
nary line drawn in French territory by
Prussian despotism, and he had to leave.
Europe, after enduring this for genera-
tions, made up its mind at last that the
Hindenburg line must be drawn along
the legitimate frontiers of Germany her-
self. There could be no other attitude
than that for the emancipation of Europe
and the world.
Hindenburg Line at Sea
It was hard at first for the people of
America quite to appreciate that Ger-
many had not interfered to the same ex-
tent with their freedom, if at all. But
at last they endured the same experience
as Europe had been subjected to. Ameri-
cans were told that they were not to be
allowed to cross and recross the Atlantic
except at their peril. American ships
were sunk without warning. American
citizens were drowned, hardly with an
apology — in fact, as a matter of German
right. At first America could hardly
believe it. They could not think it pos-
sible that any sane people should behave
in that manner. And they tolerated it
once, and they tolerated it twice, until it
became clear that the Germans really
meant it. Then America acted, and acted
promptly.
The Hindenburg line was drawn along
the shores of America, and the Ameri-
cans were told they must not cross it.
America said, " What is this?" Germany
said, " This is our line, beyond which you
must not go," and America said, " The
place for that line is not the Atlantic,
but on the Rhine — and we mean to help
you to roll it up."
There are two great facts which clinch
the argument that this is a great strug-
gle for freedom. The first is the fact
that America has come in. She would not
have come in otherwise. The second is
the Russian revolution. When France in
the eighteenth century sent her soldiers
458
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
to America to fight for the freedom and
independence of that land, France also
was an autocracy in those days. But
Frenchmen in America, once they were
there — their aim was freedom, their at-
mosphere was freedom, their inspiration
was freedom. They acquired a taste for
freedom, and they took it home, and
France became free. That is the story of
Russia. Russia engaged in this great
war for the freedom of Serbia, of Monte-
negro, of Bulgaria, and has fought for
the freedom of Europe. They wanted to
make their own country free, and they
have done it. The Russian revolution is
not merely the outcome of the struggle
for freedom. It is a proof of the charac-
ter of the struggle for liberty, and if the
Russian people realize, as there is every
evidence they are doing, that national
discipline is not incompatible with na-
tional freedom — nay, that national disci-
pline is essential to the security of na-
tional freedom — they will, indeed, become
a free people.
I have been asking myself the ques-
tion, Why did Germany, deliberately, in
the third year of the war, provoke Amer-
ica to this declaration and to this action
— deliberately, resolutely ? It has been
suggested that the reason was that there
were certain elements in American life,
and they were under the impression that
they would make it impossible for the
United States to declare war. That I
can hardly believe. But the answer has
been afforded by Marshal von Hinden-
burg himself, in the very remarkable in-
terview which appeared in the press, I
think, only this morning.
He depended clearly on one of two
things. First, that the submarine cam-
paign would have destroyed international
shipping to such an extent that England
would have been put out of business be-
fore America was ready. According to
his computation, America cannot be
ready for twelve months. He does not
know America. In the alternative, that
when America is ready, at the end of
twelve months, with her army, she will
have no ships to transport that army to
the field of battle. In von Hindenburg's
words, " America carries no weight." I
suppose he means she has no ships to
carry weight. On that, undoubtedly they
are reckoning.
Well, it is not wise always to assume
that even when the German General
Staff, which has miscalculated so often,
makes a calculation it has no ground
for it. It therefore behooves the whole
of the Allies, Great Britain and America
in particular, to see that that reckoning
of von Hindenburg is as false as the one
he made about his famous line, which we
have broken already.
The Road to Victory
The road to victory, the guarantee of'
victory, the absolute assurance of vic-
tory is to be found in one word — ships;
and a second word — ships; and a third
word — ships. And with that quickness
of apprehension which characterizes your
nation, Mr. Chairman, I see that they
fully realize that, and today I observe
that they have already made arrange-
ments to build one thousand 3,000-ton-
ners for the Atlantic. I think that the
German military advisers must already
begin to realize that this is another of
the tragic miscalculations which are
going to lead them to disaster and to
ruin. But you will pardon me for em-
phasizing that. We are a slow people
in these islands — slow and blundering —
but we get there. You get there sooner,
and that is why I am glad to see you in.
But may I say that we have been in
this business for three years? We have,
as we generally do, tried every blunder.
In golfing phraseology, we have got into
every bunker. But we have got a good
niblick. We are right out on the course.
But may I respectfully suggest that it
is worth America's while to study our
blunders, so as to begin just where we
are now and not where we were three
years ago? That is an advantage. In
war, time has as tragic a significance
as it has in sickness. A step which,
taken today, may lead to assured vic-
tory, taken tomorrow may barely avert
disaster. All the Allies have discovered
that. It was a new country for us all.
It was trackless, mapless. We had to
go by instinct. But we found the way,
and I am so glad that you are. sending
your great naval and military experts
l^^^^^My^^
LLOYD GEORGE ON AMERICA'S ENTRY INTO THE WAR 459
here, just to exchange experiences with
men who have been through all the
dreary, anxious crises of the last three
years.
America has helped us even to win
the battle of Arras. Do you know that
these guns which destroyed the German
trenches, shattered the barbed wire — I
remember, with some friends of mine
whom I see here, arranging to order the
machines to make those guns from
America. Not all of them — you got your
share, but only a share, a glorious share.
So that America has also had her train-
ing. She has been making guns, making
ammunition, giving us, machinery to pre-
pare both; she has supplied us with
steel, and she has got all that organiza-
tion and she has got that wonderful fa-
cility, adaptability, and resourcefulness
of the great people which inhabits that
great continent. Ah! It was a bad day
for military autocracy .in Prussia when
it challenged the great Republic of the
West. We know what America can do,
and we also know that now she is in it
she will do it. She will wage an effective
and successful war.
Establishing a Real Peace
There is something more important.
She will insure a beneficent peace. I
attach great importance — and I am the
last man in the world, knowing for three
years what our difficulties have been,
what our anxieties have been, and what
our fears have been — I am the last man
to say that the succor which is given
to us from America is not something in
itself to rejoice in, and to rejoice in
greatly. But I don't mind saying that
I rejoice even more in the knowledge
that America is going to win the right
to be at the conference table when the
terms of peace are being discussed. That
conference will settle the destiny of na-
tions— the course of human life — for God
knows how many ages. It would have
been tragic for mankind if America had
not been there, and there with all the
influence, all the power, and the right
which she has now won by flinging her-
self into this great struggle.
I can see peace coming now — not a
peace which will be the beginning of
war; not a peace which will be an endless
preparation for strife and bloodshed; but
a real peace. The world is an old world.
It has never had peace. It has been
rocking and swaying like an ocean, and
Europe — poor Europe ! — has always lived
under the menace of the sword. When
this war began two-thirds of Europe
were under autocratic rule. It is the
other way about now, and democracy
means peace. The democracy of France
did not want war; the democracy of Italy
hesitated long before they entered the
war; the democracy of this country
shrank from it — shrank and shuddered —
and never would have entered the cal-
dron had it not been for the invasion of
Belgium. The democracies sought peace;
strove for peace. If Prussia had been a
democracy there would have been no
war. Strange things have happened in
this war. There are stranger things to
come, and they are coming rapidly.
There are times in history when this
world spins so leisurely along its destined
course that it seems for centuries to be
at a standstill; but there are also times
when it rushes along at a giddy pace,
covering the track of centuries in a year.
Those are the times we are living in now.
Six weeks ago Russia was an autocracy;
she is now one of the most advanced de-
mocracies in the world. Today we are
waging the most devastating war that
the world has ever seen; tomorrow — per-
haps not a distant tomorrow — war may
be abolished forever from the category
of human crimes. This may be some-
thing like the fierce outburst of Winter
which we are now witnessing before the
complete triumph of the sun. It is writ-
ten of those gallant men who won that
victory on Monday — men from Canada,
from Australia, and from this old coun-
try, which has proved that in spite of its
age it is not decrepit — it is written
of those gallant men that they attacked
with the dawn — fit work for the dawn ! —
to drive out of forty miles of French soil
those miscreants who had defiled it for
three years. " They attacked with the
dawn." Significant phrase!
The breaking up of the dark rule of the
Turk, which for centuries has clouded
the sunniest land in the world, the free-
ing of Russia from an oppression which
400
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
has covered it like a shroud for so long,
the great declaration of President Wilson
coming with the might of the great na-
tion which he represents into the strug-
gle for liberty are heralds of the dawn.
" They attacked with the dawn," and
these men are marching forward in the
full radiance of that dawn, and soon
Frenchmen and Americans, British,
Italians, Russians, yea, and Serbians,
Belgians, Montenegrins, will march into
the full light of a perfect day.
Eloquent Welcome From Lords and Commons
Lord Curzon's Speech and Others
Both Houses of Parliament passed
resolutions on April 18, 1917, express-
ing profound appreciation of the ac-
tion of the United States in joining
the allied powers " and thus defend-
ing the high cause of freedom and the
rights of humanity against the grav-
est menace by which they have ever been
imperiled.'* Earl Curzon, in moving
this resolution before the House of Lords,
said :
SINCE the beginning of the war one
by one the independent nations
of the earth have been drawn into
its terrific and devastating orbit. The
great powers who met the first shock
of conflict on one side were France, Rus-
sia, and Great Britain, or, rather, I would
prefer to substitute the phrase, British
Empire, because from the first hour of
war it was the whole of that empire that
leaped to arms. It is the whole Brit-
ish Empire that on our side has been
engaged, and will remain engaged to the
end. Alongside of these allied powers
were the minor but heroic and suffering
States of Belgium, Serbia, and Monte-
negro. At the other end of the world
we received, and we continue to receive,
loyal and valuable assistance from
Japan. At a later date Italy was driven
by considerations partly of honor, partly
of political necessity, to enter this strug-
gle. Again, a little later Rumania fol-
lowed suit. Portugal, the most ancient
of our allies, could not stand aloof, and
at the present moment her soldiers are
fighting alongside of our own in France
and Flanders. In Greece many of the
most patriotic sons of that country, un-
der the leadership of the brave M. Veni-
zelos, are also engaged in conjunction
with our own troops in the trenches out-
side Saloniki. Elsewhere large parts of
Arabia have arisen to throw off the de-
tested yoke of the Turk.
Such has been the accumulation of
forces that have gathered since the be-
ginning of the war on the side of the
Allies. In the same period I cannot re-
call any accretion that has been made
to the forces of the powers of the Ger-
man and Austrian Empires, except the
inglorious and unnatural partnership of
the Bulgarian and the Turk. But in the
last fortnight, in the short time that has
elapsed since we last met in this House,
another and graver portent has occurred.
There has entered into the war the
greatest democracy in the world, whose
twice-elected President, representing
100,000,000 of the most liberty-loving,
the most peace-loving, the least aggres-
sive of the peoples of the earth, has sum-
moned his people to arms with a trum-
pet call that will ring through the ages,
and will always be accounted one of the
historic declarations of mankind.
The case of America in entering the
war is widely differentiated from that
of any of the other allied countries. All
the other States whom I have mentioned
were drawn into the war either at the
beginning or at no very long date after-
ward. The great majority of them cer-
tainly have been engaged now for two
years, if not for longer. But the case
of America was different. For nearly
three years that nation and her official
head scrupulously and sedulously ab-
stained from entering the war, exhibit-
ing a patience and a forbearance which
were perhaps not always quite under-
stood, and which did not even excite uni-
versal satisfaction among some sections
of her own people. But there are other
ELOQUENT WELCOME FROM LORDS AND COMMONS
4(>1
differences between the position of
America and that of the other allied
powers. All of them have had a direct
and personal interest. The interest of
the United States is secondary and re-
mote. The majority of them were either
inured to war by previous experience, or
were not indisposed to war by political
ambition. America during the last half
century has had little experience of war
and has no ambitions to gratify in the
present case. We know how it has been
expressed over and over again by the
foremost statesman of America that her
people have a constitutional aversion to
war, and that they have a rooted dislike
to be in any degree involved in the secu-
lar ambitions or quarrels of the Govern-
ment.
Some of the nations who were fighting
are, like ourselves, fighting for their
continued national existence. No one can
say that the national existence of Ameri-
ca has been imperiled. Others, again,
have entered the struggle, alas! because
their territories have been overrun by the
brutal foe. Not a single enemy has set
foot, or is likely to set foot, on the soil
of America. Some of them are fighting
either to extend their boundaries or to
recover possessions which they have lost
or to satisfy claims of nationality. Amer-
ica requires no territory. She has noth-
ing to recover because there is nothing
of which she has been deprived. She has
no lost tribes to gather again into her
fold. If a nation so placed with those
hereditary instincts and others that I
have described, and after this long period
of hesitation to which I have referred, is
yet compelled to join the Allies, there
must be some great and overwhelming
reason for that fact. Yes, my Lords,
there is. America has tardily but defi-
nitely entered the struggle because she
sees that there is at stake a cause great-
er than the rights or liberty or the honor
of any individual people. It is the rights
of humanity that have been and are be-
ing cruelly outraged from day to day.
It is the liberty of the whole world that
is threatened. It is the honor of civiliza-
tion that is at stake.
My Lords, the best part of half a cent-
ury ago an American poet in circum-
stances of war thus gave expression to
the sentiments of his fellow-countrymen:
Hark! I hear the tramp of thousands,
And of arm6d men the hum ;
Lo ! a nation's hosts have gathered
Round the quick alarming drum—
Saying! " Come,
Freemen, come !
Ere your heritage be wasted," said the quick
alarming drum.
That is the call that has again sounded
in the ears of Americans, and the call to
which they have responded. It is the
voice of freedom calling upon the freest
people in the world. The entry of the
United States into this war is a great
event, not merely in the fortunes of the
war or in the annals of the American
people, but in the moral history of the
human race. Not merely does this act
invest the figure of America with a glory
that will never fade, but it stamps the
character of the struggle in which we
are engaged as an uprising of the con-
science of the world, as a combined effort
to put an end to the rule of Satan on
this earth, an effort which cannot be
slackened or abated until that peril has
been entirely and finally subdued. Each
one of us may be proud to have lived in
these times and to have witnessed this
great landmark in the history of man-
kind.
As to the consequences of the entry of
America into the war it is too early to
speak. Its practical concrete effects may
not be immediate, but that they must
in the long run be tremendous and far-
reaching no man can doubt. We may
rest assured that, having drawn the
sword, America will put the whole of her
strength into the struggle. She is a na-
tion that does nothing by halves; there
is nothing small about the character and
purpose of America, any more than there
is about her territories and population.
We may rest confident that she will spare
nothing, either the splendid resources
with which she has been endowed by na-
ture, and which she has developed with
the genius of her own people, or the
vigorous energies of that people. She
will not pause or stay until the peace of
the world has again been built up on se-
cure foundations and guarantees have
462
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
been secured for its maintenance in
future.
There is only one other reflection that
must occur to every one of us who has
British blood in his veins; it is a great
thought to us that at length, whatever
there has been of pain in the association
of America with ourselves has been
finally obliterated and the two great
English-speaking nations of the world
stand side by side in this historic strug-
gle. We rejoice that America is at last
at our side, or shall I put it the other
way and say that we rejoice we are at
the side of America? We rejoice that the
three flags — the Stars and Stripes, the
tricolor, and the union jack — will float
side by side both on the seas and in the
trenches on the Continent. I shall only
be expressing the wishes of your Lord-
ships' House if I ask you this afternoon
to join the House of Commons in sending
to the American Government and the
American people this message of con-
gratulation and pride that we are, to-
gether with them, united at last in the
greatest cause for which nations have
ever suffered or individual human beings
have willingly laid down their lives.
Lord Crewe s Tribute
Lord Curzon was followed by Lord
Crewe, Lord Bryce, and the Archbishop
of Canterbury in speeches of similar
quality. The most significant portion of
Lord Crewe* s address is here reproduced:
We ourselves have never doubted from
the first the Tightness of our cause. If I
may be allowed to conceive for a moment
what is inconceivable, if it had been the
fact that an attack had been made upon
the two Central Powers, I am quite cer-
tain that no Government here would have
involved us against them in war, even
though it might have been argued that
the most deep-seated cause of such an
attack was to be found in the military
aims and the general ambitions of Ger-
many. The case of France and of Rus-
sia is, as we know, clear. But the origin
of the issues of the war could not be,
and could not be expected to be, so visible
across the Atlantic as they were at home.
It must be remembered that there were
millions in America whose original pre-
possessions and sympathy were rather on
the side of our enemies than of ourselves.
It must be remembered, too, that unlim-
ited . money and some ingenuity —
although it was in effect sometimes
clumsy ingenuity — were exercised in
America to distort the facts by enemy
agents against us and our cause.
It must be remembered, too, that from
quite an early stage in the war much ma-
terial loss and a great deal more incon-
venience was necessarily inflicted upon
innocent citizens of the United States by
our necessary action in the stoppage of
cargoes not only to Germany but also
to some neutral countries contiguous to
Germany, and I cannot help saying in
passing that if at the earlier stages of
the war the Government of the day had
followed some of the advice which has
been given here — I am certain with the
utmost feeling of patriotism — those
measures that we took would have
pressed harder still upon America and
the other neutrals. The effect would
have been not that America would have
joined Germany, because that, I am con-
vinced, she never would have done, but
she might have been frozen, so to speak,
into a position of permanent neutrality
not too friendly to us from which she
might never have parted until the close
of the war. I say this as a tribute to
the action of Lord Grey of Fallodon,
Lord Robert Cecil, and Mr. Balfour in
their conduct of the diplomatic relations
with the United States which have now
had so happy a result.
As the noble Earl pointed out, there
was evidence both here and in the United
States from time to time of some im-
patience that the merits of our cause
were not more fully recognized there.
It must be remembered that the right
opinion had to permeate the vast masses
of the population in no way directly in-
terested; that in America the famous
phrase is the government of the people
by the people, and that it was necessary
that President Wilson must remain silent
so far as joining the Allies was concerned
until he was able to speak, as he has now
spoken, in the name of the whole Union.
I question if there ever has been a com-
ELOQUENT WELCOME FROM LORDS AND COMMONS
463
munity which has so steadily pursued
high ideals, which has so conscientiously
been swayed by serious impulses, and
which has been so uniformly dependent
on moral sanctions as the United States
of America. It has therefore been a
positive attraction to America in reach-
ing her resolution to join us in the war
that she has nothing substantial to gain
from the victory which we foresee —
nothing to gain in the way of annexation,
absorption, the establishment of a pro-
tectorate, or even penetration, that
finest nuance of national acquisition. As
the months went on not only were the
horrors of war multiplied and the sac-
rifice of life became greater and greater,
but the slender restraints which human-
ity and the custom of nations have in the
past imposed on the conduct of the war
were more and' more defied and derided
by Germany; and the moment came when
America had to decide. Her clear de-
cision has now been given. We can all
rejoice with pride in the large measure
of common ancestry we share, pride in
the great traditions of free government
of which we are the joint inheritors, that
now the seal has been set of the detached
and impartial judgment of America upon
our original declaration that we and our
allies are in this way obeying the call
of honor, and that we stand for that
civilization which is bound up with the
maintenance and extension of the liber-
ties of the world.
Asquiitis Memorable Words
An identical resolution was introduced
in the House of Commons by Bonar Law,
Chancellor of the Exchequer. His speech
and others were summarized in the May
issue of this magazine. The full text of
Mr. Asquith's is as follows:
It is natural and fitting that this
House, the chief representative body of
the British Empire, should at the earliest
possible opportunity give definite and
emphatic expression to the feelings which
throughout the length and breadth of the
empire have grown day by day in volume
and in fervor since the memorable deci-
sion of the President and Congress of the
United States. I doubt whether even
now the world realizes the full signifi-
cance of the step which America has
taken. I do not use the language of flat-
tery or of exaggeration when I say that
it is one of the most disinterested acts in
history. An inveterate tradition of more
than 100 years has made it a cardinal
principle of American policy to keep
clear of European entanglements. A
war on such a scale as this must of ne-
cessity dislocate international commerce
and finance, but on balance it was, I
think, doing little appreciable harm to the
material fortunes and prosperity of the
American people. Nor were distinctively
American interests, at home or abroad,
and least of all what is the greatest of all
interests in a democratic community — the
maintenance of domestic independence
and liberty— directly imperiled by the
ambitions and designs of the Central
Powers.
What, then, is it that has enabled the
President, after waiting with the pa-
tience which Pitt once described as " the
first virtue of statesmanship " for the.
right moment, to carry with him a united
nation into the hazards and the horrors
of the greatest war in history? It is
not, as my right honorable friend [Bonar
Law] has well said, a calculation of ma-
terial gain ; it is not in the hope of terri-
torial aggrandizement, it is not even the
pricking of one of those so-called points
of honor which in days gone by have
driven nations, as they used to drive in-
dividuals, into the dueling ground. No,
it is none of these things. It is the con-
straining force of conscience and hu-
manity growing in strength and in com-
pulsive authority month by month with
the gradual unfolding before the eyes of
the world of the real character of Ger-
man aims and German methods.
It is that force, and that force alone,
which has brought home to the judgment
of the great democracy over the seas the
momentous truth that they were standing
at the parting of the ways, and that they
had to take one of those decisions which
in the lives both of men and of com-
munities determine for good or for evil
their whole future. What was it that
our kinsmen in America realized was at
issue in this unexampled conflict? The
very things which they and we, if we are
464
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
to be worthy of what is noblest in
our common history, are bound to indi-
cate as the essential conditions of a free
and honorable development of nations
of the world — justice, humanity, respect
for law, consideration for the weak and
the unprotected, chivalry toward ene-
mies, the observance of good faith —
these, which we all used to regard as the
commonplaces of international decency,
have one after another been flouted; men-
aced, trodden under foot as though they
were the effete superstitions of some
bygone creed.
America has seen that there was here
at issue something of wider import than
the vicissitudes ' of battlefields or even
the rearrangement of the map of Eu-
rope on the basis of nationality. The
whole future of civilized government
and intercourse, in particular the for-
tunes and the fate of democracy, are
brought into peril.
In such a situation aloofness is seen
to be not only a blunder, but a crime.
To stand aside with stopped ears, with
folded armr, with an averted gaze, when
you have the power to intervene is to
become not a mere spectator, but an ac-
complice. There was never in the minds
of any of us any fear that the moment
the issue became apparent and unmis-
takable the voice of America would utter
an uncertain note. She has now dedi-
cated herself, without hesitation or re-
serve, heart and soul and strength, to
the greatest of causes. To that cause,
stimulated and fortified by her com-
radeship, we here renew our own fealty
and devotion.
America and the League of Honor
The editor of The London Telegraph published this memorable " leader
President Wilson's historic address of April 2, 1917
two days after
THE world is at a new birth. The old
order of things is passing away.
Less than three weeks ago Russia
dealt her heaviest blow at the Central
Powers by breaking the shackles that
bound her. President Wilson's speech to
Congress on Monday carried that revolu-
tion a stage further in its dynamic course.
It was a proclamation of war by the
United States against Germany; but it
was much more than that. It constituted
a reasoned indictment not of a people, but
of a system of government which plunged
Europe into war in the Summer of 1914,
has now dragged the great American
people into the maelstrom, and may yet
involve even the remote Republic of
China in actual belligerency, as well as,
possibly, the other democracies of South
and Latin America. " Our object," Mr.
Wilson declared in one of his eloquent
sentences full of deep significance, " is to
vindicate the principles of peace and jus-
tice in the life of the world as against
selfish autocratic power, and to set up
among really free and self-governed
peoples of the world such a concert of
purpose and action as will henceforth
insure the observance of those princi-
ples." That sentence constitutes a new
Declaration of Rights; the Allies will
gladly and proudly subscribe to it.
This struggle has been described as
a war of nations. In a sense that may
be true, for the German people have
been hoodwinked and deceived; but deep
down it is being revealed more and more
as a conflict of principles on which civ-
ilization rests. The nations have time
and again been drenched in blood by
ambitious and vain, if not sometimes in-
sane, despots. President Wilson has now
uttered a decree, not against the Ger-
mans, for he was at pains to state that
" we have not quarreled with the Ger-
man people," but against the autocracy
over them, with its narrow cliques of
intriguers and desperadoes who willed
this war, and in waging it have endeav-
ored to drag the world into the morass
of moral ruin in which they are being
buried. Unless we mistake President
Wilson's words, they mean that the
United States will make war against the
Emperor William II., but will conclude
peace with the German people, unfet-
AMERICA AND THE LEAGUE OF HONOR
465
tered and vocal, whenever they decide
to abandon the inhumanities and illegal-
ities practiced by the present regime.
Several months ago Mr. Wilson urged
the formation of a League of Peace;
today, in taking up Germany's challenge
of war, he stands forth as the prophet
of a League of Honor — a confederation
of democracies determined, at all cost,
to achieve the salvation of the human
race from serfdom. His speech is the
sequel to the Russian Revolution, it
forms the evangel of the transformation
which must come in Central Europe be-
fore the universe can breathe freely
again. There is no hope for the future
but in a partnership of the democratic
nations; " no autocratic Government
could be trusted to keep faith within it
or observe its covenants." The war has
been placed on a new level by this states-
manlike pronouncement from Washing-
ton. A new era has dawned. Germany
is proclaimed as an outlaw — that and
nothing less — by the one great State
which has hitherto remained neutral.
Canning once looked to the New World
to redress the balance of the Old; his
faith was not misplaced, though the foot-
steps of Time have seemed sometimes
to lag. In our own islands we long since,
in characteristic fashion, cast off the old
shackles; we have gradually built up a
Constitution unique in its attributes. The
Crown remains, the fountain of national
honor, the guardian of the people's liber-
ties, the emblem of a worldwide rule
which seeks not dominion but kinship.
King George reigns not from an auto-
cratic throne, but in the hearts of a peo-
ple never more united in loyalty than in
these days of storm and crisis. Our
allies are one with us in facing the new
day. With all sincerity, from the highest
to the lowest, the words of President
Wilson will be echoed on this side of the
Atlantic; the Allies, moving forward in
company with the American people, will
constitute henceforth a League of Honor,
pledged to free civilization from a men-
ace which would otherwise have corroded
the foundations on which we and the
other democracies of the world have built
in faith, courage, and endurance. The
war is the same war, but it has gained
a fresh significance by the declaration
of the President of a Republic remote
from the main theatres of conflict, and
yet stretching its hands across the waste
of waters in token of fealty to the cause
of humanity.
In anticipating the action of the
United States confronted by a conspiracy
threatening its life, we prophesied that
the Americans, when they took the de-
cisive step, would be satisfied with no
half measures. That anticipation finds
its fulfillment in the historic scene
enacted in Congress on Monday. Never
did the ruler of a State speak with
greater dignity. We have been proud of
the sacrifices we have made, but this
nation, and those associated with it, will
be prouder today in the knowledge of this
latest noble vindication of the purpose of
the Allies. Occasionally some irritation
has been exhibited at the hesitation
shown at the White House; the scene in
Congress was an overwhelming answer
to criticism. The Germany which forged
a new British Empire in the fiery furnace
of her hatred, has created out of the
United States one self-conscious, self-
respecting nation. President Wilson has
watched in magnificent patience the
process of cohesion. He has his reward
in the enthusiastic reception given to his
speech. He needs no apologist as he
confronts the world today, encompassed
by a great people, drawn from all the
nations of the world, and divided by
racial and religious differences, but
united on a supreme issue which has
brought the successor of Washington,
Monroe, and Lincoln into the arena of
the world war.
What will the United States do when
the Presidential policy has been formally
approved? More than half a century
ago, when Abraham Lincoln was faced
by the stern call to action, he declared:
" Let us have faith that right makes
might, and in that faith let us to the end
dare to do our duty as we understand it."
In that spirit, we confidently apprehend,
the Americans will take the decision that
must bring them into conflict with a
power which for forty years devoted it-
self to the preparation of force to enable
it to impose its unbending and cruel will
466
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
on other nations. A hundred million peo-
ple, virile, courageous, and determined,
are entering the furnace to be tested by
the great ordeal; they have only a small
army, it is true; their navy may not be
able to exercise much immediate influ-
ence on the course of events; but they
have moral force, vast wealth, and
splendid industrial resources. They are
embarking on a new crusade in intimate,
helpful association with the other great
democracies in no grudging spirit. The
very intensity of their love of peace will
decide the extent of their participation in
this universal uprising in defense of all
that is fairest and brightest in civilization.
President Wilson is the chosen oracle
of the people of the United States, and
he has proclaimed that " To such a task
we can dedicate our lives, our fortunes —
everything we are, everything we have —
with the pride of those who know the day
has come when America is privileged
to spend her blood and might for the
principles that gave her birth and the
happiness and peace which she has
treasured." A new page in American
history is being turned, but the new
chapter to be written in blood will be
the fitting sequel to a volume in which
the people of the United States take a
worthy pride. America joins " the con-
cert of free poeples " which has resolved
to " make the world itself free." When
Germany willed this war, she willed, un-
knowingly, the close of one era and the
opening of a new and happier phase in
human experience.
French Praise for America's Action
Paul Deschanel, President of the
French Chamber of Deputies, greeted the
entry of the United States into the war
with this address:
WITH enthusiasm the French Cham-
ber of Deputies salutes the de-
cision of the President of the
United States, which is the very voice
of justice, and the energetic declaration
of the Federal Senate, accepting the war
imposed by Germany. In the " Persae,"
Aeschylus has said, " Let insolence
germinate; that which springs up is the
stalk of crime; a harvest of sorrows will
be reaped." And we may say, " The
stalk of crime bears justice; after the
harvest of sorrows, behold the harvest
of justice! "
The cry of children and of women,
from the depths of the abyss into which
they have been hurled by an abominable
crime, has echoed to the ends of the
earth. The ashes of Washington and
Lincoln have stirred; their mighty souls
inspire America.
Is it a question only of avenging
Americans? Is it a question only of
punishing the violation of the treaties
to which the United States had put its
signature? No; the eternal verities
proclaimed in the Declaration of Inde-
pendence of 1776, the holy cause which
Lafayette and Rochambeau defended,
the ideal of the pure spirits from which
the great Republic sprang — honor, moral-
ity, liberty — these are the supreme
treasures which gleam in the folds of the
Star-Spangled Banner!
Descendants of the New England Pu-
ritans, men fed on the precepts of the
Gospel, men who, under the eye of God,
will punish the fiendish deeds of the
Spirit of Evil, lying, perjury, assassi-
nation, desecration, rape, enslavement,
martyrdoms, and cataclysms of every
kind; Catholics cut to the heart by ana-
themas against their religion, by out-
rages against their cathedrals, their
statues, culminating in the destruction
of Louvain, of Rheims; professors of uni-
versities, faithful guardians of the idea
of justice; workers of the East and of
the Central States, farmers and cattle
raisers of the West, workmen and arti-
sans threatened in their toil by the tor-
pedoing of ships, by the stoppage of
commerce, outraged by insults to the
national flag, behold them all in turn
aroused against the mad arrogance which
seeks to enslave the world, the sea, the
sky, the souls of men!
At the hour when, as in the heroic
hours of the war of independence, Amer-
icans are getting ready to fight at our
FRENCH PRAISE FOR AMERICA'S ACTION
467
side, let us once more repeat it: we do
not seek to keep any one from living, from
working, from toiling freely; but the
tyranny of Prussia has become a peril
for the New World as for the Old, for
England, for Russia, for Italy, not less
than for Austria, for Germany herself.
To free the world, through the common
effort of the democratic peoples, from
the yoke of the military and feudal caste
of Prussia, in order to establish peace on
justice, is a work of human liberation
and of universal salvation.
In accomplishing, under a Presidency
henceforth immortal, the greatest act of
her history since the abolition of slavery,
the glorious nation whose whole history
has been the development of the idea of
liberty remains faithful to her origin
and is creating for herself yet another
title to the gratitude of the human race.
The French Republic, across the ruins
of her cities and her monuments devas-
tated without motive and without excuse,
by disgraceful savagery, sends to her el-
der sister, the American Republic, the
palms of the Marne, of the Yser, of Ver-
dun, and of the Somme, to which new
victories will soon be added!
Antonin Dubost, President of the
French Senate, expressed the sentiments
of that body in these words:
The Senate receives with an intense
patriotic and republican emotion the com-
munication in which the Government an-
nounces that the United States is hence-
forth at war in solidarity with ourselves.
Thus the initial crime of Germany un-
rolls one after the other all its fatal con-
sequences. It is unchaining -the greatest
insurrection of free peoples the world has
ever seen against the ultimate tyranny —
the militarism of Prussia. It is associat-
ing them in succession in a magnificent
democratic solidarity, and behold the
sword of Washington, answering the
sword of Lafayette, in its turn cast into
the scales!
The great Republic had already as-
sumed spontaneously a sublime mission
to save Belgium from dying of starva-
tion! At the solemn moment, when it
yields to a more imperious summons, that
of outraged honor, the French Senate
addresses to it at once our gratitude and
our fraternal greeting !
Honor to the new soldiers of Liberty
who, knowing all the frightful power of
Germany to work evil, yet resolutely face
it! Honor to the new judge who tomor-
row will take his place in the High Court
of Justice of Humanity, and who will
pronounce with us the collective and in-
dividual penalties earned by the Ger-
manic coalition, its leaders, its accom-
plices !
President Wilson's manifesto called
forth from Le Temps of Paris a note-
worthy editorial article, which said in
part :
President Wilson, from the first day,
guided his policy as a man of law. His
very impassibility, his refusal to judge,
his fear of emotion, have sometimes sur-
prised us. But that very attitude gives
to his present decision the value of a
verdict. Neither greed of territory nor
national passion has carried the United
States into the war but the. systematic-
ally established certitude that Germany
methodically violates the laws of war
and peace and that only the defeat of
Germany can assure the peace and dig-
nity of the nations.
The Germans, against all truth, were
capable of accusing us, contrary to the
evidence of the facts, of desiring a war
of " revanche." History showed, in
truth, in the side of France a grievous
wound, opened by old aggression. The
Germans have been able, in spite of
documents and certainties of the strong-
est kind, to impute to Russia, so deeply
saturated with their influence, designs
which were nonsensical. They have been
capable of attributing to England, which
was unprepared, which had provided only
six divisions for her defense, the absurd
plan of crushing their military power,
which had been heaped up in a formidable
structure during half a century. They
have been able to do this, because the
cross-fire of European interests aroused
hereditary rivalries in which lies had
free play. What will they be able to
say of America?
M. Gauvain, in Le Journal des Debats,
wrote:
468
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
The great Republic beyond the At-
lantic, peopled by millions of German
race and descendants of Germans, refuge
of the persecuted of all lands, land of
freedom, of science, and of liberty, has
denounced the policy of Germany as the
scourge of the human race. No news-
paper or magazine article, no communi-
que, no proclamation will avail against
that.
All the Hindenburgs and Ludendorfs
will not be able to change it. In meas-
ure as the men of Berlin unlock new ef-
forts, imagine new atrocities, bring into
operation new and more perfect instru-
ments of destruction, the peoples of the
world rise one by one against the New
Barbarians. Does Wilhem II. really be-
lieve that he will be able to reduce to
subjection these new foes? Does he
imagine that his chemists and mechanic-
ians will end by putting the world be-
neath his feet? He has against him
something he did not believe in, some-
thing he treated as a phantom, and
which is stronger than his 16-inch guns —
the conscience of the human race. That
conscience has taken time to find itself,
to liberate itself, for it was enmeshed
in a network of lies, of sophistries, and
of treacheries. But behold it at last
arise, free, resolute, active, on both
hemispheres; it will lay low the powers
that prey.
Gustave Herve, in La Victoire :
Hurrah! for the great American Re-
public !
Hurrah! for the sublime fathers who
went thither in the seventeenth century,
fleeing tyranny, to found the first re-
publican hearth which was lit in modern
times !
Hurrah! for old Washington and his
glorious rebels, who would not allow the
noble tradition of revolt against oppres-
sion and injustice to perish!
Hurrah! for the great Abraham Lin-
coln, liberator of the slaves, who kept the
American Republic in the high road of
the ideal and of human brotherhood!
Hurrah! for President Wilson, the
founder of the international police,
which will, in the future, cure predatory
Governments of the wish to begin again
the exploits of the grand assassin of Ber-
lin!
Hurrah! for the grand republican idea
which, for a century now, has brought
low all autocracies, all oppressions, all
tyrannies !
Hurrah! for the future United States
of the World!
German Opinion on America's Intervention
GERMAN opinion on America's entry
into the war was a mixture of de-
fiance and discomfort. On the one
hand there was the attitude of those Ger-
mans who believed that they could fight
the whole world ; on the other that of the
cooler heads who perceived that both
morally and materially America's adhe-
sion to the cause of the Allies was the
most damaging thing that had happened
to Germany since the war began. Natu-
rally, President Wilson's war message
was taken as a text and every line of it
subjected to criticism.
Many newspapers attacked the distinc-
tion made by the President between the
German people and the German Govern-
ment. The North German Gazette, for
example, said:
" President Wilson presumes to pre-
sent himself as the messiah of true lib-
erty to our people engaged in a severe
struggle for their existence. What sort
of slavish soul does he suppose that the
German people have, to believe that they
could permit any outside intervention
whatever? The German people see in
the President's words of peace only an
attempt to loosen the firm bond which
unites the people to the German Princes,
so that we may become the easy prey of
our enemies."
The Cologne Gazette, commenting upon
the same passage in the President's mes-
sage, said: "What President Wilson
wanted was only a peace which would
put us in the hands of our enemies. The
German people indignantly protest
GERMAN OPINION ON AMERICA'S INTERVENTION
4G9
against this subtle distinction between
them and their Government, for they
stand united behind the Government and
know that the declared enemy cannot do
it more injury than the hidden adversary,
whom the German people feel it a relief
to be able at last to treat as an open
enemy."
The Munich Nachrichten tried to esti-
mate the situation in a more level-
headed manner. " Although we can face
our new adversary without too much
anxiety," it said, " it would .nevertheless
be a mistake not to realize fully the
worldwide effect of President Wilson's
war message. By joining the league of
our enemies the United States and per-
haps also China complete the ring of
powers sworn to our downfall. All round
the earth there stretches the chain of
countries which English policy has
thrown against Germany and her allies.
For us it is now really a matter of life
or death."
The Frankfort Gazette bewailed the
fact that German culture had had little
influence in the United States. " It is
still more sad," that journal added, " to
have to tell ourselves that this war was
necessary to cure us of our illusions on
this point. The events of the European
war have never been approached in the
United States in a spirit of true neutral-
ity^
The Berliner Tageblatt, after admit-
ting that rarely had a political document
produced such a " depressing " effect as
the President's war message, went on to
say : " This message is based partly on
ignorance of the mistakes which Mr.
Wilson has made by becoming respon-
sible for supplying the Entente with war
material, partly on accusations without
truth. It was through submitting to the
American spirit of gain that the Presi-
dent permitted the trade in munitions to
continue. When now he speaks of right
and humanity, his voice is full of dis-
cords and his words are calculated to
create the impression that the war
psychosis obliterates judgment. * * *
We do not think that America's inter-
vention will have an essential effect on
the results of the war. The Entente is
going to have a momentary advantage,
but it will soon be aware that America
is like a stick that breaks when one
wants to lean on it."
Altogether different was the standpoint
of Maximilian Harden, the outspoken
editor of Die Zukunft. He boldly denied
that America was actuated by any mer-
cenary or material motive whatever, but
that the issue everywhere was democracy
against despotism. " Our fate depends,"
he said, " not on bits of territory which
European States can no longer take
away from one another and can no longer
hold to their own permanent advantage,
but upon the acquisition of higher
spiritual values. Elevate the conscience
of mankind and light up the German
house also! Then what the enemy de-
mands too loudly, but what we in secret
feel to be a necessity, will come to pass.
The will of the people will be free and
Germany will know for what the dearest
children of her bosom are dying and
suffering! "
When the Reichstag resumed its ses-
sion on May 2, the President, Dr.
Johannes Kaempf , in his opening address,
said that President Wilson had lost his
senses in asserting that America was
waging war against Germany in the
interests of mankind and on the ground
of justice. Continuing, Dr. Kaempf said:
" President Wilson represents the Ger-
man people as without will of their own
and as having been driven into the war
by a group of ambitious people, but he
tells nothing of the long years of en-
circlement and machinations against
them; nothing of the enemies' recently
strongly expressed will to destroy Ger-
many.
" The German people rose Aug. 4, 1914,
as one man and still fight today to defend
their freedom, independence, and life.
President Wilson says he has no quarrel
with the German people, for whom he
entertains only sympathy and friendship.
" President Wilson desired by his mes-
sage to sow discord in Germany. As Pres-
ident of the German Reichstag, which is
elected on the freest franchise in the
world, I declare that this effort will come
to naught; that it will have no influence
on the common sense of our people and
that President Wilson will bite granite.
470
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
" With our truest heart's blood we es-
tablished the German Kaiserdom, and
with our truest heart's blood we shall
fight for the Kaiser and the empire.
What our forefathers fought for and
longed for, what we have achieved on the
battlefield, will not perish, even at Presi-
dent Wilson's word of command.
" We decline all interference by a for-
eign Government in our internal affairs.
If all signs are not misleading the deci-
sive point of the world's war is approach-
ing. We see our death-defying troops
withstanding the enemy's assaults. Our
U-boats will show England how Germans
can avenge her nefarious starvation war.
We proved recently our financial strength
by a sixth war loan. We adhere to our
firm belief in Germany's star and in a
peace which will secure for all time the
Fatherland's happy development."
The Frankfort Gazette, commenting
on May 4 upon the British and French
missions to the United States, pointed
out that America's entry into the war
had already had an effect that even her
peace friends would never have dreamed
of. It admitted that the effect which
America had had on the Russian revolu-
tion and on the latest peace desires of the
Entente Allies was to be lamented from
the German standpoint. Summing up
President Wilson's motives in joining the
belligerents,- the Frankfort Gazette
enumerated them as these: First, Amer-
ica's desire to partake actively in the
peace conference; second, America's wish
to stifle forever the nationality feelings
awakened by the war; third, the wish
to realize her armament plans in order
to be prepared later; fourth, the wish to
build up an American merchant fleet.
Americans Who Have Fought for France
By Paul Louis Hervier
French Author and Journalist
M. Hervier, author of a history of " American Volunteers in the Ranks of the Allies,"
recently contributed to the Bulletin des Armees a brief article telling the French soldiers
in the trenches what Americans had done to help them. Portions of it are here translated for
Current History Magazine.
THE Americans who offered their
services to France after the out-
break of war in 1914 were re-
cruited without solicitation in all classes
of society: Millionaires, writers, law-
yers, engineers, former soldiers and sail-
ors, boxers, butchers, explorers, and espe-
cially university students. I have tried
to bring together the data and documents
regarding these ardent volunteers, and
again and again I have been thrilled by
simple anecdotes as by those deeds of
ancient history which we love to repeat
in all our manuals for the lessons they
convey.
There is the case of Norman Prince,
who, after a period in the Foreign Le-
gion, became an aviator, achieved re-
markable exploits, and was killed in ac-
tion. Will his place remain empty ? Not
at all! His brother is coming.
Then there is Dr. David D. Wheeler,
who left his fine practice in Buffalo to
come and care for our wounded. The
stories told him by the injured men
made such an impression on him that he
wished to share their dangers. He aban-
doned his surgical instruments and took
up arms. He was wounded by a dumdum
bullet, and, though exhausted by the
loss of blood, dragged himself over the
battlefield and used his waning strength
in comforting other wounded men who
lay without aid.
These anecdotes and many others will
later be jewels in American history. At
this moment they are the sacred heri-
tage of all civilization fighting against
aggressive barbarism.
The American volunteers, who wished,
in August, 1914, to join their French
brothers in defending the ideal repre-
sented by the word " liberty," almost
all entered the Foreign Legion. One of
AMERICANS WHO HAVE FOUGHT IN FRANCE
471
them, Paul Rockwell, grievously wounded
in Champagne, sent to a New York edi-
tor this response, which is sweet to our
hearts:
" In the Foreign Legion about 200
Americans are serving or have served.
The bitterest regret of my life is that so
few Americans have come to aid France.
When we Americans were in need of
aid, Lafayette and his followers were a
hundred times more numerous than we
are in this war, and they came from a
total French population scarcely larger
than that of two cities in America to-
day. But we have one reason to feel a
little pride. With the exception of, say,
six or eight, all the men who came to
pay our debt to France have proved to
be good fighters. None came for money.
Some came for the simple love of ad-
venture, but I believe that the motive of
most of them was an ideal."
A dangerous but attractive arm, that
of aviation, especially appealed to the
daring of these young Americans, anx-
ious as they were to prove their courage
and devotion. Men will long continue
to speak of the services rendered to the
French Army by the American Esca-
drille; they will long recount the exploits
of Norman Prince, who died for France
on Oct. 15, 1916; of Victor Chapman, who
died for France in June, 1916; of Kiffin
Rockwell, who died for France on Sept.
23, 1916; of Denis Dowd, the skilled pilot,
who died in an airplane accident at the
Buc airdrome in the beginning of Au-
gust, 1916; of William Thaw, the Pitts-
burgh millionaire; of Elliott Christopher
Cowdin, of Lufbery, of Bert Hall, of Paul
Pavelka, James R. MacConnell, and all
the rest.
The American Escadrille gets many
new recruits. The American legionaries
love danger and have the heart to con-
tinue the work begun by audacious prede-
cessors shortly after the beginning of the
war. Walter Appleton of New York,
after a long stay in the Legion, is at
the aviation school, as is Marius Rocle
of New York, who was not yet 17 years
old when he arrived in France in 1914.
Decorated with the Croix de Guerre,
wounded at Verdun, he will soon have his
brevet as pilot. William Dugan of Roch-
ester, decorated with the Croix de Guerre,
wounded at Verdun, likewise is in the
aviation school. As for Lincoln Chat-
koff of Brooklyn, after twenty-two
months in the ranks of the Legion, and
after having obtained his brevet as pilot,
he chose to return to the Legion.
A brief article such as this cannot give
the names of all the brave men who have
come to fight for us, but must be devoted
rather to the significance of their gen-
erous and fruitful service. This is what
has stirred and touched us. Young
Americans who had careers awaiting
them in their own country, who in many
cases possessed fortunes that would have
given them all the material joys of life,
and in other cases felt within themselves
the rare forces of talent or creative
genius, have by their coming proclaimed
the justice of our cause to all the world.
It is not a matter, then, of giving here
a list of these who have achieved the
supreme heights of the moral task which
they voluntarily took up; the eulogy de-
served by each is swallowed up in one
great common glory.
Nevertheless, let us glance at the
golden book of American volunteers. We
shall find there the names of Edward
Mandell Stone, a graduate of Harvard,
the first American volunteer killed; of
Henry W. Farnsworth, killed in Cham-
pagne; of the poet, Alan Seeger, an
idealist, dead for France; of John Earle
Fike, a former American soldier, killed
June 16, 1915; of Russell A. Kelly, killed
the same way; of Nelson Larson, a for-
mer American sailor, killed on the anni-
versary day of American independence,
1916; of Frank Clair of Columbus, dead
of wounds; of Rene Phelizot of Chicago,
a daring hunter of big game, killed at
Craouelle in February, 1915; of Harman
Edwin Hall of Chicago, killed June 16,
1916, &c. We shall not forget their
acts of devotion.
Here we find also the names of Frank
Musgrave of San Antonio, lawyer, today
a prisoner in Germany; of John Bowe of
Minneapolis, wounded and cited in the
Order of the Day; of Charles Sweeney,
decorated with the Legion of Honor and
promoted Lieutenant; of Edgar Bouligny
of New Orleans, four times wounded;
472
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
of Brook B. Bonnell of Brooklyn, deco-
rated with the War Cross and the Mili-
tary Medal; of Andrew Walbron of
Peterson, wounded three times; of his
brother, Ernest Walbron, who had a leg
carried away by a shell on the Somme;
of George Delpeuche, decorated with the
War Cross for having taken five prison-
ers alone and unaided; of Frederick Cap-
deville of New York, Charlie Christopher
Charles of Brooklyn, Charles Trinkard,
Jack Janz of Kentucky, David King of
Providence, Jack Cordonnier, Frederick
Mulhauser, (three citations;) Michael
Steinfels of Chicago, Eugene Jacobs,
Bob Scanlon, the negro boxer; Achille
Clinger, Jack Moyet, and the rest.
This is only a short summary of the
heroic chapter. A great number of
Americans enlisted in the English Army,
others in the Canadian Army, and still
others came to France to serve in auto-
mobile ambulances. They have saved
and cared for our wounded with cease-
less zeal, risking their lives, and often
losing them. At the end of January,
1917, seventy citations in official orders
had been merited and bestowed upon
these brave men. A beautiful history!
On March 19 a number of aviators of
the Lafayette Escadrille were protecting
aerial observers who were watching the
movements of the German Army. One
of them was attacked by three enemy air-
planes. He courageously accepted battle
with them, but after prodigies of valor
he was killed; his name was James
Rogers MacConnell. The Paris Figaro,
in announcing his glorious end, gave a
sketch of his career. He was 30 years
old, a native of Carthage, N. C, and had
left a lucrative business position to join
the French Army in the first days of the
war.
In April, 1916, he had organized the
American Escadrille with his brothers in
heroism, Victor Chapman, Kiffin Rock-
well, Norman Prince, and others, now
active or fallen. He fought in Artois, in
Alsace, at Verdun, and on the. Somme.
In moments of the most deadly peril he
was always calm and cheerful. He was
decorated with the War Cross and was
twice cited in terms of highest praise in
the military Order of the Day. Mr. Mac-
Connell was an author, having recently
published a book entitled " Flying in
France," which ended with the words:
" The war may kill me, but I have it to
thank for much."
Value of Helmets in Saving Life
Discussing the value of the steel helmet in battle, a French medical writer in
La Nature says that out of 55 cases of head injury it was found that 42 occurred
in soldiers who wore no helmet. Among the 42 there were 23 fractured skulls.
The remaining 19 cases suffered from severe scalp wounds. Among the 13
cases which wore helmets there was not a single fracture of the skull; 8 showed
some concussion effects and 5 had slight wounds. A considerable number of the
unprotected cases died; none of the protected died.
The most significant fact which has emerged since the helmet was introduced
was emphasized by Dr. Roussy at the Academy of Medicine. He said that the
percentage of cases showing wounds in the head had increased. The reason
was, of course, that the number of sudden deaths from the cause had markedly
decreased.
A French writer points out that of 479 abdominal wounds 332 were caused
by shrapnel and pieces of shell having a low velocity. An abdominal protection
would save these cases.
Again, among 15 penetrating wounds of the lung 2 only showed exit orifices
for the bullet or piece of shell, i. e., in 13 cases out of 15 the projectile had not
enough force behind it to drive it through the body tissues. A breastplate would
have saved these wounds.
The mortality from these low-velocity shrapnel wounds is said to be about
ten times greater than from bullet wounds which penetrate. The conclusions
are arrived at in La Nature that -as three-fourths of war wounds which are re-
ceived for treatment are now due to shrapnel and pieces of shell at low velocity,
and as these wounds are very fatal on account of the infection and blood poison-
ing following them, it will be worth while to consider the question of protection
for all those parts.
Factors in the Russian Revolution
By A. J. Sack
[Mr. Sack is American staff correspondent for the official publications of the Russian
Ministry of Finance ; also American correspondent of the Petrograd Telegraph Agency, the
Retch, Petrograd ; Birjewiya Viedomosti, Petrograd, and Russkiya Viedomosti, Moscow.]
THE great revolution in Russia is
only the epilogue to the great
drama played in Russia, one act
after another, for the last twelve
years. The first act of this drama was
the revolution of 1905, which came at the
conclusion of peace with Japan. As the
result of the revolutionary movement
which in October, 1905, culminated in a
general political strike, when all indus-
trial life and railroad transportation was
stopped in Russia, came the famous
Czar's manifesto of Oct. 17, (30.)
In this manifesto the Czar promised,
in the most categorical form, that the
people of Russia would enjoy the highest
form of political freedom, that the suf-
frage law governing election to the Duma
would be changed so that voting would
become universal, that the legislative
power of the empire would be vested
from then on in the Imperial Duma, the
Imperial Council and the Czar, and that
without the consent of the Duma no new
law could be introduced nor any existing
law be changed.
On April 27 (May 10) the First Duma
was convened. The entire country showed
its opposition to the old regime by choos-
ing as Deputies people most prominent
in the liberal movement. The Socialists
did not participate in the campaign for
the, First Duma, declaring a boycott be-
cause of their1 disapproval of- the un-
democratic suffrage lawe. The majority
in the First Duma was held by the Con-
stitutional Democrats. This fact, in view
of the undemocratic suffrage system and
the refusal of the Socialists to participate
in the election, shows that, although the
First Duma was in strong opposition to
the old regime, the country was even
more radically opposed to the Czar's
Government than the Duma.
The first act of the First Duma was a
demand for general amnesty for all politi-
cal offenders in Russia. The first Rus-
sian Parliament solemnly recognized the
revolt against the old Government as a
legitimate fight for the rights of the
nation, pronouncing every participant
a hero. The main political demand of
the First Duma was the demand for the
responsibility of the Ministers to the
legislative bodies. " The executive power
should be subordinate to the legislative
power " ; this was the conclusion of the
famous speech made by Deputy V. D.
Nabokoff, who gave perfect expression to
the fundamental political desires of the
first Russian Parliament.
First Dumas Reform Plans
In an address presented to the Czar the
First Duma outlined a full program of re-
forms urgently needed for the country.
The Parliament demanded full political
freedom, responsibility of the Cabinet of
Ministers to the legislative bodies, auton-
omy for Poland and Finland, democrati-
zation of the suffrage law governing elec-
tion of members to the Imperial Duma,
democratization of the local self-govern-
ing bodies, (municipalities and zemstvos,)
radical changes in the social legislation
referring to the workers, increased land
holdings for the peasants, &c. If the
program of the Furst Duma had been
carried out Russia would have become
a constitutional monarchy of the English
type, with very progressive social legis-
lation.
The First Duma was dismissed, al-
though its demands were quite moderate
in view of the spirit of the country. The
Second Duma was called, and in this cam-
paign the Socialist factions in Russia par-
ticipated in full. As a result the coun-
try, angered by the opposition of the old
regime, sent to Parliament about 120 So-
cialists. The Constitutional Democrats
474
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
came into the Second Duma again as a
very strong faction, although this time
they did not hold the majority.
The Second Duma, which gathered in
the Fall of 1906, was the culminating
point in the first Russian revolution. The
revolutionary forces of the country
seemed to be at their fullest strength
at that time, and, nevertheless, certain
symptoms of the coming reaction were
already visible. The demands of the
Socialists had been terrorizing the moder-
ate liberal elements so that these finally
gave their support to the Czar's Govern-
ment, which began to fight the revolution
openly.
In the beginning of the Summer of
1907 the Second Duma was dismissed;
part of the Socialist Deputies were sen-
tenced to Siberia, and the suffrage laws
were changed by the Czar, so that Rus-
sian democracy was practically deprived
of representation, although in the mani-
festo of Oct. 17 (30) it had been solemnly
promised that no law would be changed
or introduced in the empire without the
consent of the legislative bodies repre-
sented by the Duma and Imperial Coun-
cil.
Failure of the Movement
The principal revolutionary forces dur-
ing the first uprising in Russia were the
workers, who demanded political free-
dom, the right to organize, and progres-
sive measures in social legislation; the
peasants, whose chief demand was land
and equality of rights with all other
classes in Russia; the different nationali-
ties, the Polish, Finnish, Jewish, and
other elements, who demanded autonomy
or equal rights; and the capitalistic class,
the bourgeoisie, who had become an in-
fluential factor in Russia's economic life
with the development of capitalism.
None of these groups was satisfied with
the results of the revolution. The coun-
try did not receive even elementary
political rights, the workers did not re-
ceive the right to organize, the peasants
received no land, Finland was deprived
of her Constitution, Poland was as op-
pressed as before, the sufferings of the
Jews daily became more and more un-
bearable.
The first Russian revolution brought
the country no gains, and the reaction
which came at the beginning of 1907 was
a reaction more of psychological than of
sociological nature. The great country
quieted down almost completely, not be-
cause the great tasks of the first revolu-
tion were accomplished, but because the
country was exhausted from the battle
with the old regime. The demands made
by the First Duma, very much more
moderate than the country it represented,
showed that the entire nation was op-
posed to the Czar's Government. But
the nobility was still with the Czar, and
the Government had at its service the
powerful machinery of the police and
almost the entire army, officered mostly
by Russian noblemen, blindly devoted to
the throne.
The reaction, the darkest reaction in
Russia's national history, began at the
beginning of 1906. It is interesting to
observe that the culminating point of this
reaction was the Fall of 1907, when, in
October, Professor S. A. Mouromtzeff, the
President of the First Duma, the most
respected citizen of Russia, the symbol
of the longing for freedom in Russia,
died, and in November, Leo Tolstoy, the
greatest genius Russia has contributed
to the world's culture. These deaths
seemed to awaken the great country. The
hundreds of thousands of people on the
streets of Moscow at the funeral of Pro-
fessor Mouromtzeff, the thousands of
people and delegates coming from all
parts of Russia on special trains to the
little village where Tolstoy was to be
buried, the public speeches made in these
days, significant for Russia's culture — all
these showed that the country was
awakening from its deep sleep to new
political and cultural activities.
The New Reform Movement
The Fall of 1910 may be marked as the
beginning of the new movement against
the Czar's Government. It had taken
four years for the reaction to reach its
lowest mark — from the beginning of 1906
to the end of 1910 — and it took another
four years for the country, awakened to
political activities, to reach again the
boiling point of revolution. In July,
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F^iii.
£S*bLj&'±'roJd
FACTORS IN THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION
475
1914, just before the war, 400,000 Petro-
grad workers went out on political strike
and the streets of Petrograd were cov-
ered with barricades.
This time the united country again
faced the Government as an enemy. The
same elements that had participated in
the first revolution faced the Czar's Gov-
ernment, ready to fight, only now they
were more educated and the moderate
elements among them more determined
than during the first revolution. The
cruel policy of the Government during
the time of reaction and the illuminating
speeches in the Duma, from day to day,
explaining to the people the dramatic po-
litical situation in the country, bore great
results. The moderate elements, who,
terrified at the Socialists' demands dur-
ing the first revolution, had given their
support to the Government, now aban-
doned it. In July, 1914, the Government
again faced a united front of all the pro-
gressive forces of the country, a power-
ful coalition led, as in 1905, by the fight-
ing vanguard of the revolution, the Petro-
grad workers.
Policy of Russian Democracy
Then suddenly came the war, which
was immediately recognized by all the
revolutionary forces in Russia as the
war of justice on the side of the Allies,
as the war for freedom and civilization
in Europe. The revolutionary elements
decided temporarily to abandon the in-
ternal conflict and to concentrate all the
attention of the democratic forces on
carrying on the war till German militar-
ism should be broken. This was an in-
valuable service rendered in this critical
moment by Russian radical and Socialist
leaders to their country and to all human-
ity. Such prominent leaders as the old
Prince Kropotkin, as George Plechanov,
the founder of Russian Social-Democracy,
as Vladimir Bourtzeff, indorsed the war
on the side of the Allies from the very
beginning and helped the Allies' cause
with their powerful influence on the
democratic masses of Russia. For the
same end was that famous Socialist ap-
peal made to the country, the appeal
signed by Plechanov, Deutsch, Alexinsky,
and Arkseniew.
Russian democracy stopped the revolu-
tion in July, 1914, because of the war.
Russian democracy again started the
revolution and gloriously accomplished
it, also for the sake of the war. The
Czar's Government showed itself inca-
pable not only of governing but also of
defending the country. Inefficiency,
grave and in many cases direct treach-
ery, marked the activities of the Czar's
Government, which was not very enthu-
siastic in the war for democracy and
justice in Europe. When it became evi-
dent that under the old Government the
defeat of Russia was inevitable, Russian
democracy raised its hands and took in-
to them the fate of the country.
Among the events occurring in Russia
immediately after the revolution, one
Of the most important was the National
Conference of the Constitutional-Demo-
cratic Party, the leader of which, Pro-
fessor Paul MilukofF, became Secretary
of Foreign Affairs after the revolution.
As I have said before, the Constitutional-
Democratic Party held the majority in
the First Duma, and had strong, influen-
tial factions in the Second, Third and
Fourth Dumas.
This, party, led by such prominent men
as the late Professor S. A. Mouromtzeff,
Professor Paul Milukoff, A. I. Shingareff,
Prince Paul Dolgoroukoff, Prince D.
Shakhovskoy, M. M. Vinaver, and others,
rendered invaluable service to the cause
of Russian liberty. It would surprise no
one in Russia if, out of the about 600
proposed seats in the future Constitu-
ent Assembly, the Constitutional Dem-
ocratic Party hold from 300 to 350.
About 1,500 delegates from all parts
of Russia came to the National Confer-
ence of the Constitutional-Democratic
Party. Prince Paul Dolgoroukoff, the
Chairman of the Central Committee of
the party, opened the conference, pre-
sided over by M. M. Vinaver, the newly
appointed Jewish Senator.
Two Important Reports
There were two important events at
this conference. The first was the re-
port by Professor F. F. Kokoshkin, mem-
ber of the First Duma and one of the
greatest authorities on constitutional law,
who insisted that the party abandon the
principle of constitutional monarchy and
476
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
proclaim for a republican form of gov-
ernment. Professor Kokoshkin declared
himself in favor of Presidential election
by direct vote and responsibility of the
Cabinet to the Parliament, as in France.
Professor Kokoshkin's report was
eagerly supported by Prince Eugene
Troubetzkoy, one of Russia's leading men,
former Professor of the University of
Moscow and member of the Imperial
Council, who, as a big landowner thor-
oughly acquainted with conditions in the
Russian villages, reflected the spirit of
the Russian peasantry toward the revolu-
tion. Prince Troubetzkoy reported that
under the terrible experiences of the war
the peasants had, during the last two and
a half years, lost entirely their former
almost religious belief in the Czar. Ac-
cording to Prince Troubetzkoy 's report,
" the Czar is now for the peasants only a
symbol of police, graft, and all kinds of
vice." The convention accepted unani-
mously the recommendations of Professor
Kokoshkin and Prince Eugene Troubetz-
koy, proclaiming for a republican form of
government.
It may be expected that, aside from
the Constitutional-Democrats, with their
300 or 350 seats in the Constituent
Assembly, 150 to 200 seats will belong
to different Socialist factions. The de-
cision of the Constitutional-Democratic
Party practically decides the question of
the form of the future Government of
Russia. If not unanimously, then by an
overwhelming majority the Constituent
Assembly will proclaim a republican
Government for Russia.
The other significant moment in this
National Conference occurred when Pro-
fessor Paul Milukoff, the leader of the
party and Secretary of Foreign Affairs,
made his speech. Probably, for the first
time in his political career, Professor
Milukoff paid tribute to his political ad-
versaries, the Russian Socialists. In a
speech enthusiastically greeted by the
entire conference, Professor Milukoff
pointed out the invaluable service ren-
dered the country by the Socialists during
these critical days. The Socialists were
the fighting power of the revolution;
they bravely faced the police and the
troops, and paid with their blood for
Russian freedom. In addition, it was
Socialist organization that kept order in
Russia after the revolution and saved
the country from the worst kind of
anarchy. In the same spirit as Professor
Milukoff's speech was the speech of Mr.
Nekrasov, a prominent leader of the Con-
stitutional-Democratic Party and the new
Secretary of Means of Transportation.
Result of a Coalition
The revolution in Russia was ac-
complished by a coalition of liberal and
Socialist forces. And this coalition will
build the new Russia. To understand
Russian political life at the present time
means to understand the real nature of
liberalism and socialism in Russia. Rus-
sian liberalism, as represented by the
Constitutional-Democratic Party, is quite
well known in this country. As for Rus-
sian socialism, until now it has been terra
incognita for the American public.
First of all, socialism is one of the
most powerful factors in Russian political
life. In the United States the labor
movement and socialism are two distinct
forces, whereas in Russia these two
forces are united in one. In the United
States the Federation of Labor, repre-
senting over 2,000,000 workers, has no
relation to the socialist movement of the
country, whereas in Russia every organ-
ized worker is a Socialist and all the labor
unions are socialistic.
The Socialist Party of the United
States has only one representative in
Congress, whereas Russian socialist fac-
tions had 120 representatives in the Sec-
ond Duma and about thirty in the Third
and Fourth Dumas, chosen during the
time of darkest reaction under the most
undemocratic suffrage system.
Hence, we have the difference in the
nature of the Russian and American so-
cialism. Socialism in the United States
is a small movement, without any real in-
fluence on the political life, and therefore
I would venture to say without any sense
of responsibility for its actions. If it
were an influential factor it would prob-
ably not have accepted resolutions of the
kind passed by the last conference of the
American Socialist Party at St. Louis.
Russian socialism is more like Belgian
and French socialism. As Belgian and
FACTORS IN THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION
477
French Socialists from the very begin-
ning indorsed the war on the side of the
Allies, so did the Russian Socialists. As
the Belgian and French Socialists, who,
understanding their responsibility toward
their countries and humanity, delegated
Vandervelde, Guede, Semba, and Toma as
their representatives in the Cabinets, so
did the Russian Socialists, sending as
their representative the new Secretary of
Justice, Deputy Kerensky.
Authority of Present Cabinet
Several facts in connection with the
recent revolution really illumine the
present political situation in Russia. The
first fact is that the present Russian
Cabinet was appointed at a joint session
of the Executive Committee of the Duma
and the Executive Committee of the
Petrograd Council of Workingmen and
Soldiers. It was at the moment when
all Petrograd was in the hands of the
revolutionists, and there is no doubt that
at that moment the Executive Commit-
tee of the Council of Workingmen and
Soldiers had sufficient power to take all
the political machinery in its own hands.
At this critical moment the Russian
Socialists showed real statesmanship.
They agreed to a Coalition Cabinet and
to the appointment of A. I. Gouchkoff as
Secretary of War and Navy. This ap-
pointment was very significant. Mr.
Gouchkoff until the revolution was a
very conservative man, very unpopular
in Russia for his political views, but
everybody in Russia respected his sincere
patriotism and his organizing ability.*
Russian Socialists consenting to the
appointment of Mr. Gouchkoff indorsed
thereby, once more, the war against
Germany, and the necessity of strong
discipline on the fighting lines. Con-
senting further to the appointment of
Professor Paul Milukoff as Foreign Sec-
retary, Russian Socialists consented to
the principle that no separate peace is
possible for Russia, that the only peace
she will conclude will be a general peace
in full accordance with her allies.
The latest events in Petrograd do not
contradict this statement. We may dis-
*Mr. Gouchkoff, Secretary of War, resigned
from the Cabinet on May 14, 1917.
agree with this movement entirely, or we
may see certain weak points in it, but it
is only fair to recognize that this is a
movement not for a separate but for a
general peace. One of the leaders of
this movement is Prince Tzeretelli, the
former leader of the Social-Democratic
faction in the Second Duma. Prince
Tzeretelli is one of the most noble figures
in Russian life. A brilliant speaker, al-
ways enthusiastic, always idealistic, he is
respected in Russia by all factions.
Career of Tzeretelli
When the Second Duma was dismissed
and it became known that the Socialist
Deputies would be arrested and tried,
some of the influential friends of Prince
Tzeretelli prepared everything for his es-
cape abroad, but Tzeretelli flatly refused
to go. "I am a representative of the
people," he answered his friend in a
quiet but determined tone. " I work for
the people and do not see why I should
escape if the police want me." He was
arrested, tried, and sentenced to hard
labor. He was sent to Siberia, and then
from time to time news came to Petro-
grad that he was dying of tuberculosis
in his prison cell. In spite of many peti-
tions the Czar's Government refused to
do anything to ease Tzeretelli's fate, and
nobody in Russia expected to see him
again leading the democratic masses.
Being liberated after the revolution,
Tzeretelli went directly to Petrograd.
Knowing from dispatches that the Coun-
cil of Workingmen and Soldiers in Petro-
grad was engaged at a special meeting
preparing a resolution which would show
the council's position toward the Provi-
sional Government and the war, Tzere-
telli sent a telegram to the meeting intro-
ducing his own resolution. The resolu-
tion insisted on support for the Provi-
sional Government and the war until
German militarism be entirely broken,
and it was enthusiastically accepted by
the council.
Tzeretelli's name is almost holy for
the Petrograd workers and for the Rus-
sian workers in general. He is, together
with his friends, Chkheidze and Skobe-
leff, practically the ruling spirit of the
movement in Petrograd. Neither Tzere-
telli nor Chkheidze or Skobeleff is for a
478
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
separate peace. According to their views
the allied democracy must fight until
not a single German soldier is left in
Belgium, in the northern provinces of
France, in Serbia, or in Russian Poland.
Peace is impossible for them without the
full restoration of all parts of the Allies'
territories occupied by the Central
Powers.
The future peace for Russian Socialists
is a general peace that will bring peace
for all Europe and bring it forever.
Their peace program is quite misun-
derstood in this country, although prob-
ably it possesses all the qualities which
should make it meet with approval here.
The allied countries need not fear. The
Russian democracy is not thinking of
and would never consider a separate
peace. As for a general peace, Russian
democracy desires the kind of peace out-
lined by the President of the United
States in his famous address to Con-
gress.
The Critical Situation in Russia
Conflict Between Radicals and the Provisional
Government Regarding the Nation's War Policy
EVENTS in Russia in the month
ended May 15 followed each other
with such startling swiftness,
and the reports were so conflict-
ing, that it was difficult to arrive at the
truth. The one fact clear at this writing
(May 15) is the existence of a wide
breach between the Provisional Govern-
ment set up by the revolution and the
Council of Workmen's and Soldiers' Dele-
gates. This breach seriously menaces
stable government, seeming to portend
either civil war, with consequent chaos,
or the disintegration of the country into
fragmentary republics, an easy prey to
Germany.
The first intimation given the outside
world of the conflict between the Pro-
visional Government and the Council of
Workmen's and Soldiers' Delegates was
the vigorous protest of the latter against
a joint note sent to the Allies by the Pro-
visional Government on May 1, wherein
the word of Russia was pledged against
a separate peace and for a renewal of
cordial co-operation with the Entente
Allies. The note was signed by Foreign
Secretary Milukoff and instructed the
various diplomatic representatives to the
allied countries to transmit the following
communication :
The Provisional Government of Russia pub-
lished on April 27 a manifesto to Russian
citizens wherein it ..explained the views of the
Government of Russia as regards the objects
to be attained in the war. The Minister of
Foreign Affairs instructs me to communicate
to you the contents of the document referred
to and to add the following considerations :
Our enemies have striven lately to sow
discord among our allies by propagating ab-
surd reports regarding the alleged intention
of Russia to conclude a separate peace with
the Central Powers. The text of the docu-
ment annexed will form the best refutation
of such intentions. The general principles
therein enunciated by the Provisional Gov-
ernment are in entire agreement with the
ideas which have been expressed repeatedly
up to quite recently by eminent statesmen of
the allied countries.
These principles were expressed lucidly also
in the words of the President of our ally, the
great overseas Republic. The Russian Gov-
ernment under the old regime certainly was
not prepared to appreciate and share these
ideas as to the liberating character of the
war, the establishment of a stable basis for
pacific co-operation of nations, the freedom
of oppressed peoples, &c, but emancipated
Russia can now use language which will be
understood by modern democracies and hasten
to add her voice to that of her allies.
The declaration of the Provisional Govern-
ment, being imbued with the new spirit of
free democracy, naturally cannot afford the
least pretext for assumption that the demoli-
tion of the old structure has entailed any
slackening on the part of Russia in the com-
mon struggle of all the Allies. On the con-
trary, the nation's determination to bring the
world war to a decisive victory has been ac-
centuated, owing to the sense of responsibil-
ity which is shared by all in general and each
one of us in particular.
This spirit has become still more active by
the fact that it is concentrated on the imme-
diate task, which touches everybody so close-
ly, of driving back the enemy who invaded
THE CRITICAL SITUATION IN RUSSIA
479
our territory. It is understood, and the an-
nexed document so expressly states, that the
Provisional Government in safeguarding the
right acquired for our country will maintain
a strict regard for its engagements with the
allies of Russia.
Firmly convinced of the victorious issue of
the present war, and in perfect agreement
with our allies, the Provisional Government
is likewise confident that the problems which
were created by this war will be solved by
the creation on a firm basis of a lasting
peace, and that, inspired by identical senti-
ments, the allied democracies will find means
of establishing the guarantees and penalties
necessary to prevent any recourse to san-
guinary war in the future.
This note was sent in response to a
demand of the council that the Govern-
ment express itself. It followed a series
of turbulent outbreaks in Petrograd in
consequence of the agitation of Radical
Socialists under the leadership of one
Nikolai Lenine. In fact, Lenine was
suspected of anarchistic tendencies and
was assailed as in the pay of Germany.
His inflammatory speeches against the
Provisional Government and the Allies
precipitated one riot in Petrograd, but
he was finally suppressed and quiet was
restored. The slumbering unrest of the
extremists, however, soon was again
manifest, and at length forced the Gov-
ernment to express itself in this letter of
May 1, which subsequent events have
brought into prominence.
The document aroused strong disap-
proval among members of the council,
and serious anti-Government demonstra-
tions occurred in Petrograd on May 3 and
4. The Executive Committee of the
council had discussed the note through-
out May 2 and 3, holding all-night ses-
sions. It adjourned at daybreak of May
4 without reaching a decision, but every
speaker at the meeting emphasized the
contention that the power in Russia
rested in the hands of the representa-
tives of the workmen and soldiers, and
that they were determined to enforce
their views upon the temporary Govern-
ment or immediately dispossess it and
construct a Government of their own
liking.
Most of the leaders advocated a com-
promise by the removal of Milukoff, per-
mitting the rest of the Government to re-
main in power. M. Tcheidse, President
of the body, after reading the Govern-
ment note, declared that he found it
quite nullified the effect of the previous
declaration of April 9, and added:
The form of this note and its vague allu-
sions to a victorious end of the war are so
ambiguous that one can deduce anything he
wants to from it, even the ideas of the old
Government. Steps must be immediately
taken to clarify this so that the country will
know that the Government does not intend
to agree to annexations, expropriations, and
contributions. After this explanation is pub-
lished and the Allies are informed of its con-
tents the proletariat classes of the allied
countries must take similar steps to make
their Governments repudiate such intentions.
M. Stankevich, Social Democrat, who
followed M. Tcheidse, said:
This note has struck a serious blow to our
unity with the Government. The Government
today feels the discord which exists and
which is so evident in the street demonstra-
tions.
Fear of Allies Expressed
The speaker then hinted that the En-
tente Allies might not approve of the
stand taken by the Russian proletariat,
and declared in this connection:
It is necessary to mobilize all the forces of
the democracy, because we may be menaced
from the outside. We will riot allow any one
to attack us. If the Government continues
to follow their line of conduct we will go
further— we can arrest the Government. It
must fulfill our program, for we have the
power, and we can telephone tonight express-
ing our distrust of the Government, and it
will be compelled to resign.
If the action of the Government was dic-
tated by wrong intentions we will immediate-
ly vote our distrust, and the present Cabinet
will be replaced by one of our own choosing.
I tell this to you to show you the power that
is in our hands.
But we must be careful. The finances of
the country are in bad condition, the supply
question is critical, and we must seriously
consider before adopting extreme measures.
Only after mature deliberation can we decide
that the temporary Government must be re-
moved. Then we can take the power in our
hands and bear all the responsibility. On
account of the complicated nature of the
problems confronting the country we must
take the mildest means.
M. Chernoff, who spoke next, said:
The present situation is more serious than
when the trouble occurred between the old
regime and the revolutionists. In the first
days of the revolution it was a fight between
two hostile camps ; now it is a fight between
conquerors. The situation can have danger-
our results, and the principal thing we need
at the present is quiet and order. But we must
cast away the imperialistic influence from
480
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
our foreign policy as well as from our in-
ternal life. Our program must have brought
knowledge to all Governments, and we must
request from our allies that they reconsider
their aims in the war.
M. Bonin, another speaker, recom-
mended a Coalition Ministry. He reiter-
ated the same warning against extreme
measures as had the previous speakers.
Anarchist Members for Action
The opinions ranged through every
shade of political belief. The speakers
included anarchist members who flatly
proposed the overthrowing of the present
Government immediately. One of the an-
archists said:
The temporary Government has thrown off
its mask, and we see that it is not much bet-
ter than the old. We are naive and simple.
M. Milukoff is a sly person and can find any
way to deceive us. Down with him ! Throw
off the temporary Government !
Another speaker declared that the note
of May 1 showed a policy of world im-
perialism. He added that it was a mis-
take to send recruits to fill the gaps in
the ranks at the front, because these men
were needed in Petrograd. The speaker
proposed the formation of a coalition
committee to exert the same influence on
foreign policy that the present council
wields over home politics.
M. Voytinsky, the last speaker, said:
Every soldier must know he is not fight-
ing for the ideas of Milukoff, or for Con-
stantinople and the Dardanelles, but for the
new freedom.
Late in the day the committee sat in
special session with the council of the
Provisional Government for a discussion
of the Government's motives in issuing
the note. The upshot of it was that the
Executive Committee decided that it
would be inexpedient to demand the
resignation of the Government at the
moment, and it persuaded the soldiers
engaged in the demonstrations to return
to their barracks. It was reported that
the Executive Committee's decision was
by a vcte of 34 to 19.
Hostility to Milukoff
On May 4 the demonstrations were
distinctly against Foreign Minister Milu-
koff. Many soldiers participated in them,
but there were also countermanifesta-
tions in behalf of the Government. De-
tachments of soldiers and workmen
gathered in front of the headquarters of
the Provisional Government, carrying red
flags and banners, with inscriptions
" Down With Milukoff! " " Down With
Guchkoff, Minister of War!" and " Down
With the Provisional Government! "
When Milukoff saw the banners he
came out on the balcony of the palace,
with M. Shingaroff and M. Neckrasoff,
and soon had turned the hostility of the
crowd into enthusiastic Support. He be-
gan by saying that he was fearful not
for Milukoff but for Russia. If the in-
scriptions interpreted the feelings of a
majority of the citizens, he asked, what
must be the condition of Russia? The
Entente Allies would say Russia had
betrayed her allies, and had struck her
name from the list of the allied powers.
" The Provisional Government cannot
accept that view of things," continued
M. Milukoff. " I declare to you that the
Provisional Government and myself, as
Minister of Foreign Affairs, will defend
a position in which- no one will dare to
charge Russia with treason. Never shall
Russia consent to a separate peace!
The Provisional Government is a sailing
vessel which can only move with the
help of the wind. We look, then, for your
trust, which is the wind that is to make
our ship go forward. I hope you will
supply us with that breeze, and that
your confidence will aid us in propelling
Russia toward liberty and prosperity and
in upholding the dignity of our great,
free country."
The words of the Foreign Minister
evoked hearty cheering.
A Precarious Truce
A truce was patched up on May 4
when the council gave a vote of confi-
dence in the Government by a narrow
margin of 35 in a total of 2,500. In an-
nouncing its action tne council declared
that it had received from the Govern-
ment the following explanation of the
meaning of the note to the Allies:
The note was subjected to long and detailed
examination by the Provisional Government,
and was unanimously approved. It was ob-
vious that this note, in speaking of a de-
THE CRITICAL SITUATION IN RUSSIA
481
cisive victory, had in view a solution of the
problems which were mentioned in the com-
munication of April 9 and which was thus
specified :
" The Government deems it to be its right
and duty to declare now that free Russia
does not aim at the domination of other na-
tions or at depriving them of their national
patrimony, or at occupying by force foreign
territores, but that its object is to establish
a durable peace on the basis of the rights of
nations to decide their own destiny.
" The Russian Nation does not lust after
the strengthening of its power abroad at the
expense of other nations. Its aim is not to
subjugate or humiliate any one. In the name
of the higher principles of equity, the Rus-
sian people have broken the chains which
fettered the Polish Nation, but it will not
suffer that, its own country shall emerge from
the great struggle humiliated or weakened in
its vital forces."
In referring to the " penalties and guaran-
tees " essential to a durable peace the Pro-
visional Government had in view the reduc-
tion of armaments, the establishment of in-
ternational tribunals, &c.
This explanation will be communicated by
the Minister of Foreign Affairs to the Am-
bassadors of the allied powers.
Would Not Modify Note
The Provisional Government, through
Premier Lvoff, declined to modify the
note sent to the Allies, stating that the
Ministers were prepared to resign their
posts if necessary. The Premier said:
It is impossible to send another note. The
temporary Government will comply with its
duty, and leave its post rather than take
such a step, which would menace the country
with very- serious consequences. The Gov-
ernment understands fully the responsibility
it has assumed in behalf of the country, and
in the view of that responsibility is ready to
resign if it becomes necessary.
M. Milukoff, confirming the stand
taken by Premier Lvoff, said:
The note expressed the view of the tem-
porary Government. It has no other aim.
The recent note repeats and develops the idea
expressed in the first note, which was worked
out in conjunction with the Council of Depu-
ties. If we compare the notes it is clear that
the information they contain constitutes a
step forward. The events of yesterday will
make the Allies very sad while pleasing our
enemies.
The Government's Statement
The lack of harmony between the Gov-
enrment and the council continued, how-
ever, notwithstanding the settlement of
the May 1 note matter. On May 8 the
Government issued an announcement as
follows:
The attempts by separate groups of the
population to realize their desires by expro-
priations or launching declarations when
made by the less organized classes threaten
to ruin interior discipline and unity and
create favorable ground, on the one hand, for
acts of violence against the new regime, and,
en the other hand, for the development of
private interests to the detriment of the gen-
eral welfare.
The temporary Government considers it its
duty to declare frankly and definitely that
such conditions render the administration of
the country extremely difficult and menace
it with interior ruin and defeat at the front.
The frightful spectre of civil war and
anarchy hovers over Russia, threatening its
freedom. There is a dark, sad path leading
through civil war and anarchy to the return
of despotism. This must not be the path of
the Russian people.
Then follows an appeal for unity in
support of the Government created by the
revolution, and the declaration continues:
The temporary Government will renew with
stronger persistence its efforts to attract into
the staff of representatives those active pro-
tective forces of the country which up to the
present have not taken any part in the gov-
ernment of the country.
Simultaneously with the declaration
appears a note addressed by M. Kerensky
to the Council of Workmen's and Soldiers'
Delegates in which he says:
I consider the condition of affairs now
greatly changed. The situation is much more
serious on the one hand, and on the other
the power of the organized labor democracy
has grown. That power no longer has a right
to remain aloof from the participation in re-
sponsibility for government when their par-
ticipation will bring strength to the power
born of the revolution. Under these condi-
tions the representatives of the labor democ-
racy must take the burden of power, but
only after being formally elected and vested
with power by the organizations to which
they belong.
The suggestion of a Coalition Govern-
ment was not accepted by the council.
May 10 a celebration of the First Duma
occurred, when an extraordinary session
of the sitting Duma was held, also
attended by ex-members besides the
members of the Government.
Addressed fcp Rodzianko
President Rodzianko on this occasion,
in the course of an address, said:
The war which was forced upon us, which
4S2
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
we did not desire, and for which we are in
no way responsible, must be brought to a
successful termination, in such a manner that
the integrity of the country and the national
honor of Russia shall be "entirely maintained.
The innumerable sacrifices we have laid upon
the altar of this war demand that the peace
should correspond with the immensity of our
efforts and that the aim for which we are
struggling, the triumph of the ideals of justice
and liberty, be assured us.
The Germans oppose to these splendid
Ideals their own program, which is totally
different— the hegemony of the world and
the enslavement of the nations. The struggle
for principles so mutually contradictory can-
not terminate in a draw, but only by a de-
cisive victory by one or the other of the ad-
versaries. Only the complete defeat of Ger-
man militarism will assure the happiness of
the world.
The gulf separating the Germans— the
devastators and destroyers of civilization —
from the Allies is too deep for the war to be
concluded without the realization of the ideals
I have mentioned. Peace in the present con-
ditions would only be an armistice of greater
or less duration. Do not forget that the
working classes of Germany, however social-
istic they be, ardently desire victory, for Ger-
many cannot reduce her vast industry, and
her defeat by the Allies would be like the
blow of a club for the workers of Germany,
who naturally support the imperialistic aspi-
rations of their Government.
That is why I declare emphatically that the
Russian people must make every sacrifice to
bring this war, in concert with their allies,
to a complete victory, all the more because
such a victory would consolidate forever the
liberties we have just won.
Russia cannot betray the allies by whose
side she has been fighting for three years,
and she will remain faithful to them.
Cuchkoff Exposes Conditions
M. Guchkoff , whose speech was re-
ceived with loud and prolonged applause
from all parts of the house, said:
Unfortunately the first feeling of radiant
joy evoked by the revolution soon gave place
to one of pain and anxiety. Tne Provisional
Government explained the cause of this in its
recent declaration, in which it was pointed
out that the destruction of the old forms
of public life, to which an end had been put
by the revolution, had been effected more
rapidly than had the creation of new forms
to replace them.
It is especially regrettable that the destruc-
tion has touched the political and social or-
ganization of the country before any life
centre has had time to establish itself and
to carry out the great creative work of re-
generation.
How will the State emerge from this crisis?
That is the question for solution and on which
will depend not only the consolidation of the
liberties won, but the issue of the war and
the destinies of the country. In any case the
duality of power — and even polyarchy — and
the consequent anarchy now prevailing in the
country make its normal existence difficult.
Our poor country is fighting at an extra-
ordinary hard conjuncture of an unparalleled
war and internal troubles such as we never
have seen before, and only a strong Govern-
mental power able to rely on the confidence
of the nation can save it.
We received a terrible legacy from the old
regime, which was incapable of governing
in time of peace and still less was able to do
so while waging war.
We all know the conditions in which our
valiant army defended every foot of Russian
territory and how it still is carrying on a
truly heroic but not hopeless struggle. One
more effort and an effort by the whole coun-
try and the enemy will be beaten, but we
have got to know first of all whether we can
make this effort.
The coup d'Stat found echoes in the army
and navy which, believing in their creative
strength, unanimously adhered to the new
regime and set to work on a radical reform
of the armed forces of the country.
For the moment we hoped our military
powers would emerge from the salutary proc-
ess regenerated and renewed in strength and
that a new reasonable discipline would weld
the army together, but that has not been the
case, and we must frankly face the fact that
our military might is weakened and disin-
tegrated, being affected by the same disease
as the country, namely, duality of power,
polyarchy, and anarchy, only the malady is
more acute. »
It is not too late to cure it, but not a mo-
ment must be lost. Those who, either delib-
erately or not realizing what they were do-
ing, have cast into our midst the subversive
mot d'ordre " peace at the front and war in
the country," those people, I say, are carry-
ing on a propaganda of peace at any price
and civil war, cost what it may.
That mot d'ordre must be smothered by an-
other, that being " war at the front and
peace within the country."
Gentlemen, some time ago the country re-
alized that our mother land was in danger.
Since then we have gone a step further, for
our mother land is on the edge of an abyss.
Two Strong Men Resign
The Executive Committee of the Coun-
cil of Workmen's and Soldiers' Delegates
decided on May 9 to issue an appeal to
the peoples of the world in behalf of the
calling of a peace conference in a neu-
tral country, to consist of an assemblage
of the Socialist Internationale.
Events now moved rapidly. General
Korniloff, commander of the Petrograd
garrison, resigned on May 13 on account
THE CRITICAL SITUATION IN RUSSIA
483
of the interference by the council with
his orders, and in consequence of their
demand that all his orders should be sub-
ject to their indorsement. This resigna-
tion was followed on May 13 by that of
Guchkoff, the Minister of War, who sent
the following letter to the Premier:
In view of the condition in which the power
of the Government has been placed, especially
the authority of the Minister of War, in re-
lation to the army and the navy, a condition
which I am powerless to alter and which
threatens to have consequences fatal to the
defense, the liberty, and even the existence
of Russia, I can no longer exercise the func-
tions of Minister of War and Marine and
share responsibility for the grave sin being
committed against the country.
The same day the council issued an
appeal to the army, in which it stated
that German imperialism was seeking to
destroy revolutionary Russia and en-
slave the Russian people. It appealed to
the soldiers to defend Russia with all
their power, and asserted that a separate
peace was impossible. The appeal said
the only solution of the war must be a
general peace among all nations by agree-
ment. It said the council was aiming at
peace by calling for a revolution among
the workmen of the Central Powers, but
that peace could not be achieved unless
the enemy at the front was checked. The
manifesto begged the soldiers not to re-
nounce their offensive and warned against
fraternizing with the enemy.
Kerensktfs Solemn Warning
The situation was hourly growing more
critical. On the 14th the Minister of
Justice, Kerensky, who heretofore was
regarded as the lukewarm member of the
Government and at heart a Socialist
leader, expressed himself as follows to a
deputation of delegates from the front:
I pame to you because my strength is at an
end. I no longer feel my former courage, nor
have my former conviction that we are con-
scientious citizens, not slaves in revolt. I am
sorry I did not die two months ago, when
the dream of a new life was growing in the
hearts of the Russian people, when I was
sure the country could govern itself without
the whip.
As affairs are going now, it will be impos-
sible to save the country. Perhaps the time
is near when we will have to tell you that
we can no longer give you the amount of
bread you expect or other supplies on which
you have a right to count. The process of
the change from slavery to freedom Is not
going on properly. We have tasted freedom
and are slightly intoxicated. What we need
is sobriety and discipline.
You could suffer and be silent for ten
years, and obey the orders of a hated Gov-
ernment. You could even fire upon your own
people when commanded to do so. Can you
now suffer no longer?
We hear it said that we no longer need the
front because they are fraternizing there. But
are they fraternizing on all the fronts? Are
they fraternizing on the French front? No,
comrades, if you are going to fraternize, then
fraternize everywhere. Are not enemy forces
being thrown over on to the Anglo-French
front, and is not the Anglo-French advance
already stopped? There is no such thing as
a " Russian front," there is only one general
allied front.
Tremendous applause greeted this, and
Kerensky continued:
We are marching toward peace and I should
not be in the ranks of the Provisional Gov-
ernment if the ending of the war were not
the aim of the whole Provisional Government ;
but if we are going to propose new war aims
we must see we are respected by friend as
well as by foe. If the tragedy and desperate-
ness of the situation are not realized by all
in our State, if our organization does not
work like a machine, then all our dreams of
liberty, all our ideals, will be thrown back
for decades and maybe will be drowned in
blood.
Beware ! The time has now come when
every one in the depth of his conscience must
reflect where he is going and where he is
leading others who were held in ignorance by
the old regime and still regard every printed
word as law. The fate of the country is in
your hands, and it is in most extreme dan-
ger. History must be able to say of us,
" They died* but they were never slaves."
Milukoff Answers Questions
To the same delegation Minister
Milukoff answered various questions put
to him as follows:
Q.— How do the Allies regard our re-
nunciation of annexation and contribu-
tion and the right of all nationalities to
determine their own fate?
A. — The latter demand has been ac-
ceded to by the Allies, while the question
of annexation is so bound up with the
question of the right of nations to de-
termine their own fate that nothing
definite can be said on this subject. As
regards contribution, the Allies hold that
the nation which suffered must be re-
habilitated by the power which ruined it.
Uniting all three Polands in one whole
is not annexation, nor is the return of
484
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
Alsace-Lorraine to France. As regards
the Dardanelles, we have relinquished all
claims to conquest, and the fate of Con-
stantinople depends upon the views of
the Allies.
Q. — What do the Allies think of the
Russian revolution?
A. — At first they were glad, but now
they are concerned about the fall of
discipline in the army and are beginning
to fear the desire for immediate peace
may gain the upper hand. I declare that
not a single Russian party entertains the
idea of a separate peace.
Q. — Is it true Japan is preparing to
bring an army into Russia?
A. — No, because Japan's interests lie
further to the east than in the region of
Baikal.
Q. — What advantage does America
bring the Allies?
A. — Russia receives a loan on the very
favorable terms of 3 per cent, and also
technical aid. America has offered to
put the Siberian Railway in order, and is
supplying Russia with vast quantities of
ammunition.
American Workers* Appeal
Samuel Gompers, President of the
American Federation of Labor, on May 7
sent the following appeal by cable to the
Executive Committee of the Council of
Workmen's and Soldiers' Delegates at
Petrograd:
Executive Committee of the Council of Work-
men's and Soldiers' Delegates, Petrograd,
Russia :
The gravest crisis in the world's history is
now hanging in tls-e balance and the course
which Russia will pursue may have a de-
termining influence whether democracy or
autocracy shall prevail. That democracy and
freedom will finally prevail there can be no
doubt in the minds of men who know, but
the cost, the time lost, and the sacrifices
which would ensue from lack of united ac-
tion may be appalling. It is to avoid this
that I address you.
In view of the grave crisis through which
the Russian people are passing, we assure
you that you can rely absolutely upon the
whole-hearted support and co-operation of
the American people in the great war against
our common enemy, Kaiserism. In the ful-
fillment of that cause the present American
Government has the support of 90 per cent,
of the American people, including the work-
ing classes of both the cities and the agricul-
tural sections.
In free America, as in free Russia, the
agitators for a peace favorable to Prussian
militarism have been allowed to express
their opinions, so that the conscious and un-
conscious tools of the Kaiser appear more in-
fluential than they really are. You should
realize the truth of the situation. There are
but few in America willing to allow Kaiser-
ism and its allies to continue their rule over
those non-German peoples who wish to be
free from their domination. Should we not
protest against the pro-Kaiser Socialist in-
terpretation of the demand for no annexa-
tion, namely, that all oppressed non-German
peoples shall be compelled to remain under
the domination of Prussia and her lackeys,
Austria and Turkey? Should we not rather
accept the better interpretation that there
must be no forcible annexations, but that
every people must be free to choose any al-
legiance it desires, as demanded by the
Council of Workmen's and Soldiers' Dele-
gates?
Like yourselves, we are opposed to all pu-
nitive and' improper indemnities. We de-
nounce the onerous punitive indemnities al-
ready imposed by the Kaiser upon the people
of Serbia, Belgium, and Poland.
America's workers share the view of the
Council of Workmen's and Soldiers' Dele-
gates that the only way in which the German
people can bring the war to an early end is
by imitating the glorious example of the Rus-
sian people, compelling the abdication of the
Hohenzollerns and the Hapsburgs and driv-
ing the tyrannous nobility, bureaucracy, and
the military caste from power.
Let the German Socialists attend to this, and
cease their false pretenses and underground
plotting to bring about an abortive peace in
the interest of Kaiserism and the ruling class.
Let them cease calling pretended " interna-
tional " conferences at the instigation or
connivance of the Kaiser. Let them cease
their intrigues to cajole the Russian and
American working people to interpret your
demand, " no annexation, no indemnities," in
a way to leave undiminished the prestige and
the power of the German military caste.
Now that Russian autocracy is overthrown,
neither the American Government nor the
American people apprehend that the wisdom
and experience of Russia in the coming Con-
stitutional Assembly will adopt any form of
government other than the one best suited to
your needs. We feel confident that no mes-
sage, no individual emissary, and no com-
mission has been sent or will be sent with
authority to offer any advice whatever to
Russia as to the conduct of her internal af-
fairs. Any commission that may be sent will
help Russia in any way that she desires to
combat Kaiserism wherever it exists or may
manifest itself.
Word has reached us that false reports of
an American purpose and of American opin-
ions contrary to the above statement have
gained some circulation in Russia. We de-
nounce these reports as the criminal work of
THE CRITICAL SITUATION IN RUSSIA
485
desperate pro-Kaiser propagandists, circu-
lated with the intent to deceive and to arouse
hostile feelings between the two great democ-
racies of the world. The Russian people
should know that these activities are only
additional manifestations of the " dark
forces," with which Russia has been only
too familiar in the unhappy past.
The American Government, the American
people, the American labor movement, are
whole-heartedly with the Russian workers,
the Russian masses, in the great effort to
maintain the freedom you have already
achieved, and to solve the grave problems yet
before you. We earnestly appeal to you to
make common cause with us to abolish all
forms of autocracy and despotism and to es-
tablish and maintain for generations yet un-
born the priceless treasures of justice, free-
dom, democracy, and humanity.
AMERICAN FEDERATION OP LABOR,
SAMUEL GOMPERS, President.
Manifesto by Labor Council
A sudden change in the entire situa-
tion occurred on May 15, when the Exe-
cutive Committee of the Council of Work-
men's and Soldiers' Delegates reversed
its former action, and by a vote of 41
to 19 decided to participate in the Gov-
ernment and form a coalition with the
Provisional Administration. It also de-
clared definitely against a separate
peace. The following manifesto was
issued by the council:
Soldiers and comrades at the front, we
speak to you in the name of the Russian
revolutionary democracy. The people did
not wish the war, which was begun by the
Emperors and capitalists of all countries,
and, therefore, after the abdication of the
Czar, the people considered it urgent to end
the war as rapidly as possible. Do not for-
get, soldiers and comrades, that the regi-
ments of William are destroying revolution-
ary Russia. Do not forget that the loss of
free Russia would be a catastrophe, not only
to us but to the working classes of the entire
world. Defend, therefore, revolutionary
Russia with all your power.
The Council of Workmen's and Soldiers'
Delegates leads you toward peace in another
way. By calling for a revolution of the work-
men and peasants of Germany and Austria-
Hungary we will lead you to peace after
having obtained from our Government a re-
nunciation of the policy of conquest and after
demanding a similar renunciation from the
allied powers. But do not forget, soldiers
and comrades, that peace cannot be achieved
if you do not check the enemy's pressure at
the front, if your ranks are pierced and the
Russian revolution lies like an inanimate
body at William's feet. Do not forget, you
in the trenches, that you are defending the
liberty of the Russian revolution and your
brother workmen and peasants.
Now, how are you to accomplish this de-
fense if you remain inactive in your trenches?
Frequently only an offensive can repel or
check a hostile offensive, frequently those
who await an attack perish. Soldiers and
comrades, having sworn to defend Russian
liberty, do not renounce the offensive. Fight
and struggle for this liberty, and while fight-
ing and struggling fear the enemy's traps.
The fraternizing which is taking place at
present at the front can easily become a trap.
Do not forget that revolutionary troops have
only the right to fraternize with troops who
are also revolutionary and who are also
ready to die for peace and liberty.
The German Army is not a revolutionary
army if it is still blindly following William
and Charles, Emperors and capitalists. You
are fraternizing openly, not with enemy
soldiers but with officers of the enemy's Gen-
eral Staff, disguised as common soldiers.
Peace will not be obtained by separate treat-
ies or by the fraternizing of isolated regi-
ments and battalions. This will only lead
to the loss of the Russian revolution, the
safety of which does not lie in a separate
peace or armistice.
Reject, therefore, everything which weak-
ens your military power, which distracts the
army and lowers its morale. Soldiers, be
.worthy of the trust that revolutionary Russia
puts in you.
Appeal to Socialists
An appeal was also issued by the coun-
cil to the Socialists of Germany and
Austria. Thi^ appeal concludes as fol-
lows :
The democracy of the revolution of Russia
appeals to the Socialists of Austria and Ger-
many. You eanot allow your Governments to
be the executioners of Russian liberty. You
cannot allow your Governments, taking ad-
vantage of the joy evoked in the Russian
Army by liberty and fraternity, to hurl their
troops on to the western front, in the first
place in order to crush France, and then to
dash on Russia and finally crush you as well
as the international proletariat in the grip
of imperialism.
The democracy of revolutionary Russia
appeals to the Socialists of neutral and bel-
ligerent countries not to allow the triumph of
imperialism. May the cause of peace pro-
claimed by the Russian revolution be brought
to a happy conclusion by the efforts of the.
international proletariat.
In order to unite these efforts the Council
of Workmen's and Soldiers' Delegates de-
cided to take the initiative in convoking an
international conference of all Socialist
parties and factions in all countries. What-
ever may have been the dissensions which
rent socialism during the three years of war,
no section of the proletariat ought to re-
480
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
nounce participation in the common struggle
for peace by the Russian revolution.
We are convinced that we shall see the
representatives of all Socialist groups at the
conference we are convoking. A unanimous
decision of the international proletariat will
be the first victory of the workers over the
international imperialists. The proletariat of
all countries should unite.
The following are passages from the
appeal :
The revolutionary democracy of Russia
does not desire a separate peace which would
loose the hands of the Austro-German
alliance. It is well aware that such a peace
would be a betrayal of the cause of de-
mocracy and of labor in all countries. This
cause would by such an action be paralyzed
in the face of a triumphant imperialism. It
knows that such a peace may lead to the
ruin of other countries and the triumph of
the ideals of Chauvinism and revenge in
Europe, which would leave the Continent in
a state where it would inevitably prepare
in the near future for a fresh and sanguin-
ary collision.
The Russian revolutionary democracy ad-
dresses itself in the first place to you, Social-
ists of the allied countries. You must not
allow the voice of the Russian Provisional
Government to remain isolated from the
union of the allied powers. You must force
your Governments to proclaim resolutely the
platform of peace without annexations or
indemnities and the right of the people to
settle their destinies.
You will thus afford our revolutionary
army, which desires peace between the peo-
ples, the assurance that its bloody sacri-
fices will not be utilized in an evil manner.
You will give it strength to carry out with
all its revolutionary enthusiasm the military
operations which fall to its lot. You will
fortify its mind in the belief that in defend-
ing the liberty conquered by the revolution
the army also is struggling in the interests
of an international democracy.
You will force the Governments of enemy
countries to renounce forever their policy of
usurpation, pillage, and violence, and openly
to recognize their crimes, thus calling upon
their heads the just anger of their peoples.
Resignation of Milukoff
Paul N. Milukoff, Minister of Foreign
Affairs and the most conspicuous leader
of the Social Democrats, tendered his
resignation and withdrew from the Gov-
ernment altogether on May 16, on ac-
count of a difference between himself and
the other members of the Provisional
Government on the question of the coali-
tion. The Cabinet was entirely reorgan-
ized, with M. .Tereschtenko, Minister of
Foreign Affairs, replacing Milukoff. It
was decided to take into the Cabinet five
representatives of different Socialist
groups, which, with A. F. Kerensky, who
became Minister of War, made a total of
six of these groups sharing in the Gov-
ernment. Three of the appointees were
Social Democrats and three, including M.
Kerensky, Socialist Populists.
Of the former, M. Skobeleff, Vice Pres-
ident of the Council of Workmen's and
Soldiers' Delegates, was appointed Min-
ister of Labor. M. Malantovitch, an
Odessa lawyer, also has been chosen.
Two of the Socialist Populist Ministers
were M. Tchernoff and M. Pechekonoff.
Professor Manuiloff, Minister of Public
Instruction, and A. I. Shingaroff, Minister
of Agriculture, remain in office. It was
also decided to be desirable to include in
the Government Feodor Kokoshkine, Con-
stitutional Democrat and a professor at
the University of Moscow, and M. Tzere-
telli, member of the Council of Work-
men's and Soldiers' Delegates. The duty
of these men will be to prepare for the
Constituent Assembly.
The new Foreign Secretary is thirty-
three years old and is regarded as one
of the ablest men of Russia. Originally
a member of one of the richest families
and a so-called "beet sugar king," he
came into prominence at the outset of
the war as a member of Guchkoff's War
Industries Board. Soon he was put in
charge of foreign exchange and achieved
such success that he was made Minister
of Finance by the new Government.
Ex-Minister of Justice Kerensky, the
new Minister of War, was at the begin-
ning of the revolution the most popular
man in Petrograd, as he was the link be-
tween the constructive moderates then in
power and the radical Socialists, who
were demanding excessive reforms. Ke-
rensky, who is a social revolutionary and
about forty years old, realized that the
four million Socialists in Russia could
dominate a population of 180,000,000 peo-
ple, and his great aim was so to moder-
ate the Socialist program as to make
it immediately practical and acceptable.
Throughout he has helped restrain the
radical elements by his great personal
influence as one of them.
THE CRITICAL SITUATION IN RUSSIA
487
American Mission to Russia
The personnel of a special mission to
Russia was announced on May 15 by the
State Department at Washington. Mr.
Root, the head of the mission, was given
the rank of Ambassador, while six of his
associates were commissioned as Minis-
ters. The members are as follows:
Elihu Root, former Secretary of State, to
be Ambassador Extraordinary of the United
States on Special Mission.
John R. Mott, New York, Envoy Extraordi-
nary on Special Mission.
Charles P. Crane, Illinois, Envoy Extraor-
dinary.
Cyrus H. McCormick, Illinois, Envoy Ex-
traordinary.
Samuel R. Bertron, New York, Envoy Ex-
traordinary.
James Duncan, Massachusetts, Envoy Ex-
traordinary.
Charles Edward Russell, New York, Envoy
Extraordinary.
Major Gen. Hugh L. Scott, Chief of Staff
of the Army, to be military representative
of the President.
Rear Admiral James H. Glennon, naval
representative of the President.
Colonel R. E. L. Michie, Colonel William
V. Judson, Lieut. Col. T. Bentley Mott, Sur-
geon Holton C. Curl, Lieutenant Alva D.
Bernhard, Secretary Basil Miles, Major Stan-
ley Washburn, and Interpreter F. Eugene
Prince.
It was announced semi-officially on
the same day that the mission was for
the express purpose of meeting sinister
misrepresentations by Germany in Rus-
sia, which are calculated to provoke some
of the Russian factions into making a
separate peace with Germany before the
American Commissioners can arrive in
Petrograd.
Aid to the new republic from the
United States will take other forms than
the loaning of money. American ability,
business methods, powers of organiza-
tion, and facility all will be placed at the
disposal of the new Government by the
commission.
The same day the United States Gov-
ernment gave evidence of its good faith
in the new Government of Russia by
making its first loan to that country in
the sum of $100,000,000. The money was
made available for purchases of sup-
plies in this country and was deposited
to Russia's credit in the Federal Reserve
Banks. By that arrangement Russia will
be enabled to draw against the amount
as money is needed to meet obligations
here.
The President heJd a conference with
the mission May 14 and gave them broad
authority to confer with any existing
Government in Russia with a view to in-
suring that Russia shall continue in the
Entente Alliance.
The Railroad Commission
A collateral American commission to
aid Russia in rehabilitating and develop-
ing the railroads of the country left for
Petrograd on May 9. The personnel of
this commission was as follows :
John F. Stevens of New York, former Chief
Engineer of the Panama Canal, Chairman; W.
L. Darling of St. Paul, Chief Engineer of the
Northern Pacific Railway ; Henry Miller of
St. Louis, former Operating Vice President of
the Wabash Railroad ; George Gibbs of Phila-
delphia, former Chief Mechanical Engineer of
the Pennsylvania Railroad, and J. P. Griner
of Baltimore, Chief Consulting Engineer of
the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad.
Mr. Stevens has been appointed to the
rank of Minister Plenipotentiary and ac-
credited to the Russian Government as
such.
Before leaving Washington the com-
mission made arrangements to furnish
the Russian Government with a large
amount of material and rolling stock, and
will be able to promise that these will be
ready at the call of Russia. The fullest
and most complete co-operation in fur-
nishing locomotives, cars, and rails will
be guaranteed by the commission in the
name of the United States Government,
which is receiving the hearty co-operation
of American railroad interests.
Poland's Share in Russian Freedom
A Noteworthy Proclamation
THE Russian revolution has brought,
not only liberation to the Russians
themselves, but to all peoples
formerly held in bondage under
the Czar. If the Poles are not able to
participate in the new freedom while
their country is still occupied by the
Teutonic invaders, the outlook for them
is far more hopeful than it has been
since the last partition. In contrast to
the " made in Germany " plan for Polish
autonomy, which was hemmed in by many
limitations, the new Russian Government
has come out with a proclamation out-
lining a democratic plan that is free from
outside pressure.
A couple of weeks after the revolution
had taken place a deputation of Poles,
consisting of Count Wielopolski and
Messrs. Shebako, Karpinski, Garouse-
vitch, Jaronski, and Goscicki, was re-
ceived by Prince Lvoff, President of the
Russian Provisional Government, and
asked him to proclaim the independence
and unification of the three Polands —
Russian, German, and Austrian — as well
as the rights of the Poles to be repre-
sented in the Constituent Assembly.
Prince Lvoff replied that the standpoint
of the Provisional Government was
exactly the same as that of the Poles
themselves, and that the desired procla-
mation was about to be published. Almost
immediately all the members of the Pro-
visional Government signed the procla-
mation, which was issued in the following
terms:
Poles, the old political order in Russia, the
source of your bondage and ours, and the
cause of disunion, has been forever over-
thrown.
Liberated Russia, personified in its Pro-
visional Government, invested with the full-
ness of power, hastens to address to you its
fraternal greetings and to call you to the
new life of liberty.
The old order gave you hypocritical prom-
ises which it could but would not carry
out. The Central Powers have profited by
its mistakes to occupy and devastate your
country, and, w^th the object of fighting
against Russia and her allies, have given you
illusory political rights, which are extended,
not to all the Polish people, but only to a
part of Poland temporarily occupied by the
enemy. This is the price for which the
Central Powers wanted to buy the blood of
a people who have never fought on the side
of despotism. But now no Polish Army is
going to fight for the suppression of liberty
and the dismemberment of its country under
the command of the hereditary foe.
Brother Poles, for you also the hour of
the great decision has struck. Free Russia
calls you into the ranks of the combatants
for the people's liberty. The Russian people,
who have borne the yoke, acknowledge that
the fraternal Polish people also have the
fullest rights as defined of their own free will.
Fafthful to the agreement with the Allies
and to the common cause against militant
Germanism, the Provisional Government con-
siders that the creation of an independent
Polish State, the stronghold of all the terri-
tories, the greater part of whose populations
constitute the Polish people, will be a cer-
tain guarantee of lasting peace in the reno-
vated Europe of the future.
Attached to Russia by a free military union,
the Polish State will be a solid rampart
against the pressure brought to bear by the
Central Powers on the Slav nations. The
Polish people, freed and united, will of itself
determine its system of government by ex-
pressing its will through a Constituent As-
sembly convoked in the ancient capital of
Poland. Through a common life the Polish
people will thus receive a solid guarantee of
its civic and national existence.
The Russian Constituent Assembly will
have to consolidate definitely the new fra-
ternal union and give its consent to the
territorial changes in the Russian State which
are indispensable to the formation of a free
Poland from all the three parts into which it
was cruelly separated.
Brother Poles, take the fraternal hand
which free Russia holds out to you. Faithful
guardians of great traditions, move forward
from now on to the opening of the new and
brilliant era of your history, the era of the
resurrection of Poland.
Let the union of our hearts and minds an-
ticipate the future union of our States
and let the glorious appeal of ancient days
made by the forerunners of your liberation
re-echo with renewed force.
Onward in the struggle, side by side, hand
in hand, for our liberty and yours!
The Austro-German proclamation in
November, 1916, of an independent Po-
land was received by the people with
little enthusiasm. The demonstrations of
that time were meagre as compared with
POLAND'S SHARE IN RUSSIAN FREEDOM
489
the striking reception accorded to Presi-
dent Wilson's reference to the freedom
of Poland in his address to the Senate on
Jan. 19, 1917. When the text of the
President's address was published in
Warsaw, says a dispatch recently re-
ceived by the State Department at Wash-
ington, the students of the University and
Technical High School held a meeting at
which they passed a resolution of grati-
tude and admiration of President Wil-
son's work. The students then marched
in a body of several thousand strong to
the American Consulate, cheering for the
United States and the President. Similar
demonstrations were held by the United
Sporting Clubs of Warsaw.
Delegations from all the political, so-
cial, commercial, scientific, and educa-
tional organizations and institutions of
Warsaw called at the consulate and pre-
sented addresses of thanks to the Presi-
dent, with the request that they be sent
to Washington. Thousands of people
representing all classes of Polish society
also called to express their gratitude and
admiration. A special committee under-
took to prepare an address with 1,000,000
signatures for presentation to the Presi-
dent, but the German authorities pre-
vented the execution of this plan by or-
dering the removal of all notices and lists
concerning the address, although at that
time diplomatic relations between the
United States and Germany had not yet
been broken off. The German authori-
ties did not conceal their annoyance over
the demonstrations, which were in marked
contrast to the reception of the Teutonic
proclamation in the previous November.
Russian Troops in France Take New Oath of Allegiance
General Palitzine, commanding the Russian troops in France, issued the
following Order of the Day — published in the Journal Militaire pour les Troupes
Russes en France, April 12, 1917 — directing the soldiers to take a new oath of
allegiance to the Russian Provisional Government:
In accordance with a telegram from the Adjutant to the Chief of Staff at the
General Russian Headquarters, received on March 18, 1917, I order that oath
be administered to soldiers of every rank now stationed in France, in conformity
with a formula which has been addressed to me by telegraph :
" Soldiers, you take oath to your country; you swear to serve it faithfully
and honestly, and to execute the orders of the Provisional Government which now
rules the Russian State. You are sent here to fight against the common enemy,
with the allied armies, to defend the common cause with them.
" The hour is approaching when, under the force of our combined efforts, the
enemy will be broken. Remember that a good soldier is brave, obedient, and
always faithful to his cause. Be strong in your oath and in your valor, in order
that the land of Russia, which has sent you here, may be proud of you. Russia
has decided to prosecute this war to a victorious end, and we, her sons, must
loyally execute her will. May Almighty God help us in our task.
" This Order of the Day will be read to all the soldiers before they take
the oath." , GENERAL PALITZINE.
Naval Power in the Present War
By Lieutenant Charles C. Gill
United States Navy
VI. — Naval Lessons of the War
This article is the sixth in a series contributed to Current History Magazine by Lieu-
tenant Gill of the superdreadnought Oklahoma— under the sanction of the United States Naval
Department— with a special view to the lessons to be derived from past naval events of
the war.
rT"l HE advancement of naval science,
increasing the complexities of
1
ships and guns with a consequent
greater perplexity and intricacy
of the problems to be solved, both in pre-
paring material and in the development
of skill to operate the material, has em-
phasized the need of wise naval manage-
ment. The importance of good plans,
well understood and well carried out, is a
lesson of the war which this country has
been quick to grasp and act upon. The
nation's naval policy is the fountain
head of all naval plans, and it may be
mentioned as a step toward the adoption
of a wise policy that the recommenda-
tions of the Naval General Board on this
particular question are now published in
full.
The Naval General Board consists at
present of five Admirals, three Captains,
and two Commanders. Assignments to
this duty are for about two years, ar-
ranged in overlapping terms so as to per-
mit a changing personnel with a conse-
quent influx of ideas from the active fleet
without breaking up the continuity of the
work. The duties are deliberative, to draw
knowledge from past and current events,
to study strategy and tactics as prac-
ticed now and in the past, at home and
abroad; to advise respecting navy yards,
bases, and stations; to make recommen-
dations as to the size, composition, and
disposition of fleets; to determine the
characteristics of speed, armor, and ar-
mament for new ships ; in short, to make
plans both for naval preparations in
time of peace and for employment of the
fleets in time of war.
This board was created in 1903 and has
established a > reputation for painstaking
and disinterested service. In determin-
ing our naval policy it would seem well
to give the General Board's recommenda-
tions great weight as expressing the best
technical opinion in our country. The
following extracts are quoted from the
board's report, dated July 30, 1915:
The navy of the United States should ulti-
mately be equal to the most powerful main-
tained by any other nation of the world.
It should be gradually increased to this point
by such a rate of development, year by year,
as may be permitted by the facilities of the
country, but the limit above defined should
be attained not later than 1925.
Strength of American Navy
The present war has taught that an
effective navy is the logical defense for
a country situated like the United States.
And by an effective navy is meant, not
an impotent navy like that of Spain in
1898, nor a semi-effective navy like the
one now protecting Germany's immediate
shores, but one adequate to seek and de-
feat enemy ships long before they can
approach our coasts, thus protecting out-
lying possessions and the sea-borne trade
so necessary to our national life; in other
words, by an effective navy is meant one
which stands for worldwide respect for
legitimate American interests; one which
is ready, if need be, to defend these in-
terests in all parts of the world.
To determine what should be the com-
position of such a fleet is a difficult prob-
lem, to understand the details of which
requires expert technical knowledge.
These technical details are the province
of the Naval General Board. The prin-
ciples, however, from which these details
are deduced are not hard to understand,
and they are of first importance as the
foundation on which the entire fabric
of naval defense rests. As these prin-
NAVAL POWER IN THE PRESENT WAR
491
ciples of sea power become better under-
stood by the general public, wiser legis-
lation to safeguard national interests will
follow. The recent three-year building
program is a noteworthy step in the right
direction.
Three-Year Building Program
The following table shows the vessels
authorized in the three-year building pro-
gram— those for which the first appro-
priations have already been made, those
for which estimates for the fiscal year
1918 have been submitted to cover the
first year's work, and those which will
remain to be covered in the Naval bill for
the fiscal year 1919:
Types.
p Ef
"2 Si-
Battleships 10
Battle cruisers 6
Scout cruisers 10
Destroyers 50
Fleet submarines 9
Coast submarines 58
Fuel ships 3
Repair ships 1
Transports 1
Hospital ships 1
Destroyer tenders.... 2
Submarine tenders. ... 1
Ammunition ships.... 2
Gunboats 2
£5
"•O
4
4
4
20
30
1
IS* 8
op 3
<x< p *-"
: Z7S
3
W
2«2
2 Is.
Total 156 66 42 48
This program is a step toward the
adoption of a policy aiming to make
good the deficiencies of the past; but it
is only a preliminary step, and if an
adequate navy is to be provided this
program will have to be both pushed and
enlarged to the full extent of the na-
tion's facilities.
Best Types of Warships
A fairly definite idea of the work
which has to be done in order to make
the sea power of the United States an
effective guarantor of national security
may be arrived at through a discussion
of the various types of warships, noting
briefly their characteristics, their uses,
and the proportionate numerical strength
of each class required in building up a
well-balanced United States Navy. The
estimates which follow have to be made
in the light of the best obtainable infor-
mation. They are approximate and sub-
ject to modification from time to timev^
to meet new conditions resulting from
unforeseen developments. It is always
to be remembered that the struggle for
control of the seas is an ever-present
spur to invention and progress in the
development of the weapons used. Old
ships are constantly being replaced by
new models. Hence the relative value
of the respective units may vary some-
what from year to year.
It is like a race for the largest stakes
that the world has to offer. Control of
the seas is the objective, and the nation
which gains this control is the one that
maintains a fleet powerful enough to
overcome the strongest enemy fleet that
it may encounter, and able to take and
keep the seas in all weathers. Although
the particular kinds of ships and guns
used in answering the demands of naval
strength come and go in continual evolu-
tion, still, these broad general demands
of sea power remain the same. It is
better, therefore, to study the abstract
requirements of sea power and to note
the trend of naval development in meet-
ing these requirements than to rivet at-
tention on the particular types of ships
now in use as though they were immu-
table and incapable of being deposed.
The Question of Guns
The cornerstone of naval power is the
gun; and the measure of a nation's sea
power is the strength of her battleship
fleet. In spite of the development of the
mine and torpedo into important factors,
the high-power naval gun is still su-
preme; so it has been in the past; so it
is now; and so it probably will continue
to be in the future.
As has previously been pointed out the
only effective naval defense is a fleet
strong enough to keep the enemy at a
distance. Germany's fleet, although
strong enough to prevent the enemy from
landing on German shores, has not been
powerful enough to dispute the control
of the high seas, and has, therefore,
proved non-effective. A navy adequate
492
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
to defend must be powerful enough either
to defeat the enemy fleet on the high
seas or to contain it in enemy home
ports. The main reliance of such an
effective navy is the long-range gun.
There is general agreement among ex-
perts as to this principle, that the gun is
the prime consideration in naval war-
fare; but the different types installed in
the newest ships of the various coun-
tries indicate somewhat divergent views
as to what is the best design of naval
gun. It is obvious that the heavier the
projectile and the harder it hits the more
will be the damage done. In a general
way the principal considerations are:
First, accuracy; second, high velocity;
third, weight of projectile; fourth, dura-
bility of the gun to sustain continuous
fire, and fifth, rapidity, or volume of
fire. It is thus seen that the size of the
projectile is limited by the efficiency of
the propelling power and by the struc-
tural capacities of the gun and mount.
In other words, the heavier the shell,
consistent with high velocity, long range,
and accuracy, the better; but if the
structural durability of the gun is threat-
ened, or if velocity and accuracy are
sacrificed in order to throw a heavier
projectile, a point is soon reached where
damaging power is lost instead of
gained.
The varying conditions of sea and
visibility under which naval actions may
be fought also tend to modify the effect-
iveness of the different sizes and designs
of guns according to the circumstances
which may exist at the time of any par-
ticular engagement. The gun which
would win a fight at close range in misty
weather might be defeated by the same
enemy gun on a clear day at long range.
At the shorter ranges the gun of mode-
rate size might dominate a larger and
more powerful enemy gun by greater
rapidity and volume of fire. Although
this is a contingency to be reckoned with,
still, the present tendency is to increase
the size of the projectile as fast as im-
provements in the powder and gun struc-
ture permit; and this tendency appears
to be one likely to continue in the future.
We may expect, therefore, that the size
of naval guns will increase step by step
with scientific improvements in gun con-
struction and powder.
Requirements of Battleships
Since the gun is the prime considera-
tion, the other characteristics of a battle-
ship depend upon what design of ship is
considered most serviceable to the pur-
pose of the gun. Some idea of the re-
quirements of a battleship may be had
by keeping in mind that it is desirable to
mount as many guns in one ship as is
consistent with having a homogeneous
fleet possessing tactical mobility, mode-
rate speed, long cruising radius, sea-
worthiness, habitability, and protection
from the blows of the enemy whether
delivered from above or below the wa-
ter. It requires careful weighing of pro-
portionate advantages and disadvantages
to harmonize these characteristics into
the combination which will produce the
best possible type of battleship.
The advantages of ships of large ton-
nage over smaller vessels are many;
more heavy guns can be carried, the
platform is steadier, the cruising radius
is larger, the habitability and seaworthi-
ness are better, and more effective means
of protection can be installed. On the
other hand, there is a limit of size beyond
which the advantages are outweighed
by the disadvantages ; the question of ex-
pense enters, and any very large increase
in the size of warships might be argued
against on the grounds that it would be
like putting "two many eggs in one
basket." Manoeuvring abilities are ad-
versely affected by very large displace-
ments, and the depths of the various
waterways as well as the accommodations
of canals and dry docks impose definite
limits to the size of ships.
On the whole it may be expected that
the tendency to increase the tonnage of
battleships will continue for quite some
time. It would also appear an improvi-
dent policy for any country to increase
the size of its battleships by radical
changes of large increments, because this
would entail expense and a bad effect
upon the homogeneity of the fleet. These
objections might easily outweigh the ad-
vantages gained. It may be assumed,
therefore, that future increase in the size
NAVAL POWER IN THE PRESENT WAR
493
of warships will be a gradual growth
with a very likely decreasing accelera-
tion.
The influence of new inventions and
new ideas in the development of the
lesser units of the navy have caused the
Naval General Board to modify its
original recommendations respecting the
proportions of these lesser units, but
"the fundamental fact that the power of
a navy is to be measured by the number
and efficiency of its heavy fighting
units — battleships — has remained un-
changed,"* and since 1903 the board
has consistently recommended a program
aiming at an adequate navy, with a
basic strength of forty-eight battleships
by 1919.
Necessary Auxiliary Units
Battleships alone, however, do not con-
stitute a complete and well-balanced
navy. In order that the heavy guns may.
work to their best advantage, the battle-
ships carrying them call for powerful
fast scouts to break through and get
information, and also to drive back
enemy scouts seeking information. De-
stroyers are needed to attack and con-
fuse the enemy ships, and at the same
time guard their own large ships from
similar attacks. Submarines are neces-
sary to help defend the coasts and also
to operate as a tactical sub-division of
the fleet. Mine layers are needed to
harass and menace enemy ships, while
mine sweepers and patrols are required
to search for enemy mines and sub-
marines. In addition to these combatant
units, auxiliaries, including transports,
repair ships, hospital ships, and supply
ships, are essential to the life and vigor
of a fighting navy.
The floating instruments of sea power,
moreover, must be backed by suitably
situated and properly defended perma-
nent bases and navy yards in which ships
may seek rest and rehabilitation. Stra-
tegically situated island possessions are
also needed for naval bases, by which
lines of communication may*be kept open
to such temporary advance bases as the
♦See report of Naval General Board for
1916 program.
requirements of a particular campaign
may demand.
It is thus seen that, while relative
naval power is primarily measured by
the strength of the respective battleship
fleets of the various naval powers, the
battleships should be attended by the
necessary auxiliaries in order to exert
their maximum effectiveness.
Battle Cruisers as Scouts
The battle cruiser is the most power-
ful type of scout, and in addition to high
speed has great offensive powers, to-
gether with endurance and a moderate
protection of armor. While the chief
function of this type is to get informa-
tion, it has, because of these offensive
and defensive characteristics, additional
uses. The battle cruiser may fight for
information and break through a hostile
screen ; she may support the lighter craft
of her own fleet, beat back enemy scouts
and guard the main body from surprise;
she may be used to protect national sea
routes and attack those of the enemy;
and in battle she may operate as a fast
Wing and take a position favorable for
using both guns and torpedoes.
It is thus seen that the battle cruiser
can do all that* the lighter scout can do
and more, but these greater powers
entail greater cost. The essential charac-
teristic of a scout is speed in conjunction
with a large cruising radius. If heavy
guns and armor protection can be added
without compromising the speed, so much
the better, and all scouts would be battle
cruisers were it not for the perplexities
in construction and great expense in-
volved.
The information service of a fleet re-
quires a large number of scouts, and in
order to produce them without undue cost
the light cruiser has been developed,
small in size and lightly armored, but
with adequate speed and cruising radius
for scout duty. The unarmored light
cruiser, carrying torpedoes and inter-
mediate guns, may be regarded as a de-
velopment of the destroyer; it is larger,
more habitable, carries larger guns, and
is more useful as a scout. The ultimate
development of the light cruiser would
appear to be a larger unarmored ship
494
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
with great speed, carrying torpedoes and
a few of the most powerful naval guns.
Such a ship could outrun anything it
could not fight, and it would take almost
an equal number of battle cruisers to
deny information sought by a group of
these big-gun fast scouts making deter-
mined efforts to break through or to gu
around the opposing battle cruisers. The
thin armor of the battle cruiser would
afford protection against the small guns
of light cruisers, but would be of no avail
against the heavy guns of this new type
of scout.
Unarmored Battle Scouts
At present there is talk of a ship to be
developed by this country which might
be called the " battle scout," its charac-
teristics being extreme speed and maxi-
mum gun power without armor protec-
tion. Those that favor this type hold
that just as the armored cruiser fell into
discredit so will the battle cruiser fall
into discredit upon the advent of the
" battle scout." The idea is that the bat-
tleship is for the main strength of the
fighting line, having extreme gun power
and extreme endurance and armor pro-
tection ; that the logical auxiliary of such
a battle fleet is a class of ships having
extreme speed and extreme gun power
without armor protection; that any com-
promise between these two, such as a bat-
tle cruiser, is unsound from the stand-
point of economy — that is, getting best
results from money expended.
In the present emergency the lack of
suitable scouts is particularly conspic-
uous. One of the reasons why more
scouts have not been built is that the need
of battleships and destroyers has been
considered more urgent. It has always
been argued that scouts could be pro-
vided much more easily and quickly than
could the more distinctively fighting types
of naval vessels. The plan, however, to
requisition and buy fast mail and passen-
ger steamers for use in the information
service has been somewhat upset by the
submarine warfare of Germany, and the
present need of scouts is keenly felt.
That the Naval General Board is alive to
this need may be inferred from the fol-
lowing excerpts taken from the recom-
mendations submitted for the 1916 pro-
gram:
In the struggle to build up the purely dis-
tinctive fighting ships of the navy— battle-
ships, destroyers, and submarines— the cruis-
ing and scouting element of the fleet has
been neglected in recent years, and no cruis-
ers or scouts have been provided for since
1904. This leaves the fleet peculiarly lacking
in this element so necessary for information
in a naval campaign, and of such great value
in clearing the sea of torpedo and mining
craft, in opening and protecting routes of
trade for our commerce, and in closing and
prohibiting such routes to the commerce of
the enemy. The General Board believes that
this branch of the fleet has been too long
neglected, and recommends that the construc-
tion of this important and necessary type be
resumed.
The 1916 program did not provide for
any scouts, but since then in the three-
year program, beginning in 1917, pro-
vision has been made for six battle
cruisers and ten scout cruisers.
Value of Destroyers
The destroyer, a familiar and popular
fighting ship, the usefulness of which
the experience of the present war has
clearly demonstrated, displaces about
1,000 tons, has no armor protection, car-
ries torpedoes and small-calibre guns,
and possesses high speed, quick ma-
noeuvring qualities, and sufficient radius
to permit cruising with the fleet. De-
stroyers have a wide range of employ-
ment, including scouting, patrolling, con-
voying, and fighting. They are almost
indispensable to the battleship fleet.
While cruising both during the day and
at night the destroyers help screen the
capital ships and are ready for any kind
of emergency duty.
When the time of battle comes it would
be hard to overestimate the value of
dstroyers in making attack on the enemy
capital ships, in breaking up the pro-
jected attacks of enemy destroyers, in
delivering the deathblow to crippled
enemy ships, and making smoke screens
for tactical purposes, either to confuse
the enemy or to envelop and protect
any of their own ships which may happen
to be hard pressed.
An excerpt from the report of the
Naval General Board dated Nov. 17, 1914,
reads as follows: "After mature con-
NAVAL POWER IN THE PRESENT WAR
495
sideration of all the elements involved
the General Board concluded that a well-
balanced fighting fleet for all purposes
of offense or defense calls for a relative
proportion of four destroyers to one bat-
tleship."
Submarines of Limited Value
The outstanding characteristic of the
submarine, as the name indicates, is its
ability to navigate below the surface of
the water. This enables it to evade the
enemy, to make a surprise attack, and to
escape by hiding. These faculties are
manifestly suitable for the weaker bellig-
erent to use against- the stronger enemy.
Navies that dominate, that have power
to seek and destroy in the open, are not
dependent upon abilities to evade and
to hide.
In making a brief survey of the naval
activities of the war, it is seen that the
submarine has been of no great value
to the superior navies controlling the
seas, but has been practically the only
effective naval weapon of the inferior
fleets. When used against the enemy
battle squadrons it has influenced strat-
egy and tactics and scored a few minor
successes in sinking some of the older
men-of-war, but generally speaking has
produced no very important results.
When used against merchant ships the
submarine has been unable to attain
effectiveness while complying with the
rules and usages of international law, but
by resorting to unscrupulous methods it
has become a dangerous commerce
destroyer.
The war has shown that the chief
tactical value of the submarine is for
defense, to hold the enemy at a distance.
The fleet submarine has also demon-
strated an offensive value which may be
useful in attaining a tactical advantage.
It may be inferred, therefore, that the
United States needs submarines both to
help defend her coasts and to operate as
a tactical subdivision of the fleet.
The General Board recommends that,
in addition to the submarines for guard-
ing our coasts, a division of larger fleet
submarines be built as the beginning of
a powerful underwater contingent cap-
able of cruising with a fleet in distant
operations.
The United States Navy is also de-
ficient in the types of auxiliaries less dis-
tinctively combative, but still necessary to
the maintenance of a fighting navy.
These include colliers, oil-fuel ships, re-
pair ships, mother ships for submarines
and aircraft, transports, and hospital
ships. The characteristics and uses of
these vessels are obvious, and the respec-
tive number needed may be determined
by logistical calculations. Lesser naval
units, including mine layers, mine sweep-
ers, patrol ships, and submarine chasers,
also have work to do in modern warfare
and must be provided for in adequate
numbers.
American Navy's Present Role
In the present war, since the combined
allied fleets are overwhelmingly superior
to the battle fleets of our enemies, the
immediate mission of the American Navy
is to combat the submarine menace. In
giving priority to building the lesser
units employed in this phase of naval
warfare, and in urging the shipyards to
greater effort in building traders to re-
place the merchant tonnage sunk by mine
and torpedo, there is grave danger that
the people may lose sight of the fact that
the battleship fleet still remains the chief
guarantor of national security. Battle-
ships cannot be improvised ; it takes
years to construct them; hence, prudence
demands that our capital ships receive
continual attention in order that national
security in future years may not be
jeopardized.
For the first time in the history of the
United States Navy a building program
covering a period of years has been
adopted; though it falls short of the
recommendations of the General Board,
it indicates an awakening to our naval
shortcomings and a desire on the part of
the people to correct them. The fleet we
already have, though behind the British
and German Navies in size, still affords
cause for gratification as to quality. It
may be fairly claimed in no boastful
temper that our individual first-line ships,
in construction, in guns, in ammunition,
and in gunnery, acknowledge no superior.
This is encouraging, but not satisfying.
So much remains to be done that more
cannot be said than that a fair start has
been made.
Dramatic Naval Fight Off Dover
Night of April 20, 1917
A FLOTILLA of six German de-
stroyers, under Captain Gautier,
crept out from the German naval
base at Zeebrugge, Belgium,
early in the evening of April 20, 1917,
and crossed the English Channel, with the
object of attacking Dover. After firing
650 shots at the Dover fortifications —
said by the British report to have landed
harmlessly in a plowed field — they
cruised about with the object of encoun-
tering enemy merchantmen, or possibly
of intercepting Premier Lloyd George,
who was expected to cross the Channel
that night.
The night was intensely dark but calm.
Suddenly the raiders sighted two British
destroyers on patrol duty, and instantly
fired upon them at a range of 600 yards.
The British responded by closing in swift-
ly upon them and trying to ram the lead-
ing German destroyer. In the eventful
five minutes that followed there was a
boarding encounter with cutlasses and
bayonets, recalling the days of wooden
warships, and it ended with the sinking
of two of Germany's newest and largest
destroyers, the G-85 and G-42, and the
damaging of two others, as the raiders
disappeared at full speed in the darkness.
" Our vessels," said the British Admi-
ralty report the next morning, " suffered
no material damage, and our casualties
were exceedingly slight in comparison
with the result obtained. Our patrol ves-
sels were handled with remarkable gal-
lantry and dash, and the tactics pursued
were a very fine example of destroyer
work. We were fortunate in being able
to save the lives of ten German officers
and 108 men from the vessels sunk."
The day after the battle twenty-eight
German bodies were washed ashore at
Dover, and these, with twenty-two Brit-
ish dead, were buried there with full mili-
tary honors. The German dead each bore
a floral wreath from the Vice Admiral
at Dover, inscribed " To a Brave and
Gallant Enemy."
The story of this engagement, com-
piled by ;he British Admiralty from
accounts of officers and men who par-
ticipated, is one of the most stirring in
the naval annals of the war. The British
destroyers Swift and Broke, on patrol
duty, were steaming on a westerly course
in the darkness when they sighted the
Germans, who instantly opened fire. The
Swift replied and tried to ram the lead-
ing enemy destroyer. She missed ram-
ming, but shot through the German line
unscathed, and, in turning, neatly tor-
pedoed another boat in the enemy line.
Again the Swift dashed at the leader,
which again eluded her and fled, with
the Swift in pursuit.
In the meantime the Broke had
launched a torpedo at the second boat
in the line, which hit the mark, and
then opened fire with every possibfe gun.
The remaining German boats were stok-
ing furiously for full speed.
The Broke's commander swung around
to port and rammed the third boat fair
and square abreast the after funnel.
Locked together thus, the two boats
fought a desperate hand-to-hand conflict.
The Broke swept the enemy's decks at
pointblank range with every gun, from
main armament to pompom, maxim, rifle,
and pistol.
Two other German destroyers attacked
and poured a devastating fire on the
Broke, whose foremost gun crews were
reduced from eighteen to six men. Mid-
shipman Donald Gyles, although wounded
in the eye, kept all the foremost
guns in action, he himself assisting the
depleted crews to load. While he was
thus employed, a number of frenzied
Germans swarmed up over the Broke's
forecastle out of the rammed destroyer
and, finding themselves amid the blind-
ing flashes of the forecastle guns, swept
aft in a shouting mob.
The midshipman, amid the dead and
wounded of his own gun crews, and half
blinded himself by blood, met the onset
single-handed with an automatic re-
volver. He was grappled by a German,
who tried to wrest the revolver away.
DRAMATIC NAVAL FIGHT OFF DOVER
497
Cutlasses and bayonets being among the
British equipment in anticipation of such
an event, the German was promptly bay-
onetted by Seaman Ingleson. The re-
mainder of the invaders, except two who
feigned death, were driven over the side,
the two being taken prisoner.
Meanwhile, the Swift continued her
pursuit, but slight injuries which she re-
ceived earlier in the action prevented her
from maintaining full speed, so she aban-
doned the chase and sought fresh quarry.
Sighting the outline of a stationary de-
stroyer, from which shouts were heard,
the Swift approached warily, with her
guns trained, to find that it was the de-
stroyer which had already been rammed
by the Broke. The Germans were bellow-
ing: " We surrender."
Fearing treachery, the Swift waited,
and presently the destroyer keeled over
and sank stern first, the crew jumping
into the water.
As no other enemy was visible, and the
action, which had lasted approximately
five minutes, appeared to be over, the
Swift switched on her searchlights and
lowered boats to rescue the swimmers.
Those who remained of the crews of the
Swift and the Broke, after exchanging de-
tails of the action, cheered each other un-
til they were hoarse.
The British casualties are set down as
comparatively slight, and the spirit of
the wounded is illustrated by the conduct
of the Broke's helmsman, Seaman Will-
iam Rowles, who, though hit four times
by shell fragments, remained at the
wheel throughout the action, and finally
only betrayed the fact that he was
wounded by reporting to his Captain, " I
am going off now, Sir," and fainted.
Two minutes after ramming, the
Broke wrenched herself free from her
sinking adversary and turned to ram
the last of the three remaining German
boats. She failed in this object, but in
swinging around succeeded in hitting the
boat's consort on the stem with a tor-
pedo. Hotly engaged with these twc
fleeing destroyers, the Broke attempted
to follow the. Swift in the direction she
was last seen, but a shell struck the
Broke's boiler room, disabling her main
engines.
The enemy then disappeared in the
darkness. The Broke, altering her
course, headed in the direction of a de-
stroyer, which a few minutes later was
seen to be heavily afire, and whose crew,
on sighting the British destroyer, sent
up shouts for mercy. The Broke steered
slowly toward the German, regardless of
the danger from a possible explosion of
the magazines, and the German seamen
redoubled their shouts of " Save ! Save ! "
and then unexpectedly opened fire.
The Broke, being out of control, was
unable to manoeuvre or extricate herself,
but silenced the treachery with four
rounds; then, to insure her own safety,
torpedoed the German amidships.
A number of the wounded only present-
ed themselves in the sick bay the fol-
lowing day, one stoker giving the sur-
geon the ingenious excuse: "I was too
busy, Sir, clearing up the rubbish on the
stokers' mess deck."
Captain Evans, commander of the de-
stroyer Broke, is the well-known ant-
arctic explorer and was the last man to
see Scott when they parted 145 miles
from the south pole.
The German Government reported the
sinking of a British destroyer in this
fight, asserting that it was hit by a tor-
pedo amidships and was seen to sink
stern foremost within five minutes. It
also stated that a heavy explosion was
heard in another British destroyer, while
a third was seen to have a large hole in
the side. The British Admiralty twice
issued formal denials, asserting flatly,
" There was no loss on our side."
Dunkirk, on the French side of the
Channel, was the scene of a similar Ger-
man destroyer raid on the night of April
24-25. The coast batteries replied to the
gunfire, and British and French patrol
ships engaged the enemy, who retreated
in the direction of Ostend. One French
torpedo boat was sunk in the brief action.
The Death Agony of a Submarine
Story of a Survivor
THE Monge, a French submarine, was
rammed by an Austrian warship and
sunk in the Adriatic on Dec. 29, 1915,
and as its crew was taken prisoner the
details of its destruction remained un-
known for more than a year. Then the
following vivid letter from one of the
imprisoned members of the crew found
its way into print. After describing the
impact of the surface ship, the writer
continues:
" The water enters in torrents. The
safety hatch is closed, but the Monge
descends very swiftly; it reaches a depth
of 200 feet, and the plates crack under
the pressure of the water. We give our-
selves up as forever lost. Our vessel is
being crushed; we feel it flattening in
upon us. No one says a word, but every-
body works. Orders are executed as in
ordinary times; no panic, not a cry.
" We are facing the most certain and
perhaps the most hideous death, yet our
commander is superb in his coolness, and
he has a crew that is worthy of him.
The steel braces supporting the hull —
bars as thick as my fist — are twisted
like so many wires. The accumulators
fall down on each other; the electric
current is intensified, the fuses burn out,
the acid decomposes — it is the second
phase; after the crushing comes asphyx-
iation.
" * Courage! Courage! We are rising! '
That is the cry of the second torpedo
master, for to him belongs the most deli-
cate and certain of all our remedies. In
fact, we feel that we are rising, and in a
minute or two we have gone from a depth
of 200 feet to the surface. We are saved!
"Alas! A third ordeal. The Austrians
have seen us and begin shelling us at
short range. A single shell pierces our
hull. The commandant orders for the
third time: * To your posts for the dive! '
This time all is indeed ended; the motors
no longer act, none of the machinery
runs, and the water keeps pouring in.
Everybody goes to his post without a
murmur, and yet we all know that this
time death awaits us — and what a death!
The commandant changes his mind. Our
vessel is lost; why sacrifice the crew?
He lets his arms drop, and two big tears
roll down his cheeks, tears of pride and
of impotence.
In a calm voice, however, he tells us
to save ourselves. The impossible had
been attempted; we could give up with
a light heart.
" Before rising to the surface the com-
mandant asks us to cry three times,
* Vive la France ! ' and to sing the ' Mar-
seillaise.' Such were the last words and
orders of the man who was and remained
the commandant of the Monge, for he
chose not to leave his beloved boat. As
soon as we reached the deck we complied
with his request and thrice shouted ' Vive
la France ! ' and sang the refrain of the
* Marseillaise.' When the water rose to
our waists we had only time to throw
ourselves into the sea. The Monge sank
on Dec. 29, 1915, at 2:30 in the morning.
There were three deaths — the command-
ant and two mechanician quartermas-
ters."
The French Government has honored
the memory of Lieutenant Morillot, com-
mandant of the Monge, by giving his
name to a ship captured from the enemy.
Military Operations of the War
By Major Edwin W. Dayton
Inspector General, National Guard, State of New York; Secretary, New
York Army and Navy Club
Major Dayton has long had the official recognition of the United States War Depart-
ment as an authority on strategy and tactics. The article here presented is the fourth in
a series which he is writing for Current Histort Magazine, covering in a rapid and authorita-
tive narrative all the military events of importance since the beginning of the great European
conflict.
IV. — The Tragic Story of the Dardanelles
A S the year 1915 opened, the long
/\ intrenched western front pre-
JL JL sented the condition which it soon
became the fashion to describe as
a "stalemate." Indeed, on this front
the contest did resemble a chessboard
contest in which master players had
fought each other to a standstill. The
Germans held practically all of Belgium
and a very valuable slice of Northern
France, but, although their defense of
the invaded territories seemed well-nigh
impregnable, it was evident that they
could not hope to renew the effort of
the past Summer to reach either Paris
or the Channel ports.
On the other hand, England's small
professional army had been almost
annihilated in the hard battles in North-
ern France, and Lord Kitchener's opti-
mistic prediction that huge new armies
would be ready for service by May, 1915,
suggested that a great allied offensive
would not be possible before that time.
France held by far the larger part of
the long battle line, and Joffre was busy
eliminating the unfit from high com-
mands and installing in their places sol-
diers whose virtues had been discovered
under fire. Both France and England
began to realize what was needful in
artillery and munitions, and in addition
to enormous orders placed in America
the home production of shells and guns
was multiplied many times over.
In the comparative pause which dis-
tinguished the early part of the year the
whole administrative system tried to tone
itself up to the strenuous requirements
of the time — much confusion had been
caused by accepting for service on the
firing line skilled mechanics whose serv-
ices were more needed in the munition
works. While these errors were being
corrected both London and Paris began
to smoke out the host of slackers who
had found safe berths at home. On the
eastern front all the world felt that,
aside from the crushing defeat at Tan-
nenberg, the Russians had done remark-
ably well. Their problem would never
be a lack of men, but the scarcity of
munitions was serious. The northern
seaport at Archangel was sealed by the
arctic ice, and the Japanese shipments
had a long journey across Asia by the
Trans-Siberian Railway.
Situation of Central Powers
Germany had failed to make the war
a short one by overwhelming and elimi-
nating either of her opponents in the first
rush of the fighting. The prodigal use
of artillery necessitated economy for the
Winter months while new supplies were
manufactured. Much, too, was needful
to help Austria to build up a more ef-
ficient fighting force. The armies of
the Dual Monarchy had crumbled utterly
in Poland, Galicia, and Serbia. It seemed
at that time as though Austria might
even prove an easy road for an allied
army aiming at the heart of Germany
from the south. Serbia's triumph on the
ridges had fired Italy with an ambition
to win Trent in the Alps and Trieste on
the Adriatic.
The astonishing failure of the Aus-
trian armies in the first six months of
the war not only embarrassed the Ger-
man General Staff by compelling the
dispatch of reinforcements to the south-
500
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
east, but added materially to political
difficulties. Italy, benevolently neutral
and remembering the ties of the late
alliance, could be a great help in reach-
ing the markets of the outside world —
Italy joined to the Allies would be a
new and serious danger along the weak
Austrian frontier. Rumania, too, was
likely to be dangerously influenced by
the apparent impotence of Austrian
arms.
It is by no means impossible that the
real historians who write of this war a
generation hence may see that the best
time for the war to have ended was in
the beginning of 1915. The combatants
as yet included only the original groups.
The savage fighting and enormous de-
struction of property, while already
serious, had nowhere reached the deadly
development of the later periods. It
then began to be evident that the war
could not be a short one, and that its
cost in blood and treasure would im-
pose heavy burdens on mankind for
many generations. Really determined
action on the part of the leading powers
not then involved in the war might pos-
sibly have halted the carnage. It was
nearly two years later when Germany
suggested peace, and the suggestion fell
on ears deafened by what happened in
1915 and 1916.
What had been done in 1914 could
never be forgotten, nor perhaps forgiven,
but this period was one in which the dark
future began to be correctly estimated.
England still shuddered at the prospect
of compulsory service, and the best blood
of France was being drained. Germany
must have been aware that succeeding
years would be certain to roll up a great
preponderance of man power on the allied
side. Possibly it was the Prussian sys-
tem which closed the mouths of those
who might wisely have proposed to end
the war then on the best terms possible.
British in Mesopotamia
England had declared war on Turkey
in November, and on the 7th of that
month a brigade of regular infantry
from India (mostly native troops) cap-
tured a Turkish fort at Fao, a little
town at the head of the Persian. Gulf.
The British troops sailed on up the
Schatt-el-Arab, which receives above
Basra the combined waters of the Eu-
phrates and the Tigris. An intrenched
camp was established at Sanijeh, and
here presently two more brigades arrived
from India. After winning a battle at
Sahil the combined military and naval
forces advanced upon the important city
of Basra, which was easily captured on
Nov. 23. Early in December the forti-
fied town of Kurna, fifty miles above
Basra, was captured, and since then the
British have remained in undisputed con-
trol of the whole delta. Bagdad, Tur-
key's main military station in Mesopo-
tamia, is more than 300 miles to the
north on the Tigris. This short and suc-
cessful campaign gave Britain control
of the region from which a Turkish force
under German direction might have
threatened India.
Defeat of Enver Pasha
In January, 1915, both Turkey and
Russia had armies in Northern Persia,
where on the 30th of the month, after
a severe defeat, the Turks lost Tabriz,
which they had occupied some time be-
fore. Several small Russian columns in-
vaded Kurdistan, but were held close to
the frontier by the vigorous resistance
of Turkish regulars moved up from the
interior.
Meanwhile a Russian army numbering
about 100,000 under General Woronzov
began an advance toward Erzerum, the
strongly fortified Turkish base in Ar-
menia. Enver Pasha, with a Turkish
army considerably stronger, defeated the
Russians between Kaprikeui and Khora-
san just before Christmas. Enver
attempted an elaborate enveloping
manoeuvre, which involved well-nigh
impossible marches by separate corps
through high mountain passes choked
with snow and impassable for either ar-
tillery or supply trains. One after the
other the separated Turkish corps were
defeated, although they all fought well,
and by the middle of January the re-
mains of Enver's army were in full re-
treat upon Erzerum, having lost prob-
ably one-third of their strength.
This dlisaster denied to Austria the
MILITARY OPERATIONS OF THE WAR
help that a successful Turkish diversion
against Southeastern Russia would have
provided. A successful Turkish cam-
paign would certainly have diverted some
of the Russian forces which were then
threatening to pierce the Carpathians
and invade the Plains of Hungary.
Egypt and the Suez Canal
On Dec. 17, 1915, England proclaimed
Egypt to be a British protectorate, and
a strong British force was organized
under Major Gen. Sir John Maxwell to
meet the attack which it was expected
would be made upon the Suez Canal.
Late in November there was a skirmish
on the east side of the canal, at Katiyeh,
between Bedouins and the British Camel
Corps, and late. in January skirmishing
was renewed with small Turkish detach-
ments which had crossed the 130 miles
of desert east of the canal. In the first
week of February a Turkish force of
somewhat under a division attempted to
cross the canal. The British troops
were greatly helped by the gunfire of a
number of British and French warships
in the Canal, and by the end of the
week the Turks were in full retreat
across the desert. The lack of water
had made it impossible for the Turks
to move over the desert an army strong
enough to cross the canal and invade
Egypt, and the difficulty of the terrain
kept the victorious British from pursuing
the defeated enemy, who were able to
carry off their guns and transport.
Attack on the Dardanelles
Gallipoli Peninsula is a hilly, irregu-
lar tongue of land something more than
fifty miles in length and varying from
three to ten miles in width. On the west
the Aegean Sea breaks on a rugged
shore, with a few stretches of sandy
beach where boats may land. The
eastern side of the peninsula guards the
strait of the Dardanelles, through which
all sea traffic must pass to Constantino-
ple and the Black Sea beyond. This
strait, from three-quarters of a mile to
five miles in width, but averaging be-
tween two and three miles, is the most
important waterway in the world, be-
cause it forms the only outlet by water
501
for the whole vast region of Southern
Russia, Bulgaria, Rumania, Syria, and
Turkey, which have coasts touching the
Black Sea.
The military importance of this sea
channel in the present war was tremen-
dous, for if the Allies could sieze tho
Dardanelles they would cut off the
ADMIRAL DE ROBECK,
Naval Commander at Dardanelles
Asiatic Turks and miminize the danger
of German attacks upon Egypt or India.
Even more important would be the open-
ing of an all-the-year route by which
Russian grain could come out to Eng-
land and France in ships which should
carry back guns and munitions so great-
ly needed in Russia. In addition, and
perhaps paramount to all other incen-
tives for a campaign against Constan-
tinople, was the fact that the ancient
city on the Golden Horn was the one
great prize in Europe that might enrich
the spoils of the victors. Berlin and
Vienna would remain German and Aus-
trian, after the final treaty should be
signed, but the Turk's capital might be
expected to change hands and fly a new
flag.
Russia seemed likely to force a way
through the Balkans from the north.
England determined with French help to
reach the goal first — by naval means if
502
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
possible, but by a combined military
and naval force in case the strait
should prove too strong for the marine
attack alone. There was a precedent in
British naval annals for the belief that
a fleet might force its way through, for
in February, 1807, seven ships of the line
under Sir John Duckworth forced the
STR IAN HAMILTON,
British Commander at Gallipoli
passage, silencing forts and sinking
Turkish ships. The Turks then fired
stone shot two feet in diameter, but when
the Italians attempted to rush a fleet of
torpedo boats through in a night at-
tack in 1910 they were defeated by
modern guns and searchlights installed
by German engineers. The fortifications
were greatly strengthened and the artil-
lery increased after the outbreak of the
war in August, 1914. The Turkish
coasts were difficult for attack, and the
swift current of the strait made the use
of floating mines a dangerous adjunct
to the shore line defenses. The forts
on both sides of the Dardanelles were
strongly garrisoned, and a large mobile
force of Turkish infantry was intrenched
in the very difficult hill country of the
peninsula. A number of German offi-
cers were on^ duty with these Turkish
forces.
Operations at Gallipoli
England seized the excellent harbor of
Mudros in the Greek Island of Lemnos and
made that the base of the naval forces
operating against Gallipoli. On Feb. 18
the British and French fleets attacked
and soon silenced the old-fashioned stone
forts at the entrance to the Dardanelles,
but beyond these antiquated forts lay a
series of mine fields- blocking the channel.
Mine sweepers under cover of a heavy
fire from the fleet endeavored to clear
the channel and open a way for the fight-
ing units of the fleets. The operations
of the mine sweepers were made very dif-
ficult by the fire of field batteries and
heavy howitzers concealed among the
hills and shifted cleverly whenever lo-
cated by the attacking forces. In the
middle of March, in the midst of a heavy
gun fire, the Turks skillfully directed
some large mines, which sank three bat-
tleships, two British and one French.
After a month of fruitless and costly
fighting it was decided that the strait
could not be forced by naval attack alone,
and a combined British and French army
was mobilized to land and attack the
Turks in co-operation with the fleets.
The French Division of Territorials and
Senegalese was commanded by General
d'Amade. General Ian Hamilton had the
Twenty-ninth Division of British regu-
lars with the Royal Naval Division and
the Australian and New Zealand Army
Corps. These forces were concentrated
in Mudros Harbor and held until the
Spring gales had blown themselves out
and there was promise of a quiet sea for
the very difficult operation of landing
the expeditions through the surf.
On April 25, at daybreak, the French
and British fleets bombarded all the
Turkish positions and the transports sent
their human freight ashore. The French
landed on the Asiatic side of the strait
to attack the powerful fortifications on
that side. The British effected a number
of landings on the southern end of Galli-
poli, but the main attacks were intended
to be those near Gaba Tepe and Cape
Helles.
The forces attacking in the Cape
Helles region landed at three small
MILITARY OPERATIONS OF THE WAR
503
beaches, where great difficulties were
overcome by extreme bravery, but the
losses involved in these landing opera-
tions were appalling. The Turkish ar-
tillery and machine gunners were firing
at ranges from 100 to 300 yards. Barbed
wire entanglements had been set in the
surf off shore, and the little beaches
were mined. Strong detachments of
Turkish infantry were well concealed on
the rough, scrub-covered hillside, and
were dislodged in savage bayonet fight-
ing by the survivors of the landing
parties. Large numbers of British
soldiers were killed in the boats by ma-
chine gun and rifle fire.
Christening of the "Anzacs "
The Australians won imperishable
fame at the beach about fifteen miles
north of Cape Helles, near Gaba Tepe,
where they fought all day and all night
singing their song, " Australia Will Be
There." The Turks attacked constantly
with heavy infantry detachments, but
the fleet moved in and rained projectiles
upon them. Finally, after a terrific
ninety-six-hour battle, the Australian
and New Zealand Army Corps won and
fortified their position. In commemo-
ration of their heroism this hitherto un-
named beach became famous under the
name A-N-Z-A-C.
The British won a footing along the
southwestern shores of Gallipoli at a
cost to the battalions engaged of from
one-third to one-half of their strength.
The survivors were too exhausted to
drive the attack into the hills, and the
Turks were given a breathing spell in
which they brought up reinforcements of
men and munitions.
The French Corps landed on April 26,
at Y. Beach, below Sedd-el-Bahr, and,
not encountering very great opposition,
fought their way inland for a mile on the
following day and joined hands with the
British on their left. The united forces
attacked the Turkish town of Krithia on
April 28, but when within about 1,300
yards of the objective were forced back
by powerful Turkish attacks. They dug
themselves in finally and held their lines
until the Turks delivered terrific new
attacks on May 1. The first lines of the
Turkish infantry had been deprived of
cartridges and attacked with the bayonet
only. They carried the front of the
position, broke through to the second line
and in the darkness of a moonless night
cut their way through both French and
British until stopped by the British sup-
ports. This battle lasted five days, and
night after night the Turks attacked
with the bayonet.
By May 5 the British Twenty-ninth
Division had lost one-half its men and
nearly 70 per cent, of its officers. Nev-
ertheless, on May 6 the Allied forces
mustered strength and courage to attack
the hill of Achi Baba, which dominated
the lower ground toward the water held
by the French and British. After an
all-day battle, in which the losses were
extreme, the line had won an advance of
200 yards. This battle continued for
days and culminated in a further ad-
vance of some 600 to 700 yards on the
evening of May 8, when some of the
brave Australians and New Zealanders
had been brought down from Anzac to
help. There were no other great battles,
but there was constant fighting through
the remaining weeks of May.
Achi Baba Almost Taf^en
On June 4 the Allies made another
grand attack, having meanwhile been re-
inforced by the newly arrived Forty-
second Division. After a prolonged bom-
bardment an advance of 600 to -700 yards
was won and the summit of Achi Baba
almost taken. The Turks rallied, and in
a brave counterattack recaptured a field
work called the Haricot, which the
French infantry had stormed and gar-
risoned with Senegalese troops. From
this position the Turks enfiladed the Brit-
ish lines and forced both the British
Royal Naval Division and the Manches-
ter Brigade to abandon the lines which
they had won at a terrible cost.
On June 21 the French won again the
Haricot work, and on the 28th the Brit-
ish, in a brilliant attack, advanced a
thousand yards. This success was es-
pecially notable because the 10,000
British soldiers were all new men of not
over six months' training, who charged
up hill in an attack perfectly co-ordi-
504
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
nated and carried fortified lines with the
bayonet. When the first attacking line
had settled into the captured position
another 10,000 fresh troops charged and
captured three more Turkish lines.
These 20,000 men were not enough, how-
ever, to push the attack further. At
midnight, June 29-30, a Turkish attack
by a force of 30,000 men at Anzac was
repulsed with great loss.
While the allied forces awaited the ar-
rival of heavy reinforcements promised
for midsummer a plan was matured for
a great attack. This intended that the
troops near Cape Helles should fight a
holding battle while a powerful attack to
the north at Anzac should aim to win the
dominating heights midway of the penin-
sula from which infantry might gain con-
trol of the highway to Constantinople and
artillery could shell by direct fire the
Turkish fortifications along the strait.
In addition the new forces were to be
landed still further north at Suvla Bay,
three miles above Anzac, and attempt to
turn the Turkish right flank. While these
attacks were to be concerted, the actions
must necessarily be separate battles
fought by armies separated from each
other. The plan was for the attack at
Anzac to be made on Aug. 6 and on the
night of the 6th-7th (moonless) the new
army was to be landed at Suvla.
The splendid Australian troops at
Anzac in July dug and hid under cover
twenty-five miles of dugouts for the con-
cealment of the 30,000 men who were to
reinforce them preparatory to the great
attack. The new troops were landed with
great caution at night to hide the ar-
rangements from the watchful Turks,
always ready to hurry reinforcements to
any threatened part of the line. In addi-
tion to providing a hiding place for the
30,000 newcomers the Australians car-
ried ashore and hid hundreds of draft
animals and hundreds of tons of supplies.
The navy brought over a distance of 500
miles the eighty tons of fresh water re-
quired by this army daily, and this, too,
was stored in hidden tanks ashore.
Battle of Suvla Bay
The battle in the Cape Helles sector
opened promptly and raged with great
ferocity from Aug. 6 to Aug. 13. Its
object was achieved, for not only was the
large original force of Turks held there,
but strong reinforcements were brought
down from the north.
For several days the warships bom-
barded the Turkish positions on the
Lonesome Pine plateau, which was the
immediate objective in the Anzac sector.
Late in the afternoon of Aug. 6, after
a whirlwind of shells had brought the
bombardment to its culmination, the
Australians leaped from their trenches
and charged the Turkish lines. They
won the covered trenches and in five
days and nights of constant counterat-
tacks succeeded in holding them. This
long struggle was almost all the time a
hand-to-hand duel with bayonets and
bombs.
As the battle at Lonesome Pine de-
veloped, the troops destined for the at-
tack to the north left Anzac and marched
along shore to the scene of their effort.
Several strong outposts were rushed
most gallantly, but the Turks held the
main hill crests valiantly, and all efforts
to dislodge them failed. As this night
battle was in progress transports crowd-
ed into Suvla Bay and the new 30,000
men were landed. The beach was mined,
and defended by riflemen as well, so that
the new army began to lose men as it
stepped ashore. The mission of this
army was to seize the high hills inclos-
ing the low-lying basin back of the bay,
but they suffered vital hours to slip
through their fingers for one reason or
another, and meanwhile the Turks, at
midnight on the 8th-9th, got strong
forces into the critical positions and
thereby wrote failure at the bottom of
this gory page in English military his-
tory.
On the morning of Aug. 8 the British
and Australian regiments renewed the
battle north of Anzac and gained some
promising successes, although at appall-
ing cost. The delayed advance on their
left from Suvla nullified these successes
and made the battle a useless waste of
life. British regiments which had won
one of the most vital hill crests were
shelled and decimated by their own war-
MILITARY OPERATIONS OF THE WAR
505
ships, after which a huge force of Turk-
ish infantry counterattacked and prac-
tically annihilated several British regi-
ments.
The great battle of Aug. 6-10 was a
British defeat and practically ended the
fighting on Gallipoli, although some
minor successes were achieved later in
August among the hills back of Anzac.
In November a violent blizzard raged
for several days and hundreds of British
soldiers were frozen to death, while many
thousands were invalided home as the re-
sult of extreme exposure. In December
the Anzac and Suvla positions were
evacuated, and early in January, 1916,
the last British soldiers left Gallipoli
from the Cape Helles sector.
The failure of the Turks to attack the
British while evacuating their positions
remains one of the unsolved riddles of
the war. The British losses in the Gal-
lipoli campaign were 115,000 men killed,
wounded, and missing, with about 100,000
more sick. While the attempt toward
Constantinople persisted it kept a large
army of several hundred thousand Turks
away from other fields. Meanwhile, the
German successes in 1915 against Rus-
sia relieved the Turk from the threat of
a Russian attack from the north.
"When the allied forces were with-
drawn from the peninsula practically all
the veteran Turkish troops were freed
for use in Rumania or Asia Minor.
Throughout the terrific fighting in April,
June, and August the Turks fought with
magnificent courage and proved them-
selves equally valiant in both attack and
defense. They treated captured and
wounded prisoners with real kindness.
The British Twenty-ninth Division
(regulars) and the Australian and New
Zealand Corps won imperishable fame.
Russian Front in 19/5
In January, 1915, the Russian armies
were making a determined stand on a
long front running from the Masurian
Lakes south inside the Prussian frontier
until above the Narev it curved out into
Russia and continued west of Mlawa,
east of Plock, and over the Vistula, near
the mouth of the Bzura. Thence running
southeast to Bukowina, below Czerno-
witz, this long battle line reaped the
Rumanian frontier, having attained a to-
tal length of nearly 900 miles, the
greatest embattled line in the world's
history.
The Germans faced the Czar's troops
down as far as the Nida, where they
joined the left flank of the Austrian
armies, which had been stiffened by the
introduction of several complete German
corps. Przemysl was still resisting the
Russians, but was surrounded and close-
ly invested.
In January the Grand Duke Nicholas
undertook several advances on the flanks
— Russian cavalry cut the railway' in
East Prussia, and in the Carpathians the
Pass of Kirlibaba was stormed. Early in
February von Mackensen launched an-
other attack upon Warsaw, having con-
centrated nearly 150,000 men along the
Rawka for a new frontal attack upon
the great Polish city. Under cover of a
heavy bombardment and a blinding snow-
storm the battle began, and the Germans
pushed a wide wedge some five miles
into the Russian line before they were
checked by Feb. 4. The German losses
are estimated to have been in the neigh-
borhood of 20,000 men, and much of the
ground was readily yielded to Russian
counterattacks.
Following this reverse the great Ger-
man strategist launched two major oper-
ations directed against the Russian right
and left flanks. In the first week of
February the Russian thrust in East
Prussia had very nearly reached Tilsit,
with the left flank of the expedition at
Johannisburg. Then Hindenburg struck,
and with a much superior force succeed-
ed in enveloping the Russian right at Pil-
kallen and Gumbinnen. This part of the
Russian Army was driven into the forest
region above Suwalki and completely
broken up. Such units as escaped back
into Russia made their way separately,
and quite without further tactical con-
nection with their comrades heavily en-
gaged between Lotzen and Johannisburg.
The Russians here fought a stubborn
rear guard action with much "success, and
although defeated they succeeded in re-
treating over their own frontier without
suffering very great loss. The Germans
506
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
captured 80 guns and something over
30,000 prisoners, besides carrying the
war out of Prussian and into Russian
territory, where it has remained ever
since.
Von Hindenburg undoubtedly planned
to renew the attack upon Warsaw by a
flank movement which should cut the
railway communications to the north, but
the Russians resisted successfully efforts
aimed at Grodno and Ossowietz, and by
the middle of March vigorous counter-
attacks drove the Germans back to with-
in ten miles of the frontier. Meanwhile
another German army on a front of
twenty-five miles between Mlawa and
Chorzele struck hard toward the south,
and on Feb. 24 captured Przasnysz, tak-
ing a number of guns and half a brigade.
Strong Russian reinforcements came up,
and although many of the men were
armed only with bayonets and bombs,
Przasnysz was recaptured on Feb. 26.
Winter in the Carpathians
In the south General Brusiloff re-
newed his efforts to win the Carpathian
passes and open a door for the Russian
invasion of Hungary. While he attacked
from Dukla to the Uzsok another column
struck close along the Rumanian fron-
tier, and on Jan. 6 took Kimpolung and
on the 17th captured the Pass of Kir-
libaba. About this time the Austrians
bejan to show a greater determination
to drive the menace of invasion out of
the Carpathians, and General von Lin-
singen, having taken the passes east of
the Lupkow, began to invade Galicia.
At the ridge of Koziowa Brusiloff
withstood the Austrian rush and stopped
the advance of the Austrian left wing.
The right wing, however, pushed up
through Bukowina and took both Czerno-
witz and Kolomea. On March 3 Stanis-
lau was taken, which brought the Aus-
trians within seventy miles of Lemberg.
Soon Russian reinforcements arrived,
and Stanislau was retaken. The latter
part of March saw the Russians still
holding the Dukla, while the passes east
of the Uzsok were firmly held by Austria.
On March 22, after a siege of almost
seven months, the fortified city of
Przemysl was taken by the Russians.
Accounts of the military conditions
prevalent among the large forces which
had been shut up in this strongly for-
tified position for so long a time indi-
cated quite clearly what was the mat-
ter with the Austrian army. While the
soldiers were reduced to almost starva-
tion rations, general officers and their
staffs continued to live openly a life of
luxurious extravagance. The selfishness
and incompetence of the superiors were
naturally destructive of that morale
among the troops without which no
amount of training will secure the best
results.
Attrition in the West
As 1915 dawned the battle lines in
Belgium and France were about 500 miles
long, and of that long line little more
than 10 per cent, was held by the British
and Belgians — the French defended near-
ly 90 per cent., and in addition to the
battle casualties they lost many men from
sickness caused by exposure in the
trenches. Toward the north there was
constant rain and sleet, while the posi-
tions in the Vosges and Argonne were
buried deep in heavy snows. The fight-
ing in the Winter and early Spring was
confined to local attacks and counterat-
tacks, usually favorable to the Allies.
The German artillery was decidedly
less effective than it had been in the
early months of the war. Large numbers
of guns had been returned to German
armories for repair, and it was said that
more than 60 per cent, of the German
shells fired at this time . failed to ex-
plode. The German troops on the west-
ern front probably numbered 2,000,000
men.
Late in January the Allies made a
spirited attack upon German positions
east of Nieuport, among the sandy dunes
of the Belgian coast, where they won
part of an intrenched position, which
enabled them to threaten the German
trenches on the east side of the Yser.
After this local success that part of the
line lapsed into a dormant state for
months.
In February the Germans blew up a
British trench near Ypres, and there was
MILITARY OPERATIONS OF THE WAR
507
a seesaw battle near St. Eloi. The Prin-
cess Patricia's Regiment of Canadian
Light Infantry in a sortie captured a
German trench and many prisoners.
A severe battle raged near La Bassee
on Jan. 25-26, when the Germans broke
through part of the British lines and in-
flicted heavy losses upon the brigade of
Guards regiments holding that part of
the intrenchments. The Black Watch
lost a great many officers and men, and
the regiments engaged included such
famous units as the First Scots Guards,
First Coldstreams, First Cameron High-
landers, King's Royal Rifles, Second
Sussex and London Scottish. The driv-
ing back of the British line caused the
French left under Maud'huy to be dan-
gerously exposed, but the Germans failed
to seize their opportunity to turn this
flank. On the same day the Germans
fought their way into Givenchy, but were
ejected after a hard hand-to-hand strug-
gle.
In the last days of January and the
first of February a severe battle raged
about the brickfield west of La Bassee,
and it was here that Lance Corporal
Michael O'Leary of the Irish Guards
won the Victoria Cross by killing eight
Germans and capturing two. In Janu-
ary and February there were local bat-
tles at Lens, Arras, and Roye, and an
important battle followed a French at-
tack above Soissons. At first consider-
able success attended this effort, but
heavy German reinforcements were
brought up and the French were driven
back across the Aisne with the loss of
several thousand men and about twenty
guns. General von Kluck, the German
commander, made a great effort to cap-
ture Soissons, but Maunoury blocked the
effort by the skillful use of French ar-
tillery and infantry reserves.
In February and March the French
carried on an almost constant series of
attacks in Champagne, which compelled
the Germans to bring heavy reinforce-
ments from the north. Not a great deal
of ground was won, but nearly 10,000
German dead were buried by the French
and 2,000 prisoners were captured.
Meanwhile in, the Verdun region further
toward the south fierce battles were
fought near Les Eparges and Pont-a-
Mousson. In the Vosges the French and
then the Germans won successes in the
region of Mulhousen, Cernay, and Hart-
manns-Weilerkopf.
Neuve Chapelle
In March, 1915, the British forces in
France numbered half a million men,
with General Sir John French the Com-
mander in Chief and Sir Douglas Haig
commanding the First Army, from La
Bassee to Estaires. General Sir Horace
Smith-Dorrien commanded the Second
Army, which held the lines up to the
Ypres salient. On March 10 at 7:30
A. M. the British guns began to hurl a
hurricane of shells upon the German
trenches about Neuve Chapelle. Field
guns, field howitzers, sixty-pounders,
coast-defense guns, and fifteen-inch how-
itzers had all been crowded together for
this bombardment, which flung four shells
to every yard in the sector attacked dur-
ing the thirty-five -minutes before the
range was increased and the storm of
explosives broke over the town itself.
When the British infantry advanced they
readily won the positions, which had
been pounded into dust heaps by the ar-
tillery, and the town fell into fheir hands.
The moment appeared ripe for the cap-
ture of the ridge east of the town, which
dominates the great highway from Lille
to the south, but in certain places some
of the units had failed to carry out their
part of the great plan. The battle con-
tinued with the utmost intensity through
the 11th and 12th, but the Germans pre-
vented any further advance, and the net
result of the great effort was the capture
of Neuve Chapelle. On the 14th and
15th the Germans developed a great of-
fensive at St. Eloi, a village fifteen miles
north of Neuve Chapelle. They won the
village, but lost it later when General
Haig's men attacked in great force.
The battle at Neuve Chapelle was a
bitter disappointment to the British.
The casualties were very heavy and
were in part caused by the faulty rang-
ing of their own artillery. The staff
plans were in part imperfect, and alto-
gether this effort was looked upon as a
costly failure, with much of the fault in
high places.
Final Official Reports on Gallipoli
Vice Admirals de Robeck and Wemyss Tell of
the Navy's Part in the Withdrawal of Troops
THE British Admiralty published,
on April 11, 1917, the dispatches
from Vice Admiral Sir John M. de
Robeck, late Vice Admiral Com-
manding the Eastern Mediterranean
Squadron, and Vice Admiral Sir Rosslyn
E. Wemyss, late Senior Naval Officer,
Mudros, describing the naval operations
in connection with the withdrawal of the
army from the Gallipoli Peninsula in De-
cember, 1915, and January, 1916. These
communications furnish details of the all-
important part played by the British
Navy in what was one of the most diffi-
cult operations of the war.
Vice Admiral Wemyss, whose dispatch
is dated Dec. 22, 1915, deals with the
withdrawal from Suvla Bay and Anzac,
which occurred eighteen days before the
final evacuation of the peninsula. This
preliminary operation was carried out
in three stages. The principle decided
upon for all three stages was secrecy
and the attempt to take the enemy
entirely by surprise. Every effort was
therefore made during the whole of the
operations to maintain the beaches,
offing, &c, in their usual appearance,
and all embarkations were carried out
during the dark hours. The increase in
the number of motor lighters, boats, &c,
in use at the beaches was hidden as far
as possible during the daytime. The
preliminary stage was completed satis-
factorily by Dec. 10, when the definite
orders to evacuate were received.
It had been computed that ten nights
would be required for the intermediate
stage, on each of which 3,000 personnel
and a proportion of guns and animals
would be embarked from each beach.
The estimate was eventually reduced,
special efforts being made in order to
take advantage of the fine weather. The
intermediate stage was completed on the
night of Dec. 3.7-18, and from the absence
of any unusual shelling of the beaches
during these nights it was apparent that
the enemy had no idea of the movement
in progress. Some 44,000 personnel,
nearly 200 guns, numerous wagons, and
3,000 animals were evacuated during this
period, together with a large amount
of stores and ammunition.
A Risky Operation
The final stage commenced on the
night of Dec. 18-19, and was completed
on the night of Dec. 19-20. The weather
conditions, however, proved to be ideal.
On each of the two nights it was neces-
sary to evacuate rather more than 10,000
personnel from each beach, and for this
special arrangements were necessary.
The chief possible difficulties to contend
with were two — first, the bad weather to
be expected at this season, second, in-
terference by the enemy.
After some heavy winds, fine weather
set in with December, and, except for a
strong northeasterly wind on the 15th,
continued until twenty-four hours after
the completion of the evacuation. This
prolonged period of fine weather alone
made possible the success which attended
the operation.
The final concentration of the ships
and craft required at Kephalo was com-
pleted on Dec. 17, and in order to prevent
enemy's aircraft observing the unusual
quantity of shipping a constant air patrol
was maintained to keep these at a dis-
tance. Reports of the presence of enemy
submarines were also received during
these two days; patrols were strength-
ened, but no attacks by these craft were
made. The evacuation was carried out
in accordance with orders. No delays
occurred, and there were no accidents to
ships or boats.
Destruction of Stores
On the night of Dec. 18-19 the em-
barkation was finished at Suvla by 3 A.
M., and at Anzac by 5:30 A. M., and by
daylight the beaches and anchorages at
FINAL REPORTS ON GALLIPOLI
509
these places had resumed their normal
aspect. The second night's operation, so
far as the navy was concerned, differed
in no wise from the first, precisely the
same routine being adhered to. The
last troops left the front trenches at 1:30
A. M., and the signal that the evacua-
tion was complete was received at 4:15
A. M. at Anzac and 5:39 A. M. at Suvla.
A large mine was exploded at about
3:15 A. M. by the Australians, and at
Suvla all perishable stores which had
not been taken off and which were
heaped up in large mounds with petrol
poured over them were fired at 4 A. M.,
making a vast bonfire, which lighted
everything round for a very long distance-
In spite of all this, the enemy seemed
perfectly unaware of what had taken
place. As day dawned, soon after 6:30,
the anchorages of both places were clear
of all craft, except the covering squad-
rons, which had been ordered up during
the night, and when the sun had suf-
ficiently risen for objects to be made
out, the bombardment of the beaches
commenced with the object of destroying
everything that remained. At Suvla this
consisted only of some water tanks and
four motor lighters, which had been
washed ashore in the gale of Nov. 28
and never recovered, owing principally
to lack of time. At Anzac it had been
deemed inadvisable to set a light to the
stores which it had been found impossible
to embark, so that here the bombardment
was more severe, and large fires were
started by the bursting shell. Admiral
Wemyss continues:
A curious spectacle now presented itself,
certain areas absolutely clear of troops being
subjected to a heavy shell fire from our own
and the enemy's guns. It seems incredible
that all this work had taken place without
the enemy becoming aware of our object, for,
although the utmost care was taken to pre-
serve the beaches and offing as near as pos-
sible normal, yet it proved quite impracti-
cable to get up boats and troop carriers in
sufficient time to carry out the night's work,
and yet for them not to have been visible
from some parts of the peninsula. At 7 :25
A. M. I ordered the squadron to return to
Kephalo, leaving two specially protected
cruisers to watch the area. These subse-
quently reported that they had caused a good
deal of damage among the enemy when they
eventually swarmed down to take possession
of the loot, the realization of which, I trust,
was a great disappointment to them. All the
arrangements were most admirably carried
out, and the time table previously laid down
was adhered to exactly. * * *
Before closing this dispatch I would like
to emphasize the fact that what made this
operation so successful, apart from the kind-
ness of the weather and of the enemy, was
the hearty co-operation of both services.
The evacuation forms an excellent example
of the cordial manner in which the navy and
army have worked together during these last
eight months. Nothing could have exceeded
the courtesy of Generals Sir William Bird-
wood, Sir Julian Byng, and Sir Alexander
Godley, and their respective staffs, and this
attitude was typical of the whole army. The
traditions of the navy were fully maintained,
the seamanship and resource displayed reach-
ing a very high standard. Prom the com-
manding officers of men-of-war, transports,
and large supply ships to the midshipmen in
charge of steamboats and pulling boats off
the beaches, all did well.
Admiral de Roheck's Report
In the final operations, described by
Vice Admiral de Robeck, the weather was
not so uniformly favorable. Moreover,
the difficulties were increased by the at-
tentions of the enemy, who, however,
thanks to the care and skill of our com-
manders, remained in entire ignorance of
what was afoot.
Forty-eight hours before the evacua-
tion was completed the number of men
remaining on the peninsula was to be cut
down to 22,000. Of these 7,000 were to
embark on the last night but one, leav-
ing 15,000 for the final night. At the re-
quest of the military the latter number
was increased to 17,000. As few guns as
possible were to be left to the final night,
and arrangements were made to destroy
any of these which it might be found im-
possible to remove, or which, by reason of
their condition, were considered not worth
removing.
The preliminary stage commenced on
the night of Dec. 30-31, and terminated
on the night of Jan. 7-8. During this
stage all personnel except 17,000 were re-
moved, as well as the majority of the
guns and a great quantity of animals,
stores, &c. The amount of stores remain-
ing on shore after the preliminary stage
was greater than was anticipated or in-
tended; this was almost entirely due to
the unfavorable weather conditions, and,
as men were evacuated, to a shortage in
working parties.
510
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
On Jan. 2 and 3 strong northeasterly-
winds blew all day; the morning of the
4th was calm, but the weather broke at
7 P. M., and by 11 P. M. it was blowing a
gale. The transfer of guns, animals, and
stores, &c, from motor lighters to trans-
ports and supply ships lying off the
beaches was a matter of great difficulty
under such conditions of weather.
Working Under Heavy Fire
During the whole of this period " V "
and " W " beaches were subjected to a
heavy and accurate shell fire from the
enemy's batteries mounted on the Asiatic
shore, and also from guns firing from
positions to north of Achi Baba. All
these guns were accurately registered on
to the beaches, and the shelling continued
day and night at frequent and uncertain
intervals; that the actual loss of life
from this fire was very small borders on
the miraculous; the beach parties were
completely exposed, and piers and fore-
shore constantly hit by shells while offi-
cers and men were working on them;
even when resting in the dugouts security
from enemy's fire could not be assured,
and several casualties occurred under
these conditions. The work on the
beaches was practically continuous; dur-
ing the daytime motor lighters', &c, were
loaded up with stores, &c, to be trans-
ferred to storeships at night; by night the
work was most strenuous.
During the whole time there remained
the paramount necessity of preventing
the enemy gaining intelligence of what
was in progress; this added greatly to
the difficulties of work during daylight.
Enemy aircraft paid frequent visits to
the peninsula; on these occasions, while
the " Taube " was in evidence, animals
and transports approaching the beaches
were turned and marched in the opposite
direction, and stores and horses already
in lighters were even unloaded on to the
beaches to give the appearance of a dis-
embarkation.
On the afternoon of the 7th the enemy
delivered a very heavy artillery attack
against certain portions of our advanced
position, probably the most intense bom-
bardment our trenches in the Helles area
have ever been subjected to. Attempts
were made by the enemy to follow up
this bombardment by an infantry attack,
but the few Turks who could be per-
suaded to quit their trenches were in-
slantly shot down, and the infantry ad-
vance was a complete failure. This bom-
bardment and attack most fortunately
took place at a time when our forward
position was fully manned, and when
there were still about sixty guns in posi-
tion on the peninsula, with a very large
supply of ammunition.
Embarkation Difficulties
The enemy was certainly deceived as
to the date of our final departure from
his shores, and his artillery fore on the
final night of the evacuation was negligi-
ble.
The decision arrived at on Jan. 6 to
evacuate practically all the personnel of
the final night from "W" and "V"
beaches necessitated some rearrangement
of plans, as some 5,000 additional troops
had to be embarked from these beaches.
To use motor lighters from the already
crowded piers would have lengthened the
operation very considerably, and it was
therefore decided to employ destroyers
to embark 5,200 men from the blockships,
which were fitted with stagings and con-
nected to the shore; thus existing ar-
rangements would be interfered with as
little as possible. The result was excel-
lent. The destroyers, which were laid
alongside the blockships, in spite of a
nasty sea, being handled with great skill
by their commanding officers, once more
showing their powers of adaptability.
The necessary amendments to orders
were issued on the morning of the 7th,
and, in spite of the short notice given,
the naval operations on the night of Jan.
8-9 were carried out without confusion or
delay, a fact which reflects great credit
on all concerned, especially on the beach
personnel, who were chiefly affected by
the change of plan. On the 8th the
weather was favorable, except that the
wind was from the south; this showed no
signs of freshening at 5 P. M., and orders
were given to carry out the final stage.
The actual embarkation on the 8th com-
menced at 8 P. M., and the last section
were to commence embarking at 6:30
A. M. By 9 P. M. the wind had fresh-
FINAL REPORTS ON GALL1P0LI
511
ened considerably, still blowing from the
south; a slight sea got up, and caused
much inconvenience on the beaches.
A floating bridge at " W " beach com-
menced to break up, necessitating ar-
rangements being made to ferry the last
section of the personnel to the waiting
destroyers. At Gully beach matters were
worse, and, after a portion of the 700
troops had been embarked in motor light-
ers and sent off to his Majesty's ship
Talbot, it was found impossible to con-
tinue using this beach, (one motor lighter
was already badly on shore — she was
subsequently destroyed by gunfire,) and
orders were given for the remainder of
the Gully beach party to embark from
" W " beach; this was done without con-
fusion, special steps having been taken
by the beachmaster to cope with such an
eventuality. After a temporary lull the
wind again increased, and by 3 A. M. a
very nasty sea was running into " W "
beach.
It was only by the great skill and determi-
nation displayed by the beach personnel that
the embarkation was brought to a successful
conclusion and all the small craft except one
steamboat (damaged in collision) got away
in safety. The last troops were leaving at
3 :45 A. M., after which the beach personnel
embarked. Great difficulty was experienced
in getting the last motor lighters away, owing
to the heavy seas running into the harbor.
This was unfortunate, as the piles of stores
which it had been found impossible to take
off, and which were prepared for burning,
were lit perhaps rather sooner than was
necessary, as were also the fuses leading to
the magazine. The latter blew up before all
the boats were clear, and I regret to report
caused the death of one of the crew of the
hospital barge, which was among the last
boats to leave. It was fortunate that more
casualties were not caused by the explosion,
debris from which fell over and around a
great many boats.
Operations a Complete Success
Admiral de Robeck attributes the suc-
cess of the operations principally to:
(a) Excellent staff work.
(b) The untiring energy and skill displayed
by officers and men, both army and navy,
comprising the beach parties.
(c) The good seamanship and zeal of the
officers and crews of the various craft em-
ployed in the evacuation of the troops.
(d) The excellent punctuality of the army
in the arrival of the troops for embarkation
at the different beaches.
The navy [he continues] has especially to
thank Generals Sir William Birdwood and Sir
Francis Davies for their forethought and
hearty co-operation in all matters. The staff
work was above reproach and I hope I may
be permitted to mention some of those mil-
itary officers who rendered special assistance
to the navy. They are : Major Gen. the Hon.
H. A. Lawrence, Brig. Gen. H. E. Street,
and Colonel A. B. Carey, R. E., the latter of
whom performed work of inestimable value
in the last few days by improving piers and
preparing means of rapid embarkation from
the blockships.
The program and plans as regards the naval
portion of the operations were due to the
work of my chief of staff, Commodore
Roger J. B. Keyes, to whom too great
credit cannot be given ; to Captain Francis
H. Mitchell, R. N., attached to General Head-
quarters ; Major William W. Godfrey, R. M.
L. I., of my staff; Captain Cecil M. Staveley,
(principal beach master at Cape Helles ;)
Captain F. G. Talbot, in charge of the vessels
taking part, and Acting Commander George
F. A. Mulock, chief assistant to Captain
Staveley.) The organization of the communi-
cations, on which so much depended, was very
ably carried out by my fleet wireless officer
(Commander James F. Somerville) and my
signal officer, (Lieutenant Hugh S. Bowlby.)
The naval covering squadron was under the
command of Rear Admiral Sydney R. Fre-
mantle in his Majesty's ship Hibernia, who
had a most able colleague in Captain Douglas
L. Dent of his Majesty's ship Edgar, whose
ability had done so much to improve the nava
gun support to the Helles army. The work of
this squadron was conducted with great en-
ergy and was in every way satisfactory. It
controlled to a great extent the enemy's guns
firing on to the beaches. Whenever the en-
emy opened fire, whether by day or night,
there were always ships in position to reply,
a result which reflects much credit on the
officer named. The Army Headquarters gave
us again the invaluable assistance and ex-
perience of Lieut. Col. C. F. Aspinall in ar-
ranging details, and I cannot help laying
special stress on this officer's excellent co-
operation with my staff oh all occasions.
■
if yJPli/^
ffj^
•
A Wonderful French War Museum
The Val-de-Grace and Its Record of What
Science Has Done to the Soldiers of France
J. Ernest Charles, writing for Les Annates, Paris, has told this interesting story of the
Musee du Val-de-Grace, founded at the suggestion of Justin Godart, French Under Secretary
of Mate, and established under the direction of Dr. Jacob, Professor in Val-de-Grace College,
with the co-operation of Drs. Pascal, Perret, Lefort, Latarget, Andre, and Rothschild. The
article is specially translated for Current History Magazine.
M
ONUMENTS also have their
destiny. The Val-de-Grace,
founded or developed by Anne
of Austria as a thank offering
to God for the tardy birth of the young
Prince who was to become one of the
most bellicose Kings of Europe, has long
been the structure in Paris devoted es-
pecially to curing the ills caused by war.
A hospital for soldiers, an advanced
school for doctors and military surgeons,
the Val-de-Grace is now the museum
where all the most wonderful achieve-
ments of science against the murderous
weapons of war are exhibited.
Go to the Val-de-Grace Museum of the
Military Health Service, which Justin
Godart, Under Secretary of State, took
the lead in founding for the instruction
of future generations. It will be a visit
both stirring and sad, and yet comforting
withal. You will be able there to follow
the whole history of the war by the suf-
ferings it inflicts and by the remedies,
daily growing more efficient, which men
of heart and of genius are creating to
cure them. Science is fighting desper-
ately to diminish the wickedness of men,
and science is often victorious — espe-
cially French science. By its extraordi-
nary activity and generosity it has done
marvels.
Professor Fernand Widal, speaking of
the vast strides of preventive medicine,
the results of vaccination against small-
pox, typhoid, cholera, which have abol-
ished in this war those terrible epidemics
of other wars, said : " Jenner's vaccina-
tion: English! Pasteur's vaccination:
French ! " The great life protecting dis-
coveries have been made on this side of
the trench line. Others have tried to
dishonor science. Our learned men have
saved its good name. They have per-
suaded us that, despite all this methodi-
cal carnage, one could and should still
have faith in a truly humanitarian
science. And it is here, in these grave
and somewhat melancholy rooms, that the
elements of the story have been assem-
bled.
Let it no longer be said that history
is only for the entertainment of curious
men. These archives gathered here,
these reports of Health Service Direc-
tors, which intrepid seekers for truth will
some day read; these memoirs of army
surgeons imprisoned in Germany, these
scientific announcements, these photo-
graphic documents, in short, this history
of the war as seen from within, of war
as it really is — in all these we have the
materials for volumes yet to be written,
and for many future discoveries.
Scientists and students, standing before
the varied wealth of this anatomical-
pathological museum, which exhibits the
infinite diversity of lesions produced in
the human body by modern engines of
war, will hold fruitful discussions.
Marvels of Surgery
But the great masses of .the people
themselves will be overwhelmed with ad-
miration in the presence of the results
already achieved, whether by surgical
operations of prodigious daring, or by
other still bolder operations through
which the surgeons not only repair the
broken body, but seem to rebuild it en-
tirely, making of a ruined man a new be-
ing, sound, solid, a man with the desire
and possibility of action, filled afresh
with the love of life. For these savants
recreate youth, force, almost happiness.
They accomplish resurrections — physical
and moral resurrections.
A WONDERFUL FRENCH WAR MUSEUM
513
Consider these plaster casts that
record the successive stages of the plas-
tic reparations made especially by Pro-
fessor Morestin. Young men are brought
in with faces mutilated, plowed open,
ravaged; they no longer look like human
beings. They have become objects* of
horror. They feel themselves consigned
to solitude, to distress, to daily martyr-
dom. This one has the jaw torn away,
the chin gone, and the upper lip hangs
in shreds over a bloody abyss. That one
no longer has a nose. A third has a chin
and cheek that look as if they had been
gnawed away. They are all hideous to
look at, spectacles to frighten children
and make even compassionate women
turn from them forever.
Now, the surgeons take these ruined
faces and rebuild them — actually recon-
struct them. Professor Morestin 're-
moves a bit of rib from the unfortunate
who has lost a nose, inserts it under the
skin of the forehead, lets it gradually
regain vitality, slips it down to the po-
sition of the nose, covers it with skin —
and of that frightful wound there re-
main scarcely perceptible traces. An-
other cartilaginous graft makes a new
chin for the soldier whose lower jaw was
shattered, and there remain only light
ridges and the regular lines of a scar to
tell of what had been a terrible mutila-
tion.
Sculptors in Living Flesh
What shall be done with this soldier
whose eye socket and cheek bone have
been crushed deep into the face? Is it
possible to lessen the horror of such a
wound? The surgeon, little by little,
fills in and carpets the excavation for the
eye with shreds of skin which grow to-
gether; and in like manner he treats the
bared surface of the maxillary bone. An
artificial eye is inserted, absolutely like
the one that is intact, and it seems to
look with the same look, to live with the
same life. The wounded man now can
return to a useful place in society.
And the wonderful modelings of these
sculptors in human flesh have names
hard to retain: Engraftment, rhino-
plasty, cheiloplasty, refection of the lips,
ocui^pulperial prothesia, refection of
the eye and eyelid. And this strange yet
simple vocabulary is growing every day,
for names must be given to the metic-
ulous and patient miracles of surgical
science, and these miracles are multiply-
ing incessantly. The plaster casts and
photographs of the Val-de-Grace show
the phases of each. Surgeons are pres-
tidigitators who do not desire to keep
their secrets to themselves. * * *
In the Val-de-Grace Museum a mani-
kin that seems almost alive has under-
gone all the wounds, the fractures, the
perforations, the mutilations developed
by the war in such abominable variety;
and this manikin bears all the appa-
ratus invented to remedy them. Here
is an artificial leg, supple and easily
controlled; there is an apparatus with
springs and metallic rings which enables
a man to move the fingers of a hand
which a wounded radial nerve has para-
lyzed. And here is the apparatus that
supplies the place of a paralyzed muscle
for shoulder articulation — the deltoid
muscle, to call it by its name. Yonder is
a similar apparatus to supply the loss of
the bony substance of the humerus. If
the wounded man has paralysis of the
sciatic nerve his foot is inert; a shoe sole
mounted on springs and articulated with
steel rods enables him to use it. Gloves
with springs in the back give a man the
use of his hand when wounded nerves
paralyze the fingers. Other contrivances
permit him to dress himself without aid.
Still others act as substitutes for stif-
fened, wasted, or absent members, so
that the mutilated man can be a me-
chanic, a farmer, or can perform the
most diverse professional tasks; in short,
can again live in the workaday world of
men and women.
Engines of Destruction
In this museum also are grouped all
the engines of destruction created by
the perverse imagination of those who
champion the unlimited spread of sorrow
and death: Zeppelin bombs, airplane
bombs, incendiary shells, shrapnel, as-
phyxiating gas or explosive shells, aerial
torpedoes, grenades, simple balls, little
projectiles almost denuded yet whose in-
51-1
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
credible swiftness multiplies their mur-
derous force. Here they are, these bul-
lets, twisted, flattened, shattered, them-
selves mutilated; they seem to bear wit-
ness that evil canont be done with im-
punity.
Near this destructive paraphernalia is
the protective apparatus. Against the
lachrymal, suffocating, asphyxiating gas
we have the original hyposulphite plug,
modest but useful ; then the different im-
provements on this, each marking a step
of progress, until we reach the present
mask, which guarantees safety. But it
may be thought that warriors with head3
muffled in steel furnish blind targets for
projectiles. It is true, alas! that defen-
sive arms are not as perfect as the of-
fensive. But at least some of them re-
duce the destructive power of modern
weapons. Especially is this true of the
steel helmet, that masterpiece invented
by Adrian; and when one examines all
these helmets, which have been dented,
scarred, smashed, pierced, and which yet
have resisted, one begins to glimpse still
further improvements. One wishes our
soldiers might have fine armor like that
of mediaeval times, yet lightened and
adapted. From looking at these helmets,
battered, yet sound after so many battles,
may not some inventor get the inspira-
tion for an effective protection that will
shield our fighters?
The Fight Against Disease
If there is no absolute protection
against wounds, there is such against
epidemic disease, and this is something
new. In former wars epidemics were
more fatal than battles. Typhoid fever
spread inevitable death, and cholera was
always present. " Not all died of it, but
all were stricken." Marshal St. Arnaud
owed his death — and his glory — to
cholera. Was it not this disease which,
raging in its deadly way during the re-
cent Balkan wars, stopped the Bulgarian
Army in its march on Constantinople?
History of recent wars in this regard
has become merely history of evils de-
finitively abolished. Science here is
truly victorious. Let inventors of rival
serums prove each other's methods
without virtue if not actually pernicious;
we must, nevertheless, look with re-
spect upon the exhibit of vaccines fur-
nished by army laboratories, these
graphic charts which bear irrefutable
witness to the progressive disappear-
ance of contagious diseases from our
armies, and must perceive that one of
the most dreaded causes of death has
disappeared.
Medicine has shown as great genius
as surgery in diminishing the ill-effects
of wounds. No one can stand indifferent
before the molds and models that depict
the irrigation and disinfection of wounds
by the Carrel process and the Dakin
fluid. Carrel's method has aroused al-
most universal enthusiasm; only a few
remain unconvinced. The Carrel method
for the treatment of infected wounds
has furnished its own proofs, and what
proofs! It regenerates the tissues, it
makes the flesh live again, it saves men,
it makes physicians and surgeons cry in
professional exaltation, " Wounds treated
by the Carrel method are splendid to
see! "
Work of the Ambulances
But the creative activities of physicians
and surgeons recorded in this museum
would be in vain if the wounded reached
the hospital too late. Now the dressing-
stations have been brought close to the
wounded, and the transport of the
wounded to these stations has been ac-
celerated. Herein lies the secret of the
wonderful improvement brought about
in the last eighteen months by a Military
Health Service that is truly active, bold,
methodical, vigilant, foreseeing, practical
— modern !
The singularly expressive bas-reliefs
of the sculptor Larrive here represent
these profoundly tragic scenes in their
utmost simplicity. First we see men
mount guard in the embrasure of a
trench. One of them is wounded. On
the spot immediately he receives first
aid. Then another soldier, grievously
wounded, is carried on a litter along the
trenches and boyaux, the stretcher-bear-
ers negotiating the difficult turnings
with practiced skill. Now it is a first-
line aid post. Near the door are ranged
the guns and sacks of the wounded, and
you see the protected shelter, with the
A WONDERFUL FRENCH WAR MUSEUM
515
surgeons working calmty under a roof
reinforced with sacks of earth and logs
of wood. At length we are in the interior
of the " poste de secours " itself. There
is a bed of straw, a table for giving the
wounded immediate treatment. Stretched
on the table, under the brutal light of
an acetylene lamp, lies a wounded man
whom the busy Major is examining. Al-
ready a stretcher bearer is crossing the
threshold with another victim. And to
think that many of these posts, where
the' very speed of the operation assures
the recovery of the patient, are situated
200 yards from the German lines, forty
yards from the French lines — six yards
underground !
Many of the wounded can be trans-
ported without delay to the ambulances
at the front and the hospitals at the rear.
Everything has been done to perfect this
service. Mark the documentary collec-
tions of the Val-de-Grace — ambulance
models, tents, sanitary barracks, wagons,
automobiles, &c. ; one is soon convinced
that the past has bequeathed scarcely
anything to the present sanitary service.
There are celebrated names — Larrey,
Percy — but only names. The Health
Service up to our time remained subor-
dinate, rudimentary, insufficient — crimi-
nally insufficient. The soldier counted
only as long as he could fight; after lie
had become useless as a warrior he
ceased to be " interesting." Little at-
tention was paid to him. Now every-
thing is organized to preserve the sons
of France.
A Great Hospital System
At Val-de-Grace there is a relief plan
of a vast evacuation station. Thither
are gathered the wounded from all direc-
tions, at high speed, with care and order.
In immense barracks they are sorted and
classified. The* empty spaces are
adorned with gardens. And the hospital
trains follow each other, carrying the
wounded more and more swiftly toward
the distant distributing stations, whence
they are sent promptly to the various
hospitals of the district. A great si-
lence, solemn and calm, rests upon this
vast evacuating station. It is no longer
the silence of death. One feels that
the wounded are going away toward
health, recovery, life.
Another stroll through the pensive
quiet of these instructive halls will give
you still other impressions, for here
each document marks the moments of
the struggle of nature against the hos-
tile powers of wounds and disease, the
mysteries of advancing science reveal
themselves one by one, and the whole is
one large, clear synthesis of efforts
and results. The Museum of the Val-
de-Grace will be useful not only to his-
torians but to those who are destined
to make new discoveries.
Frenchmen originated, the idea and
set the example, but the Germans did not
let it go to waste. They imitated it, and
established a museum like ours almost
immediately. We at least have the certi-
tude that the Museum of the Val-de-
Grace will be in no danger of perishing.
The whole world will come here later
to pay homage to the disciplined ardor
of the French scientific spirit. In a
minute study devoted to the health
service, Professor Pierre Delbet records
the astonishment and delight of French
physicians who had long been held prison-
ers in Germany. They had seen nothing
like our new methods, nothing compar-
able to the progress achieved in France
in the art of curing the wounded of this
war. The Museum of the Val-de-Grace
preserves that astonishment in tangible
form. In the midst of catastrophes
French science has kept all its virtue,
and, when peace returns, will spread its
benefits abroad through the world more
widely than ever.
Germany's Form of Government
The Constitutional Fabric Which President
Wilson Says Must Be Altered
By Walter S. Smoot
The war message of President Wilson indicated that the United States would make no
peace with Germany until its present system of autocracy was overthrown. What constitutes
that system is explained herewith by Mr. Smoot. in an analysis of the German Constitution
prepared for Current History Magazine.
THE present German Empire dates
its existence from the proclama-
tion of King William I. of Prussia
as German Emperor (Deutscher
Kaiser) at Versailles, Jan. 18, 1871, near
the close of the Franco-Prussian war. Its
Constitution is little changed, however,
from that adopted in 1866 after the
Prussian victory of Koniggratz had ex-
pelled Austrian dominance from Ger-
many and replaced it by Prussian guid-
ance in so far as the German States of
the north were concerned, but had failed
to so affect the southern States — Ba-
varia, Wiirttemberg, Baden, and South
Hesse. Bismarck, with masterly fore-
sight, made this Constitution of the
North German Federation flexible enough
to admit the South German States when
the time came, but rigid enough to secure
the union's complete domination by Prus-
sia.
As in the federation, the imperial sov-
ereignty of Germany is not vested, theo-
retically, in the person of the ruler, but
in the Bundesrat, or Federal Council,
whose members are German lords sent as
representatives of the twenty-two mon-
archies and three free city republics,
whose union forms the empire. Actually,
however, despite the Kaiser's being,
strictly speaking, mere President of the
German Federation, and forbidden to
veto laws passed by the Imperial Parlia-
ment, his will is law in every root and
branch of the German Government. The
imperial dignity is hereditary in the line
of Hohenzollern ; he possesses 17 votes
out of 61 in the Bundesrat and 236 out
of 397 in the Reichstag, and so can or-
der the passage or killing of any meas-
ure he wishes; he appoints and dismisses
without regard to the political complex-
ion of the legislative bodies the Imperial
Chancellor, who stands second only to
himself in the Government; lastly, while
he may not declare an offensive war
without the consent of the Bundesrat,
he is Commander in Chief of the navy
and actively so of the army, in both of
which fighting arms he appoints the
chief officers and exacts the fullest and
blindest obedience and allegiance.
Power of the Bundesrat
The Bundesrat, or Federal Council,
representative of the imperial sover-
eignty vested in the whole body of Ger-
man rulers, in complexion is like that
of the British House of Lords, being the
stronghold of the Junkers or conservative
militarists of Germany, and in repre-
sentative character is like the Senate of
the United States, representing the
various States of the Union. Unlike the
situation in the American upper house,
however, the German States are not
equally represented in the Council. Prus-
sia, comprising nearly two-thirds of the
empire both in area and population, is
officially given seventeen votes and
actually controls one more, that of the
principality of Waldeck; Bavaria, Sax-
ony, Wiirttemberg, Baden, Hesse, Meck-
lenburg-Schwerin, Brunswick, and * the
imperial territory of Alsace-Lorraine
send delegations varying from six to two
members each; all the other States, in-
cluding the free cities of Liibeck,
Bremen, and Hamburg, have one repre-
sentative— sixty-one lords in all.
The Bundesrat is a non-deliberative
body, the members voting immediately
by States upon the measures called up, in
GERMANY'S FORM OF GOVERNMENT
517
strict accordance with instructions re-
ceived from their home Governments;
consequently, only the results, not the
proceedings, of its sessions are published,
leaving free consideration and discussion
of German legislation to the Reichstag.
The functions of the Bundesrat are legis-
lative, executive, and judicial. First, bills
must have its approval before they may
become laws; second, it supervises, sub-
ject to the Emperor's will, the imperial
administration; third, it acts as a Su-
preme Court of Appeals in case any one
of the State courts is accused of a denial
of justice.
The Reichstag a Forum
The great German forum for the dis-
cussion of public questions and the hope
of the democratic element in Germany to-
day is the Reichstag, or Imperial Parlia-
ment, corresponding to our House of Rep-
resentatives. The membership numbers
397 Delegates, chosen today throughout
the empire, exactly as in 1867, on the
basis of one member to each 100,000 of
the population. The elective system for
the Reichstag is rigidly uniform through-
out Germany, though Prussia and many
other States have different systems for
the election of the members of their
State Legislatures. Every German citi-
zen over 25 years of age, not mentally
deficient or a criminal and not in active
service with the colors, may vote in the
general elections for the Reichstag; the
Delegates are chosen for a term of five
years — unless the House is sooner dis-
solved by the Emperor — and are paid for
their services. The Reichstag enjoys
neither executive nor judicial powers, but
acts as the great deliberative body of
the empire, the only forum in Germany
where public opinion may be heard upon
current legislation with any semblance
whatever of fullness and freedom.
The Imperial Chancellor
The Kaiser selects and appoints from
among the Prussian Delegates to the
Bundesrat his Imperial Chancellor, who
is the chief Minister of the empire and
may be dismissed at the imperial pleas-
ure without the slightest regard to the
attitude of the parties in either the Bun-
desrat or Reichstag. The Chancellor,
therefore, is responsible solely to the Em-
peror, %from whose favor he derives his
authority, and is not in the least affected
by legislative praise or censure. He is
the Emperor's closest confidant and ad-
viser, and as such acts as intermediary
between the Kaiser and the Parliament,
particularly the Reichstag. He is the
presiding officer of the Bundesrat; must
countersign all newly approved laws
with his signature; appoints the German
officers in the Emperor's name, and
oversees the discharge of their duties.
The control which the Emperor exer-
cises over the Chancellor extends also
to the other Imperial Ministers, who are
consulted by the Kaiser individually as
their advice or aid is especially required.
We have, therefore, in Germany no
cabinet system, the executive powers
vested in a group of popular leaders who
retain their portfolios only so long as
their every important act is approved
by Parliament, as in England and the
other European countries. Instead, we
have the German Kaiser, his functions
and authority as Emperor supplemented
by those as King of Prussia, enjoying an
incalculable range of power, and the
popular legislative body, the Reichstag,
subjecting the Government to criticism
and check rather than to direction.
The Social-Democratic Party
We may date the rise of the German
workingman from the mid-Napoleonic
period, when Prussia, as a war measure,
extended liberty to her serfs, men bound
for life to toil for their lords on the
great rural estates. However, we do
not find him asserting himself until the
introduction of machinery and the forma-
tion of great factory communities in
Germany, well along in the nineteenth
century, had divided the population into
two distinct classes — capital and labor.
In 1873 there was a great panic; the
Government gave little or no relief to
the want and misery which followed, and
the workingmen by thousands joined a
new political organization, the Social-
Democratic Party, formed to secure
recognition of the rights and needs of
German workingmen. In 1876 the first
518
THti NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
detailed party program of the Social-
Democrats was published; since all the
suffering endured by the working* classes
was attributable to the concentration of
the country's wealth in the hands of a
few, the gradual abolition of private
ownership of sources and means of pro-
duction, like railways, canals, and mines,
was proposed, and in its place was to
be substituted the establishment, by the
aid of the State, of co-operative pro-
ductive associations owned, worked, and
controlled by and in the interests of the
people themselves.
So much the party as a socialistic or-
ganization proposed. For the interest of
democracy it urged that the ballot be
made secret and obligatory upon all
Germans over twenty years old of both
sexes; that legislation and trial be by
citizens chosen directly by the people
themselves; that decision of war or peace
be left in the hands of the people; that a
system of militia be substituted for a
paid standing army; that no abridgement
whatever be made of freedom of the
press, of assembly, and of conscience;
that the period of daily toil be restricted
and enforced work on Sunday be pro-
hibited; that the labor of children be pro-
hibited and that of women protected;
that the formation of labor unions be
allowed, and a graduated income tax es-
tablished.
Bismarck's Harsh Law
The Iron Chancellor, Otto von Bis-
marck, who had made a united Germany
"not through fine speeches and major-
ity votes, but by Blood and Iron," was
then at the height of his power as active
head of the German Government; to him
many of the demands of the Social-
Democrats seemed just and reasonable,
but more he classed as red revolution.
In 1878, after two attempts had been
made upon the life of the Emperor by
fanatics who happened to hold Social-
Democratic beliefs, he put through the
Reichstag the " Law of Exceptions," de-
signed to suppress popular agitation alto-
gether and providing that all meetings,
publications, and societies purposing
" the subversion of the social order " and
promoting socialistic tenets and ideala
were to be forcibly suppressed, and that
martial law was to be proclaimed in any
city threatened with riot or other labor
disturbance.
Under this harsh law, which remained
in effect twelve years, scores of agita-;
tors were expelled from the country,
over 200 labor unions were disbanded,
and hundreds of publications were sup-
pressed, but its lasting result was to
throw the whole number of Social-Demo-
crats into a compact body, whose repre-
sentation in the Reichstag doubled from
1877 to 1884. Bismarck, having incurred
the enmity of nearly every political party
in Germany except the National Liberals,
was by this time in great straits for
popular support; therefore, to conciliate
and enlist the aid of the Social-Democrats
he advocated a number of reforms for
the benefit of the working classes and
carried out a few of them.
In 1883 the Government enacted a law
insuring the workingman against sick-
ness, and the next year a supplementary
one insuring him against accident. By
1887 child and female labor had been
limited by legislative enactment and
Sunday set apart as a day of rest. In
1889 the final measure was passed, in-
suring workingmen against poverty from
permanent disablement or old age. The
Social-Democratic Party in the Reichs-
tag opposed these laws as an attempt to
steal their thunder, and the party lost
ground in consequence, but gradually
more than recovered it. The party lead-
ers pointed out that the provision direct-
ing the workingman to pay an appreciable
portion of his wages into the several
workingmen's insurance funds for
emergencies which oftentimes never
arose robbed him of his independence
and freedom of choice in disposing of
his wages.
The Crorvn and the People
The only hope for free government
in Germany, therefore, lies in the suc-
cess of the above-detailed program of
the Social-Democratic Party; for as it
stands the Government, though it is
founded on a written Constitution and
the Reichstag is elected by popular vote,
is the least democratic in Western
GERMANY'S FORM OF GOVERNMENT
519
Europe. In the first place, the Constitu-
tion makes essential the approval of
each and every law by the Military Im-
perialists who compose the Bundesrat,
which may thus veto a law passed by
the popular assembly, the Reichstag. In
the second place, the representatives of
the people in the Reichstag have abso-
lutely no voice or control in the inner
councils of the Government. The Em-
peror rules by right of birth and is sub-
ject to none — " I take my crown from
God alone! " His Ministers, far from
bearing the mandate of the dominant
party in Parliament, are responsible to
the Emperor alone, since it is he who
at will appoints and dismisses them. His
immense bloc of votes in both houses of
Parliament, combined with the additional
support he usually receives, is sufficient
for him to pass or block any measure he
wishes; and, furthermore, he may vote
down any constitutional measure to
which he is opposed, since fourteen votes
in the Bundesrat are sufficient to defeat
any proposed amendment to the Consti-
tution.
i
German Liberal Movement
Public criticism of the Government is
liable to cause the arrest and imprison-
ment of the offender. The complete sub-
jection of the popular will to the dictates
of the Government is seen in the fact that
four times in the past the Reichstag has
been dissolved for presuming to use its
only weapon against the Government —
rejection of the Ministry's measures —
and in all four cases a new election has
provided an assembly which passed the
measure upon which its predecessor was
wrecked.
So it is that in Germany the will of
the people is directed by the masterful,
all-powerful few, who compose the Gov-
ernment, along the path which has been
prescribed and marked out for it; and
the Hohenzollern dynasty has succeeded
in preserving to a remarkable degree its
ideal of a Government imposed from
above and being of and for the people
only to a limited degree.
Under the influence of liberal move-
ments coming to a head in other States
of Europe and in America, the Social-
Democratic Party came less and less to
radically condemn the existing order and
more and more to appear as the cham-
pion of reform confronting the intolerably
despotic imperial system. German
politics possesses no large liberal party
advocating the democratic principles of
responsible Ministers, equal electoral dis-
tricts, and retrenchment in military ex-
penditures; consequently it has devolved
upon the Social-Democrats to be the chief
promoters of German democracy, resist-
ing sturdily the ambitious and warlike
projects of Kaiser Wilhelm II., advocat-
ing a decrease in expenditures for
colonial purposes, striving for the pro-
motion of international peace, and scorn-
ing the divine right theories of the
Emperor.
In their efforts toward reform the
Social- Democrats have been supported by
the other parties of the democratic Left
in the Reichstag, and by many adherents
from the Catholic Centre and the Con-
servative Right, showing that the liberal
movement, though subject to suppressive
measures, has been rising in Germany, as
well as in other countries.
German exponents of this liberal move-
ment see the first step in its success
in the projected redivision of the empire
into new and more equitable electoral
districts.
In 1867, under the Confederation,
a law was passed dividing the coun-
try roughly into electoral districts of
100,000 voters each and assigning one
member in the Reichstag to each elec-
toral district. Since then the population
of Germany has increased from 40,000,-
000 to 65,000,000, hundreds of thousands
have removed from the country to the
city, rural districts of formerly 100,000
inhabitants have dwindled, while great
manufacturing centres have increased
three and four fold in population, and
still this law has never been changed.
As a result, Berlin, for instance, al-
though its population would entitle it
to twenty representatives in the Reichs-
tag, actually possesses only six. Then,
too, this condition has been responsible
for the dominance of the relatively small
Socialist minority in the Reichstag by
the large Conservative majority; in 1907
520
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
the Socialists, though polling over
3,250,000 votes, elected only forty-three
members to the Reichstag, while the Con-
servative Junkers, militarists living on
great country estates, cast only 1,500,000
votes and returned eighty-three delegates
to the Reichstag. Despite these disad-
vantages at the polls, the Socialists made
large gains in the elections of 1912.
The Imperial German Government has
always opposed both a redivision of elec-
toral districts and the institution of par-
liamentary government by two parties —
the " party in power " and the opposition
— which such a change would inevitably
bring about. It knows that increase of
representation would mean such an in-
crease in the number of delegates from
the towns and their industrial elements
as to shift the dominant power in the
Government from the Conservative Right
to the Liberal Left. It knows that the
rise of a great Liberal Party in the
Reichstag would put an end to its present
independence of the various small parties
which divide the lower house against
itself. It still holds that the Ministry
should be held responsible only to one
man, the Emperor, and subject to no let
or hindrance on the part of the people.
This stand it will adhere to and maintain
as long as it can.
The Kaiser a Reactionary
Conspicuous among the opponents of
German liberalism and reform is the
figure of the present Kaiser, William II.
His ideal of a reigning Prince, which he
has constantly striven to realize, is that
of one who watches over and guards and
regulates with beneficient paternalism
every interest in his people's life. William
I. had no more devout belief in monarchy
and the mission of the Hohenzollerns;
Frederick the Great had no smaller belief
in government of the people by the peo-
ple, than William II. Throughout his-
tory the Hohenzollerns have been re-
markable for their adherence to the
theory of the divine right of Kings, for
the maintenance of a peerless army, and
for the swift addition of more territory
to their dominions. Emperor William has
followed in the footsteps of his fathers
in fulfilling the first of these two, and
it is not his fault that he will not be
able to fulfill the third.
In his speeches he has endeavored to
secure blind acceptance by the people of
the god-like character of the Hohenzol-
lern rule by repeatedly exalting the
memory of his ancestors and admonish-
ing his auditors to follow him cheerfully
and unquestioningly as their divinely ap-
pointed ruler:
" It is a tradition in our House to con-
sider ourselves as designed by God to
govern the peoples over which it is given
us to reign. My grandfather placed, by
his own right, the crown of the Kings of
Prussia on his head, once more laying
stress upon the fact that it was conferred
upon him by the Grace of God alone, not
by Parliament, by meetings of the peo-
ple, or by popular decision; and that he
considered himself as the chosen instru-
ment of Heaven, and as such performed
his duties as regent and ruler. Consider-
ing myself as the instrument %f the Lord,
without heeding the views or opinions of
the day, I go my way, which is devoted
solely and alone to the prosperity and
peaceful development of our Father-
land."
Standing on False Ideals
The worldwide democratic movement
of recent years has awakened only
enmity in the Emperor's breast, and he
does not seem to be able to realize that
a new era of democracy has at last
dawned in the German Empire in which
the people are to control their own polit-
ical life. Rather, he has tried to force
the old despotic order upon an age of
far better and different ideals. One
speech of his in particular, made to re-
cruits at Potsdam, Nov. 23, 1891, at a
time of disorder and reform agitation,
the world will never forgive or forget:
" More than ever, unbelief and discontent
raise their head. It may happen, though
God forbid, that you may have to fire on
your own varents and brothers. Prove
your fidelity, then, by your sacrifice."
In the light of the conditions in Ger-
man politics outlined in this article, and
of recent events, this paragraph from
Dr. John Clark Ridpath's " History of the
World" (1911 edition) sounds almost
GERMANY'S FORM OF GOVERNMENT
like a prophecy and shines like a beacon
of hope for the future:
" It is the misfortune of the Germany
of today that her greatness still rests
upon the foundations of military force.
To the extent that this is so, her strength
is weakness and the imperial system en-
dangered. It remains for the present
and the future to demonstrate whether
521
Germany shall be able, with her power-
ful intellect and splendid moods of men-
tal action, to eliminate from her political
and social system the elements of force,
of personal will, of feudal antecedence,
of remaining absolutism, and to leave
behind in her tremendous crucible only
the beauty of her genius and the liquid
gold of liberty."
Painful Charges of Brutality to Prisoners
THE London Times of April 11 printed
a dispatch from a special corre-
spondent at Berne, Switzerland,
which contained a distressing indictment
of the cruelty practiced by German wo-
men toward English prisoners. The cor-
respondent says that the accounts from
1,500 English soldiers released, from Ger-
man prison camps now in Switzerland
give testimony which "will make a
monument of German shame that will
stand as a warning to the world for gen-
erations." He continues:
" One has heard before how German
women refused to give British wounded
any food or drink on their long journey
through Germany, so that they suffered
unutterable anguish for days together;
but it is only when one hears the stories
in mass — a hundred, one after another —
that one gets any idea of the universality
and the horror of it all. There are in
Switzerland today scores and scores of
men of all ranks who had the same ex-
periences. Food and drink were denied
them, (by women wearing the Red
Cross,) and the denial was accompanied
with the filthiest abuse.
" It was the common amusement of
these Red Cross women to tempt our
men, who were in the last extremity of
hunger and thirst, by holding food and
drink out to them to try to make them
snatch at it, and then drawing it away.
Many scores of our men, begging for a
drink, had coffee, or water, or soup ten-
dered to them; and then at the last mo-
ment the gentle nurse would spit in the
cup or glass. Not seldom our men, in
their suffering, had to drink the defiled
stuff, while the women looked on and
laughed. An equally common entertain-
ment with these women was to offer a
wounded man a glass, perhaps, of water;
then, standing just outside his reach, pour
it slowly on to the ground or down be-
tween the station platform and the rail-
way carriage.
" The French prisoners, we know, were
not regarded with the same hatred as the
British. One of our officers was wearing
a pair of blue French trousers. Putting
off his tunic, he appealed to a Red Cross
nurse for food, and she, taking him to be
French, gave it him. In his excitement
he inadvertently said, ' Oh, thank you ! '
Thereupon, seeing his nationality, she
snatched the food away again. Some-
times French officers were able to get
food, which they generously shared in se-
cret with British comrades. In at least
one case the behavior of the Red Cross
women was too much even for the Ger-
man soldiers.
" Two of our officers were in a railway
carriage with nine wounded German pri-
vates. The latter at every station were
plied with food and drink and cigarettes,
but the British officers were merely
called ' English swine/ and given nothing.
This went on for over twenty-four hours,
until the German soldiers could stand it
no longer. Then two of them pretended
to have finished their own portions hur-
riedly, and asked for more. Keeping
what they then received out of sight till
the train was in motion, they gave it to
the British officers.
" Cases of physical maltreatment of
our wounded by the German nurses were
just as common, as systematic, as was
the refusal to give them nourishment."
The Hand of God in Prussianism
A Study of the German War Spirit
DR. J. P. BANG, Professor of
Theology, at the University of
Copenhagen, has written a book,
entitled u Hurrah and Hallelu-
jah," which consists largely of ex-
cerpts from the works of Pan-German
poets and from the sermons of clergy-
men who see in Germanism the hand of
God. The title is taken from a col-
lection of poems published by a Ger-
man pastor, Konsistorialrat Dietrich
Vorwerk, under the title, " Hurrah and
Hallelujah," which Dr. Bang considers so
significant that he has adopted it for this
" documentation " of the teachings of
Germany's religious and intellectual lead-
ers. A translation has just been pub-
lished by the George H. Doran Company.
"The Allies," says Dr. Bang, "have
denounced the Germans as barbarians.
If this were meant to imply that Ger-
many was not a civilized nation such an
accusation would, of course, be absurd.
Germany is unquestionably a civilized
nation and none of the spokesmen of the
allied powers would think of denying that
she has produced rich treasures of
1 kultur.' Wherever the German mind
has labored, wonderful riches have been
the outcome.
" But the charge of barbarism points
in an entirely different direction. It
points to a development within Germany
which has been going on with headlong
rapidity, especially during the past fifty
years. Even the highest kultur can turn
to barbarism when it becomes subservient
to utterly false and immoral ideas.
" In Germany such a craving for power,
such a worship for mere strength, has
taken root and grown, that the claim of
right to be a determining factor in in-
ternational relations has been entirely
pushed aside. A colossal and ever-in-
creasing self-admiration, a belief in the
glory of all things German, the surpass-
ing merits sof the German nature, which
alone has the right to rule the world, a
cynical, brutal assertion that in relation
to this claim all existing treaties, all ap-
peals to international law, all considera-
tion for weaker peoples, are of no signfi-
cance whatever — all this we have wit-
nessed with shuddering astonishment.
" The greatest and most popular of all
the new German prophets is the poet
Emanuel Geibel, whose centenary has re-
cently been celebrated, (born 1815, died
1884,)" says Dr. Bang. "It is he who
has given the classic expression to the
new German hope of Germany's victori-
ous march through the world. This has
been achieved in the lines which are
quoted times without number in the new-
est German war literature:
" Und es mag am deutschen "Wesen
• Einmal noch die "Welt genesen !
" ' The world may yet again be healed
by Germanism.' The hope here expressed
has become a certainty for modern Ger-
many, and the Germans see in this the
moral basis for all their demands. Why
must Germany be victorious, why must
she have her place in the sun, why must
her frontiers be extended, why is all op-
position to Germany shameful, not to say
devilish, why must Germany become a
world empire, why ought Germany, and
not England, to become the great colonial
power? Why, because it is through the
medium of Germanism that the world is
to be healed; it is upon Germanism that
the salvation of the world depends. That
is why all attacks upon Germanism are
an offense against God's plans, and oppo-
sition to His designs for the world; in
short, a sin against God.
" In the first edition of Pastor Vor-
werk's poems there occurred a para-
phrase of the Lord's Prayer, of which I
will cite the last three petitions and the
close :
" Though the warrior's bread be scanty, do
Thou work daily death and tenfold woe unto
the enemy. Forgive in merciful long-suffer-
ing each bullet and each blow which misses
its mark ! Lead us not into the temptation of
letting our wrath be too tame in carrying out
Thy divine judgment! Deliver us and our
ally from the infernal enemy and his servants
[y«.^^saa:
^COUCY-LE-CHATEAUAFTERTHE GERMAN RETREAT
All That Is Left of the Massive Donjon Tower
Shown on Preceding Page
(Photo © Underwood A Underwood)
■Mr/1**
<
View of the Devastated Park of the Castle
As the Invaders Left It
(Photo © Underwood d Underwood)
ES^jyteferafc^
-.'Jfec
THE HAND OF GOD IN PRUSSIANISM
523
on earth. Thine is the kingdom, the German
land ; may we, by aid of Thy steel-clad hand,
achieve the power and the glory.
" Here, however, the Germans them-
selves thought the poet had gone too
far; the poem was denounced as blas-
phemous in a religious paper, and it did
not appear in later editions of the book.
"Another poet, Fritz Philippi, has
written the following poem, entitled
1 World-Germany ' :
" In the midst of the world war Germany
lies like a peaceful garden of God behind the
wall of her armies. Then the poet hears the
giant strides of the new armor-clad Ger-
many; the earth trembles, the nations shriek,
the old era sinks into ruin. Formerly Ger-
man thought was shut up in her corner, but
now the world shall have its coat cut accord-
ing to German measure and as far as our
swords flash and German blood flows, the
circle of the earth shall come under the tute-
lage of German activity.
" We have become a nation of wrath ; we
think only of the war. We execute God's
almighty will and the edicts of his justice we
will fulfill, imbued with holy rage."
Dr. Bang quotes long passages from
published war sermons, most of which
proclaim the identity of Germanism and
Christianity. This is from a volume of
sermons published by Pastor H. Francke,
Liegnitz :
They envy us our freedom, our power to do
our work in peace, to excel in virtue of
ability, to fulfill our appointed task for the
good of the world and humanity, to heal the
world by the German nature, to become a
blessing to the people of the earth. Wher-
ever the German spirit obtains supremacy,
there freedom also prevails. * * *
Here we come upon the old, intimate kin-
ship between the essence of Christianity and
of Germanism. Because of their close spir-
itual relationship, therefore, Christianity
must find its fairest flower in the German
mind. Therefore, we have a right to say :
" Our German Christianity — the most per-
fect, the most pure." * * *
German craving for truth and German
strength of faith, working along Biblical
paths, have attained to the true faith, the
pure religiousness, whose first and greatest
spokesman is Jesus Christ. Thus the Ger-
mans are the very nearest to the Lord, and
may claim for themselves that they have
" continued in His Word." * * *
We fight, then, not only for our land and
our people ; no, for humanity in its most
mature form of development; in a word, for
Christianity as against degeneration and. bar-
barism. Therefore, as surely as the history
of mankind moves onward and not backward,
and truth is higher than lies and hypocrisy,
God must be with us, and victory ours.
" The German Cod "
In the report of an address by a Ger-
man theological professor, in the Ber-
liner Lokal-Anzeiger for Nov. 13, 1914,
we read as follows:
But the deepest and most thought-inspiring
result of the war is " the German God." Not
the national God, such as the lower nations
worship, but " our God," who is not ashamed
of belonging to us, the peculiar acquirement
of our heart. Max Lenz has already testified
to the revelation of the " German God," and
Luther's hymn, " Ein feste Burg ist unser
Gott," merely expresses the same idea in
other words.
In a sermon preached Sept. 6, 1914,
Pastor Karl Koenig said:
Not fear, but strength! Since the days of
the Morocco affair, the most painful thing
for us who hold Germany's strength and
greatness to be a neccessity for the history
of mankind, was the fact that the inevitable
weakening in oar policy at that time— in-
evitable because our fleet was not yet ready,
because the Kaiser Wilhelm canal was not
yet completed, because Heligoland was not
yet fully fortified, and because the whole
Morocco business was not a matter for the
sake of which the conscience of our people
would have approved a war— the fact that
this weakness of our policy, to which neces-
sity compelled us, led foreign nations to sus-
pect our Kaiser of timidity. William the
Timid ! Thus they mocked in France, thus
they hissed in England, and the Muscovites
rubbed their hands in glee. * * *
Must we not, even now, be thankful that
Russian thirst for power, and French ambi-
tion, fostered and encouraged by English
egoism, did not let the shots fired at Serajevo
lead to a stern chastisement of Serbia, as
moral earnestness demanded, but allowed
them to swell into the thunder rolling through
this, the greatest war which has ever shaken
the world. Two years too early for our ene-
mies, but an act of grace from God for our-
selves and our allies ! For now we have the
lead in the iron game of war; and though
England may lurk in the background, wait-
ing for her turn in the game— so be it, Eng-
land— we know exactly what trumps you
hold, but whether you know ours, coming
days will show. * * *
Our German power shows its nature pre-
cisely ip this, that it can wait until God,
through its conscience, commands : " Now Is
the time to strike and defend thyself." The
time had not come in the days of the Mo-
rocco episode. But it has come now, and
German power, deliberate and calm, now
faces a world of foes. Conscience commands,
and then there is neither wavering nor polit-
ical wrangling, no ambiguous Anglicizing, no
ambiguous Muscovitizing, but one thing only :
Yes or no, and " German blows, German
power."
524
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
In a pamphlet entitled " War Devo-
tions," which has run through several
editions, Pastor J. Rump, Berlin, thus
outlines Germany's mission:
We stand facing the decisive hour for
Europe ; nay, we must even say, for Asia
and Africa. On Germany, which, contrary
to all human calculation, has in this war
been guided to victory, the Lord will confer
the duty of heralding the progress of His
Kingdom throughout humanity. On the paths
of commerce and intercourse we shall go
forth to all nations, and, after the fierce
fight is over, carry Jesus to them, in the
quiet, peaceful work of a true Kultur. Eng-
land, in these paths, has lowered herself to
become a nation of hucksters, who have long
abandoned the service of God for that of
Mammon. Let England's doings be a warn-
ing to us, Christians !
Pastor Goesch of Bustrow delivered a
discourse on war and Kultur, which con-
cludes with these words:
We Germans, reviled as Huns and bar-
barians, having through the war been taught
the value and benignant power of our Chris-
tian-German Kultur, will become the mis-
sionaries of Kultur to the people of the earth.
As a nation which knows and wills, which
strives and achieves, we will conquer that
place in the sun which is due to us, and will
become bearers of light to the other nations,
so that their eyes may be opened to the deed
of infamy, the Kultur-murder, to which they
have stooped, blinded by hatred and envy.
This German war against the whole world
shall break the way for German Kultur to
the whole world !
Dr. Bang, in conclusion, points out
that a systematic campaign of chauv-
inism and incitement to war had long
been carried on in Germany. He quotes
from " a remarkable book," published in
1913 by a German- American, Professor
O. Nippold:
Chauvinism has grown enormously in Ger-
many during the last decade. This fact
makes the strongest impression on those who
have returned to Germany after living a long
time abroad. I, myself, can say from
experience how astonished I was, on return-
ing to Germany after a long absence, to
see this psychological transformation. * * *
Hand in hand with this outspoken hostility
to foreign countries there goes a one-sided
.war enthusiasm and war mania such as
would have been thought impossible a few
years ago. One can only deplore the fact
that today there is so much irresponsible
agitation against other States and so much
frivolous incitement to war. It cannot be
doubted that this agitation is part of a de-
liberate scheme, the object of which is gradu-
ally to win over the population, and if possi-
ble the Government, no matter by what
means— even by the distortion of fact and
malicious slander— to the program of the
chauvinists.
These people not only incite the nation to
war, but systematically stimulate the desire
for war. War is pictured not as a possi-
bility that may occur, but as a necessity that
must come, and the sooner the better. The
sum and substance of the teaching of the
chauvinistic organizations, such as the Pan-
German League and the German Defense As-
sociation, is always the same ; a European
war is not merely an eventuality for which
we must be prepared, but a necessity at
which, in the interest of the German Nation,
we should rejoice.
One of the leaders of the association
known as Young Germany wrote in its
official organ for October, 1913, accord-
ing to Dr. Bang:
War Is the noblest and holiest expression
of hum?.n activity. For us, too, the glad,
great hour of battle will strike. Still and
deep in the German heart must live the joy
of battle and the longing for it. Let us ridi-
cule to the utmost the old women in breeches
who fear war and deplore it as cruel or
revolting. No, war is beautiful. Its august
sublimity elevates the human heart beyond
the earthly and the common. In the cloud
palace above sit the heroes Frederick the
Great and Bliicher, and all the men of
action — the Great Emperor, Moltke, Roon,
Bismarck are there as well, but not the old
women who would take away our joy in war.
When here on earth a battle is won by
German arms, and the faithful dead ascend
to heaven — a Potsdam Lance Corporal will
call the guard to the door, and *' Old Fritz,"
springing from his golden throne, will give
the command to present arms. That is the
heaven of Young Germany.
•
ySES
1«!K
1 1(1
1 ■
Under German Rule in France
and Belgium
A Young Englishman's Experience
J. P. Whitaker, a young Englishman,
was at Roubaix in Northern France on
business when the Germans unexpect-
edly invaded that region in September,
191b. After passing two and a half
years there under German military rule,
he escaped in March, 1917, by way of
Belgium and Holland, and wrote an in-
teresting account of his experiences for
The London Times. His observations
regarding the changed policy of the Ger-
mans in Belgium revealed some things
hitherto unknown io the outside viorld.
Mr. Whitaker found the rule of the in-
vaders in Roubaix and Lille comparative-
ly humane at first, but he continues:
TOWARD the end of March, 1915,
a distinct change became notice-
able in the policy of the German
military authorities, and for the
first time the people of Roubaix began to
feel the iron heel. The allied Govern-
ments had formally declared their inten-
tion of blockading Germany, and the Ger-
man Army had been given a sharp lesson
at Neuve Chapelle. Whether these two
events had anything to do with the
change, or whether it was merely a coin-
cidence, I do not know; the fact remains
that our German governors who had hith-
erto treated us with tolerable leniency
chose about this time to initiate a regime
of stringent regulation and repression.
The first sign of the new policy was
the issue of posters calling on all men,
women, and children over the age of 14 to
go to the Town Hall and take out identi-
fication papers, while all men between 17
and 50 were required also to obtain a con-
trol card.
Up to this time I had escaped any in-
terference from the Germans, perhaps
because I scarcely ventured into the
streets for the first two months of the
German occupation, and possibly also be-
cause, from a previous long residence in
Roubaix, I spoke French fluently.
Strangely enough, though I went to the
Town Hall with the rest and supplied
true particulars of my age and nation-
ality, papers were issued to me as a
matter of course, and never during the
whole two years and more of my pres-
ence in their midst did the enemy molest
me in any way.
Methods of the Invaders
The only incident which throws any
light on this curious immunity occurred
about the middle of 1915. Like all other
men of military age, I was required to
present myself once a month at a public
hall, in order to have my control card,
which was divided into squares for the
months of the year, marked in the proper
space with an official stamp " Kontrol,
July," or "August," or whatever the
month might be. We Were summoned for
this process by groups, first those from
17 to 25, then those from 25 to 35, and
so on. Hundreds of young fellows
would gather in a room, and one by one,
as their names were called, would take
their cards to be stamped by a noncom-
missioned officer sitting at a table on
the far side of the room. On the occa-
sion I have in mind the noncommissioned
officer said to me, " You are French,
aren't you?" I answered, " No." "Are
you Belgian? " " No," again. " You are
Dutch, then? " A third time I replied
" No."
At this stage an officer who had been
sauntering up and down the room smok-
ing a cigarette came to the table, took
up my card, and turning to the man be-
hind the table remarked, " It's all right.
He's an American." I did not trouble to
enlighten him. That is probably why I
enjoyed comparative liberty.
Enslavement is part of the deliberate
policy of the Germans in France. It
526
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
began by the taking of hostages at the
very outset of their possession of Rou-
baix. A. number of the leading men
in the civic and business life of the town
were marked out and compelled to attend
by turns at the Town Hall, to be shot on
the spot at the least sign of revolt among
the townspeople.
Not a few of the mill owners were or-
dered to weave cloth for the invaders,
and on their refusal were sent to Ger-
many and held to ransom. Many of the
mill operatives, quite young girls, were
directed to sew sandbags for the German
trenches. They, too, refused, but the
Germans had their own ways of dealing
with what they regarded as juvenile ob-
stinacy. They dragged the girls to a
disused cinema hall, and kept them there
without food or water until their will
was broken.
Barbarity reached its climax in the
so-called "deportations." They were
just slave raids, brutal and undisguised.
The procedure was this: The town was
divided into districts. At 3 o'clock in
the morning a cordon of troops would
be drawn round a district — the Prussian
Guard and especially, I believe, the
Sixty-ninth Regiment, played a great
part in this diabolical crime — and officers
and noncommissioned officers would
knock at every door until the household
was roused. A handbill, about octavo
size, was handed in, and the officer
passed on to the next house. The hand-
bill contained printed orders that every
member of the household must rise and
dress immediately, pack up a couple of
blankets, a change of linen, a pair of
stout boots, a spoon and fork, and a few
other small articles, and be ready for the
second visit in half an hour. When the
officer returned, the family were mar-
shaled before him, and he picked out
those whom he wanted with a curt " You
will come," " And you," " And you."
Without even time for leave-taking, the
selected victims were paraded in the
street and marched to a mill on the out-
skirts of the town. There they were
imprisoned for three days, without any
means of Communication with friends or
relatives, all herded together indiscrim-
inately and given but the barest modicum
of food. Then, like so many cattle, they
were sent away to an unknown fate.
Months afterward some of them came
back, emaciated and utterly worn out,
ragged and verminous, broken in all but
spirit. I spoke with numbers of the men.
They had been told by the Germans, they
said, that they were going to work on the
land. They found that only the women
and girls were put to farm labor.
The men were taken to the French
Ardennes and compelled to mend roads,
man sawmills and forges, build masonry,
and toil at other manual tasks. Rough
hutments formed their barracks. They
were under constant guard both there
and at their work, and they were marched
under escort from the huts to work and
from work to the huts. For food each
man was given a two-pound loaf of Ger-
man bread every five days, a little boiled
rice, and a pint of coffee a day. At 8
o'clock in the morning, after a breakfast
consisting of a slice of bread and a cup
of coffee, they went to work. At 4 o'clock
in the afternoon they returned for the
night and took their second meal — din-
ner, tea, and supper all in one. Often
they were buffeted and generally ill-used
by their taskmasters. If they fell ill,
cold water, internally or externally, was
the invariable remedy. Once a commis-
sion came to see them at work, but they
had been warned beforehand that any
man who complained of his treatment
would suffer for it. One of them was
bold enough to protest to the visitors
against a particularly flagrant case of
ill-usage. That man disappeared a few
days later.
Saved by American Food
Long before this the food problem
had become acute in Roubaix. Simul-
taneously with the establishment of the
system of personal control over the in-
habitants the Germans closed the fron-
tier between France and Belgium and
forbade us to approach within half a
mile of the border line. The immediate
effect of this isolation was to reduce to
an insignificant trickle the copious
stream of foodstuffs which until then
poured in from Belgium — not the starv-
UNDER GERMAN RULE IN FRANCE AND BELGIUM 527
ing Belgium of fiction, but the well sup-
plied Belgium of fact.
Butchers and bakers and provision
dealers had to shut their shops, and the
town became almost wholly dependent on
supplies brought in by the American Re-
lief Commission. Fresh meat was soon
unobtainable, except by those few people
who could afford to pay fabulous prices
for joints smuggled across the frontier.
Months ago meat cost 32 francs a kilo-
gram (about 13 shillings a pound) and
an egg cost 1 franc 25, (a shilling.) Ob-
viously such things were beyond the
reach of the bulk of the people, and had
it not been for the efforts of the Relief
Commission we should all have starved.
The commission opened a food depot, a
local committee issued tickets for the va-
rious articles, and rich and poor alike
had to wait their turn at the depot to
procure the allotted rations. The chief
foodstuffs supplied were: Rice, flaked
maize, bacon, lard, coffee, bread, con-
densed milk, (occasionally,) haricot
beans, lentils, and a very small allowance
of sugar. Potatoes could not be bought
at any price.
Hungry German Soldiers
Unfortunately, though I regret that I
should have to record it, there is evidence
that by some means or other the German
Army contrived to intercept for itself a
part of the food sent by the American
Commission. One who had good reason
to know told me that more than once
trainloads which, according to a notifica-
tion sent to him, had left Brussels for
Roubaix failed to arrive. I know also
that analysis of the bread showed that
in some cases German rye flour, includ-
ing 30, per cent, of sawdust, had been
substituted for the, white American flour,
producing an indigestible putty-like sub-
stance which brought illness and death
to many. Indeed, the mortality from this
cause was so heavy at one period that
all the grave diggers in the town could
not keep pace with it.
One could easily understand how great
must have been the temptation to the
Germans to tap for themselves the food
which friends abroad had sent for their
victims. It is a significant fact that sol-
diers in Roubaix were eager to buy rice
from those who had obtained it at the
depot at four francs (3s 4d) the pound
in order, as they said, " to send it home."
I shall describe later how utterly differ-
ent were the conditions in Belgium as
I saw them.
Meagre as were the food supplies for
the civilians in Roubaix, those issued to
the German soldiers toward the end of
my stay were little better.
At first the householders, on whom
the soldiers were billeted, were required
to feed them and to recover the cost
from the municipal authorities.
Collection of Metals
In passing, I may mention that all
ordinary money, gold, silver, and bronze,
disappeared from circulation long ago.
Some of it possibly was hidden by the
townsfolk, but much more was collected
by the Germans and sent out of the coun-
try. It was replaced by paper money of
all denominations, even to cardboard
sous. After some months the billeting
system was altered, and the German mili-
tary authorities undertook the feeding of
their men. From that time onward there
was a progressive fall in the quantity and
deterioration in the quality of the sol-
diers' daily rations. To the end they
seemed to have no lack of jam, not plum
and apple, but something red, which
looked rather like raspberry. Often I
have seen them walking along the street
munching a thick slice of rye bread
covered with a generous layer of this
jam.
Just before I left, I was shown one
day's menu provided for the troops.
Breakfast consisted of dry bread and
coffee, dinner of boiled barley, and sup-
per of cooked beet root. It was some
comfort to us to know that, while we could
barely subsist, the Germans were evi-
dently not much better off.
Conditions in Germany were reflected
also in the systematic plundering of
workshops and houses of everything made
of brass, copper, pewter, or German sil-
ver. The Germans began by taking all
stocks of raw and combed wool, raw cot-
ton, and raw silk from the warehouses,
and followed this up by appropriating
528
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
all woolen piece goods. They next requi-
sitioned all oil. Late last year they issued
a proclamation calling upon the residents
to declare to the military authorities
what brass was in their possession. Of
course, nobody paid any attention to the
order.
A few days later parties of German
soldiers went through the town, street by
street, and seized every article of brass,
bronze, or copper on which they could set
eyes. Without ceremony they entered
private houses, helped themselves to stair
rods, brass or copper kettles and other
cooking utensils, gas fittings, fittings
from fireplaces, door plates, clothes
hooks, and knickknacks of every kind.
Nothing was overlooked. They took up
brass-headed carpet pins; they even tore
the candlesticks from pianos. The things
were bundled into a cart, on the tail of
which were scales, like those carried on
coalmen's trolleys. Everything was
weighed, and a receipt was given at the
rate of 2 francs per kilogram, or 10 pence
per pound. Bronze statuettes worth at
least 500 francs were taken at the in-
trinsic cost of the metal.
The process was not confined to pri-
vate houses or workshops. One day the
Germans made a tour of the cafes and
ripped off the pewter tops of the coun-
ters. They also went from shop to shop
and carried away the brass trays from
the scales. I saw one cart go along the
street piled high with gramophone horns.
Hope of Conquest Cone
Of all the things I saw and heard in
Roubaix and Lille none impressed me
more than the wonderful change which
came over the outlook and demeanor of
the German soldiery between October,
1914, and October, 1915.
I had many opportunities of mingling
with them, more, in fact, than I cared
to have, for now and again during this
period two or three of them were actual-
ly billeted on the good folk with whom I
lodged.
I knew just sufficient of the German
language to be able to chat with them,
and they made no attempt to conceal
from me their real feelings. I am mere-
ly repeating the statement made to me
over and over again by many German
soldiers when I say that the men in the
ranks are thoroughly tired of the war,
that they have abandoned all thought of
conquest, and that they fight on only
because they believe that their homes
and families are at stake.
On that Autumn morning when the
first German troops came into Roubaix
they came flushed with victory, full of
confidence in their strength, marching
with their eyes fixed on Paris and Lon-
don. They sang aloud as they swung
through our streets. They sing no more.
Instead, as I saw with my own eyes,
many of them show in their faces the
abject misery which is in their hearts.
Last year scores of them told me,
quite independently, that the war would
come to an end on Nov. 17, 1916.
How that date came to be fixed by the
prophets nobody knew, but the belief in
the prophecy was universal among the
soldiers.
The Cuns on the Somme
That was before the battle of the
Somme. For days we in Roubaix heard
the distant roaring of the guns in that
great encounter. Night and day without
ceasing their rumble sounded. We had
grown accustomed to the sound of the
guns about Ypres and Armentieres; we
had sat at our windows in the evening
and watched the flashes in the darkness;
we had even heard at night-time the
rattle of machine guns. But we had
never heard so continuous or so heavy a
thunder as that which came to us from
the Somme.
We were used, too, to the sight of
wounded Germans brought in from the
front; but Roubaix, and, still more, Lille,
never witnessed such a constant stream
of broken men as that which poured in
last July and August.
In Roubaix alone, in addition to the
town hospitals, the Germans had sud-
denly to improvise hospitals in the work-
house, the boys' college, and the girls'
college. Every bed was filled, and to
the rest of the wounded the doctors in
Roubaix could give only such attention
as is possible in a dressing station, pend-
ing their conveyance into Belgium.
UNDER GERMAN RULE IN FRANCE AND BELGIUM 529
I found among the soldiers a general
agreement that they would infinitely
rather face the French troops than the
British. They attributed their greater
fear of our men to the idea, probably
mistaken, that our men were less ready
than the French to make them prisoners
as soon as they raised their hands and
cried " Kamerad." I suspect, however,
that the unnerving effect on the Ger-
mans of the Sir Douglas Haig system
of trench raiding is the real explanation.
This is how a German soldier gave me
his impression of the British raids:
" They are the worst horror we have to
contend with. The English seem to do
it for sport, not for war. A bombard-
ment is bad enough; but you know it is
coming. You do not know when or where
a raid is coming. These Englishmen
daub their faces with clay, come along
the ground on all fours, smother our
advance posts, and are in our trenches
before we know where we are. They
come not with rifles and revolvers, but
with knives and sledge-hammers and
bombs. We cannot use our rifles against
them. They are too near, and perhaps
we have not fixed our bayone*. We
must either run or be killed. The Eng-
lish will clear a trench on a stretch of
150 yards and get away again without
losing a man."
It would be difficult to exaggerate
the genuine terror with which the raids
have filled the German soldiers of all
ranks and regiments.
Lawless Acts of Officers
As a rule, the soldiers did not maltreat
the civilians in Roubaix, except when
they were acting under the orders of
their officers; when, for example, they
were tearing people from their homes
to work as slaves. They had, however,
the right of traveling without payment
on the tramcars, and they frequently ex-
ercised this right to such an extent as to
preclude the townsfolk from the use of
the cars.
Apart from that annoyance, there was
little ground for complaint of the gen-
eral behavior of the soldiers. The con-
duct of the officers was very different.
For a long time they made a habit of
requisitioning from shopkeepers and
others supplies of food for which they
had no intention of paying. One day an
officer drove up in a trap to a shop kept
by an acquaintance of mine and
"bought" sardines, chocolate, bread,
and fancy cakes to the value of about
200 francs, (about $40.) He produced a
piece of paper and borrowed a pair of
scissors with which to cut. off a slip.
On this slip he wrote a few words in
German, and then, handing it to the
shopkeeper, he went off with his pur-
chases. The shopkeeper, on presenting
the paper at the Kommandantur, was in-
formed that the inscription ran, " For
the loan of scissors, 200 francs," and
that the signature was unknown. Pay-
ment was therefore refused. This case,
I believe, was by no means an isolated
one.
Brutal Methods of Officers
When an officer was billeted on a
house, he would insist on turning the
family out of the dining room and draw-
ing room and sleeping in the best bed-
room; sometimes he would eject people
v entirely from their home.
By contrast the docile private soldier
was almost a welcome guest. I remem-
ber well one quite friendly fellow who
was lodged for some time in the same
house as myself and some English over
military age in the suburb of Croix. He
came to me in great glee one day with a
letter from his wife in which she warned
him to beware of "the English cut-
throats." She went on to give him a
long series of instructions for his safety.
He was to barricade his bedroom door
every night, to sleep always with his
knife under his pillow, and never to take
anything we offered him to eat or drink.
Despite the temptations to crime and
insubordination which naturally attend
an idle manufacturing population of
some 125,000 people, there were very
few civilian offenses against the law,
German or French, among the inhabi-
tants of Roubaix.
Time hung heavily on our hands. Cut
off from the outer world except by the
occasional arrival of smuggled French
and English newspapers, we spent our
530
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
time reading and playing cards, and at
the last I hoped I might never be reduced
to this form of amusement again. In
the two and a half years cut out of my
life and completely wasted I played as
many games of cards as will satisfy
me for the rest of my existence.
But even if the inhabitants, in their
enforced idleness, had any temptation to
be insubordinate, they had a far greater
inducement to keep the law in the bridled
savagery of the German gendarmerie.
These creatures, who from the color of
their uniform and the brutality of their
conduct were known as the " green dev-
ils," seemed to revel in sheer cruelty.
They scour the towns on bicycles and the
outlying districts on horseback, always
accompanied by a dog as savage as his
master, and at the slightest provocation
or without even the slenderest pretext
they fall upon civilians with brutish vio-
lence.
It was not uncommon for one of these
men to chase a woman on his bicycle,
and when he had caught her, batter her
head and body with the machine. Many
times they would strike women with the
flat of their sabres. One of them was
seen to unleash his dog against an old
woman, and laugh when the savage beast
tore open the woman's flesh from thigh
to knee.
No Starvation in Belgium
In January Mr. Whitaker crossed the
line into Belgium with the aid of smug-
gler friends, traversed that country,
chiefly on foot, and two months later
escaped into Holland and so to England.
In Belgium he was astonished to find
what looked like prosperity when com-
pared with conditions in the occupied
provinces of France. After expressing
gratitude to Belgian friends and a desire
to tell only what is truth, he proceeds:
The first fact I have to declare is that
nowhere in my wanderings did I see any
sign of starvation. Nowhere did I notice
such privation of food as I had known in
Northern France. Near the French
frontier, it is true, the meals I took in
inns and private cottages were far from
sumptuous, but as I drew nearer to the
Dutch frontier the amount and variety
of the food to be obtained changed in an
ascending scale, until at Antwerp one
could almost forget, so far as the table
was concerned, that the world was at war.
Let me give a few comparisons. At
Roubaix, in France, at the time when I
left in the first week of this year, my
daily diet was as follows: Breakfast —
coffee, bread and butter (butter was a
luxury beyond the reach of the working
people, who had to be content with lard) ;
midday meal — vegetable soup, bread,
boiled rice, and at rare intervals an egg
or a tiny piece of fresh meat; supper —
boiled rice and bread. Just over the
border, in Belgium, the food conditions
were a little better. The ticket system
prevailed, and the villagers were depend-
ent on the depots of the American Re-
lief Commission, supplemented by local
produce.
A little further, and one passed the
line of demarkation between the etape
— the part of Belgium which is governed
by General von Denk, formerly command-
ing the troops at Valenciennes — and the
gouvernement general, under the com-
mand of General von Bissing.
Here a distinct change was noticeable.
My first meal in this area included fillet
of beef, the first fresh meat I had tasted
for weeks. Tickets were still needed to
buy bread and other things supplied by
the Relief Commission, but other food-
stuffs could be bought without restriction.
At Brussels the food supply seems to
be nearly normal. My Sunday dinner
there consisted of excellent soup, a gen-
erous helping of roast leg of mutton,
potatoes, haricot beans, white bread,
cheese, and jam, and wine or beer, as
preferred; while for supper I had cold
meat, fried potatoes, and bread.
At Antwerp, with two French friends
who accompanied me on my journey
through Belgium, I walked into a middle-
class cafe at midday. I ordered a steak
with fried potatoes and my friends or-
dered pork chops. Without any question
about tickets we were served. We added
bread, cheese, and butter to complete the
meal and washed it down with draft
light beer. Later in the day we took
supper in the same cafe — an egg omelette,
fried potatoes, bread, cheese, and butter.
UNDER GERMAN RULE IN FRANCE AND BELGIUM 531
And the cost of both meals together was
less than the cost of the steak alone in
Roubaix.
Thriving in Rural Belgium
Even in the little village where I hid
myself there was no dearth of good food.
Sugar was scarce, and the bread was
made of brown wholemeal flour. But
meat was plentiful, especially cold home-
bred pork. A typical midday meal here
included soup, steak or chops, potatoes,
and little sweetcakes; supper was the
usual Belgian meal of fried potatoes and
bread soaked in boiled milk. So far from
starving during my enforced self-con-
cealment, I actually found myself gain-
ing in flesh.
When I add that in Brussels, Antwerp,
and other towns the retail shops dis-
played an abundance of foodstuffs of
every sort, and that, according to com-
mon knowledge, the German soldiers buy
a great deal of food for transmission to
their homes, it will be realized that some
parts, at any rate, of Belgium are not
suffering so severely as most people in
England suppose from want of nourish-
ment.
It is not for me to explain these
things. I cannot fathom the reasons
which may have induced the Germans
to refrain from commandeering the Bel-
gian supplies of home-produced food.
Belgium, of course, has been for years
the best exponent of intensive agricul-
ture in Europe. Her food exports to
England and France alone before the
war were considerable. Just as much
food is being produced now as before the
war, and, so far as I could discover, the
people have plenty to eat.
It is in the invaded territory of France
that the spectre of famine walks. It is
not sufficiently understood that the Ger-
man gentleness to the Belgians is only
equaled by their bitterness toward the
French.
It is not only in respect of food that
Belgium is happier than her neighbor
I have already mentioned that the civil-
ians of Roubaix were denied the use of
the railways. The Belgians are under no
such disability. They find some diffi-
culty in moving from one to the other
of the two areas into which, as I indi-
cated above, Belgium has been parti-
tioned, unless they are armed with spe-
cial passports. But within either of
those zones the natives are allowed to
travel without hindrance.
Again, while the occupied portion of
France is entirely without postal services,
the Belgians have the ordinary facilities
for internal communication. They are
required to use German stamps heavily
marked in black letters with the words
"Belgian Post"; and they are required
to pay 8 centimes (three more than
usual) for the transmission of a post-
card, and 15 centimes (an extra charge
of 5 centimes) for a letter. The collec-
tions and deliveries, however, are made
by the regular Belgian postmen.
Busy Shops and Theatres
The policy of the Germans, in short,
appears to be to interfere as little as
possible with the everyday life of the
country. The fruits of this policy are
seen in a remarkable degree in Brussels.
All day long the main streets of the
city are full of bustle and all the out-
ward manifestations of prosperity.
Women in short, fashionable skirts,
with high-topped fancy boots, stroll com-
pletely at their ease along the pavement,
studying the smart things with which
the drapers' shop windows are dressed.
Jewelers' shops, provision stores, tobac-
conists, and the rest show every sign of
" business as usual." I bought at quite
a reasonable price a packet of Egyptian
cigarettes, bearing the name of a well-
known brand of English manufacture,
and I recalled how, not many miles away
in harassed France, I had seen rhubarb
leaves hanging from upper windows to
dry, so that the French smoker might use
them instead of the tobacco which he
could not buy. Even the sweetstuff
shops had well-stocked windows.
The theatres, music halls, cinema pal-
aces, and cafes of Brussels were open and
crowded. On the second night of my
visit I went with my two French com-
panions to the Theatre Moliere and heard
a Belgian company in Paul Hervieu's
532
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
play, " La Course du Flambeau." The
whole building was packed with Belgians,
thoroughly enjoying the performance.
So far as I could tell, the only reminder
that we were in the fallen capital of an
occupied country was the presence in the
front row of the stalls of two German
soldiers, whose business, so I learned,
was to see that nothing disrespectful to
Germany and her armies was allowed to
creep into the play.
At another theatre, according to the
posters, " Veronique " was produced, and
a third bill announced " The Merry
Widow." At the Theatre de la Monnaie,
which has been taken over by the Ger-
mans, operas and plays are given for the
benefit of the soldiers and German civil-
ians. One afternoon I spent a couple of
hours in a cinema hall. A continuous
performance was provided, and people
came and went as they chose, but
throughout the program the place was
well filled. The films shown had no
relation to the war. They were of the
ordinary dramatic or comic types, and
I fancy they were of pre-war manu-
facture. Nothing of topical interest was
exhibited.
The Appearance of Plenty
All the scenes which I have described
in Brussels were reproduced in Antwerp.
There was a slightly closer supervision
over the comings and goings of the in-
habitants, but there was the same unreal
atmosphere of contentment and real ap-
pearance of plenty. Though a good
number of officers were in evidence, the
military arm of Germany was not suf-
ficiently displayed to produce any in-
timidation. Perhaps the most obvious
mark, here and in the capital, that all
was not normal was the complete absence
of private motor cars and cabs from the
streets.
In the country districts two things
struck me as unfamiliar after my long
months in France. About Roubaix not a
single head of cattle was to be seen; in
Belgium every farm had its cows. In
Belgium the mounted German gendarm-
erie— the " green devils " whose infamous
conduct in the Roubaix district I have
described — were unknown. Their place
was filled by military police, who, by
comparison with the gendarmes, were
gentleness itself.
I do not profess to know the state of
affairs in parts of Belgium which I did
not visit, but I do know that my narra-
tive of the conditions of life that came
under my personal inspection has come
as a great surprise to many people who
imagine that the whole of Belgium is
starving.
We in hungry Roubaix looked out on
Belgium as the land of promise. The
Flemish workers who came into the town
from time to time from Belgium were
well fed and prosperous looking, a great
contrast to the French of Roubaix and
Lille. The Belgian children that I saw
were healthy and of good appearance,
quite unlike the wasted little ones of
France, with hollow blue rings round
their eyes.
The people of Roubaix, knowing these
facts, are convinced that the Germans
are endeavoring to lay the foundations
of a vassal State in Belgium. Foiled in
their attempts to capture Calais, the
Germans believe that Zeebrugge and
Ostend are capable of development as
harbors for aggressive action against
England. The French do not doubt that
the enemy will make a desperate strug-
gle before giving up Antwerp.
The picture I have presented of Bel-
gium as I saw it is, of course, vastly dif-
ferent from the outraged Belgium of the
first stage of the war.
Lest there should arise any misunder-
standing, I complete the picture by
stating my conviction, based on intimate
talks with Belgian men and women, that
the population as a whole are keeping
a firm upper lip, and that attempts by
the Germans to seduce them from their
allegiance by blandishment and bribery
will fail as surely as the efforts of
frightfulness.
Escaping Into Holland.
Mr. Whitaker's account of his escape
into Holland closes thus:
When we drew near to the wires, just
before midnight, we lay on the ground
UNDER GERMAN RULE IN FRANCE AND BELGIUM
553
and wriggled along until we were within
fifty yards of Holland. There we lay
for what seemed to be an interminable
time. We saw patrols passing. An
officer came along and inspected the
sentries. Everything was oppressively
quiet.
Each sentry moved to and fro over a
distance of a couple of hundred yards.
Opposite the place where we lay two of
them met. Choosing his opportunity,
one of my comrades, who had provided
himself with rubber gloves some weeks
before for this critical moment, rushed
forward to the spot where the two sen-
tries had just met. Scrambling through
barbed wire and over an unelectrified
wire, he grasped the electrified wires and
wriggled between them. We came close
on his heels. He held the deadly elec-
trified wires apart with lengths of thick
plate glass with which he had come pro-
vided while first my other companions
and then I crawled through. Before the
sentries returned we had run some hun-
dreds of yards into No Man's Land be-
tween the electrified wires and the real
Dutch frontier.
Only one danger remained. We had
no certainty that the Dutch frontier
guards would not hand us back to the
Germans. We took no risks, though it
meant wading through a stream waist
deep. Our troubles were now practically
over. By rapid stages we proceeded to
Rotterdam.
I was without money. My watch I
had given to the Belgian villager in
whose cottage I had found refuge. My
clothes were shabby from frequent soak-
ings and hard wear. I had shaved only
once in Belgium, and a stubby growth of
beard did not improve my general ap-
pearance.
At Rotterdam I reported myself to
the British Consul. I was treated with
the utmost kindness. My expenses dur-
ing the next four or five days, while I
waited for a boat, were paid and I was
given my fare to Hull. There I was
searched by two military police and
questioned closely by an examining
board. My papers were taken and I was
told to go to London and apply for them
at the Home Office. As I was again
practically without means I was given
permission to go to my home in Brad-
ford before proceeding to London.
[Spanish Cartoon]
The All- America Team Off for the War
-From Campana de Gracia, Barcelona.
German Crimes in the Somme Retreat
Official Report, Summarized by Henry Cheron
Before the French Senate
[Translated for Current History Magazine
from the French text of the Journal Officiel
and the Bulletin des Armees.]
ON the morrow of the very day
when the tenacious courage of
the French and British soldiers
compelled the enemy to retreat
on the Somme — a worthy pendant to his
defeat on the Marne — your Commission
on War Damages sent a number of its
members to visit the reconquered regions
and get at the truth of the conditions
which you had ordered it to investigate.
Perhaps the commission would have
been content simply to file a report of
the facts if these had not revealed such
violations of the laws and customs of
war, such crimes committed by the occu-
pying forces, so profound a contempt
for the most elementary rules of public
conscience, that it has believed it to be
its duty to denounce the outrages with-
out delay. The report, incomplete though
it must be, will be a first tribute to truth,
right, and justice, realities which no na-
tion, however powerful it may think
itself, can violate in our epoch with im-
punity.
In the beginning we may recall that
Germany solemnly indorsed the interna-
tional convention, passed at The Hague
on Oct. 18, 1907, in which the high con-
tracting parties, facing the eventuality
of war and animated, as they expressely
stated, " by the desire to serve, in that
extreme case, the interests of humanity
and the increasing exigencies of civiliza-
tion," imposed upon any military au-
thority occupying territory in an invaded
State certain rules which it is well now
to read over again:
Article 46— The honor and the rights of the
family, the lives of individuals, and private
property, as well as religious convictions and
the exercise of the right of worship, must be
respected. Private property cannot be con-
fiscated.
Article 47— PJllage is formally interdicted.
Article 50— No collective punishment, pecu-
niary or other, can be inflicted on populations
by reason of individual acts for which the
community cannot be considered collectively
responsible.
Article 55— The occupying power shall con-
sider itself only the administrator and con-
troller of the usufruct of public buildings,
real estate, forests, and agricultural enter-
prises belonging to the enemy State and lo-
cated in the occupied territory; it must safe-
guard the funds of these properties and ad-
minister them in accordance with the rules of
usufruct.
Article 56— Property belonging to munici-
palities, to religious, charitable and educa-
tional institutions, or to institutions devoted
to the arts and sciences, even though con-
nected with the State, shall be treated as
private property. All seizure, destruction, or
intentional injury of such establishments, of
historic monuments, of works of art and sci-
ence is forbidden and shall be cause for legal
redress.
In the preamble of this convention of
1907, which was solemnly ratified a sec-
ond time by the German Empire, it was
provided that —
In cases not included in the rules adopted
by the powers the people remain under the
safeguard and dominion of the principles of
international law derived from the estab-
lished usages of civilized nations, from the
laws of humanity, and from the demands of
the public conscience.
Finally, Article 1 of Convention 4,
adopted Oct. 18, 1907, said:
The contracting powers will give to their
armed land forces instructions that will con-
form with the regulations in regard to the
laws and customs of war on land, annexed to
the present convention.
Another Scrap of Paper
To this the German Empire affixed its
signature. The principle underlying this
convention was that war should be car-
ried on between armies and not between
noncombatants, and that everything
should be done to save the inhabitants
from horrors whose indirect effects in
any case would bear down upon them all
too cruelly.
What account did the Germans take of
this international treaty? For them it
was nothing but a scrap of paper, like
all the others. They have trampled upon
GERMAN CRIMES IN THE SOMME RETREAT
535
it to such a degree that one must go back
to primitive times, to the most savage
epochs of ancient history, to find acts
of vandalism and bestial savagery worse
than those of which we have obtained
proofs.
The commission visited all the recon-
quered districts. While Paul Doumer
and a certain number of colleagues went
to Chauny and the region northeast of
Soissons, we, with Messrs. Hervey, Rey-
nald, Eugene Mir, Mougeot, Galup, Ser-
vant, and Magny, traversed the regions
of Noyon, Guiscard, Ham, Lassigny,
Roye, Nesle, and Peronne.
We visited in detail these cities and
about fifty villages. We wished to com-
pare our facts with the earlier reports
that had been made in the name of the
Government, whether by the commission
headed by George Payelle, first President
of the Court of Accounts, or by the Di-
rector of Military Justice, who was sent
out by the Minister of War. Today we
bring you the first elements of a report
which is as exact as possible, and from
which, whatever our legitimate anger
against the Germans, we have carefully
excluded all passion susceptible of alter-
ing the truth. Besides, the truth is so
horrible that it needed no amplification.
■Everywhere we were the anguished wit-
nesses of the same spectacle : pillage,
systematic destruction, acts of barbar-
ism committed without the least excuse
of military necessity.
We have made a clear distinction, it is
scarcely necessary to say, between dam-
ages due to war and damages voluntarily
inflicted by the enemy. We have set
aside all the effects of battle — of a battle
at times so fierce, so terrible, that it has
demolished, destroyed, effaced every-
thing, even to the smallest stone in the
smallest house. What we have retained
are the acts of violence committed in cold
blood among unarmed civilians; the evil
done for the sake of evil, the pillage and
destruction of private property and pub-
lic edifices; the attacks on the life, liber-
ty, and honor of private individuals; all
those acts which call for denunciation be-
fore the whole world, if only to blast and
dishonor forever the cursed Government
and race that undertook to saddle their
domination upon other peoples, and im-
pose on them a culture already practiced
in all countries by notorious highway-
men.
Banks in Noyon Plundered
Let us come to the facts. From Ribe-
court to Noyon the farms are everywhere
destroyed. Noyon appears to be little
damaged externally, although the bar-
barians blew up a certain number of
houses and destroyed some factories.
But, on closer examination, what odious
pillage! Everywhere the furniture has
been carried off. What has not been car-
ried away has been smashed; the mirrors
have been shattered by revolver shots.
In a room of the Hotel du Nord we found,
amid all sorts of debris, a steel safe gut-
ted with a crowbar. It was in this hotel
that the Kommafidantur had been located.
They robbed the stores from the be-
ginning. On March 6, 7, and 8, 1915, in
the presence of the Deputy Mayor of
Noyon, and despite his energetic protests,
they broke open the door of the safe be-
longing to the Societe Generate. For this
purpose they use blowpipes. The chief of-
ficer of the Kommandantur directed this
brigandage in person. The safe was then
closed with a seal, but later they broke
the seal. Before leaving Noyon they
carried off everything from the safes.
On Feb. 24, 1917, an officer calling
himself a representative of the Treasury
at Berlin presented himself at the house
of M. Briere, a Noyon banker, 72 years
old. He ordered the banker to open his
safety deposit vaults. M. Briere refused.
Then, with the aid of a blowpipe, the sol-
diers proceeded to force open the safe
doors. The depositors were present.
Their protests were in- vain. The Ger-
mans carried away everything that was
in the bank — cash, deeds, bonds, business
and official papers, jewels, silverware,
negotiable papers, and archives. When
the banker observed to the German offi-
cer that the archives would be of no use
to him, he replied, drily: "I have been
ordered to empty the boxes, and I am
emptying them."
The same thing was done on Feb. 27,
1917, at the Cheneau & Barbier Bank,
536
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
where two officers and two German sol-
diers entered the basement, broke open
the safes with the aid of a blowpipe, and
carried away the valuables. Finally, on
March 16, having mined a number of resi-
dences and public buildings, the Germans
blew up twenty or more of them.
Brutal Acts at Sampigny
The villages in the neighborhood of
Noyon fared no better. At Sampigny the
pillage was conducted with unusual sav-
agery. In all the houses there is manure
to a depth of twelve inches. A porcelain
merchant was treated with special bru-
tality. On the eve of departure the Ger-
mans drove him out into the street, and,
while he stood there looking on, smashed
all the porcelains in his house with ham-
mers. A business man at Sampigny, M.
Cabrol, had left his safe open in order to
show that it was empty, and thus save it
from destruction: the Germans neverthe-
less blew it up.
At Guiscard the soldiers were prepar-
ing to burn the whole village when the
French arrived; there was no time to
put their plans into execution, but they
had already carried off everything of
value — furniture, linen, cooking stoves —
and had broken the mirrors. The soldiers
had stolen mattresses under the eyes of
their officers.
We entered what had been a pharmacy;
we found, amid debris of every sort, fam-
ily portraits slashed with a knife. Or-
dure was everywhere. They had taken
all the waterpipes from the houses, the
bells from the church, and even the works
of the clock.
At Ham there is general chaos at the
canal entrance. Pillage and willful de-
struction are in evidence on all sides.
Two of the most beautiful residences in
the city were used by the enemy; one as
the officers' casino, the other as the abode
of General von Fleck. Here again the
Germans carried away everything of
value and smashed the rest. They even
went to the length of sawing through
the doorframes, destroying the windows
with hammer blows, pulling out the chan-
deliers and trampling on them. To com-
plete the Work, they deposited filth in
the pianos.
In the region between Ham and the
canal they destroyed everything by fire.
This is true of Esmery-Hamel, where
they burned the bell tower of the church;
likewise of Eppeville and Verlaine.
Everything is destroyed at Erchen and
Solente. At Champien, amid the ruins
one finds a German cemetery, in the
heart of which rises an allegorical monu-
ment representing peace! The barba-
rians did not hesitate to write on this
monument the following formula: " To
the memory of friend and enemy com-
rades united in death." What hypocrisy!
An officer has informed us that in the
same community a coffin was exhumed
and the remains of the dead replaced by
vile ordure.
Used Battering Rams
The destruction is general and method-
ical at Roiglise, at Avricourt, at Amy, at
Margny-aux-Cerises, where we found one
of the battering rams with which the
barbarians batter down houses. It is the
old Roman battering ram adapted to this
base use. A particularly odious regiment
of Saxons committed these acts in the
region of Margny. In this town the
Germans violated graves in the cemetery
in order to bury their dead there. The
rest they blew up.
At Plessis-Cacheleux the destruction
was equally systematic. From Plessis to
Roye the country is a desert. Magnifi-
cent farms, such as the Bourresse farm,
are nothing but pitiful ruins. At Roye
there was organized pillage of all the
houses. The home of the notary, espe-
cially, was sacked of everything. The
bell tower was wantonly pulled down; the
bell is still in it. From Roye to Nesle all
the villages, such as Carrepuis, Ballatre,
Marche, Rethonviller, Billancourt, were
systematically destroyed.
At Nesle the Germans committed the
worst violences from the first day of the
city's occupation. They laid hands upon
every movable object in the houses, from
cellar to garret, especially upon wines;
they carried away all articles of taste:
pictures, mirrors, clocks, candelabra, and
objects of art. When the furnishings of
a house were of considerable value they
arrested the owner for espionage and
GERMAN CRIMES IN THE SOMME RETREAT
537
robbed him during his absence. Some
days before their departure they pre-
tended that by order of their Emperor
they had to pillage, sack, and destroy
everything. This order was punctually
executed by the Twentieth Regiment of
Heavy Artillery, the Thirty-eighth In-
fantry, and the Sixth Foot Chasseurs, on
orders from General Hahn, commanding
the Thirty-fifth Division.
The officer just named, setting the ex-
ample, had the men carry away every-
thing movable from a room which he had
occupied for four months. The bells were
thrown from the steeples and the frag-
ments were shipped to Germany. Final-
ly, in the last week — that is to say, from
March 10 to 17 — the invaders gave them-
selves up to an orgy of unqualifiable
acts — incendiarisms, total destruction of
many houses, the poisoning of wells,
springs, and fountains.
From Nesle to Peronne they left a des-
ert; Herly was systematically sacked, the
houses reduced to ruins, the chateau
burned. At Manicourt and Curchy every-
thing is destroyed and burned, and it is
the same at Arrancourt-le-Petit, Puzeaux,
Homiecourt, Marchelepot, Barleux, Flau-
court. We will not describe the scene at
Villers-Carbonnel and Peronne, now a
heap of tragic and grandiose ruins; nor
at Lassigny, where, indeed, the destruc-
tion was caused by the battle.
Chauny a Mass of Ruins
The same aspects of destruction were
encountered by our colleagues, especially
at Chauny and to the northeast of Sois-
sons. At Chauny, after having taken the
measurement of all the cellars and houses
for two months, and calculated the
amount of explosives necessary to blow
up each building; after giving themselves
up to unbridled plunder, carrying away
furniture, smashing safes, robbing
churches, they devoted two weeks to de-
stroying the whole city by flame and
mine with an inflexible and pitiless
method. Nothing remains of the city ex-
cept one suburb where they had massed
the inhabitants— and then bombarded
them. They directed their shells partic-
ularly at the Institution St. Charles, a
refuge for old men, where they had
grouped the persons who were ill. The
City of Chauny, which had counted more
than 10,000 inhabitants, is now only a
mass of ruins.
The inhabitants driven from the vil-
lages near St. Quentin testify to the same
acts of vandalism. All their furniture
was stolen or broken. Houses were de-
stroyed by explosion or fire. At Vaux-
Roupy the Germans blew up the chapel
of the chateau and the tombs. At Sera-
court-le-Grand they learned of the exist-
ence of a mortuary chapel belonging to
the family of one of our most venerated
colleagues. Wishing to add to the suf-
ferings of their glorious hostage, they
blew up that chapel and the tombs. Eye-
witnesses told us that to accomplish this
sorry business the Germans had to re-
trace their steps three times.
Massacre of Fruit Trees
By the side of this first series of facts
there is another. If they destroyed and
pillaged private property and public edi-
fices, mark how they behaved in regard
to those farming enterprises of which
The Hague Convention said that the ene-
my in an invaded country should con-
sider himself the administrator, entitled
only to the usufruct.
Here they committed an act more vile,
more wicked, more odious than all the
others. They sawed down all the fruit
trees! And when they had no time to
saw them down they tore off the bark to
kill them.
No words can describe the pitiful
scene in what were formerly the orchards
of that rich farming region, where apple
trees, pear trees, cherry trees, sawed
off two feet from the ground, lie as so
many fragments of a property deliber-
ately destroyed. Along the roads is a
veritable cemetery of trees, trees cut
down by thousands. What strategic use
can be assigned to such vandalism? They
went so far as to blow up some trees
with dynamite. It was destruction for
destruction's sake, or, rather, it was the
impotent rage of a people jealous of
France, a people which, not having been
able to win by courage, attempted on re-
tiring to annihilate all the sources of-
wealth.
538
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
In certain localities, such as Ham, the
farm laborers themselves were compelled
to saw down the trees to which they had
given years of care. The effect of this
abominable destruction upon the minds
of the inhabitants should also be noted.
Members of the old reserve regiments,
mostly farmers, who are repairing the
roads with marvelous rapidity, were par-
ticularly exasperated by the massacre of
trees. They gave vent to deep curses
against the perpetrators, longing to in-
flict upon them the punishment merited
by such a crime.
That is how the Germans have respect-
ed The Hague conventions in regard to
private property, public monuments, and
farming interests in the occupied terri-
tory. Let us see now what they have
done regarding the honor, liberty, and
life of the inhabitants.
Crimes Against Noncombatants
We will not dwell upon the thousand
vexations which our heroic people had to
endure at the hands of their oppressors
for nearly three years — quarrels over
food, threats to the inhabitants if they
did not give the soldiers a part of the
American supplies, the seizure of the
most necessary tools and possessions.
At Rove they took away by degrees all
the bedding of an honored woman at the
head of a boarding school which dates
from 1870. Under the pretense of in-
stalling her in a neighboring house they
pillaged her home and took away even
her mattress and pillow. At Margny-
aux-Cerises a German soldier threatened
to strike a young girl who was nobly
caring for her paralyzed mother, her sick
grandmother, and a blind neighbor whom
she had added to her burdens out of the
largeness of her heart if she did not give
up the bread and potatoes in her posses-
sion. At the peril of her life this brave
little French girl defended the food of
the three invalids for whom she was act-
ing as guardian angel.
The inhabitants of the evacuated vil-
lages say that nothing was left them to
eat; that they had to hide potatoes; that
requisitions were made upon them at any
moment; that fines and imprisonments
rained upon them. A cultivator at At-
tilly told us that one day about noon —
at the time of their departure — German
soldiers arrived and said: " We are going
to blow up your house at 1 o'clock." And
they kept their word. At Guiscard we
were told that in the middle of Winter
they compelled young girls to work out-
doors at the heaviest tasks — for example,
at sewer cleaning — without any regard
for their physical strength. The only
alternative was prison.
When they were about to blow up the
citadel at Ham they warned the inhab-
itants by fixing the hour when the oper-
ation was to take place. A bugle call was
to be the signal. The population was to
assemble in the church, with two days'
provisions. Then, suddenly moving the
hour forward — and that at 2 o'clock in
the morning — when the inhabitants were
still in bed they touched off the explosion
without warning anybody. It made vic-
tims.
On account of the sufferings of the
people there have been many deaths of
children in all the occupied communities.
At Noyon, upon their arrival, Aug. 30,
1914, the German officers sought out
the members of the Municipal Govern-
ment, at the head of which was our
heroic colleague, Noel, who recently re-
ceived the cross of the Legion of Honor.
They compelled these men to go at the
head of the column which was about to
occupy the city. They made them walk
beside the commandant's horse, and, as
they could not keep up, they were brutal-
ly treated. The Deputy Mayor, M. Jouve,
having fallen, was beaten with lance
butts. A citizen, M. Devaux, who had
been seized as a hostage, was shot with-
out cause behind the Mayor's house. An
officer fired his revolver in cold blood at
the doorkeeper of the City Hall; he
missed him, but the unfortunate man
died shortly afterward as a result of the
nervous shock.
A baker, M. Richard, who was simply
looking out of his door at French prison-
ers passing along the street, was killed
by a rifle bullet in the abdomen. Mme.
Delbecq, a woman who refused a drink
to a drunken German soldier, was killed
by a rifle shot.
GERMAN CRIMES IN THE SOMME RETREAT
539
Captives From Noyon
On Feb. 18, after having compelled all
the inhabitants of 15 to 60 years to pass
the night in the college, they took them
away into captivity. More than eighty
innocent young girls were thus torn away
from their families, in spite of tears and
sobs.
Sister Saint Romuald, lady superior,
made some particularly moving state-
ments. She said that when the Germans
began their operations for retreat they
evacuated 250 to 500 sick cases from the
region of St. Quentin into the civil hos-
pital at Noyon. These arrived in such
frightful condition that seven or eight
of them died every day. They were peo-
ple who had been torn from their beds
without time to take anything with them;
paralytics, dying men, nonagenarians;
there was even a woman of 102 years.
Many of those who died had to be buried
without any means of verifying their
identity.
Mme. Deprez, owner of the Gibercourt
Chateau, was suffering from serious
heart trouble, which compelled her to
keep her bed. A German officer arrived
and ordered her to get up. The poor
woman said she would obey in spite of
her sufferings, and begged the officer
to withdraw while she dressed. He re-
fused and compelled her to dress before
him. Mme. Begue of Flavy-le-Martel
also had heart disease. They removed
her. Her children of 10 and 7 years
wished to follow, but the German officer
refused. The little ones clung to the
wheels of the carriage begging not to be
separated from their mamma. Without
regard for their tears and cries the offi-
cer brutally thrust them aside and left
them in the road.
Everywhere they carried into captivity
the inhabitants of 15 to 60 years, even
the young girls, except women who had
very small children. A woman in Holnor
told us that they had taken away her
little boy of 14 years. A high officer in
the French Army reported to us, on the
word of eyewitnesses, a significant re-
mark of the German commandant at
Ham. Having pointed out a young girl of
16 years he said: "That one is for me."
A woman from Ham related that on
Feb. 10 she learned that 600 inhabitants
were about to be taken away. Distracted
— for she had three daughters — she ran
to the Kommandantur and found that
the rumor was true. The victims were
ordered to meet in the court of the cha-
teau with not more than sixty pounds of
baggage apiece. At the same time all
the people were ordered to bring their
valuables, but this they did not do. The
three daughters of the witness, aged 18,
20, and 26 years, went to the appointed
place. From 10 o'clock in the morning till
3 in the afternoon the captives waited in
the glacial cold. Parents rushed to them to
say good-bye, and there were heart-break-
ing scenes. They were driven away with
rifle butts, and at 3 o'clock the captives
were forced to go to the railway station.
The Germans had the cruelty to set up a
camera to preserve a picture of this sad
procession. A week or two afterward the
mother of whom I have spoken learned
that her daughters were not working, but
were quartered in empty houses. Since
then she has heard nothing from them.
A person driven from Seraucourt-le-
Grand told us that on June 29, 1916, at
the moment of a French offensive, the
Germans gathered the men of 17 to 55
years in the public square to take them
into captivity. When relatives ap-
proached to say farewell they were
stopped by bars and machine guns. One
woman had to brave the guns to go to
the aid of her sick husband.
Life Under German Rule
The martyrdom of the inhabitants of
Chauny was particularly terrible. For
nearly thirty months they lived under
the most intolerable and humiliating re-
gime. Obliged not to leave their homes
before 8 o'clock in the morning, to return
by 7 in the evening, to live without lights
at night, they had to salute the German
officers, hat in hand, under pain of im-
prisonment. On Feb. 18 the Germans be-
gan sending northward all the inhabitants
of 15 to 60 years. On the 23d they or-
dered the rest of the population — about
2,000 persons — to assemble in the square
before the City Hall. They herded these
with 3,000 inhabitants of neighboring vil-
to
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
lages in a suburb called Brouage. On
March 3 there was a new gathering of
these unfortunates, including the ill and
infirm. They were compelled to pass six
hours in review, enduring such sufferings
from the cold .that twenty-seven persons
died the next day and others in the suc-
ceeding days. Then the unfortunates were
packed into cellars, where for the next
two weeks they heard the explosions in
their houses, which were blown up over
their heads!
Sufferings of Refugees
The evacuation of certain villages was
carried out with equal cruelty. A wo-
man from Gricourt, whom we met at
Noyon, told us that her sick husband was
driven out of his home without regard
for his condition. He died, and she is left
with seven children. Other inhabitants
of that and neighboring villages told us
that they had been driven out of their
homes in the night. They had been com-
pelled to travel a part of the way in
wagons half full of manure. Then, from
Babeuf to Noyon, they went on foot in
the mud, with their little children suffer-
ing from cold and hunger. Some of these
unfortunates died of exhaustion after
reaching our lines. Everywhere the in-
habitants were evacuated in this way,
without enough to eat, and without re-
gard to the weakness of children and in-
valids. Seventeen old men coming from
Roisel arrived in such a state of exhaus-
tion that they died within a few days.
These are atrocious facts, but however
agonizing the story, however frightful
the sight of heaped up ruins, we never-
theless brought back from our visit a
profound impression of comfort; for,
after having verified and denounced the
cowardly acts of the German execution-
ers, we have had to bow our heads before
the nobility of the victims. Not for an
instant during their long captivity did
our compatriots despair of France. Not
for an instant did they doubt our ulti-
mate victory. They said so, they pro-
claimed it before our enemies, upon whom
they imposed silence by their dignity,
their pride, and their courage.
It is also my duty — I will speak with
discretion, for it is not well to give up to
an excessive optimism — to report another
matter which all these people have de-
clared. After having seen the German
• Army arrive in August, 1914, so strong,
so well equipped, so admirably victualed,
that they wept with rage, they saw that,
little by little, annoyance crept into the
ranks of our enemies. The refugees de-
clare that during the later months the
Germans suffered from increasing lack
of food. On this point they are unani-
mous. The bread given to the German
soldiers was almost uneatable. Some-
times they threw it away, and not even
, the dogs would eat it. Nettle soup, tur-
nip-cabbage, and the black broth which
they call glue, constituted their main diet.
Their coffee was made of parched barley.
They tried constantly to get food from
the inhabitants when these received relief
supplies. Meagre as was their own fare,
they sent a part of it to their families in
Germany, who, they said, were in abso-
lute want.
We do not mean to draw any excessive
conclusions from these facts. It would
be puerile to deny that our enemies can
still oppose a great resistance to us — let
us not deceive ourselves — but we place
the truth on record when we state, on the
testimony of our compatriots from the in-
vaded districts, that a great physical and
moral weakening is noticeable in all the
German soldiers.
Condign Punishment
As for their own sufferings, so great
that in many places our army surgeons
found a dangerous condition of exhaus-
tion, our heroic compatriots applied to
it this admirable formula: "We forgot
everything when we saw French soldiers
again." They were filled with joy at
finding France again, that sweet France
which is more beloved the more it suf-
fers. They brought out the tricolor flag,
carefully hidden for thirty months, and
hoisted it immediately on the ruins of
the Mayoralty or church. The children
waved little flags. At the gates of Roye
a triumphal arch was raised for the en-
trance of the French Army.
Our duty is to avenge the wrongs of
which our compatriots have been the
victims. There would no longer be jus-
tice in the world if such crimes, sys-
GERMAN CRIMES IN THE SOMME RETREAT
541
tematically committed by a nation which
prides itself on having all the progress
of science at its service, could be commit-
ted with impunity. For these crimes there
should be the triple punishment of inter-
national law, of penal law, and of the vic-
tory of the civilized world.
First, the judgment of international
law: There is an article of the Conven-
tion of Oct. 18, 1907, which I have not
yet cited. I even believe that this arti-
cle was inserted at the demand of Ger-
many. I refer to Article 3 of Conven-
tion IV., which says: "The belligerent
who shall violate the provisions of said
rule shall be held liable to indemnity if
there is cause, and shall be responsible
for all acts committed by persons be-
longing to its armed forces." Conse-
quently, they are responsible materially,
financially — they must pay! * * *
Do you know how they regret their
crimes? One of our colleagues, M. Ordi-
naire, just now read this sentence from
the Vossische Zeitung: " Our troops are
full of joy, the joy of having inflicted
harm on some one else." The whole Ger-
man mentality is in that remark. Not
only do they not repent the crimes they
have committed, but they still boast of
them. They must be reached by the penal
law. The first punishment that is nec-
essary, the one without which the others
will be impossible, is victory. * * *
The martyrdom of our fellow-country-
men has stirred in all our souls a new
resolve of pitiless justice. We will go to
the end, to the furthest point to which
our strength will carry us, over the ruins
of German imperialism and militarism,
to establish the triumph of peace, of lib-
erty, and of the inalienable rights of the
human conscience.
The Senate Resolution
At the end of M. Cheron's address the
Senate by a unanimous vote passed the
following resolution:
The Senate:
Denouncing before the civilized world
the criminal acts committed by the Ger-
mans in the regions of France occupied
by them, crimes against private property,
against public edifices, against the honor,
the liberty, the life of individuals;
Asserting that these acts of unheard-
of violence were perpetrated without the
excuse of any military necessity and in
systematic contempt of the international
convention of Oct. 18, 1907, ratified by
the representatives of the German Em-
pire;
Holds up to universal execration the
authors of these crimes, whose perma-
nent repression is demanded by justice;
Salutes with respect those who have
been their victims, and to whom the na-
tion solemnly promises, here placing the
vow on record, that they shall have full
reparation from the enemy;
Affirms more than ever the will of
France, sustained by her admirable sol-
diers— and in accord with the allied na-
tions— to pursue the struggle which has
been imposed on her until German im-
perialism and militarism are definitely
crushed, responsible as they are for all
the miseries, all the ruins, and all the
griefs heaped upon the world!
Pitiful Tales From Ruined Homes
Philip Gibbs, the war correspondent,
sent to The London Telegraph of April 1,
1917, this moving account of the suffer-
ings of French civilians in the region lib-
erated by the German retreat on the
Somme :
I AM moved to write again of the old
men and women and of the young
women and children who have been
liberated by our advance. I am moved
because day by day I have been visiting
the places that were once their homes
and are now the rubbish heaps which lie
about that great stretch of country laid
waste by the enemy in the wake of his
retreat where there is only silence and
black ruin; because, also, I have just been
among these people, seeing their tears,
hearing their pitiful tales, touched by
hands which plucked my sleeve so that I
should listen to another story of outrage
and misery. All they told me, and all I
have seen, builds up into a great tragedy.
These young girls, who wept before me,
542
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
shaken by the terror of their remem-
brance, these brave old men, who cried
like children, these old women, who did
not weep, but spoke with strange, smiling
eyes as to life's great ironies, revealed to
me in a fuller way the enormous agony
of life behind the German lines now
shifted back a little, so that these people
have escaped.
It is an agony which includes the
German soldiers, themselves enslaved,
wretched, disillusioned men, under the
great doom which has killed so many of
their brothers, ordered to do the things'
many of them loathe to do, brutal by or-
der even when they have gentle instincts,
doing kind things by stealth, afraid of
punishment for charity, stricken both by
fear and hunger. " Why do you go? "
they were asked by one of the women who
have been speaking to me. " Because we
hope to escape the new British attacks,"
they answered. " The English gunfire
smashed us to death on the Somme. The
officers know we cannot stand that hor-
ror a second time." They spoke as men
horribly afraid. Of their hunger there
seems no doubt. They begged food
of these civilians, who would have starved
to death but for the American relief sup-
plies. They killed cats and dogs to pro-
vide themselves with a taste of meat
which otherwise they do not taste. This,
although the German Kommandantur
seized all the cattle and foodstuffs of the
French inhabitants, and requisitioned all
their hens and took the eggs the hens had
laid.
"I was the bailiff of Mme. la Mar-
quise de Caulincourt," said an elderly
man, taking off his peaked cap to show
me a coronet on the badge. " When the
Germans came first to our village they
seized all the tools, and all the farm
carts, and all the harvesting, and then
they forced us all to work for them, the
men at 3 sous an hour, the women at 2
sous an hour, and prison for any who
refused to work. From the chateau they
sent back the tapestries, the pictures, and
anything which pleased this command-
ant or that, until there was nothing left.
Then in the last days they burned the
chateau to the ground, and all the village
and all the orchards." " It was the same
always," said a woman. " There were
processions of carts covered with linen,
and underneath the linen was the fur-
niture stolen from good houses."
" Fourteen days ago," said an old man,
who had tears in his eyes as he spoke,
" I passed the night in the cemetery of
Vraignes. There were 1,015 of us people
from neighboring villages, some in the
church and some in the cemetery. They
searched us there and took all our money.
Some of the women were stripped and
searched. In the cemetery it was a cold
night and dark, but all around the sky
was flaming with the fire of our villages
— Poeuilly, Bouvincourt, Marteville, Tre-
feon, Monchy, Bernes, Hancourt, and
many more. The people with me wept
and cried out loud to see their dear
places burning, and all this hell. Terri-
ble explosions came to our ears. There
were mines everywhere under the roads.
Then Vraignes was set on fire and burned
around us, and we were stricken with a
great terror. Next day the English came,
when the last Uhlans had left. 'The
English! ' we shouted, and ran forward
to meet them, stumbling, with out-
stretched hands. Soon shells began to fall
in Vraignes. The enemy was firing upon
us, and some of the shells fell very close
to a barn quite full of women and chil-
dren. ' Come away/ said your English
soldiers, and we fled further."
Russian prisoners were brought to
work behind the lines, and some French
prisoners. They were so badly fed that
they were too weak to work. " Poor
devils ! " said a young Frenchwoman, " it
made my heart ache to see them." She
watched a French prisoner one day
through her window. He was so faint
that he staggered and dropped his pick.
A German sentry knocked him down with
a violent blow on the ear. The young
Frenchwoman opened the window, and
the blood rushed to her head. " Sale
bete! " she cried to the German sentry.
He spoke French and understood, and
came under the window. " ' Sale bete ' ?
For those words you shall go to prison,
Madame." She repeated the words and
called him a monster, and at last the
man spoke in a shamed way and said:
" Que voulez-vous ? C'est la guerre.
C'est cruelle, la guerre! " This man had
PITIFUL TALES FROM RUINED HOMES
kinder comrades. Stealthily pitying the
Russian prisoners, they gave them a lit-
tle brandy and cigarettes, and some who
were caught did two hours' extra drill
each day for a fortnight.
" My three sisters were taken away
when the Germans left," said a young
girl. She spoke her sisters' names,
Yvonne, Juliette, and Madeleine, and said
they were 18 and 22 and 27, and then,
turning away from me, wept very bitter-
ly, " They are my daughters," said a
middle-aged woman. " When they were
taken away I went a little mad. My
pretty girls! And all our neighbors'
daughters have gone, up from 16 years of
age, and all the men folk up to 50. They
have gone to slavery, and for the girls
it is a great peril. How can they es-
cape? " How can one write of these
things? For the women it was always
a test. Many of them had surprising
courage, but some were weak and some
were bad. The bad women forced on the
others in a way so vile that it seems in-
credible. They entered into relations
with German officers, and flaunted
viciously under their protection, and
robbed women of quality of their dresses
and linen, and demanded jewelry from
houses looted by their officers, and
laughed as they drove in German cars
past Frenchwomen of gentle birth who
were forced to work in the fields. They
are stories such as Guy de Maupassant
might have written, but worse than he
imagined.
There was no distinction of class or sex
in the forced labor of the harvest fields,
and delicate women of good families were
compelled to labor on the soil with girls
strong and used to this toil. There were
543
many who died of weakness and pneu-
monia and underfeeding. "Are you not
afraid of being called barbarians for-
ever? " asked a woman of a German
officer, who had not been brutal but, like
others, had tried to soften the hardships
of the people. " Madame," he said, very
gravely, "we act under the orders of
people greater than ourselves, and we are
bound to obey, because otherwise we
should be shot. But we hate the cruelty
of war, and we hate those who have made
it. One day we will make them pay for
the vile things we have had to do."
" Sir," said a Sister of Charity, " these
people whom you see here were brave,
but tortured in spirit and in body. Be-
yond the German lines they have lived in
continual fear and servitude. The tales
which they have told us must make the
good God weep at the wickedness of his
creatures. There will be a special place
in hell, perhaps, for the Emperor William
and his gang of bandits." She spoke the
words as a pious conviction, this little
pale woman with bright and kindly eyes,
in her nun's dress.
Roughly and hurriedly I have put these
things down. It is only later that one
may strike the balance of them all, and
draw the right lesson of all this tragedy
which is the nature of war. An old lady
whom I met today drew perhaps the
great lesson in its strict truth. " I am 77
years old," she said. " I saw the war of
1870, and was a prisoner of the Ger-
mans. Now I have seen this war, a thou-
sand times worse than that other one.
Two such wars in a lifetime are too
much. But one such war in all the his-
tory of the world is still too much. Can
we not finish with it forever? "
Brand Whitlock On Belgian Deportations
"One of the Foulest Deeds in History"
The State Department made public on
April 21, 1917, a report from Brand
Whitlock, American Minister to Belgium,
written in January, when he was still
holding his difficult position at Brussels
under German occupation. Of all his
reports since the beginning of the war
this is the only one thus far given to the
public. It reads as follows:
IN order to fully understand the situa-
tion, it is necessary to go back to the
Autumn of 1914. At the time we were
organizing the relief work, the Comite
National — the Belgian relief organiza-
544
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
tion that collaborates with the Commis-
sion for Relief in Belgium — proposed an
arrangement by which the Belgian Gov-
ernment should pay to its own employes
left in Belgium, and other unemployed
men besides, the wages they had been
accustomed to receive.
The Belgians wished to do this for hu-
manitarian and patriotic purposes; they
wished to provide the unemployed with
the means of livelihood, and, at the same
time, to prevent their working for the
Germans.
The policy was adopted and has been
continued in practice, and on the rolls of
the Comite National have been borne the
names of hundreds of thousands — some
700,000, I believe — of idle men receiving
this dole, distributed through the com-
munes.
The presence of these unemployed,
however, was a constant temptation to
German cupidity. Many times they
sought to obtain the lists of the cho-
meurs, [unemployed,] but were always
foiled by the claim that under the guar-
antees covering the relief work the rec-
ords of the Comite National and its
various sub-organizations were immune.
Rather than risk any interruptions of the
ravitaillement, for which, while loath to
own any obligation to America, the Ger-
mans have always been grateful, since it
has had the effect of keeping the popu-
lation calm, the authorities never pressed
the point other than with the Burgomas-
ters of the communes. Finally, however,
the military party, always brutal and
with an astounding ignorance of public
opinion and of moral sentiment, deter-
mined to put these idle men to work.
In August von Hindenburg was ap-
pointed to the supreme command. He is
said to have criticised von Bissing's policy
as too mild; there was a quarrel; von
Bissing went to Berlin to protest, threat-
ened to resign, but did not. He returned,
and a German official here said that Bel-
gium would now be subjected to a more
terrible regime, would learn what war
was. The prophecy has been vindicated.
The deportations began in October in
the etape, at Ghent and at Bruges. The
policy spread; the rich industrial dis-
tricts of Hainaut, the mines and steel
works about Charleroi were next at-
tacked; now they are seizing men in Bra-
bant, even in Brussels, despite some indi-
• cations, and even predictions of the civil
authorities, that the policy was about to
be abandoned.
During the last fortnight men have
been impressed here in Brussels, but their
seizures here are made evidently with
much greater care than in the provinces,
with more regard for the appearances.
There was no public announcement of the
intention to deport, but suddenly, about
ten days ago, certain men in towns whose
names are on the list of chomeurs re-
ceived summonses notifying them to re-
port at one of the railway stations on a
given day and penalties were fixed for
failure to respond to the summons, and
there was printed on the card an offer of
employment by the German Government,
either in Germany or Belgium.
On the first day, out of about 1,500
men ordered to present themselves at the
Gare du Midi, about 750 responded.
These were examined by German physi-
cians and 300 were taken. There was no
disorder, a large force of mounted Uhlans
keeping back the crowds and barring ac-
cess to the station to all but those who
had been summoned to appear. The Com-
mission for Relief in Belgium had se-
cured permission to give to each deported
man a loaf of bread, and some of the
communes provided warm clothing for
those who had none, and in addition a
small financial allowance.
As by one of the ironies of life the
Winter has been more excessively cold
than Belgium has ever known it, and
while many of those who presented them-
selves were adequately protected against
the cold, many of them were without
overcoats. The men shivering from cold
and fear, the parting from weeping wives
and children, the barriers of brutal Uh-
lans, all this made the scene a pitiable
and distressing one.
It was understood that the seizures
would continue here in Brussels, but on
Thursday last, a bitter cold day, those
that had been convoked were sent home
without examination. It is supposed that
the severe weather has moved the Ger-
mans to postpone the deportations.
BRAND WHITLOCK ON BELGIAN DEPORTATIONS
545
The rage, the terror, and despair ex-
cited by this measure all over Belgium
were beyond anything we had witnessed
since the day the Germans poured into
Brussels. The delegates of the Commis-
sion for Relief in Belgium, returning to
Brussels, told the most distressing stories
of the scenes of cruelty and sorrow at-
tending the seizures. And daily, hourly,
almost, since that time, appalling stories
have been related by Belgians coming to
the legation. It is impossible for us to
verify them, first because it is necessary
for us to exercise all possible tact in deal-
ing with the subject at all, and, secondly,
because there is no means of communi-
cation between the Occupations Gebiet
and the Etappen Gebiet.
Transportation everywhere in Belgium
is difficult, the vicinal railways scarcely
operating any more because of the lack
of oil, while all the horses have been
taken. The people who are forced to go
from one village to another must do so
on foot or in vans drawn by the few mis-
erable horses that are left. The wagons
of the breweries, the one institution that
the Germans have scrupulously respect-
ed, are hauled by oxen.
The well-known tendency of sensa-
tional reports to exaggerate themselves,
especially in time of war, and in a situa-
tion like that existing here, with no news-
papers to serve as a daily clearing house
for all the rumors that are as avidly be-
lieved as they are eagerly repeated,
should, of course, be considered, but even
if a modicum of all that is told is true,
there still remains enough to stamp this
deed as one of the foulest that history
records.
I am constantly in receipt of reports
from all over Belgium that tend to bear
out the stories one constantly hears of
brutality and cruelty. A number of men
sent back to Mons are said to be in a
dying condition, many of them tubercu-
lar. At Malines and at Antwerp returned
men have died, their friends asserting
that they have been victims of neglect
and cruelty, of cold, of exposure, of hun-
ger.
I have had requests from the Burgo-
masters of ten communes from La Lou-
viere, asking that permission be obtained
to send to the deported men in Germany
packages of food similar to those that
are being sent to prisoners of war. Thus
far the German authorities have refused
to permit this except in special instances,
and returning Belgians claim that even
when such packages are received they
are used by the camp authorities only as
another means of coercing them to sign
the agreements to work.
It is said that in spite of the liberal
salary promised those who would sign
voluntarily no money has as yet been re-
ceived in Belgium from workmen in Ger-
many.
One interesting result of the deporta-
tions remains to be noted, a result that
once more .places in relief the German
capacity for blundering almost as great
as the German capacity for cruelty.
They have dealt a mortal blow to any
prospect they may ever have had of being
tolerated by the population of Flanders;
in tearing away from nearly every hum-
ble home in the land a husband and a
father or a son and brother, they have
lighted a fire of hatred that will never go
out; they have brought home to every
heart in the land, in a way that will im-
press its horror indelibly on the memory
of three generations, a realization of
what German methods mean, not, as with
the early atrocities in the heat of passion
and the first lust of war, but by one of
those deeds that make one despair of the
future of the human race, a deed coldly
planned, studiously matured, and deliber-
ately and systematically executed, a deed
so cruel that German soldiers are said to
have wept in its execution and so mon-
strous that even German officers are now
said to be ashamed.
Illegal Property Seizures
Minister Havenith of Belgium on April
20 delivered to the State Department at
Washington a memorandum warning the
world that any dealings in Belgian prop-
erty or credits seized by German agents
would be contested in the courts after the
var. The memorandum says :
An order of the German Govern-
ment, dated Aug. 29, 1916, disregarding
the principles of international law, or-
546
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
ganizes forced liquidation of certain busi-
ness concerns in Belgian territory occu-
pied by the enemy.
According to trustworthy information-
the German Government has further or-
dered certain establishments to turn into
the bank of the German Empire the
amount of the accounts of French and
English citizens.
The law of Belgium, of which the
Hague Convention forms part, does not
recognize as valid the powers granted
for purposes of liquidation to receivers
appointed by the occupant nor the liqui-
dating operation. Therefore when the
territory is liberated parties injured by
the abuse of de facto power that may
have been exercised by receivers or other
liquidating agents will have a remedy
at law against the said receivers or
agents.
All contracts or other legal instru-
ments going beyond the mere custody or
conservation of property will be voida-
ble. This will in particular apply to
alienations of real or personal property,
conveyances of debt; in a word, all acts
of disposal.
The representatives in places out of
the occupied Belgian territory of Bel-
gian or foreign firms or corporations
that have been sequestered by the Ger-
man authorities would make themselves
liable to the penalties provided by the
law decree of Dec. 10, 1916, besides dam-
ages through civil action, if they should
carry out the instructions given them by
the receivers or liquidating agents.
Liberty Enlightening the World
By HENRY VAN DYKE
Thou warden of the western gate, above Manhattan Bay,
The fogs of doubt that hid thy face are driven clean away :
Thine eyes at last look far and clear, thou liftest high thy hand
To spread the light of liberty world wide for every land.
No more thou dreamest of a peace reserved alone for thee,
While friends are fighting for thy cause beyond the guardian sea :
The battle that they wage is thine ; thou f allest if they fall ;
The swollen flood of Prussian pride will sweep unchecked o'er all.
O cruel is the conquer-lust in Hohenzollern brains :
The paths they plot to gain their goal are dark with shameful stains
No faith they keep, no law revere, no god but naked Might;
They are the f oemen of mankind. Up, Liberty, and smite !
Britain, and France, and Italy, and Russia newly born,
Have waited for thee in the night. Oh, come as comes the morn,
Serene and strong and full of faith, America, arise,
With steady hope and mighty help to join thy brave Allies.
0 dearest country of my heart, home of the high desire,
Make clean thy soul for sacrifice on Freedom's altar-fire :
For thou must suffer, thou must fight, until the war lords cease,
And all the peoples lift their heads in liberty and peace.
German Reprisals on Prisoners
French Captives Placed in Range of
French Guns by Orders From Berlin
GENERAL VON STEIN, the Ger-
, man Minister of War, delivered
an address before the Reichstag
on March 3, 1917, in which he
announced that, owing to French mis-
treatment of German prisoners, counter-
measures had been adopted under which,
beginning on that date, French prisoners
would be placed in the zone of fire until
the alleged abuses of the enemy were
discontinued. In the course of his speech
he said:
The situation is worse in France. Un-
fortunately things do not grow better there,
but worse. The enemy endeavors to oppress
our unfortunate comrades, body and soul.
The liberties which- we granted to prisoners
in our camps, by allowing them occupation
with art and science, as much as they like
and were used to, are unknown in France.
We therefore abolished these liberties in our
prisoner camps. The time of warning which
had been fixed at four weeks, after which
countermeasures would be taken, only bene-
fited the enemies. During that time we
treated our prisoners decently, and our pris-
oners in the hands of the enemy had to suffer
four more weeks of torture. I asked that
the time be cut short, and this has been
granted today. Countermeasures will be
taken immediately and continued until we
receive from hostile Governments news that
the hostile measures have been abolished.
Thousands of prisoners were discovered
working close behind the French front, in
range of the fire of our own guns. If these
unfortunate people seek cover against our
fire the French officers prevent this with
arms. We have taken countermeasures, and
brought French prisoners into the same sit-
uation behind our front. This will be con-
tinued until the enemy has decided to ful-
fill our demands and withdraw his prisoners
fifty kilometers [about 32% miles] behind
the front. The lowest act which they com-
mit is that, especially during recent times,
they have tortured German prisoners im-
mediately after capturing them with all
means in order to make, them speak about
military facts. This ghastly fate is especially
reserved for officers and non-commissioned
officers. They are locked up for days in re-
ceptacles resembling cages. They are made
to suffer hunger for days in order to break
their spirits. We do not meditate for one
moment following the enemy on this road,
but the front has been ordered to hold back
prisoners taken there for some time, and to
bring them into a similar situation. Low
actions will not, however, be committed by
us. I saw in France numberless crowds of
French prisoners pass by. Our field-gray
soldiers curiously crowded around, but I
never heard one insulting word, and still less
saw any action against them. That was
done by us " barbarians."
The War Minister said he was sure
the measures of reprisal would not al-
ways be executed with sufficient strict-
ness, as the German people were always
good natured and even oversentimental
in such cases. He turned next to the
case of German prisoners in England,
saying:
In England things are different. Although
the English usually deny atrocities, it must
be admitted that in many cases they re-
dressed grievances, and that generally the
treatment in England is better. This, how-
ever, does not exclude that also the English
employ many prisoners close behind the
front, and therefore adequate measures
have been taken as reprisals. We further
know that captured Germans in the French
ports are made to work under unfavorable
conditions in excessive fashion by the Eng-
lish. For this reason also English prisoners
have been put in the same position on cer-
tain places of the front. Immediately after
the declaration of the submarine war we
brought to the knowledge of the English Gov-
ernment that eventual special treatment of
our brave submarine crews would be an-
swered immediately with similar measures.
About the Russians not much is to be
said. Many things are obscure. It is not
yet certain whether the sad conditions on
the Murman Railway have been completely
cleared up. Some of our airplane officers
are still chained in dungeons. But it ought
not to be passed in silence that, in spite of
everything else, in Russia conditions in many
places have become rather better than worse.
For this thanks are due to the devoted ac-
tivities of the Swedish and Danish Red Cross.
Since Sweden took charge of our representa-
tion in Russia very energetic work has been
done there in order to better the fate of our
comrades. Denmark magnanimously fol-
lowed Switzerland's example and agreed that
institutions for exchange of prisoners be
established. Also the King of Spain offered
help in the same~direction. We welcome all
these warm-hearted endeavors with sincere
gratitude.
548
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
I cannot speak about the fate of our cap-
tured countrymen without mentioning the
people dragged from East Prussia and
Alsace-Lorraine. There, perhaps, greater
tragedies happened than among our prison-
ers. In my corps we had a young Alsatian
clergyman who had been forced to leave his
wife with a new-born child. The woman
had to sit for weeks in a cellar, and was
then dragged away by the French, and the
unfortunate husband up to today has heard
nothing of his family.
When a short while ago, in Belgium, work-
men and inhabitants were sent to Germany
for work a storm of indignation arose
abroad and also at home. We did not re-
main silent. The Belgians are our enemies,
and many of them, probably from a safe
hiding place, fired against our troops. My
East Prussian and Alsatian countrymen are
much nearer to my heart. Unfortunately
we could not obtain the least justice for
these unhappy ones. France hides behind
all sorts of pretexts, and pretends that these
people do not want to return. In fact, very
few, some thirty, have come back. During
these days a sister was said to return with
fifty children, but she came with empty
hands. Whether a second sister, who comes
in the next few daj^s, will be more success-
ful is not yet known. The Russian Gov-
ernment alleges national auxiliary service,
and therefore refuses to release these peo-
ple. I am always ready to defend the princi-
ple that we can do without the co-operation
of these unfortunate ones if they are given
back to us.
Official Reply of France
The French Government took imme-
diate cognizance of the foregoing charges
and issued the following official denial:
In his recent speech to the Reichstag, the
German War Minister gives an official char-
acter to the allegations already published by
the German " Wireless," and tries to per-
suade public opinion all over the world that
German prisoners in France are subject to
ill-treatment. He states that the period
granted for the negotiations regarding the
treatment of prisoners is now over, and that
reprisals will be adopted. As a fact, the
German Government has made a complaint
to the French Government through the
American Ambassador on the following
points :
According to the German statements, at
the time of their capture and interrogation,
German prisoners have been ill-treated ; they
have been robbed and insulted ; have been
badly housed in the camps, and have been
used as laborers in the area swept by shell
fire. The Note, therefore, required :
(a) That the German prisoners should be
taken away from the dangerous areas and
put into camps at a distance of at least
thirty kilometer^ [about twenty miles] from
the front line:
(b) that they should not work within that
distance from the front line ;
(c) that they should be permitted to use
the postal service with Germany ;
(d) that delegates of the United States Em-
bassy should be authorized to visit the camps
in the zone of operations.
A reply had to be given before Jan. 15. On
the precise date the French Government pre-
sented to the United States Embassy a reply :
(a) Formally refuting the accusations of
ill-treatment ;
(b) showing that no check had been placed
upon postal correspondence ;
(c) agreeing, in return for reciprocal treat-
ment, to allow delegates from the United
States Embassy to visit the prisoner camps ;
(d) The French Government further de-
clared itself formally ready to employ — on
a reciprocal basis — no prisoner of war in
the zone of fire, nor within twenty kilo-
meters [12V6 miles] of the front.
Up to the present the French Government
has received no answer to this note.
The German Government talks of reprisals,
and thereby pretends to ignore the fact that
there is documentary evidence to show that
many months before German prisoners were
employed on the French front in the zone
of operations the Germans themselves were
employing French prisoners under the fire
of French guns ; and it can truly be said
that if they are attacking now it is to de-
fend themselves.
This is clearly proved by irrefutable docu-
ments which are also corroborated by the
confessions of their own prisoners showing
that a prisoner camp was established at a
point particularly beaten by the French
artillery, where our miserable countrymen
were kept without shelter or cover of any
sort until evacuation was necessary for sani-
tary reasons.
On the other hand, it is sufficient to read
the correspondence of German prisoners ad-
dressed to their families to be convinced of
the feeling of humanity which has been dis-
played toward them. No better conclusion
could be given than the following words said
on Nov. 3, 1916, in a camp near Verdun by
a German officer: " I am greatly pleased to
be a prisoner in the hands of the French, but
I must tell you that these people are too
kind and too foolish. It is quite natural
that prisoners should work, and they are
not overworked, as I can tell you from all
I have seen."
A Swiss newspaper, the Journal de
Geneve, stated on March 4 that Germany
was already executing her threats
against French prisoners of war; that
they were being placed in barracks with-
out food or water and without heating
arrangements, notwithstanding the ex-
treme cold. It declared also that French
prisoners were being compelled to work
GERMAN REPRISALS ON PRISONERS
549
in German trenches within reach of the
French artillery.
Another German Statement
Under date of March 9 the Overseas
News Agency of Berlin sent out a semi-
official statement saying in part :
The measures taken by the Germans were
adopted because about 30,000 German pris-
oners of war have for months been living
under miserable conditions and forced to do
the hardest kind of work close behind the
French lines, in a majority of cases within
the range of German artillery fire.
The French wireless service stated that
Gustave Ador of Geneva, President of the
International Committee of the Red Cross,
had visited the German prisoners of war in
the district of operations and had gained a
most favorable impression regarding their
treatment. There is no doubt the French
authorities carefully selected a special dis-
trict in which the conditions were favorable
in order to deceive M. Ador and neutral
countries. The French report regarding the
German and French negotiations relating to
prisoners of war in the district of military
operations is not correct. Here are the
facts :
The French Government in a note dated
Dec. 21, 191G, was requested to assemble
German prisoners of war in good camps sit-
uated at least eighteen miles behind the
front, and to refrain from putting them to
work at places nearer the firing lines. In
case of refusal, or if no answer was given,
it was announced that on. Jan. 15 French
prisoners of war would be sent into the
German district of operations under similar
conditions. The note as is known with cer-
tainty was immediately sent by telegraph
to the French Government at Paris and it
arrived there prior to Jan. 5, 1917.
The French answer, dated Jan. 15, reached
Berlin only after the announced counter-
measures had been put into effect. Besides,
the contents of the answer in a great part
were unsatisfactory. The French Govern-
ment had not fulfilled the German request.
It had merely declared it was ready to place
the German prisoners of war twelve miles
behind the front, where they were not suf-
ficiently secure against the fire of long-
range cannon, and where they were especial-
ly exposed to airplane attacks.
This declaration, of course, did not suffice
for the abolishment of our countermeasures,
especially since the experiences we had had
with promises of the French Government re-
lating to questions of war prisoners were
very discouraging.
On the contrary, the French Government
had to be asked to fulfill completely the Ger-
man request. A communication to this ef-
fect was sent to the French Government in
the beginning of February. On this occasion
it was suggested to the French authorities
• that the whole district of operations on
both sides be completely cleared of war pris-
oners. This offer in itself proved that the
German Government does not make French
prisoners of war work in the districts of
operations because of " lack of hands."
Since that time the French Government has
not replied and prefers to expose French-
men to the fire of their own countrymen in
order to be able to continue to torture Ger-
man prisoners of war and to use them for
labor contrary to international law.
The French. Government complains that
even in the middle of December French pris-
oners of war were singled out to be sent to
the district of operations. This assertion
is untrue. The prisoners of war in question
were marked only a short while prior to the
final day announced in the German offer. If
they had to be sent there the guilt was
solely with the French Government.
Denial by an American
Philip 0. Mills, an American ambu-
lance .driver, denied General von Stein's
charges against France in a communica-
tion to The New York Times, dated
March 6, declaring that the German War
Minister's speech was due to Germany's
determination to make French prisoners
perform the dangerous work behind the
lines, and that the charges were an ex-
cuse to justify that measure. He wrote:
" I can and do brand as a falsehood
any statement that German prisoners are
tortured or compelled to work behind the
French lies under fire.
" Over six months' service on the French
fronts as an ambulance driver of the
American Red Cross, attached to a French
division in the sector through which the
largest number of German prisoners have
been passed, (about 15,000,) thousands
of whom I have seen and hundreds of
whom I have talked to, gives me au-
thority for what I say. The French use
only their older men for work close be-
hind the lines, and I have never seen a
German prisoner in the fire zone doing
anything but traveling toward the rear.
Night and day I have been on the roads
in the fire zone, and there isn't a prison
camp or citadel that cannot be and has
not been visited by our ambulance driv-
ers. We have had eighty men in service
with forty cars at Verdun during Decem-
ber, and never a tale from any man of
any such atrocity as is quoted in this
speech.
" The first assembling camp for prison-
550
THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY
ers of war is well out of gun range, well
kept, and comfortable, and I have been
through it often. The prisoners are im-
mediately fed on arrival, with the regular
French army ration and all the bread
they can eat. I never saw or heard of a
Frenchman abusing or ill-treating a Ger-
man prisoner, but, on the contrary, have
seen hundreds of little acts of kindness
shown them. Everything is open to us
foreign ambulance drivers, and we are
treated as part of the French Army. It
is absolutely false that German officers
are locked in cages, &c, for I have seen
them confined in comfortable houses and
allowed exercise and good food.
" The whole speech is merely to try to
justify an improper use of prisoners of
war and to prevent the ever-increasing
number of voluntary German surrenders.
" The French do not need to stoop to
deny such lies, for there are now hun-
dreds of good American citizens who
have been to France and have seen how
everything is conducted behind the
French lines, and so can disprove for
them all such slanders."
Employment of Prisoners
Germany holds approximately 2,000,-
000 prisoners, most of whom are Rus-
sians. General Groener, Chief of the
War Emergency Office, reported in
February, 1917. that 750,000 of these
prisoners were employed as farm labor-
ers, and that more were soon to be put
to work in the agricultural districts.
An official report published in Berlin
on Dec. 1, 1916, stated that there were
1,663,794 military prisoners in Germany
on Aug. 1, 1916. In the two years of
war to that date 29,297 prisoners had
died. Of these, 6,032 died from tubercu-
losis, 4,201 from spotted fever, 6,270
from wounds, and the rest from other
illnesses.
Russia has more than 1,000,000 mili-
tary prisoners, of whom 428,000 were
captured in 1916, mainly by General
Brusiloff's armies. Besides these there
are 200,000 Germans and Austrians in-
terned as civil prisoners. At the end
of 1915 the prisoners employed in State
and agricultural work in Russia num-
bered 1,138,000, according to a Reuter
dispatch from Petrograd. Of these 575,-
000 were under „the jurisdiction of the
Minister of Agriculture, 294,000 under
the Department of Mines and Factories,
and 169,000 under that of Ways and
Communications. In the year 1916 the
French captured 78,500 Germans and the
British 40,800 on the western front,
while in the Balkans the Entente armies
took 11,173 Bulgarians and Turks. Dur-
ing the same period the Italians made
prisoners of 52,250 Austrians. This
gives the Entente Allies a total of more
than 610,000 prisoners for the year 1916.
Great Britain has thus far made very
little agricultural or industrial use of
war prisoners, partly owing to the ob-
jections of labor unions and partly to
fear of hostile acts.
THE EUROPEAN WAR AS
SEEN BY CARTOONISTS
NoTE-Owing to the existing blockade Current History Magazine has been unable to obtain
a proportional number of German cartoons for this issue.
[Italian Cartoon]
The Modern Sea Monster
—From II 420, Florence,
It lurks in ocean depths and seeks to drag down all the ships in the world.
551
[English Cartoon]
Changing Guard at Washington
mm
• —From London Opinion.
The soldier President relieves the note-writing President.
552
[Spanish Cartoon]
The American Eagle
—From Campana de Gracia, Barcelona.
"Remember, Germania, I am an eagle and not a crow!"
553
[English Cartoon]
Welcoming the Newcomers
-f.N
—From The Passing Show, London.
Impresario Mars (to Columbia) : " I've been waiting to present you with this
bouquet for, nearly a thousand nights. Still, I'm glad to see you in time for our
thrilling last act! "
554
[Polish Cartoon]
Germany and America
—From MucJia, formerly of Warsaw,
Germania : " Take your flag off the water, or I will take it off myself."
Uncle Samuel: " Don't! You'll find it very prickly! "
555
[American Cartoon]
A Problem for Science
—From The New York Times.
" You are responsible for that stain ! You must find a way to take it out ! "
556
[French Cartoon]
Advancing Backward
—From La Baionnette, Paris.
The Devil to Germania : " I believe you are beginning to go a little too fast."
[English Cartoon]
A Considerate Captor
—From The Passing Show, London.
Tommy (who has been blown into a shell hole) : " Hurry up, mate. I don't
want to lose my prisoner! "
Rescuer: " Prisoner! Why, where is 'e?"
Tommy: "I'm standing on 'im! "
557
[Italian Cartoon]
The Kaiser's Prop: Czarism
—From L'Asino, Rome.
Wilhelm: "Democracy in Russia! Heavens! What shall I do now?"
558
[Dutch Cartoon]
The Dawn in Russia
ViW£M
—From Be Nieuwe Amsterdammer, Amsterdam.
Wilhelm (to Little Wilhelm) : " That light, my son, will do our house more
harm than all the Russian artillery! "
559
[Italian Cartoon]
The ^Strafing" Expedition in Italy
—From II Numero, Turin.
Germany : " Go on . w
Austria: " I can't. I'm wedged in."
Germany: " Well, heaven knows, you are thin enough to get through any-
where! "
560
[Spanish Cartoon]
Arrival of Uncle Sam
Hello, nephews ! " —From Campana de Gracia, Barcelo
Welcome, uncle ! You are late, but you can have a, front seat."
[French Cartoon]
The Crown Prince's Surprise
[April Fool's Day]
■qkfcr vr,$.
" A present from his Majesty? Why,
it must be my baton as Marshal ! "
-From La Baionnette, Paris.
" Just heaven ! ! "
561
[English Cartoon]
That "Strategic" Withdrawal
—From London Opinion.
Hinde^burg : " I positively refuse to stop in that house another moment ! "
562
[American Cartoon]
He Also Serves
—From Th& San Francisco Chronicle.
The soldier of the home trenches.
563
[English Cartoon]
Germany's Fetich
—From The Passing Show, London.
Astonished Enthusiast (who has climbed to the top to hammer in his
nail) : " Mein Gott! His head is empty except for a gramophone! "
564
[French Cartoon]
The Happy Family
— © Le Rire, Paris.
The Kaiser (to His Six Sons): "Hurrah for 'fresh and joyous ' war!
Hurrah for the docile folk who send their sons to butchery to keep mine intact!
Hurrah for the last slaves in the civilized world! "
565
[French Cartoon]
War Finances in Germany
—From La Baionnette. Paris.
" Mein Gott ! Fritz, you're losing your money ! "
" What else can you expect, Bertha? It's the fall of the mark!
566
[American Cartoons]
Unter den Hinden" The Price of Peace
—From The Cleveland Leader.
—From The Dayton News.
A Fatal Sunrise for Him The Party Who Will Decide How
-:'■-''
Long the War Will Last
—From The Portland Oregonian.
—From The Duluth Herald.
567
[American Cartoons]
German Retreat On the Somme
—From The Baltimore American.
Our aim is to keep moving." — German Military Critic.
To the Front
Moving Day in Europe
—From The Spokane Spokesman-Review.
■From The Duluth Herald.
>68
[American Cartoons]
One Down Luring Them On
~fU
Poor Old World
The Melting Pot
-From The San Francisco Chronicle.
569
[German Cartoon]
The Well-Trained Bulldog
— © Lustige Blaetter, Berlin.
British Bulldog: "It must not be seen how gladly I would swallow that
peace sausage."
570
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